Talk:Pushing Ice

plot synopsis
The plot synopsis doesn't explain how the far-future story relates to the rest of the plot. I have vague recollections of how it all works out, but it's been too long since I read it. Someone with more familiarity care to fill that out? Justin Bacon (talk) 06:06, 19 July 2010 (UTC)

I have tagged the "Plot synopsis" section as POV, since it refers to this book as "great science fiction" without any substantiating evidence. 69.24.165.239 02:40, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Is this novel set in the revelation space universe? The people here have the beginnings of neural implant technology, but it's set too close to our own time to tell.

I wouldn't say that it is placed the Revelation Space universe because as you know from the Chasm City novel, that by 2050 the five colonization-ships of the "flotilla" (is this the English term? I just know the German title "Flottille", the ones with Sky Haussmann) leave the Earth system. The political system is a strong capitalism but as these ships leave Earth there is war. Also it is mentioned in the book that the Rockhopper is the first ship to leave the Earth system but this is paradoxal to the colonization ships leaving the Earth system before the Janus event. de:Benutzer:Nanocyte --84.166.217.23 19:36, 23 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Good point- I haven't actually read Chasm City yet, so I didn't know about the flotilla (yes, I think it's an English word). It could be a continuity error (wouldn't be the first- Reynolds has admitted to contradictions within the existing timeline before- what they actually are eludes me), or perhaps the Rockhopper was the first to leave with people on it actually awake. Still, I think you may be right. Even if this was set in the same universe, it obviously has no bearing on events in it (I also think that Reynolds may just be recycling the same old ideas- one of the stories in the Zima Blue connection, which is outside the Revelation space universe, has things that alter your neural configuration- just like the pattern jugglers). Also none of the RevSpace books mention the events of pushing ice. (to the best of my knowledge) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.30.132.2 (talk • contribs).
 * 84.166.217.23 Is correct, this is not part of the Revalation Space universe, as the chronology is different. Alex Heinz 01:23, 9 November 2007 (UTC)


 * The novel is not set in the Revelation Space universe. In that universe, alien life is fairly common with a dozen or so species contacted by around 3000 while in Pushing Ice there have been no alien contacts by around 20000.  The summary is incorrect stating that Bella exiles Svetlana.  The point is made in the book explicitly that she does not.  She merely marginalises her.  Svetlana spends her time away from the main settlement through choice, and is able to visit whenever she wishes.  The phrase 'The rejuvenation lasts forever' is misleading, as the rejuvenation simply resets the ageing process, it does not prevent it (so rejuvenating to a physical age of 20 means that you will have a physical age of 70 50 years later).  Also misleading is 'undergo rejuvenation to make themselves look younger' which implies that rejuvenation is akin to plastic surgery and only affects the appearance of age, rather than the deeper effects.  Similarities to other works should include a reference to Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series.  In the first of these, a space ship has to drop its current task (which, I believe, was also comet mining) and  rendezvous with an alien spacecraft for a short period.  In the second book, a group finds itself trapped aboard the second craft (just as happens in Pushing Ice). --David Chisnall (talk) 14:08, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Themes and Similarities to Other Works of Science Fiction
"The concept of a spacecraft being propelled by relativistic forces is also seen in the novel Earth by David Brin, published fifteen years earlier."

What does this mean? Are they referring to the Rockhopper's drive, which appears to be some sort of fusion powered ion drive? OK, still theoretical, but not really relativistic. Or is it a reference to Janus' propulsion system, which is unexplained but appears to drag nearby objects along with it. In which case, this idea is at least as old as Arthur C Clarke's 'Rendezvous With Rama' (18 years before Brin's book), and probably even older. What is meant by a 'relativistic drive' anyway? Gravitational drive might be a better description (and is just about as meaningful!).

Thinking about it, 'Rendezvous With Rama' is a better comparison; Reynolds just takes it a step further - what if the exploration team never got away from Rama? Halmyre (talk) 19:50, 18 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I too was struck by the similarities with Rama. That is not to say I think the book is in any way a copy of that story, it is a very different story indeed. 66.75.66.240 (talk) 09:00, 31 January 2012 (UTC)

Factual errors in synopsis
It has been a couple of years since I read this but I see some statements in the synopsis which dramatically disagree with my memory of the details of the book... Anybody have the book handy to confirm these points ? 66.75.66.240 (talk) 09:27, 31 January 2012 (UTC)
 * "Rockhopper, a spacecraft used for mining cometary ice." -- I remember this as local asteroids, not comets.
 * "Musk Dogs that will infect the colony" -- I remember nothing about any infection, the Musk Dogs were basically going to trick the colonists into giving them permission to access Janus.
 * "Pictures from her ship reveal the structure to be a Torus the size of a planetary system" -- Just because the center was missing/destroyed does not make the structure a torus. I remember the megastructure being described as a semi-random matrix of tubes. My personal impression was that it was sort of like a 3-dimensional airport, with thousands of interstellar runways facing in various directions, each designed to receive one or more Janus like craft from a different star system.
 * Can't remember if it's comets or asteroids - the title of the novel would suggest the former, but the name of the spaceship suggests the latter. I agree that the Musk Dogs are only interested in access to Janus, they're not out to 'infect' the colony. And regarding your final point, I seem to recall that the megastructure was described as a sort of tubular latticework, sounding (to me) similar to the framework for a large reflecting telescope. Halmyre (talk) 16:34, 31 January 2012 (UTC)