On Peter Hamilton's books

I've been postponing writing something about Peter Hamilton's work for a while. I first became aware of his work through the Night's Dawn trilogy, more precisely the Reality Disfunction (1st book of the series). I saw the synopsis and it looked really exciting, so I bought the book and read through it. I was amazed by the depth of the plot and the detailed and fast paced narrative. This was truly a space opera, and I went through the entire series, book after book.
Having enjoyed that series so much, I bought the 2 books in the commonwealth saga (his first work) and the 3 books in the Greg Mandel series. The latter, despite having a totally different style, was just as good as the Night's Dawn trilogy (unfortunately, I still have not had the time to read the former). More recently I went through the Void's trilogy, which I found superb.
Indeed, the books I have read so far by Hamilton are on par with the classics by Frank Herbert or Isaac Asimov. I find his typical style of multiple threads followed in a sequential cycle to prevent any possible boredom and to allow a natural flow of the story. Not only are the plots rich in technological detail and offer interesting and innovative science fiction, but the characters are adequately characterized and explored. While many books I have read in my life fail to sparkle any memories, I vividly remember characters and plot lines from all of Hamilton's books. Some of his characters will certainly be remembered throughout my entire life. Reading these books has been a great experience and gave me much joy.

Here's what I have from Hamilton right now:


*Night's Dawn trilogy*
- Reality disfunction: Part I - Emergence
- Reality disfunction: Part II - Expansion
- The neutronium alchemist: Part I - Consolidation
- The neutronium alchemist: Part II - Conflict
- The naked God: Part I - Flight
- The naked God: Part II - Faith
*Commonwealth saga*
- Pandora's star
- Judas Unchained
*Greg Mandel series*
- Mindstar rising
- Quantum murder
- Nano flower
*The void trilogy*
- The Dreaming void
- The Temporal void
- The Evolutionary void
* single novels *
- Fallen dragon

Hamilton's work has been mostly published by Pan Macmillan (http://www.panmacmillan.com) through the Macmillan imprint, and also Del Rey (http://www.randomhouse.com). Macmillan publishers were kind enough to provide me with a review copy of the Evolutionary Void (#3 in the Void series).
I look forward to continue reading Hamilton's fantastic work.

The nano flower

Peter F. Hamilton
Pan Books, 1995 (my copy is from Pan Books, 1995)
Size: Average (my copy has 566 pages)
Theme: Futuristic mystery
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Greg Mandel
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

In this final of three books in the Greg Mandel series, several years have passed, and the retired psychic operative is again brought back to active duty as a favor to Julia Evans, since her husband Royan (an old friend and comrade of Greg) has been missing for several months. With his empathy and - particularly - his intuition, Greg is the perfect detective to follow the small clues that Royan has been leaving in an apparent attempt to lead Julia to his current location. Everything is triggered by a particular and very special flower secretly sent by Royan to Julia. This time, the story revolves around more personal issues than the previous essentially corporative-driven problems.

Unlike the two previous books, set exclusively on Earth (with very minor descriptions of space activities involving satellites), this time a significant part of the plot takes place in the New London asteroid, brought to Earth orbit by Event Horizon. Also, there is plenty more combat and destruction by hardliners and tekmercs, including by Event Horizon’s crash team, compared to the preceding two books.

The novel follows the pace, style, depth and narration of previous books. The cast is not too extensive, which allows characters to be adequately explored; furthermore, many readers will already be familiar with most of them. The plot works fairly well as a detective story, despite the fact that it is predictable and almost everything is given away in advance. While on the upside I enjoyed revisiting the characters in the Greg Mandel universe, this third book failed to fully meet my expectations. I was not particularly impressed with the part of the novel concerning the origin of the new technology, and until very late in the book I hoped there would be a twist and that there was a different explanation for the nano flower and for the new technology that Royan kept hinting at. Unfortunately, the explanation was the expected one that Hamilton had been laying out through the entire book. The ending also seemed too commonplace. Still, I continue a great fan of Hamilton’s work, and although I did not find this story to be up to par to his other books, I highly recommend this entire series.

Related work:

This is the final of 3 books in the Greg Mandel series (Hamilton’s first); it was preceded by “Mindstar rising” and "A quantum murder". As the previous books, it can be read as a single novel, although you will greatly benefit from having read the previous books first.

A quantum murder

Peter F. Hamilton
Pan Books, 1994 (my copy is from Pan Books, 1994)
Size: Average (my copy has 376 pages)
Theme: Futuristic mystery
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Greg Mandel
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

As the second of three books in the Greg Mandel series, this novel follows again the adventures of Greg Mandel, an ex-mindstar operative, bolstering an ‘espersense’ through an implanted gland that enables him to sense other people’s feelings and emotions. After having retired after the storyline of the previous book, and trying to lead a quiet life with Elaine, he is brought back to active status to help Julia with problems at Event Horizon.

This time, the plot revolves around the brutal murder of a reclusive and very rich quantum cosmology scientist, double Nobel laureate for his discoveries which paved the way for technology such as the giga-conductor cells, and who was now working secretly on basics of stardrive technology for Event Horizon. The ritualistic assassination leaves everyone baffled as the isolated mansion was sealed tight and a heavy storm was blowing outside. The 6 resident young research assistants are all suspects, but are quickly cleared by Greg. Curiously, the murder setup has uncanny similarities with the technique of a mass murder psychopath who has been incarcerated for years.

As one could expect, the literary style, the fast plot pace, and the attention to detail are similar to those in the previous story. I greatly enjoyed reading through this book, as it brings detective stories into a futuristic perspective. I also found it to have a little more gore and sexual references than the previous novel. I was hardly able to put the book down each night and have already started reading through the third and final installment.

Related work:

This is book 2 of 3 in the Greg Mandel series (Hamilton’s first); it was preceded by “Mindstar rising” and is followed by "The nano flower". As the previous book, it can be read as a single novel, although here I would clearly suggest having read the preceding book first.

Mindstar rising

Peter F. Hamilton
Pan Books, 1993 (my copy is from Pan Books, 1993)
Size: Average (my copy has 438 pages)
Theme: Futuristic mystery
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Greg Mandel
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This novel follows the adventures of Greg Mandel, an ex-mindstar operative, who now works as a private detective. Hired by the company Event Horizon, Greg is tasked with finding out who was responsible for tampering with a manufacturing operation, causing a huge loss for the company. As with all mindstar operatives, Greg has a gland implant, which in his case, enhances his psychological abilities, allowing him to sense people's feelings. Obviously, this makes him the perfect person to interview potential moles or saboteurs. However, the case will reveal itself to be much more complicated than suspected, and a plot of worldwide consequence will be unraveled.

The story takes places in a reasonably near future, after some quasi-apocalyptic societal revolution, due to major events such as global warming. The most obvious technological innovations are in biotechnology, military gear, and space exploration. Greg's military background provides fuel for his current activities and, simultaneously, seamlessly brings in other ex-military as well as rebels whenever required by the plot.

This is a great sci-fi detective thriller, with plenty of action and romance, and with a complex enough plot to keep it interesting throughout. Although only a few characters exhibit some depth, and a few others could have been better explored, the cast is varied enough to allow multiple stories to develop simultaneously (although not even close to space operas such as his Night's Dawn trilogy). As you would expect, Greg is a really likeable character, with few flaws and an impeccable character; and, as you would also expect, adequate villains are provided in the mix. Like other Peter Hamilton's books, I enjoyed the level of technical detail provided, and the rich plot, even though his later works are - in my opinion - superior. Particularly, since this book follows a very traditional honorable detective storyline. Nevertheless, it is well written and the approach taken is novel enough to make it worth your time.

Related work:
This is book 1 of 3 in the Greg Mandel series and is followed by "A quantum murder" and "The nano flower". However, it can be read as a single novel, providing a conclusive end. It was Hamilton's first major story, and one of his best known works.

The white plague

Frank Herbert
G.P. Putnam , 1982 (my copy is from Tor, 2007)
Size: Average (my copy has 444 pages)
Theme: Drama
Narrative: third-person
Main character: John Roe O’Neill
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

A bomb attack in Ireland kills the wife and daughter of John Roe O’Neill, an American geneticist recently arrived to Ireland on a research grant. News of the American tourist family tragedy flows and is quickly forgotten. But not by John, who decides to share his great pain with the rest of the world. With his scientific knowledge on microbiology and genetics, he develops an innovative virus that targets only women and that leads to a very quick death. He moves on to deploying it in Ireland, Great Britain and Libya, as countries that in some way have contributed to the IRA bombing.

The book follows John as he goes to Ireland to observe the apocalyptic effects of his work. Other major characters include the teams struggling to find a cure in different countries, a couple which manages to isolate themselves from the virus, and a troupe of 3 unique individuals that travel with John for some time through Ireland in an attempt to expose him as the Madman. John goes through an inner conflict as he witnesses the devastating effect the plague had on Ireland. Women have become revered and the most prized 

I enjoyed the story and found the plot enticing and convincing. As is typical of Frank Herbert, this was groundbreaking work for its time. The level of technical details on the plague was appropriate, although some of that content will surely blow past most of the readers who do not have a science background. What I enjoyed the least was the pace of most of the story. A significant part of John’s trip through Ireland’s countryside has a very slow pace and I had to struggle a bit to find the motivation to keep reading. 

Anvil of stars

Greg Bear
Warner Books, 1992 (my copy is from Warner Books, 1993)
Size: Average (my copy has 471 pages)
Theme: Space war
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Martin Gordon
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Anvil of stars is the sequel to Forge of God, which had been written 5 years before (see my review). In the end of that first novel, the Earth had been lead to destruction by a war faring mechanical alien race, termed the Killers. A different race, the Benefactors, has been trying to stop them for millennia or, at the very least, save some representatives of each dying species. After rescue, the Benefactors provide a Ship of the Law to a selected group from the survivors of that race to enact the Law, meaning, going after the Killers’ original planet/system and attempting to get revenge on them.

The children/teenagers maintain a rotating system of democratic leadership, and follow a particular moral and ethical code adapted to their situation. Despite the formidable power of the ship, going after an unknown civilization, with no idea of their current level of technology, is not an easy task. The children will encounter different alien races in their voyage, including one with which they will end up working together. As the ship travels along, sensors keep searching each system for proof that the killers might have originated there. But not everything is what it looks like at first glance, and deciding to exterminate planets or systems will be daunting to the children. Maintaining their sanity and health throughout the trip will be equally taxing, and dangers will come as much from outside as from within.

Overall I much enjoyed the novel. It keeps a good pace and provides meaningful characters, which are well explored. What I felt worked less well were the training exercises within the ship… It reminded me of Ender’s Game, but it pales in comparison. One should note that I rate Ender’s Game as one of the top sci-fi novels ever, so I would not expect to be dazzled here. The story is nicely built and there are many technological wonders and alien races to satisfy any sci-fi fan. As a sequel, it works as well as one could expect; the framework, cast, scenario and action are entirely different from the original novel. Also, the dynamics of space travel are very well - and realistically - described.

The dispossessed

Ursula K. LeGuin
Harper, 1974 (my copy is from Eos, 1994)
Size: Average (my copy has 387 pages)
Theme: Interplanetary social drama
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Shevek
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Orbiting each other, Anarres and Urras are two very different worlds. Anarres is a barren planet, with very limited resources, limited water and sparse vegetation. Some generations ago, anarchists from Urras abandoned the strict and settled Anarres. Since then, they have managed to make this new society work, by creating a strong sense of responsibility and common good. Personal and family relationships, ownership of goods, salary, and many other aspects of life are entirely different, and a xenophobic gap has grown between Urras and Anarres. There is a single spaceport that enables a measure of trade between the two societies. However, since the settlement, no one has ever travelled between the two worlds beyond the wall encircling the spaceport.

This is the story of Shevek, a brilliant physicist, and the first person from Anarres invited to visit Urras. After struggling for many years to fulfill his role in the Anarres society, his work is finally recognized in that alien world. Decided to take this opportunity to share his knowledge to the benefit of the entire universe, Shevek will have to contend with the Urrasti greed and desire for power.

The plot does not unfold sequentially; it skips from Shevek’s childhood, to his time in Urras, to time he spent with his family before travelling to Urras, and so on. The novel is very interesting, both in how it showcases core issues in the human nature, and also in addressing how a split faction of a society could evolve under radical conditions. The main character is innovative and complex; yet simultaneously, endearing. The secondary cast fills in quite well, although always with a clear focus on Shevek. The pace is appropriate and the descriptions manage to retain your attention. I enjoyed reading it.

The accidental time machine

Joe Haldeman
Ace, 2007 (my copy is from Ace, 2008)
Size: Short (my copy has 257 pages)
Theme: Time travel
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Matt Fuller
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This book explores the interesting concept of a graduate student who stumbles upon a particularly curious feature in a lab equipment he is assembling. Every time the reset button in the machine is pressed, it travels in time. However, he has no control over the time jumps, and is unable to understand or explain the mechanisms behind the phenomena. Unsurprisingly, he will get in considerable trouble, both in the near and in the far future. As he experiments time travel, he is thrown into different societies and has to deal with peculiar characters. Maybe the future does not always hold exactly what you would expect…

The novel is very straightforward, and easy to read. The author does not attempt to provide a comprehensive explanation for the physics behind time travel (which usually would mean either totally wrong or at least flawed science, and which can become very annoying). It is much more of an adventure story than your traditional time travel novel. Being very short, you won’t get bored throughout, but on the other hand many potential side-stories are barely scratched and shallow characters are introduced only to be quickly discarded. Having spent considerable time at MIT and Boston, I was able to follow the references to buildings and locations, but I felt that most readers will find those parts either boring or undecipherable. Still, the novel was quite enjoyable.

The Evolutionary Void

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2010 (my hardcover copy is a first edition, gracefully provided by MacMillan for review)
Size: Long (my copy has 726 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: (Edeard and others)
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

As the last book of a series, it was not intended to be read alone, and you should definitely read the two preceding novels, The Dreaming Void and The Temporal Void (which I have reviewed before), before you pick this up. The same applies to this review; it is essentially a spoiler for someone who did not read books #1 and #2. That being said, as one could expect, the Evolutionary Void continues the epic tale of the void phenomena and the efforts by the protagonists to either stop it from destroying the galaxy or take advantage of its power to further their own ambitions.
This novel maintains the approach of switching narrative at each chapter between the events inside the void to those outside. The plot quickly kicks off with mind-numbing events: the deployment of the deterrence fleet (revealed to be in fact pure energy controlled by a single consciousness, namely Chief Admiral Kazimir), the existence of a single extremely powerful nameless ship controlled by the Accelerators, the decision by ANA:Governance to suspend the activities of that faction, followed by Ilanthe separating from ANA in an inversion core and fleeing the solar system in the ship, trapping the entire Sol system and the deterrence fleet inside a barrier based on Dark Fortress technology. All this and more takes place in the first 90 pages. Afterwards the story will also follow Aaron’s quest to bring together Ozzie, Inigo, and the second dreamer so they can try to stop the void. In addition to Justine’s attempt to reach the heart of the void, Gore Burnelli starts an alternative plan that involves the Anomine race, most of which evolved into post-physical a long time ago. Along the entire book, Araminta continues having a pivotal role, but one that will grow in complexity, as she finally decides on a path of her own that will affect how everything plays out.

Inside the void universe, Edeard is finding out how difficult it is to live a perfect life, even with all his power and the void’s temporal abilities at his disposal. We are told of his multiple attempts at getting everything absolutely right, only to be thwarted by different problems at each iteration. And, as events unfold, we find out how the ability to do whatever you want will not necessarily bring you closer to fulfillment. We also learn why Inigo ended up abandoning the Living Dream movement and going into seclusion. In this final installment of the series, the interaction between the events inside and outside the void will be much higher, and the two realities will blend in the plot.

The book was just as good as the two previous novels. I much enjoyed the narrative style, the detailed and enticing plot, the cast of characters that we had already become familiar with, and the appropriate pace. I found that the mix between highly advanced technology of modern society and the near-medieval level within the void worked very well. The author managed to propose very interesting cosmic phenomena, from evolution into post-physical to quantum states of exotic matter, and make them fit seamlessly in the overall plot. As the saying goes for all good things, it had to come to an end, but I was left totally satisfied with the conclusion of this saga.

Related work:
This is the last book of the series (#3 of 3), and follows the events from The Dreaming Void and The Temporal Void. Although this story takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth stories by Hamilton, they are separate enough for those not to be considered prequels.

The Temporal Void

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2008 (my copy is from Pan Books, 2009)
Size: Long (my copy has 746 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: (Edeard and others)
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

First, I should emphasize that you should read the Dreaming Void before the Temporal Void (which I have reviewed before). This book is #2 in a trilogy and was not intended to be read alone. The same applies to this review; it includes some details of the story which I would consider spoilers for someone who did not read book #1. That being said, the Dreaming Void continues to follow the expansion of the void at the center of the galaxy, and its potential effects on the entire universe.

The story starts off at the immediate end of the previous book. The void has just begun expanding, supposedly due to the second dreamer having refused the skylord’s invitation to lead humans into the void. While nobody yet knows the identity of the second dreamer, the Living Dream movement continues doubling its efforts to that end. As Troblum attempts to evade the factions, he is caught up by the Cat, even as Paula continues her pursuit, which ends up with them in a brief but ferocious clash of high-tech weaponry.

Meanwhile, inside the void universe, Edeard “the Waterwalker”, attempts to cope with the great destiny apparently hurled at him. But with great power comes great responsibility, and the burden of wanting to change the world around him. But he will have to excel at much more than raw psychic power, as his action bring in as many foes as it does friends, if not more. Having proven himself as a constable, and seemingly showing the gangs that things are about to become harder for them, he becomes the focus of desire of all the rich family daughters. As he succumbs completely to lust with those girls, he separates further from Saldana, even though she continues to hold a special place in his heart. The reader cannot help but wonder exactly what will he accomplish and who he will become in years to come. Obviously, we already know a bit of the very final outcome, from hints given in the core story (the outside universe), as people think - and talk - about Inigo’s dreams.

Just as the previous novel, I found the Temporal Void to be rich with details, a fast and well-paced storyline in a colossal scale universe. The characters, to which we were introduced in the first book, move along in their tasks and following their individual motivations. The different human factions continue their ancient disputes and different perspectives on how the species should evolve. Some of the characters are very endearing and you end up taking sides and creating biases. I greatly enjoyed this book, in fact as much as the previous one, and cannot wait to read the concluding third part of this great saga.

Related work:

This is book #2 of 3, and follows The Dreaming Void. The last book of the series is The Evolutionary Void. Although this story takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth stories by Hamilton, they are separate enough for those not to be considered prequels.

The Dreaming Void

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2007 (my copy is from Pan Books, 2008)
Size: Long (my copy has 796 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Edeard (and others )
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

The Dreaming Void starts another epic futuristic space opera (currently my favorite sci-fi theme). It actually takes place in the same universe as Hamilton’s Commonwealth saga (Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained), although I have not yet read either of those two books. Similarly to previous novels by Hamilton (e.g. the Night’s Dawn trilogy), there is a huge cast of characters, in an equally large universe, where we actually follow events spanning many light years. The plot switches between key characters at every sub-chapter, sometimes following a particularly important thread for an extended period when warranted. Some people complain terribly about this, whereas I enjoy it and find it prevents boredom. But unlike other novels I read from the same author, it features two major stories in the same book. A core story, which takes place in real time, and a secondary story concerning the events of Inigo’s dreams, which supposedly took place in the far past and inside the void universe.

The basic premise of the core story is the existence of a void in the center of what we would call the “normal” universe. That void is actually a pocket universe, a construct created by a very advanced alien race billions of years ago, for no currently discernible purpose. However, the expansion of the void takes place at the expense of consuming the outside universe, something its current inhabitants are not particularly fond of. Thus, not only humans (which are not exactly the most advanced race in existence), but also alien species study the void expansion and attempt to counter it. The core story takes place around the 35th century, and multiple characters, and reads much like the Night’s Dawn trilogy. There is adventure, mischief, plotting, military strategy, politics, romance, interstellar travel, and – as expected – considerable technological capabilities and human enhancement. The core story delivers as much science fiction as any aficionado would expect. Inside the void, we know only of one inhabited planet, and the story is focused on Edeard, a powerful young apprentice of one particular type of arcane magic, as he deals with terrible events around him. It is a world of mysticism, ancient lore, and psychic prowess. I have always seen Edeard as the main character, only because he is clearly so in the void universe. There are too many main characters in the outside universe to identify a single individual as such.

The link between the two universes is clear from reading only about the first third of the book (or less), and I find quite disturbing that I have seen reviews about this book where people claim there is no understandable relation between them. And if a lot seems to be happening simultaneously, it is only because indeed there are lots of characters doing different things, but all of them are linked in some way. As the plot develops, we keep finding how they relate to each other.

Even if the storyline may not be exceptionally deep to the point of leaving you pondering life as a George Orwell novel would, Hamilton delivers a fast-paced thrilling story, where characters are well developed, do not fit absolute stereotypes (although a couple are very cardboard), and that will keep you reading way past your bed time. Although each chapter is quite large (30-70 pages), you can leisurely take a break at sub-chapters. Despite the plot including about 15 main characters (and over 30 other reasonably important characters), I found it easy to follow (particularly after the 2nd or 3rd follow-up on a character). The narrative is enticing and rich with meaningful details, rather than superficial and useless long descriptions. I found this to be a superb novel and have picked up the sequel straight away.

Related work:
There are two sequels, namely the Temporal Void and the Evolutionary Void. Although this story takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth stories by Hamilton, they are separate enough for those not to be considered prequels.

Dayworld

Philip Jose Farmer
G. P. Putnam, 1985 (my hardcover copy is a first edition)
Size: Medium (my copy has 320 pages)
Theme: Future society
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Jeff Caird
Recommended minimum age: Young adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This story takes places in the future, where overpopulation (a problem we already have today) has led society to two major and interrelated evolutions. The first was technical; the development of a kind of quantum suspended animation that works for both living things and inanimate objects, which is termed (not very fanciful, in my opinion) stoning. The second was societal, namely, each person now lives only 1 day per each 7 real time days. They spend the other 6 stoned, and do not feel any effect of time going by.

Taking place more than 1500 years from now, a new type of crime has appeared: daybreaking (refusing to obey the 1-in-7-days basic societal premise). Other major transgressions include littering, even beyond what a radical environmentalist would expect. And in this universe, a select few live outside the normal rules. Keeping in secret a drug that extends life expectancy substantially, some of them live 7 different lives, one per day. Jeff Caird is one of them, and arguably, the one where the concept of having 7 personalities has taken a greater hold. In the brink of having his secret exposed because of a couple of criminals with a personal grudge towards him, his different personalities will each have to try to act in their own days to save the day.

The novel follows Jeff Caird, in each of his roles, and each chapter of the book is a different day. Although that was surprising in the beginning, and I even had some slight doubts I would enjoy this style, it ends up working very well, as the different plot strands start intertwining and crossing each other as the plot evolves. The characters are well developed, and despite being very radically different for a single mind to have spawned them, an adequate explanation is provided. The fundamental concept itself is very innovative (in fact, I was eager to read the book), and the story is told in a unique way. It has a fast pace, with a lot of action, and reads very nicely from start to end (character development is probably the aspect I felt less happy with). The ending is quite interesting and leaves things sufficiently open for a sequel; which does exist. However, I was a bit put off by the seemingly ordinary world waiting for us in the millennia to come. Technology, aside from the stoning effect, has evolved very little, and even the society changes seem to me shallow in face of the huge time gap.

Aside from the little bit of violence and sex, I would recommend this book only for young adults since it seems to me that meaningful details of the plot, particularly the implications of such a different society on human psyche will be very difficult for someone very young to appreciate. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will likely read the others in this series.

Childhood’s End

Arthur C. Clarke
Del Rey, 1953 (my copy is from Del Rey, 1987)
Size: Short (my copy has 212 pages)
Theme: Alien races
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Stormgren and George Greggson
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Childhood’s End follows a very basic yet interesting concept: what if a powerful alien culture, instead of arriving to Earth to conquer the planet, nor to peaceful establish a cooperation with humans or inviting them to a large federation of planets, instead arrived to demand that the human race starts behaving. Interfering the least possible with small scale decisions, and allowing each individual to follow their own convictions and religion, the aliens dictate some major changes for humanity. Yet, they refuse to show themselves. Thus, for many years, rumors spread and, in some, distrust grows. What motivates the aliens? How far and how long will they drive the fate of humanity, and for what ultimate purpose?

As usual, Clarke delivers a robust story, where scientific details are not ignored. The plot includes a little interstellar travel, multiple alien races at different evolutionary stages (up to near-omniscience), psychic phenomena, and more. There are only a few characters of some importance, but they are well explored and convincing. The novel is short, yet provides a complete story, with sufficient detail to leave the reader satisfied (even if possibly desiring the book was several times longer). The narrative is fluid and essentially focuses on a few major events along its several decades of time span. It is divided into three key stories, and each essentially has its own main characters. Very little is explained of the aliens throughout the entire book, and only one of them is featured prominently.

The moon is a harsh mistress

Robert A. Heinlein
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1966 (my copy is from Orb, 2007)
Size: Medium (my copy has 382 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space adventure
Narrative: first-person
Main character: Manuel Garcia O’Kelley
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This is one of Heinlein’s most acclaimed works. It won both the Nebula and Hugo awards. It is a tale of revolution and the will to stand against all odds for your beliefs. Not surprisingly, the novel calls upon some well-established references, such as the 4th of July in the United States, as well as earlier revolutions. Although it delivers as much sci-fi as any aficionado will desire, the story spends considerable time describing the sociological and practical implications of a lunar colony. Written in 1966, it explored some very novel concepts for its time. The lunar society, despite being largely comprised of criminals and “volunteers” exported there by Earth’s nations, evolved out of necessity to become organized and extremely self-controlled. Crime is dealt with swiftly and ignorance of common-sense rules is not acceptable.

The story follows Manuel, aka Mannie, a peaceful and generally unknown handyman, with a particular knack for electronics and programming, as he becomes involved with a small group of cohorts who despise the way the lunar colony is seen by Earth and how its inhabitants are treated. After an anti-authority meeting one wrong, right at the start of the novel, Mannie is forced to take action against the tyranny of the Federated Nations. Through his unique link to a sentient computer, who only recently had become self-aware, and who features a peculiar sense of humor, he and his fellow revolutionaries manage to put together a plan to turn the Lunar colony into a self-sustaining, independent, nation.

The novel switches very nicely from family scenes over dinner, through revolutionary planning meetings, to action-packed scenes. Heinlein is able to create a reasonably credible story of a very small nation fighting a tremendously larger opposing force, and patches some interesting means of using science and technology towards those goals; there is an obvious parallelism to the war efforts by the US at the time the novel was written. The main character is a lovable person, and is very well explored, even though a little too smart and competent. The secondary cast is equally interesting, although we always see them through Mannie’s eyes. What is most interesting is the depiction of how the Lunar society operates, and its core motto “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, TANSTAAFL). I found the pace to be enjoyable and I could not put the book down until I was through with it.

Snow crash

Neal Stephenson
Bantam Spectra, 1992 (my copy is from 2003)
Size: Medium (my copy has 468 pages)
Theme: Cyberpunk
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Hiro Protagonist
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Snow crash is a fast-paced cyber adventure which explores some interesting concepts of the digital world, while delivering a very traditional spy/detective plot. The book has introduced a series of words and basic notions which have become commonplace along the years in computer lingo, such as “avatar”. Despite the fact that several people have said this should not be called science-fiction, but a purely cyberpunk novel, I found that there was a sufficient number of gadgets, weapons, and user consumer products to make me confortable in labeling it as sci-fi.

In a (not very) futuristic scenario, people from all over the world connect to a virtual reality called the Metaverse using special goggles and a computer able to project images on it, and control their avatars in what would be called nowadays a typical digital environment. Stephenson was able to imagine how people would act and interact in the Metaverse in a very similar way to how real 3D virtual worlds have evolved. In fact, I found uncanny similarities between the Metaverse and recent applications such as Second Life. 

The story follows Hiro Protagonist and Y.T. through a series of adventures both in the real world and the Metaverse. Y.T.’s story is almost exclusively one of the real world, where she is a Kourier and becomes involved with the Mafia when she helps Hiro with a delivery. Further on, she will interact with some of the major characters of the story, in a parallel but divergent line to that of Hiro, who is one of the best hackers of the Metaverse and an excellent swordsman in the real world. Hiro stumbles upon a plot by one of the planet’s most powerful individuals to gain even more power, destroying the hacker community in the process. As he unfolds the mystery, and he dives head on to the center of the conspiracy, he will have to push his abilities to the limit, both in reality and the Metaverse.

The plot is quite solid and very well delivered. I found the narrative engrossing and detailed. Hiro is an interesting character and is very well developed along the plot, as is Y.T. Some of the other characters are only superficially handled, but it is not difficult to identify their key motivations. The author does not abuse in the use of computer lingo, nor did he exaggerate in creating too many cybernetic concepts; just enough to remind the reader of what he’s reading. I found this to be a very interesting and worthwhile novel