The Iron Tactician
by Alastair Reynolds
A novella.
A brand new stand-alone deep space adventure from Alastair Reynolds, featuring the author’s long-running character Merlin, who has previously appeared in “Merlin’s Gun” (1999), “Hideaway” (2000) and “Minla’s Flowers” (2007).
When Merlin encounters the derelict hulk of an old swallowship drifting in the middle of nowhere, he can't resist investigating. He soon finds himself involved in a situation that proves far more complex than he ever anticipated.
"Reynolds is one of our finest SF writers, creating a universe rich with detail and thrilling in scope." - Peter F. Hamilton
“Reynolds is a master of modern space opera...” - Publishers Weekly
“Minla’s Flowers is a touching, heartrending story...” - Booklist Review
“While it may be difficult to write grand space opera in short story form, it’s not impossible, and two linked stories, “Hideaway” and “Merlin’s Gun” show just how well it can be done.” - SFSite
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Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds (born in 1966 in Barry, Wales) is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera and noir toned stories.
Reynolds spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read Physics and Astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland. In 1991, he moved to Noordwijk in the Netherlands where he met his wife Josette (who is from France). There, he worked twelve years for the European Space Research and Technology Centre, part of the European Space Agency. About half of his time in ESA he spent working on S-Cam, the world's most advanced optical camera. In 2004 when he left ESA to pursue writing full time. He returned to Wales in 2008 and lives near Cardiff with his wife. They like horse riding, birds, long walks in the woods, good curries and old films.