Revelation Space Books in Order
The Revelation Space books are a dark, epic space opera set centuries in the future, in a galaxy without faster-than-light travel. Humanity has spread to other stars, but a plague that corrupts machines and flesh has devastated its greatest city, and an ancient force waits to wipe out any species that becomes too advanced.
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Series facts
- Books
- 4
- Published
- 2000 to 2003
- First book
- Revelation Space
- Latest
- Absolution Gap (2003)
- Setting
- Set in space
The reading order
Every Revelation Space book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
- 1Revelation Space2000With Dan SylvesteOn the colony world of Resurgam, archaeologist Dan Sylveste is digging into the extinction of an alien race that died out nearly a million years ago.Buy on Amazon
- 2Chasm City2001With Tanner MirabelTanner Mirabel, a security specialist, follows a killer to Chasm City on the planet Yellowstone, once the most glittering city in human space and now a ruin ravaged by the Melding Plague.Buy on Amazon
- 3Redemption Ark2002With Nevil ClavainThe ancient machines that destroy spacefaring civilisations have been woken, and Nevil Clavain, a veteran soldier of the Conjoiners, defects to stop his own people taking control of a set of terrible weapons.Buy on Amazon
- 4Absolution Gap2003As the Inhibitors, ancient alien machines that exterminate intelligent life, begin their work, refugees flee to a remote moon, where a girl born on the ice may hold the key to their survival.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read Revelation Space, Redemption Ark and Absolution Gap in order for the main story. Chasm City is set in the same universe and can be read before or after Revelation Space.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Nevil Clavain | Dan Sylveste | Tanner Mirabel | Ilia Volyova | Ana Khouri | Remontoire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Revelation Space | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 2 Chasm City | LLead | |||||
| 3 Redemption Ark | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor | ||
| 4 Absolution Gap | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Revelation Space books
6 characters from Alastair Reynolds’s chart, with the number of Revelation Space books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Nevil ClavainVeteran Conjoiner soldier | 2 | Redemption Ark 2002 |
| Dan SylvesteArchaeologist obsessed with an extinct race | 1 | Revelation Space 2000 |
| Tanner MirabelSecurity specialist | 1 | Chasm City 2001 |
| Ilia VolyovaTriumvir of the Nostalgia for Infinity | 3 | Revelation Space 2000 |
| Ana KhouriAssassin and soldier | 3 | Revelation Space 2000 |
| RemontoireConjoiner | 2 | Redemption Ark 2002 |