When I picked this up, I was expecting something along the lines of Reynolds’ other books such as House of Suns (one of my all-time favorites) and the Revelation Space series. What I got was so completely different, I nearly gave up on it early on. After I finished it the first time, my initial rating was only 4 stars. But after some distance from it, I kept thinking about how my expectation got in the way of what is an absolutely fantastic novel. I gave it a second listen and was thoroughly entertained.
Reynolds does an amazing job of both building the universe and moving the action along. And it’s a wild combination of steampunk (on the habitations), space travel (intra-solar system only), and far-out sci-fi (from previous generations long since dead). The main character is a young girl and her character development is one of the best parts of the book.
Publisher’s Summary
A superb science fiction adventure set in the rubble of a ruined universe, this is a deep space heist story of kidnap, betrayal, alien artifacts, and revenge.
The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Among the ruins of alien civilizations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives.
And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them….
Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It’s their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds that have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded by layers of protection – and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.
Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore’s crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular.
Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future – a tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism…and of vengeance.