The third instalment in the Prefect Dreyfus series, Machine Vendetta is a dazzling sci-fi thriller. Intrigue, treachery, blackmail and convoluted conspiracies form a tapestry against which Alastair Reynolds once again plies his craft.
Prefect Trench wasn’t one to make mistakes. One of the best in the Panoply, she was meticulous and tenacious. But when she took a journey to one of the more dangerous satellite worlds making up the Glitter Band, it appeared she’d done so willingly. Her brutal murder at the hands of a mob some kind of suicidal act. Dreyfus isn’t convinced; in fact few of the senior Prefects are, but until evidence proves otherwise it’s another incident in an escalating politically fraught situation. An attack on a different habitat has created a maelstrom of repercussive actions between human and pig populations, creating troubling consequences. Neither seem to add up and, along with Sparver and Ng, Dreyfus begins to pick apart the picture to reveal the puzzle beneath it.
However, it’s a task made more difficult by the constant threats applied by the rogue AI entities haunting the networks. After the nightmarish attacks of the Clockmaker and the uneasy alliance Dreyfus was forced to make with Aurora, the two enemies have held each other to account. But it appears both are keen to make use of Dreyfus to their own ends. Their concerns weirdly connected to, and caught up with, events in the Glitter Band. Throw in Trench’s previously unknown daughter and there’s more threads to pull than ever.
Taking to task the idea of racial discrimination and recrimination, the social commentary is a clever and deftly handled arc. But it doesn’t end there. Machine Vendetta also questions the notion of intellectual superiority and the blind arrogance it contains when it comes to the nuanced nature of humanity. The interplay between these two very modern concerns allows for the more important point that there is something unquantifiable about the human condition. A thing that defies yet shapes our understanding of ourselves, embodied so brilliantly in the cast of characters whether they are human or hyper-pig.
Is this very undefinable element that finally acts in the favour of the Prefects. As Machine Vendetta begins to reveal the true flow of the story, twists that presented themselves, somewhat obviously, turn in unexpected ways. Culminating in a breathtaking finale, as befits all the best space operas, it shows the true cost of standing at the front line of protecting humanity and all that a person gives and loses in the process.
Cleverly crafted, Machine Vendetta is a slow but inexorable burn. Stuffed with vast ideas and modern concerns, it’s a fantastic piece of science fiction.
Review copy
Published by Gollancz
thebookbeard's Blog 