Revelation Space

Revelation Space is a science fiction novel by the Welsh writer Alastair Reynolds, published in 2000. It was his first novel, and he came to it with an astronomer's training: he holds a doctorate in astronomy and spent more than a decade working for the European Space Agency.

The story is told in three strands that only come together as the book goes on. The first centres on Dan Sylveste and begins in 2551, with an archaeologist excavating the remains of the long-dead Amarantin race on Resurgam, a planet in the Delta Pavonis system. Over decades of work Sylveste finds evidence that the Amarantin may have been technologically sophisticated before their sun destroyed the life on their world.

The second strand follows Ilia Volyova aboard the Nostalgia for Infinity, a large interstellar ship whose skeleton crew are looking for Sylveste because they believe he can help their captain, who has been infected by the Melding Plague, a nanotech virus that attacks human cells and machine implants alike. A third strand joins the other two later. The novel was shortlisted for the BSFA Award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award.