Zima Blue by Alastair Reynolds
Might contain spoilers.
I don’t generally like short story collections. The stories always feel as if they end just as they’re getting interesting. Of course, the advantage is that they can carry a varied set of ideas and concepts, and if one isn’t to your liking, the next might be.
Fortunately, I quite liked this particular collection. All (or at least most of) the stories present universes with long histories that have seen thousands or millions of years of humanity come and go. Many of them deal in compelling ways with time and the effects of relativity, too. I like the associations between the Way in Merlin’s three stories and the routes in Beyond the Aquila Rift, as well.
Digital to Analogue is certainly the weakest, with much less to it than most of the others. In contrast, it’s hard for me to pick a favourite between Merlin’s Gun and Enola, both of which are especially gripping.
I bought Revelation Space at the same time, so I looked forward to reading something more substantial by Alastair Reynolds afterwards.