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Detonation Boulevard
In a cosmic rally race winding 12,000 kilometers across Io’s treacherous surface in just 60 hours, all while dodging the competition, fatigue, and violent lava geysers—there’s only one way Cat knows how to Just drive.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
36 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 12, 2023
About the author
Alastair Reynolds
289 books8,739 followersI'm Al, I used to be a space scientist, and now I'm a writer, although for a time the two careers ran in parallel. I started off publishing short stories in the British SF magazine Interzone in the early 90s, then eventually branched into novels. I write about a novel a year and try to write a few short stories as well. Some of my books and stories are set in a consistent future named after Revelation Space, the first novel, but I've done a lot of other things as well and I like to keep things fresh between books.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
I was born in Wales, but raised in Cornwall, and then spent time in the north of England and Scotland. I moved to the Netherlands to continue my science career and stayed there for a very long time, before eventually returning to Wales.
In my spare time I am a very keen runner, and I also enjoying hill-walking, birdwatching, horse-riding, guitar and model-making. I also dabble with paints now and then. I met my wife in the Netherlands through a mutual interest in climbing and we married back in Wales. We live surrounded by hills, woods and wildlife, and not too much excitement.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
August 31, 2024
Excitingly thrilling, short, and sizzling crispy
!
The latest from my favorite author contains great world-building that's based on smart scientific speculation on the surface of Io coupled with a fast plot and great writing as usual.
I'm also delighted in discovering and announcing that he went bat 🦇 shit crazy with the mind-machine interface melds on this one. Tickled the geek bone perfectly so I'll highly recommend.
Disclaimer!!!
I might be a tad biased when it's Reynolds. 😁
The latest from my favorite author contains great world-building that's based on smart scientific speculation on the surface of Io coupled with a fast plot and great writing as usual.
I'm also delighted in discovering and announcing that he went bat 🦇 shit crazy with the mind-machine interface melds on this one. Tickled the geek bone perfectly so I'll highly recommend.
Disclaimer!!!
I might be a tad biased when it's Reynolds. 😁
July 18, 2023
Interesting setting, and the story takes a creepy and very unexpected turn into the realm of human/machine synthesis, however it happens quite late and there's hardly any time left for contemplating the very dark implications.
September 3, 2024
Great little story about ambition, compassion, friendship. Great setting too, Io with its geysers. I don't know if it was inspired or not by the pod race in Star Wars, but that's how I imagined it.
It can also be found on former Tor site:
https://reactormag.com/detonation-bou...
It can also be found on former Tor site:
https://reactormag.com/detonation-bou...
September 11, 2023
A high stakes car race on the moon Io. Competitive drivers with history with each other. A dangerous course. The high personal cost of the fame and money that comes with elite athletics. My only criticism is it ended abruptly and that was not satisfying.
July 4, 2024
"The start of a race – any race, anywhere in the system – was a beautiful spectacle. The tiered, pressurised grandstands leaned in above the grid, twenty stories high. The cars waited on their launch positions, huge as houses, bodies perched high on six balloon wheels. Technicians and race scrutineers fussed around them, adjusting parameters and checking for the tiniest rules infraction. A circus of journalists, sponsors, and celebs pressed in close to the pampered machines. Some drivers were already aboard, hunched and tiny in their blister cockpits, set high up and forward on the enormous vehicles. Others were scrambling up the access ladders between the monstrous wheels. On the cars’ bodies, a changing flicker of logos and slogans betrayed the twitchiness of advertisers, responding to the tiniest rumour or hint of nervy body language…. Cat Catling emerges to take her place in the second car on the grid! Catling, the relentless underdog in the metallic blue Bellatrix Beta, never a victor at the TransIonian, but racking up an impressive set of wins this season, from Venus to Titan. Can she extend her run of good fortune under the baleful face of Jupiter, or will Zimmer retain his crown for the eighth year running?"
There you have the big concept of the plot of Detonation Boulevard. Reynolds says that he is a “space scientist turned writer” and it is evident that he wants to convey what a race on a remote moon might be like.
"Io didn’t have the crushing pressure and acidic environment of Venus, nor the alloy-freezing chill of Titan. It lacked the dust-storms of Mars or the cracked, treacherous icescapes of Europa. What it did have was savage, unpredictable geology. As Io moved around Jupiter, gravity toyed with it like an executive’s stress ball. All that energy being pumped into its core had to go somewhere. It ended up percolating out into a sea of sub-surface lava, keeping it nicely molten and prone to sudden explosive eruptions. Io’s geysers were lethal, random timebombs. Hit one as it went off, and your race was over. You could play safe by keeping clear of the main eruption zones, but not if you wanted a shot at a podium finish."
He also dabbles in forecasting neuroscience.
"There’d been a lot of changes, for sure. In Joff’s day drivers had to stay awake by means of willpower, grit, and maybe the odd illegal substance. Now we had consciousness-management neural mods, staving off sleep for up to sixty hours by selectively de-emphasizing certain areas of brain function. We had tweaks for enhanced reaction time, low-light perception…"
This is a quite adequate short piece full of action and enough speculative science to satisfy most. Reynolds has set up some aspects for future stories and I am one who is going to be on the lookout for what racing might be on the molten and acidic surface of Venus and the contrasting sides of Mercury.
There you have the big concept of the plot of Detonation Boulevard. Reynolds says that he is a “space scientist turned writer” and it is evident that he wants to convey what a race on a remote moon might be like.
"Io didn’t have the crushing pressure and acidic environment of Venus, nor the alloy-freezing chill of Titan. It lacked the dust-storms of Mars or the cracked, treacherous icescapes of Europa. What it did have was savage, unpredictable geology. As Io moved around Jupiter, gravity toyed with it like an executive’s stress ball. All that energy being pumped into its core had to go somewhere. It ended up percolating out into a sea of sub-surface lava, keeping it nicely molten and prone to sudden explosive eruptions. Io’s geysers were lethal, random timebombs. Hit one as it went off, and your race was over. You could play safe by keeping clear of the main eruption zones, but not if you wanted a shot at a podium finish."
He also dabbles in forecasting neuroscience.
"There’d been a lot of changes, for sure. In Joff’s day drivers had to stay awake by means of willpower, grit, and maybe the odd illegal substance. Now we had consciousness-management neural mods, staving off sleep for up to sixty hours by selectively de-emphasizing certain areas of brain function. We had tweaks for enhanced reaction time, low-light perception…"
This is a quite adequate short piece full of action and enough speculative science to satisfy most. Reynolds has set up some aspects for future stories and I am one who is going to be on the lookout for what racing might be on the molten and acidic surface of Venus and the contrasting sides of Mercury.
October 4, 2023
Cat Catling es una piloto de carreras en una especie de rallies peligrosísimos que se realizan en los peores planetas y satélites. En este caso la carrera se va a efectuar en Io, una de las lunas de Júpiter, donde su máximo rival vuelve a ser Zimmer, un veterano ganador.
Buen relato del gran Alastair Reynolds, donde la historia avanza a través de los personajes y la carrera en disputa, en una acción casi ininterrumpida. Interesante sobre todo que los pilotos disponen de partes cibernéticas para poder ir más al límite.
Buen relato del gran Alastair Reynolds, donde la historia avanza a través de los personajes y la carrera en disputa, en una acción casi ininterrumpida. Interesante sobre todo que los pilotos disponen de partes cibernéticas para poder ir más al límite.
August 4, 2023
3.5 stars 🌟...
February 7, 2024
4.5/5
An excellent short story. The ending is chilling and perfect.
Free to read (legally) here: https://reactormag.com/detonation-bou...
An excellent short story. The ending is chilling and perfect.
Free to read (legally) here: https://reactormag.com/detonation-bou...
July 12, 2023
Awesome short about a race on Io!
Wow!!! This short story has tons of heart! It felt like I was living it every step of the way! Truly awesome!
Wow!!! This short story has tons of heart! It felt like I was living it every step of the way! Truly awesome!
July 18, 2023
Stars: 3 out of 5.
I was a bit distracted by the abrupt change of tone halfway through this story. It started like a heart-pounding high stakes race that was all on board for... and ended up as a statement about the evil of losing one's humanity to machines. Maybe? Not quite sure what the author actually wanted to say with that.
Both topics would have worked great as a story, but mashed together they fell flat, at least for me.
I was a bit distracted by the abrupt change of tone halfway through this story. It started like a heart-pounding high stakes race that was all on board for... and ended up as a statement about the evil of losing one's humanity to machines. Maybe? Not quite sure what the author actually wanted to say with that.
Both topics would have worked great as a story, but mashed together they fell flat, at least for me.
January 14, 2024
Why do I have the sudden urge to get a really good corndog and watch a Monster Truck rally?
I didn't even have to suspend disbelief - humans would definitely install racetrack circuits connecting to otherplanets and moons if (when) we manage to take off from earth without a hitch
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Sixty hours driving?! I can't even deal with a 40 minute drive. And that (besides lack of racing talent) is why I am no schoemaker or Raikkonen. Zimmet and Catling on the other hand, talk about insane, courageous, ludicrous and entertaining.
Character Development/Favorite Character:
Felt like I was in the crowd, snacks in hand, cool beverage splashing out the bottle. Cheering as Shogi made it past the geyser, exclaiming in horror as Mittendorfer was blown out the sky, sighing in relief as his ejection pod activated and standing ovation when the winner eventually got onto the pidium.
It was thrilling.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene: :
Zimmer the "Almost-Machine" pleading with Cat Catlin in the middle of a crater in the heart of Detonation Boulevard.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “winning on Io mattered more than anywhere else in the system. It might not be the race that decided a tournament, but it was the one that forged legends.” (Catling on Jupiter's moon)
🖤 “The future only existed as far as the next corner, the next breaking zone.” (Rufus on time)
🖤 “The sponsors liked an underdog. They liked a winner even more.A Good Samaritan? Not so much.” (Catlin on bravery)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■Space Sponsors and Advertising
■ Ejection Cockpit pods.
■Consciousness-management neural mods. I need one yesterday.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2025
I didn't even have to suspend disbelief - humans would definitely install racetrack circuits connecting to otherplanets and moons if (when) we manage to take off from earth without a hitch
Plot/Storyline/Themes:
Sixty hours driving?! I can't even deal with a 40 minute drive. And that (besides lack of racing talent) is why I am no schoemaker or Raikkonen. Zimmet and Catling on the other hand, talk about insane, courageous, ludicrous and entertaining.
Character Development/Favorite Character:
Felt like I was in the crowd, snacks in hand, cool beverage splashing out the bottle. Cheering as Shogi made it past the geyser, exclaiming in horror as Mittendorfer was blown out the sky, sighing in relief as his ejection pod activated and standing ovation when the winner eventually got onto the pidium.
It was thrilling.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Scene: :
Zimmer the "Almost-Machine" pleading with Cat Catlin in the middle of a crater in the heart of Detonation Boulevard.
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Quotes:
🖤 “winning on Io mattered more than anywhere else in the system. It might not be the race that decided a tournament, but it was the one that forged legends.” (Catling on Jupiter's moon)
🖤 “The future only existed as far as the next corner, the next breaking zone.” (Rufus on time)
🖤 “The sponsors liked an underdog. They liked a winner even more.A Good Samaritan? Not so much.” (Catlin on bravery)
Favorite/Curious/Ludicrous/Unique Concepts:
■Space Sponsors and Advertising
■ Ejection Cockpit pods.
■Consciousness-management neural mods. I need one yesterday.
StoryGraph Challenge: 1800 Books by 2025
Challenge Prompt: 150 Short Stories by 2025
July 18, 2023
Another solid short story from Alastair Reynolds, shifting gears (no pun intended) to a story about an interplanetary racing series in house-sized monster trucks. This brief tale does what he is so good at, telling a complete tale with compelling characters that also leaves you thoughtful at the end with a strong social question: what really matters to us life, and what price are we willing to pay for fame and glory?
June 8, 2024
It’s Podracing, but with wheels!
Wait. That might just be racing. Still it reads more like Podracing, but with wheels. So you’ll have to indulge me on this.
Alastair Reynolds is probably my favorite writer that I’m not really reading much of. That might also sound a little odd, but I’ve not been reading him, however, I would count him in my top 5 of any list of my most favorite authors.
And what may sound oddest of all is that I’m reviewing a piece of his work while mentioning that I’m not reading him, but honestly, this is pretty short, and I also read it a year ago.
As it stands, from what I remember about this is that it’s pretty good.
here is my AI generated Song that’s a summary and maybe a little review:
HERE IS MY SONG
Wait. That might just be racing. Still it reads more like Podracing, but with wheels. So you’ll have to indulge me on this.
Alastair Reynolds is probably my favorite writer that I’m not really reading much of. That might also sound a little odd, but I’ve not been reading him, however, I would count him in my top 5 of any list of my most favorite authors.
And what may sound oddest of all is that I’m reviewing a piece of his work while mentioning that I’m not reading him, but honestly, this is pretty short, and I also read it a year ago.
As it stands, from what I remember about this is that it’s pretty good.
here is my AI generated Song that’s a summary and maybe a little review:
HERE IS MY SONG
July 27, 2024
On a Short Fuse
Enjoyable short story about a race that is organized in the most hostile environments the Solar System can cough up. This time on Io, the moon of Jupiter. The only requirement is that there must be gravity, since the race is done with big all-terrain cars. Also, as with Formula One, there are strict rules about the cars and their pilots.
I really wish Reynolds could’ve fleshed this out into a proper novel, because the story is painfully short.
I enjoyed it though.
The Kindle version is properly formatted, and I found no mistakes.
Full score. Five stars.
Enjoyable short story about a race that is organized in the most hostile environments the Solar System can cough up. This time on Io, the moon of Jupiter. The only requirement is that there must be gravity, since the race is done with big all-terrain cars. Also, as with Formula One, there are strict rules about the cars and their pilots.
I really wish Reynolds could’ve fleshed this out into a proper novel, because the story is painfully short.
I enjoyed it though.
The Kindle version is properly formatted, and I found no mistakes.
Full score. Five stars.
September 10, 2023
Quaint little tale, just a few dozen pages; not great (no great ideas, plot is almost non-existing, characters shallow as paper figures), but not too bad either. Totally disconnected from any of the author's series; perhaps some connection would have given it a background and therefore more depth.
Its shortness at least makes it a quick read. My rating: 3/5.
Its shortness at least makes it a quick read. My rating: 3/5.
October 23, 2023
During a race that requires the racers to circumnavigate Io, the satellite of Jupiter, one racer does the unthinkable and tries to help another racer. That would cause the racer to reevaluate just what is important to her as a human and the nature of what the race does to them: for the racers are all enhanced, or 'repaired', after racing accidents. At what point do the enhancements make a racer less than human?
October 28, 2024
I was looking on Reactormag.com for short stories to read with my students in class when I stumbled across one of my favourite authors. Of course I had to check it out, and of course it was amazing. A car race on the moon of Io between heavily augmented humans? What's not to like! But still Reynolds manages to surprise with the human elements as well, with is his strong suit in my opinion, blending cool sci-fi ideas with flawed humans.
May 29, 2024
A great read but it’s really a short story, I don’t consider it a book.
October 24, 2023
Hoped for more from this. Short story with a racing premise but a pretty solid underplot which could easily have underpinned a short novel, rather than 30-odd pages. There was lots to develop, so it's a bit of a shame.
July 17, 2023
Cat Catling is one of the top rally racers in the solar system, but she's never won the course on the treacherous terrain of the Jovian moon Io. She hopes to change that this time around, but her rival Zimmer - who wins every year - stands in her way. The two hold a wide lead over the rest of the pack when Zimmer decides to take his car through a deadly, geyser-strewn stretch of the course known as Detonation Boulevard. Cat makes the split second decision to follow him. What happens there takes everything she thought she knew about her life and career and turns it on its head.
It's unusual to describe a story that runs on near non-stop action as "character-driven", but that's what we have here. Reynolds plies us with the usual sports story sentiments like honor and glory and guts, etc., then offers us a more sinister take on the demands such competitions can make on the minds and bodies of the participants. It all ends on a jarringly cynical note that took a minute for me to digest, but I see now it was the right choice to make for this story. (p.s. nice shout out to The Sisters of Mercy)
It's unusual to describe a story that runs on near non-stop action as "character-driven", but that's what we have here. Reynolds plies us with the usual sports story sentiments like honor and glory and guts, etc., then offers us a more sinister take on the demands such competitions can make on the minds and bodies of the participants. It all ends on a jarringly cynical note that took a minute for me to digest, but I see now it was the right choice to make for this story. (p.s. nice shout out to The Sisters of Mercy)
July 30, 2023
Take two of my favourite things and my favourite author and what do you get? Formula 1 in space with cyborgs, and who doesn’t love a Sisters of Mercy Reference?
From a Formula 1 perspective, there’s so much there. Reynolds explains how, in this universe, there are different races on different bodies in the solar system. He alludes to some of the sports biggest questions from how much technology is used, to the role sponsors and money play to some of the politics around which teams are favoured and what benefits they may get to stay in the sport.
He explores a bigger question through the drivers as well.
This is a short story, so I read it in two sittings. There definitely could be a larger novel here, but I suspect there won’t be. If you’ve an hour or two to spare, give Detonation Boulevard (which I can only hear in my head in Andrew Edritch’s voice) a read!
From a Formula 1 perspective, there’s so much there. Reynolds explains how, in this universe, there are different races on different bodies in the solar system. He alludes to some of the sports biggest questions from how much technology is used, to the role sponsors and money play to some of the politics around which teams are favoured and what benefits they may get to stay in the sport.
He explores a bigger question through the drivers as well.
This is a short story, so I read it in two sittings. There definitely could be a larger novel here, but I suspect there won’t be. If you’ve an hour or two to spare, give Detonation Boulevard (which I can only hear in my head in Andrew Edritch’s voice) a read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 26, 2024
Reynolds the GOAT
In the 20th century there was once an entire ecosphere of science fiction writers jockeying for position in the hearts, minds and libraries of science fiction fans. In the 21st century we basically just have Alastair Reynolds, however time has shown us that it's not a bad tradeoff. In this small 35 page story of a breathless (so to speak) race across the surface of Io, we have the entire gamut of humanity's past, present and future represented in the plot, along with the breakneck adventure story that is that main focus of the narrative. There's hubris, greed and recklessness, but also the compassion, ambition and the urge to go further, as well as the price we pay to do so. Highly recommended, and while normally I'd say two dollars is a bit steep for 35 pages, this time we're getting our money's worth.
In the 20th century there was once an entire ecosphere of science fiction writers jockeying for position in the hearts, minds and libraries of science fiction fans. In the 21st century we basically just have Alastair Reynolds, however time has shown us that it's not a bad tradeoff. In this small 35 page story of a breathless (so to speak) race across the surface of Io, we have the entire gamut of humanity's past, present and future represented in the plot, along with the breakneck adventure story that is that main focus of the narrative. There's hubris, greed and recklessness, but also the compassion, ambition and the urge to go further, as well as the price we pay to do so. Highly recommended, and while normally I'd say two dollars is a bit steep for 35 pages, this time we're getting our money's worth.
August 9, 2023
Alastair is back with one of his great little stories.
This time Alastair has conjured up a racing league where the races circumnavigate small moons and such within the solar system. This is about one race, the race around Io, one of Jupiter's moons. Super geologically active, you'd have to be insane to be racing around this. It kind of reminds me of all the old stories of early motor racing, before actual race tracks and before the FIA came along and sanitized everything.
So if you like a good motor racing story, or like Alastair's short fiction, you'll enjoy this one.
Now i go back to eagerly awaiting Alastair's next book.
Bye for now.
This time Alastair has conjured up a racing league where the races circumnavigate small moons and such within the solar system. This is about one race, the race around Io, one of Jupiter's moons. Super geologically active, you'd have to be insane to be racing around this. It kind of reminds me of all the old stories of early motor racing, before actual race tracks and before the FIA came along and sanitized everything.
So if you like a good motor racing story, or like Alastair's short fiction, you'll enjoy this one.
Now i go back to eagerly awaiting Alastair's next book.
Bye for now.
October 5, 2023
I really liked the race aspect of the story. I thought there would be more to it eventually, since I don't actually see many shorts on Tor.com that are so simple, and I was right. It took a human vs. machine turn that was a little abrupt and unsatisfyingly explored. The ending is ambiguous, but I thought it still worked.
Also bugging me, because the name of the author is so familiar, that I must have read something else by him. But as far as I can tell, I might just be associating him with Love, Death, and Robots short I really liked.
Also bugging me, because the name of the author is so familiar, that I must have read something else by him. But as far as I can tell, I might just be associating him with Love, Death, and Robots short I really liked.
August 3, 2023
Reynolds takes the race between two leading drivers into the intergalactic future but does so to say something about present day humanity. It’s not a world shattering revelation possibly not the most engaging story, but at 37 pages it certainly merits one’s attention. Alistair Reynolds is one of the few sci fi writers who rarely fails for me and who is always worth reading. An hour well spent! The story is available for a free read on Tor.com.
September 15, 2023
This story has my favorite setting at the moment: Io. It's brutal and spine-chilling race, with the inner battle between the human and the augmentation. The ending, where MC is starting to justify her action... simply maginificent. Lol, you can say what you will about stopping a rotten system, but when you are part of the system (and you benefit from it), to borrow Ruff's words, "See how you feel when you have your hands on that trophy."
Great one!
Great one!
July 17, 2023
Like many, I’ve followed AR since I picked up Revelation Space back in the early 2000s. His stories have kept me up late for decades, this short is no different. While only an hour or so to read, AR manages to paints a rich picture of the atmosphere around a race. If you want to know more, read it :-)
It’s a great story, if you’re a fan already I doubt you’d need my recommendation to add this to your collection. If you’re not yet a fan, you’re in for a real treat.
It’s a great story, if you’re a fan already I doubt you’d need my recommendation to add this to your collection. If you’re not yet a fan, you’re in for a real treat.
November 12, 2023
Another Reynolds masterpiece
Alastair always manages to transport you to wherever he sets his tale. His characters are fully formed, the scenes crafted as if they had always been there and the rollercoaster takes you out of wherever you are and wraps you up in it.
Wonderful short story.
Alastair always manages to transport you to wherever he sets his tale. His characters are fully formed, the scenes crafted as if they had always been there and the rollercoaster takes you out of wherever you are and wraps you up in it.
Wonderful short story.
January 25, 2024
Speed Racer in space.
A moon race takes a dangerous turn in this speedy tale. Reynolds aptly writes racing narrative complete with cocksure competitors and their quips and zings. Unfortunately he speeds past the emotional payoff at the end. It's sometimes nice to take the scenic route rather than the highway.
A moon race takes a dangerous turn in this speedy tale. Reynolds aptly writes racing narrative complete with cocksure competitors and their quips and zings. Unfortunately he speeds past the emotional payoff at the end. It's sometimes nice to take the scenic route rather than the highway.
February 6, 2024
Didn’t expect this story to touch me as it did. An endurance race on volcanic Io pits two rival drivers in a fight to the last breath. With side blows to sports commercialization and to how far one would go (reminded me of Reynolds’ own Diamond Dogs), Reynolds delivers a fast paced though very thoughtful short story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews