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A review by yevolem
Misspent Youth by Peter F. Hamilton
3.0
I believe that it would be much better not to go into this book blind, or read it before Pandora's Star. The former is because you'll most likely have the wrong expectations, especially if you believe that the science fiction will be the focus, because it isn't. This is a coming of age family psychodrama with a lot of sex. By comparison to the following two books, I was surprised to find that Hamilton had toned it down relative to this prior book. I advise against reading it before Pandora's Star because it isn't a suitable introduction to the series. Reading this first may even discourage you from reading further even they have very little in common, as this one takes place in England in 2040.
The content of this book may offend a wide spectrum of sensibilities. Some examples are: teenagers having sex, age gap sex, graphically described sex, infidelity, women as sex objects, misogynistic attitudes and behaviors, dysfunctional families, severe emotional damage, English separatist domestic terrorists who proudly boast to be worse than the IRA during The Troubles, and several characters who support the aforementioned. It's often so melodramatic about it though like in a soap opera that it was difficult for me to take any of it seriously. On a different note, piracy won and copyright laws were abolished in 2010. Now that's fantastical.
There are four viewpoint characters, three of whom are members of the Baker family. Tim, the 18 year old son, Jeff, the 77 year old father, Sue, the ~37 year old mother, and Annabelle, Tim's 17 year old girlfriend. None of them are likeable, which seems intentional, and most of the other characters aren't much better. It's a lot of people who are in bad situations, whether because of their bad choices or not, or are fortunate and believe that behaving badly is their right. All four viewpoint characters are mentioned by name in the following two books, as are at least four others, though there are possibly several more if you allow for speculation based on first names alone. It's interesting, but their origins don't matter in terms of the story. I appreciate how it demonstrates continuity though.
Tim is the primary viewpoint character, and the bulk of the story follows him, though it's his father Jeff, who undergoes the first rejuvenation treatment to become young again. The central question is, how does that affect someone? When someone has a second coming of age, would they do anything differently from the first time? How does it affect the friendships of those who were your friends of a similar biological age, let alone becoming roughly the same apparent age as your son? What is allowable behavior and what isn't? Suffice to say, the title itself is a condemnation. Maybe this was intended to be a cautionary tale, but if it was, then that certainly didn't carry over to the next books.
Rating: 3.5/5
The content of this book may offend a wide spectrum of sensibilities. Some examples are: teenagers having sex, age gap sex, graphically described sex, infidelity, women as sex objects, misogynistic attitudes and behaviors, dysfunctional families, severe emotional damage, English separatist domestic terrorists who proudly boast to be worse than the IRA during The Troubles, and several characters who support the aforementioned. It's often so melodramatic about it though like in a soap opera that it was difficult for me to take any of it seriously. On a different note, piracy won and copyright laws were abolished in 2010. Now that's fantastical.
There are four viewpoint characters, three of whom are members of the Baker family. Tim, the 18 year old son, Jeff, the 77 year old father, Sue, the ~37 year old mother, and Annabelle, Tim's 17 year old girlfriend. None of them are likeable, which seems intentional, and most of the other characters aren't much better. It's a lot of people who are in bad situations, whether because of their bad choices or not, or are fortunate and believe that behaving badly is their right. All four viewpoint characters are mentioned by name in the following two books, as are at least four others, though there are possibly several more if you allow for speculation based on first names alone. It's interesting, but their origins don't matter in terms of the story. I appreciate how it demonstrates continuity though.
Tim is the primary viewpoint character, and the bulk of the story follows him, though it's his father Jeff, who undergoes the first rejuvenation treatment to become young again. The central question is, how does that affect someone? When someone has a second coming of age, would they do anything differently from the first time? How does it affect the friendships of those who were your friends of a similar biological age, let alone becoming roughly the same apparent age as your son? What is allowable behavior and what isn't? Suffice to say, the title itself is a condemnation. Maybe this was intended to be a cautionary tale, but if it was, then that certainly didn't carry over to the next books.
Rating: 3.5/5