Merlin universe

The **"Merlin universe"** (a fan name) is one of the fictional universes appearing in Alastair Reynolds's fiction, specifically a series of four short fiction stories (short stories and novellas).

## Setting

The setting of the series is an unspecified era in the far future, when humanity has spread around the galaxy, colonizing many planets. Tens of thousands of years have passed since the older waves of colonization, with those eras now passing into little more than legend. A major element of the setting is the Waynet, a network of figurative tunnel-like anomalies allowing faster interstellar passage between various star systems. The Waynet was created by the long-vanished culture known as the Waymakers, with humanity at the time the series takes place in being unable to replicate or repair the network. In the era the series is set in, humanity is under threat from a somewhat humanoid, but otherwise enigmatic species, referred to as the "Huskers".

## Characters

The individual stories in the series centre on the titular protagonist, a drifter-adventurer called Merlin. Originally a native of the Husker-devastated colony world of Plenitude, Merlin is the sole crewman of an AI-equipped spaceship named *Tyrant*, his only companion for the majority of his travels.

*Tyrant* was designed and built in a much earlier era, closer to the time of the vanished Waymakers, and represents some of the sophisticated technology of earlier times that is no longer easily reproducible. Despite his lone travels, Merlin ostensibly still works as a member of the Cohort, or in support of that organization's long-term cause of defending humanity against the Huskers and other serious threats.

Besides his ship/AI, the character of Merlin is the only character shared between the stories.

## Tone of the series and its themes

Alastair Reynolds has referred to the tone of this short(er) fiction series as more in the vein of "Lucasian space fantasy", compared to his more typically "hard SF" approach. "Lucasian" referring to George Lucas' original *Star Wars* trilogy from the 1970s. The Merlin series has a similar undertone of a space epic set in a time and place very detached from contemporary Earth. However, the individual Merlin stories have a generally very serious tone, rather than a purely playful or adventurous one, and they often deal with timeless and concerning topics (e.g. in *Minla's Flowers*).

One of the key themes and central theses of the series are "impermanence" and "priorities".

Merlin is presented as a generally altruistic and good-natured character, but he is also a fallible figure, and grows to regret some of his (often well-intentioned) decisions made in the stories of the series.

## Works in the Merlin series of stories

* *Hideaway* (2000)
* *Minla's Flowers* (2005)
* *The Iron Tactician* (2016)
* *Merlin's Gun* (1999)

To date, there have been four stories in the Merlin series/universe. They've been written and published outside of the internal chronological order of the series, as Reynolds had added to this series of short fiction in a gradual manner, over several years. This list features them in chronological order, and information on when and where they were first published in brackets.