Re-read: Aurora Rising

Many years ago I first read Aurora Rising under a different title, and I thought it was a police procedural. Re-reading years later, I will revise my opinion: this is as much of a science fiction adventure as anything Alaistair Reynolds has ever written.  The setting is the Glitterband, a cluster of 10,000+ habitats all running a common polling algorithm for democracy. Each little habitat gets to choose how they live, with some choosing tyranny (without limits), while others proud of their diligence about policy.

When a threat arises (from a rogue AI), Prefect Dreyfus starts chasing down leads and discovers ties to the past, including those of his deputies as well as his previous actions during a previous crisis.

The characters are great, though some of the technology seems deliberately set in some weird steampunk. (Search engines are called Search Turbines, and when they can crash in ways that actually destroy the hardware they’re running on). Encryption of privileged information is done via biochemistry, with an injection or some form of medicine that over time enables you to read the documents that were Encrypted.

I love how the reveals work --- you see the current situation and then only later discover how it came about. I enjoyed the gradual introduction of the previous crisis, as well as the ultimate solution.

Alastair Reynolds is always worth reading, and in this, re-reading. Recommended!