Episode 284: Alastair Reynolds, Revenger and the Far, Far Future

This week we are joined by the estimable Alastair Reynolds, celebrating the publication of his new space-pirate adventure tale Revenger and his collaboration with Stephen Baxter, The Medusa Chronicles.  We also discuss the attraction many SF readers and writers have for maritime adventures, the influence and heritage of Arthur C. Clarke (as well as Asimov and Heinlein), the impact of cyberpunk on space opera and other later SF, and the question of whether the solar system is enormous enough on its own to be the setting for space operas involving thousands of worlds and habitats—as it seems to be in Revenger. As always, we'd like to thank Al for making the time to talk to us, and we hope you enjoy the episode.