This is the third book of his that I have read, the previous two having been Galactic North and Chasm City. Both of those were great, so I decided to pick up another before heading off to Malaysia and Indonesia.
Similar to the other two books, the plot is convoluted and suspenseful, making full utilization of the hard-he-can-manage sci-fi concepts existing in Alastair's world. The Prefect is interesting, exciting, and somewhat gut-wrenching at times (I'm looking at you, Jane).
The Prefect is also escapes on of the most common problems with science fiction: Explaining things. (Fantasy can have this problem if the writer feels like it.)
You see, most characters who grew up in a world generally manage to have it make sense to them. Since we don't live in that world, things don't make sense to us. Therefore, some authors feel they should explain everything. This can be explaining everything, be Explaining Everything, or be EXPLAINING EVERYTHING. However, taking time to explain things causes problem for any sort of narrative: Short essays embedded in the story cause problems.
On the other side, hand-waving everything would really just be fantasy, not science-fiction.
Reynold tends towards giving a name and maybe a short summary, but then having his explanation only exist in what's relevant to the characters, what the characters think about, and what happens.
He also manages to steer clear of anything that expressedly violates the laws of physics, or at least only violate them on a scale that the technology of the setting would be able to reasonably circumvent them. Additionally, and just as important, everything has a relatively sensible and utilitarian design.
Which brings me to the setting. Alastair uses a single setting--Revelation Space--for his novels, and it is pretty darn complex. It's future history, starting in the foreseeable future (far enough to avoid science marching on, and continuing through the imaginable future to the end of the future (Stinking Greenfly...). Unlike the previous two books I read, The Prefect is set in the height of human civilization, on the hub of human civilization, on the orbital habitats utilized by the elite of society. This means that things get very, very exotic, especially due to the freedom loving nature of demarchist rule. Very interesting things are encounters.
I think I'm degressing.
The plot is complicated, but strong, and I approve. The characters are varied and interesting, and I approve*. The setting is gorgeous and well-thought, and I approve.
Really, I approve of the book all around. Very good for those folks who like sci-fi novels that avoid sacrificing being a novel for being sci-fi. Still good for everyone else.
*: The titular Prefect, Tom Dreyfus** is a bit of a canon sue. He is, as referenced by the characters in the story, pretty much the perfect Prefect. Not perfect in always victorious, or hopelessly overpowered, but perfect in a flawless-action sort of way. They do what they can while they can. However, I managed to completely overlook this until some stuff in the story went horribly wrong for the protagonists, and I saw the other characters taking the lead and messing up. When things got better (this is a highly relative term), I was too filled with satisfaction to care.
**: I could help but notice the last name from my historical knowledge. Seems unlikely that he would wind up with the same name. Demerits for contrived naming. On the other hand, it works well.
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