Slow Bullets - Softcover

2016 American Library Association Reading List Honor Title
A UK Guardian Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2015
A Buzzfeed June 2015 Pick
Locus 2015 Recommended Reading List: Best Novella
2016 Locus Award shortlist
2016 Hugo nominated novella
2016-2017 Canopus Award nominee for Best Novella

"A rousing drama of revenge - which, in a moving finale, Reynolds subverts with a wonderfully compassionate resolution."
--UK Guardian

"What happens to survivors at the end of an interstellar war? In the latest from Reynolds ("Revelation Space" series), refugees, soldiers, and criminals are loaded aboard the same vessel and plunged into cryo-suspension. When Scur wakes in her capsule, she's confused, as it seems far too soon and no one is in charge. With the ship's computer in terminal decline and the only stable source of information the slow bullets injected into their bodies, Scur and the other passengers must decide what's more important, their personal lives or the larger fate of humanity. VERDICT While shorter than Reynolds's usual fare, this is no less ambitious in covering vast scopes of space and time while addressing big questions. Suggest to fans of Ian MacDonald or Kim Stanley Robinson, particularly those who liked Aurora."
--Library Journal, starred review

"Reynolds does his usual fine job of creating a compelling narrative out of the classic materials of space opera as viewed through a modern sensibility and an awareness of the real science of space travel. Recommended."
--Asimov's

" 'Slow Bullets' builds nicely to an almost profound conclusion and left a big impact despite its small size."
--SFCrowsnest

"It's a compelling adventure story about people trying to make something worthwhile, after lives spent only on destruction."
--The Morning Star

"Five Stars. Slow Bullets is incredible, it is a superbly balanced story packed full of ideas and subtlety. It's also not only the finest of Reynolds work so far but it's one of the finest nuggets of science fiction you could read anywhere."
--Science Fiction Book Review

"This is not military science fiction, this is war opera. Recommended!"
--Bewildering Stories

"A fine example of the true science fictionist's art. . . ."
--Michael Bishop, author of A Funeral for the Eyes of Fire, And Strange at Ecbatan the Trees, and Transfigurations

"Dang, Reynolds can write. This has it all: a fantastic premise, a solid protagonist, and incredible tension to carry everyone along."
--50 Book Challenge

"Alastair Reynolds is the world's best writer of space opera. If you have any doubts, then read Slow Bullets."
--Allen Steele, author of Coyote and Spindrift

"The writing is tight, the characters are well developed, and the story itself moves along at a cracking pace."
--Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Corner

"Slow Bullets is classic science fiction, a space opera, a puzzle story, a character study, visionary science fiction, and a prayer for peace. I see no reason why you should not love it."
--Michael Swanwick, author of Tales of Old Earth and Dancing with Bears

"Slow Bullets is a huge leap forward for Alastair Reynolds"
--Strange Horizons

"Alastair Reynolds weaves a tapestry of dark, dystopian societies in a tense, colorful narrative."
--New York Journal of Books

"a great introduction to Reynolds' style and skill."
--Fantasy Literature

..".his writing mixes spartan style, provocative ideas, and flashes of dark humor.... Reynolds excels at weaving different threads together...."
--Los Angeles Review of Books

"It's a more intimate vision than what I encountered until now in Reynolds' books, but for this very reason it felt more profound and poignant than any other I read so far, and it gave me a new level of interpretation for this author, and a key to a new way of reading his stories. Highly recommended, both for Reynolds' admirers and as an introduction to this author."
--Space and Sorcery

"Slow Bullets is a tightly focused tale that moves forward at a brisk and entertaining pace. It is a satisfying story of survival mixed with an intriguing mystery."
--HoloWriting

..".eminently worthwhile..."
--Green Man Review

"Slow Bullets captured my attention and did not let up until the ride was over.... Highly recommended."
--SFFWorld

"Highly recommended"
--Best Science Fiction Books

..".a captivating first-person narrative..."
--Wales Arts Review

"Slow Bullets, the new novella by Alastair Reynolds is space opera condensed into one of its most potent forms. Mystery, conflict, crisis, strange aliens and a story of interstellar scope - you'll find it all..."
--Worlds in Ink

"Fantastic little piece of space noir. It's not often a short novella will congruously go places the reader could not even guess in the first few pages, but this story does so flawlessly. As always, Reynolds writes excellent female protagonists, who get to have identities not at all anchored to their gender.
--Fat Robot

"Stylistically this is a masterpiece to behold. Slick and polished, Slow Bullets will please the palette of any reader of any genre, not just science fiction."
--Open Book Society

..".effortlessly genius and impossible for me to put down."
--Little Red Reviewer

"Slow Bullets is a confident read from Reynolds that will please fans and newcomers alike, and hopefully it will draw in new readers and encourage them to explore more of the writer's work. Highly Recommended."
--The Fictional Hangout

"The story that Slow Bullets became had me enthralled. . . . If science fiction, mystery, and political thrillers intrigue you, I highly recommend Slow Bullets."
--The Warbler

"I recommend Slow Bullets to all SF fans . . . It is a great addition to the genre, with all the conflict, science, technology and space that any SF could want in a novella."
--Always Trust in Books

"Slow Bullets is incredible, it is a superbly balanced story packed full of ideas and subtlety. It's also not only the finest of Reynolds work so far but it's one of the finest nuggets of science fiction you could read anywhere."
--SF Book Reviews

From the author of the Revelation Space series comes an interstellar adventure of war, identity, betrayal, and the preservation of civilization itself.

A vast conflict, one that has encompassed hundreds of worlds and solar systems, appears to be finally at an end. A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for humanity—peace is not to be.

On the brink of the ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.

Passengers—combatants from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.