On Alastair Reynold's 'Minla's Flowers'

Recently Alstair Reynolds won my admiration with his story ‘Minla’s Flower’. This story, or novelette if you want, is for me the story of Reynoldses’ which, whenever I think of his work, I say to myself “But where the hell did THAT story come from?”

The story reminds me of DH Lawrence’s Odour of Chrysanthemum’s, but it’s more complex. It definitely transcends the genre boundary of science fiction; I don’t even know what to call it. Catastrophe fiction? Existential fiction? Tragedy? Buggered if I know what to limit it to.

I was wrong about Mr Reynolds. I admit it. He is a very talented writer. A very very gifted man. And ‘Minla’s Flowers’ is a rare but perfect masterpiece of his.