When his brother disappears into a bizarre gateway on a London Underground escalator, failed artist Ed Rico and his brother’s wife Alice have to put aside their feelings for each other to go and find him. Their quest through the ‘arches’ will send them hurtling through time, to new and terrifying alien worlds.
Four hundred years in the future, Katherine Abdulov must travel to a remote planet in order to regain the trust of her influential family. The only person standing in her way is her former lover, Victor Luciano, the ruthless employee of a rival trading firm.
Hard choices lie ahead as lives and centuries clash and, in the unforgiving depths of space, an ancient evil stirs..
I’ve been waffling about books since way back in 2010. In that time, there have been a fair number of novels I’ve wanted desperately to read but, being a one-man band, I just didn’t have the opportunity to fit them into my busy schedule. The Recollection by Gareth L Powell is one such example. When I spotted that a 10th-anniversary edition was forthcoming I realised I finally had the chance to atone for my most grievous omission and read the book.
Centuries from now, Katherine Abdulov is the black sheep of her family. A series of bad decisions have left her in the middle of nowhere attempting to re-ignite what is left of her career as a starship’s captain. Her only choice, increasingly risky jobs that offer large rewards if you manage to live long enough to collect them.
Meanwhile, in the present-day, mysterious gateways have started to appear all over the world. When Ed Rico’s brother, Verne, disappears through one immediately after a particularly heated argument, Ed realises he needs to make things right. The only way to do that is to take a leap into the unknown and follow his brother.
Chapters alternate between Katherine and Ed’s story, and as the plot reveals itself, you begin to see how their respective journeys are destined to converge.
What of the Recollection itself? Well, it is a malevolent entity driven to subsume us all. A race against time begins, humanity has to fight back or die. All this makes for a genuinely exciting read. Characters are forced to make difficult choices for the greater good. This may sound horrible, but I kind of like to see my protagonists suffer a bit. It can help flesh out and humanise a character. If done well, as in this case, it adds real depth to a story.
Tonally I think The Recollection feels like a stripped-down version of Peter F Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn series. I should stress that this is the highest of compliments. I rate The Reality Dysfunction et al as some of the best science fiction I have ever read. The only real difference is that Powell’s novel is a standalone work while Hamilton’s is space opera of truly brain-melting size. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of both approaches. They each have their place. Sometimes I’m looking for a book so large I can get utterly lost in it, while other times I prefer something a bit leaner.
A quick internet search reveals that not only has Gareth L Powell written a science fiction trilogy that I must read, but he has also co-authored a novel with one Peter F Hamilton called Light Chaser. Even better, it is due out in August of this year. Talk about cosmic synchronicity. Here I am waffling about two brilliant authors and then, within minutes of jotting down my thoughts, I discover they’ve collaborated on a book together. It’s almost as if the internet is listening to every idle thought in my head and acting upon it. How very terrifying and yet marvellous at the same time.
The more ancient amongst you may remember, way back in the day, I made no secret of my fondness for Powell’s Ack-Ack Macaque trilogy*. It is pleasing to discover that The Recollection is just as good. I’ll happily admit part of me would be keen for the author to revisit this universe again in the future. I wouldn’t be averse to following Katherine on more adventures. If you are looking for a sci-fi read with plenty of twists and turns, then look no further.
The Recollection is published by Solaris and the anniversary edition is available from 27th April. Highly recommended.
My musical recommendation to accompany this novel is the suitably ambient electronica of the soundtrack to Archive by Steven Price. It all sounds very futuristic and science-fictiony, so feels like a good fit.
*C’mon! a gun-toting, cigar-smoking, banana daiquiri devouring World War II monkey fighter ace. How can you not love that?
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