Two very interesting novellas.

First one is for all means and purposes story of obsessive compulsive behavior. When two old friends, adventurers with quite a renown, encounter a series of deadly puzzles they just start obsessing over it. Nebulous prize awaits them, but losses suffered seem to indicate that prize might not be worth it.Or at least sane people would see this from the beginning. Story old as human race, quest for the Holy Grail, with assumed prize, wealth, glory, immortality - assumed...... what if the prize is one of the mentioned things but with the unexpected twist (like that knight from Indiana Jones story that is immortal but cannot move anywhere, so what is the point, living forever in cave alone)?

Story is very much inline with the cyber-bio-punk motives from Revelation Space series. Story is straight forward, with several twists and very very cinematic in presentation.

Second story (Turquoise Days) is more relaxed one, told from the perspective of one of the scientist on rather isolated human colony. Colony is known as a place where Pattern Jugglers, remainders of ancient civilization, cover and spread through entire seas and even grow so large that they come to surface and form atolls. Due to saturation of atmosphere and waters with the alien microorganisms local human colonists have very deep knowledge and experience of melding their minds with these entities that some suspect are nothing more than biological data storage. So when unexpected visitors pop up, with agenda of their own and parties within them start to release destructive alien pathogens our protagonist will find herself not only being chased by past but also witnessing rise of something strange, monstrous even, thing of legends, necessary repellent to outside attack. How one can come to terms with alien mindset that is so old, that for it human colonists are nothing more than passing entertainment?

Ending is little bit melancholic, poetic, but considering the state of affairs I do not see how it could end any other way.

All in all very interesting collection, two very different novellas, linked with possibly aeons between them, showing how universe is very very dark and ultimately unfriendly (or better yet in general not caring). Vast Terra Incognita that humanity can only learn about in small, ridiculously small steps lasting centuries.

Recommended to fans of SF adventure and mystery. ( )

Unerringly well written. Both characters and plot in Diamond Dogs, I never really connected with.
Turquoise Days felt similarly humdrum until the concluding scenes, when my connection with the story escalated satisfyingly.
Worth reading, but not essential. ( )

I ought to be a big Alastair Reynolds fan. PHe has physics and astronomy training, writes a lot of space opera, with nanotech, ancient civilizations, and kilometers-long relativistic spacecraft crossing between stars; just my thing.

This volume collects two novellas set in his Revelation Space series. In "Diamond Dogs" the protagonist is tempted by an old friend/rival to meet the challenge of a fantastic structure on a distant planet. Progress through the serially arranged rooms of the Blood Spire is achieved by solving increasing tough mathematical problems. Choosing the right solution opens the door to the next room. The wrong solution draws attack from hidden weapons. The expedition members must repeatedly retreat to their spacecraft to replace missing body parts with prosthetics, before they can go back in. As the explorers' bodies become increasingly artificial, the protagonist wonders just why he is doing this.

In the second story, the planet Turquoise is mostly covered by an ocean which hosts a complex ecology of organisms humans call Pattern Jugglers. Swimming among them allows telepathic contact. The human settlers comprise a scientific backwater, engaged in a slow paced research project into the Jugglers, until a spacecraft arrives with sweeping plans for change.

As with other Reynolds stories, I find these lacking. He is as inventive in this genre as one might want, but the vividness of his descriptions disappoints. It's had to pin down, exactly, but I've yet to be enthusiastic about any of his work. ( )

Two great stories that tie into the Revelation Space universe. Only criticisms are a few jarring parts to the stories, and some loose ends at the end of each story. ( )

Meh. ( )