After years of putting it off I’ve finally decided to delve in to Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space future histories. I don’t partake on these extended literary journeys lightly. I first read Revelation Space when it came out in 2000. When I concluded the final chapter it was glaringly obvious that it was the first part of a trilogy or series. I liked the work quite a bit and deemed that this was a universe I wanted to delve in to more so I put it back on my overloaded shelves . . . and waited. Why? Because I find it hard to immerse myself in settings/stories that get stretched over multiple decades in the telling. I’d rather have all works complete and accessible before diving in.   See: The Wheel of Time series which took 23 years to complete, and sits on my shelf, now, at long last, ready to be read.

It’s just an odd idiosyncrasy I have.

Thirteen years later it looks like it’s safe to delve back in to this future history as Reynolds has moved on to his Blue Remembered Earth setting and appears to be done (for now) with his Revelation Space writing. The next question is: In what order do I read these works? I decided to tackle the 5 short stories, 8 novellas, and 6 novels in chronological order, as opposed to published order.  With a little research I was able to map out the Revelation Space chronology.  Some of the years may not be exact, but I believe the order is correct.

The Revelation Space Books:

   
The Prefect Dreyfus Series

        
Standalone novels/novellas/short stories

         
The Inhibitor Trilogy (aka Revelation Space Trilogy)

The Revelation Space Map:

The Revelation Space Chronology:

Red – denotes full length standalone novel.
Blue – denotes Revelation Space Trilogy novel (a.k.a. The Inhibitor Trilogy).
Green – denotes novella.
Black – denotes short story.
* – denotes recommended (but not required) pre-reading for Revelation Space Trilogy.
** – denotes recommended (but not required) reading after Absolution Gap.
*** – A Prefect Dreyfus Emergency novel/story.

Click through on the story titles for full reviews.

STORY	YEAR(S)	CONTAINED IN	MY RATING
Great Wall of Mars *	2205	Galactic North
Glacial *	2217	Galactic North
A Spy in Europa	2330-40	Galactic North
Weather	2358	Galactic North
Aurora Rising ***	2427	Aurora Rising
Open and Shut ***	2427	Gollanz website	TBD
Elysium Fire ***	2429	Elysium Fire
Diamond Dogs	2500-50	Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Monkey Suit	2511	Deep Navigation
Dilation Sleep	2513-40	Galactic North
Chasm City *	2517-24	Chasm City
Grafenwalder’s Bestiary	2540	Galactic North
Turquoise Days	2541	Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Revelation Space	2524-67	Revelation Space
The Last Log of the Lachrimosa	c. 2500s	Subterranean Press
Nightingale	2600	Galactic North
Redemption Ark	2605-51	Redemption Ark
Absolution Gap	2675-3000	Absolution Gap
Galactic North **	2303-40000	Galactic North

(Update)

Here’s a timeline infographic I ran across on Facebook.  I don’t know the origin as it was uploaded and not linked.  Regardless, it’s a good graphical representation of the timeline.  Note that it’s missing The Last Log of the Lachrimosa, and the short stories from Galactic North are not laid out where they should be on the timeline.

Enjoy!

More Spaces to Explore . . .

Revelation Space Reading Order Review: Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds Review: Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds