Overview
Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a law enforcement officer. His current case: investigating a murderous attack against one of the Glitter Band habitats that leaves nine hundred people dead. But then he uncovers an even greater threat-a covert plot by an enigmatic entity seeking nothing less than total control of the Glitter Band.
Synopsis
Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a law enforcement officer. His current case: investigating a murderous attack against one of the Glitter Band habitats that leaves nine hundred people dead. But then he uncovers an even greater threat-a covert plot by an enigmatic entity seeking nothing less than total control of the Glitter Band.
SFFWorld
An entertaining tale.
Editorials
Locus
Absorbing...A fine provocative portrait of utopia on the brink.darkermatter
[The Prefect] would serve as a good introduction to the entire genre for those who have never tried science fiction. Highly recommended.SFFWorld
An entertaining tale.Fascination Place
An exciting high-tech tale.Publishers Weekly
The seventh novel set in Reynolds's Revelation Space milieu (most recently encountered in his 2007 collection Galactic North) is a fascinating hybrid of space opera, police procedural and character study. One of the 10,000 colony habitats of the utopian Glitter Band has been destroyed, and title character Tom Dreyfus, a cop who patrols the Glitter Band beat, is assigned to learn whodunit and why. Meanwhile, his protégé, Thalia Ng, shepherds a supposedly minor series of software upgrades on several other habitats, while Dreyfus's superiors oust their leader, ostensibly for her own good. Reynolds unfolds revelations layer by onionskin layer, supplying enough detail to imply a novel's worth of unwritten backstory without ever obscuring the stakes and personalities. The high-quality characterization more than compensates for the slightly too shadowy villains. This is solid British SF adventure, evoking echoes of le Carré and Sayers with a liberal dash of Doctor Who. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Library Journal
As a prefect working for the Panoply, Tom Dreyfus enforces the law in the utopian society of the Glitter Band, a collection of space habitats that orbit the planet Yellowstone. When an attack on one of the habitats leaves nearly 1000 people dead, Dreyfus uncovers a plot that threatens the freedom of the entire Glitter Band. Reynolds (Redemption Ark; Pushing Ice) returns to the universe of Revelation Space as he demonstrates his powerful ability to blend futuristic suspense/intrigue with personal drama in a tale of one man's search for truth, however unpleasant or demanding it may be. With appeal to fans who enjoy action-packed hard sf, this belongs in most libraries.
—Jackie Cassada