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A review by chrisgordon65
Mindstar Rising by Peter F. Hamilton
4.0
I've been wanting to try a Peter F. Hamilton book for while and, this being his first, it seemed a good jumping on point.
This novel is equal parts whodunnit and sci-fi near-future story complete with a swag of you-beaut gizmos and gadgets. It works on both levels.
As a whodunnit, most of the clues are drip-fed throughout the novel, and as a work of sci-fi that falls somewhere between utopia and dystopia, the science seems achievable, just not for a while. Written in 1993, his timeline of tech have mostly not been met, although cyber-faxes seem a pretty good prediction of mobile phones (and why is it that in sci-fi they so often overestimate the tech we'll have by now, but grossly underestimate what our phones can do?)
Like a number of private detectives before him (Cliff Hardy is a personal fave), the central character is a former soldier which helps supply him with ample doses of world weariness. The character types and relationships aren't terribly new to genre, but delivered quite well. I've read that Hamilton feels this trilogy was an essential part of his learning curve but not a story-line he wishes to resurrect and this might relate partly to the fact his future stories (I gather) deal with BIG IDEAS... or it could be a due to a few of the cliched elements in the book, like the buxom-as-hell young girlfriend.
But I liked it. I thought it was clever, that the mystery portion was fair and intriguing. Of the science fiction elements, I most liked the gland-enhancement that gave him his powers as a nearly psychic detective (and I love the TV show Psych, so there may be a connection). I don't know Hamilton's politics but his use of the People's Socialist Party as the Big Bad may suggest an antipathy for the Left? The rest of his works may tell me more.
But again, I liked it. I intend to see out the full series and am even keener to read what he wrote beyond that.
This novel is equal parts whodunnit and sci-fi near-future story complete with a swag of you-beaut gizmos and gadgets. It works on both levels.
As a whodunnit, most of the clues are drip-fed throughout the novel, and as a work of sci-fi that falls somewhere between utopia and dystopia, the science seems achievable, just not for a while. Written in 1993, his timeline of tech have mostly not been met, although cyber-faxes seem a pretty good prediction of mobile phones (and why is it that in sci-fi they so often overestimate the tech we'll have by now, but grossly underestimate what our phones can do?)
Like a number of private detectives before him (Cliff Hardy is a personal fave), the central character is a former soldier which helps supply him with ample doses of world weariness. The character types and relationships aren't terribly new to genre, but delivered quite well. I've read that Hamilton feels this trilogy was an essential part of his learning curve but not a story-line he wishes to resurrect and this might relate partly to the fact his future stories (I gather) deal with BIG IDEAS... or it could be a due to a few of the cliched elements in the book, like the buxom-as-hell young girlfriend.
But I liked it. I thought it was clever, that the mystery portion was fair and intriguing. Of the science fiction elements, I most liked the gland-enhancement that gave him his powers as a nearly psychic detective (and I love the TV show Psych, so there may be a connection). I don't know Hamilton's politics but his use of the People's Socialist Party as the Big Bad may suggest an antipathy for the Left? The rest of his works may tell me more.
But again, I liked it. I intend to see out the full series and am even keener to read what he wrote beyond that.