Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Preston Reynoldsis a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland. In 1991, he moved to Noordwijk in the Netherlands where he met his wife Josette. There, he worked for the European Space Research and Technology Centreuntil 2004 when he left to pursue...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionAuthor
Date of Birth13 March 1966
I think I set myself on a course to become a scientist around about the time that Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' series was on television, and there really was no going back for me at that point, and then I went on to study space science and then get my Ph.D., then go aboard and work in the European Space Agency.
I always say that keeping abreast of science should never be seen as a chore. It should be something you do naturally. I don't sit there reading 'New Scientist,' putting post-it notes next to ideas.
I prioritise story over science, but not at the expense of being really stupid about it.
If there's a story I absolutely cannot tell without faster-than-light travel, then I am quite prepared to accept it - even though I don't personally believe it is possible.
I couldn't ever write a straight crime novel: there'd be an intrusion of weirdness at some point.
I am playing in a playground that's already been played in. I am always aware that a lot of the furniture in science fiction is second hand.
I'm not massively fond of right-wing nutters or war criminals.
I'm fascinated by steam engines and with Victorian engineering generally, and as a corollary to that, I'm fascinated by the idea of long-lived technologies.
I'm not a morning person: I can't function until I've had a coffee - or several.