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posted by admin on May 21

I know that if you’re reading this you are more than likely a diehard fan of science fiction.  In a world full of hit sci-fi movies, books, and extra terrestrial beings it’s kind of hard not to be!  In this article we are going to take a look at one of the most known science fiction authors Alastair Reynolds.  We’re going to discuss his past, present and what you can expect from him in the future!

Alastair Reynolds was born on January 1, 1966 in Barry, Wales.  As a child he spent his early years in Cornwall but he did wind up venturing back to his hometown of Wales.  Reynolds pursued a degree in astronomy at Newcastle then went on to obtain his PhD from St. Andrews, Scotland in 1991 and as a grad student he wrote his first four published science fiction short stories between the years of 1989 and 1991.  These stories debuted from 1990-1992 and his first sale was to the magazine, Interzone.  Upon graduation Reynolds moved from Scotland to the Netherlands and began to work for the European Space Agency, also known as ESA.

In Reynolds tenure at ESA he spent half of his time there working with the S-Cam, which is the world’s most advanced optical camera.  He spent the next sixteen years there in the Netherlands working as a scientist until he returned to Wales in 2008.  After his stint as a scientist he decided to become a writer fulltime.  Over his writing career Reynolds has penned 10 novels and about 50 short stories.  Reynolds is said to have been “writing stories since he could hold a felt tip”.

Becoming the distinguished author he is did not come easy for Reynolds.  Many people think that with writing you strike oil with your first novel, but this is not the case, even for the greats.  The first few stories that Reynolds actually submitted in between the years of 1991 and 1995 were actually rejected.  However that streak of bad luck ended in 1995 when the story “Bird Land Six” was published.  Reynolds says this period marked the beginning of a more serious phase of his writing.  Reynolds’ science fiction writings are influenced by his background as a scientist and though he doesn’t believe faster than light travel will ever be possible, he allows his vast imagination to run wild in his novels and stories.

A few of Reynolds works include the “Revelation Space Series” which comprises of 5 novels, 2 novellas and 8 short stories.  There is also “Century Rain”, “Pushing Ice”, “The Prefect”, and “House of Suns”.  Alastair Reynolds fans can expect two new releases in the near future with “Blue Remembered Earth” set for release in January of 2012 and the Doctor Who novel “Harvest of Time” featuring Jon Pertwee’s Doctor, JO Grant and the Master will be released in 2013.  To keep up with Alastair Reynold’s updates you can visit his website at www.voxish.tripod.com.  So there you have it sci-fi lovers, a complete look at the man behind all the novels that you enjoy reading, Alastair Reynolds!  Happy reading!