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Cosmopath (Bengal Station #3)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 98 ratings · 14 reviews

Having been sent to Canopus VII to find out what happened to a lost crew, Necropath Jeff Vaughan finds himself drawn into a deepening mystery not only as to the fate of the crew but also the intentions of his benefactor.

Paperback, 416 pages

Published December 29th 2009 by Solaris (first published January 1st 2009)

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Aug 03, 2011 Enrique028 added it

The "Final" book in the Bengal Station Novels did not dissapoint me. I do not want to give away too many things to not spoil to those ones who are or want to read but I would say that If you have not read the first 2 novels, you would still enjoyed COSMOPATH but all things would seem a bit all over the place in regards to Vaughan past and to what I read somewhere in a review of the previous novel, vaguely sketched secondary characters.

The Bengal Station novels isn't so much about a big mistery a...more

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Jan 19, 2010 Jo (Mixed Book Bag) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Bengal Station is located in the Indian Ocean and is “a marvel of twenty-second century design and technology, a foursquare, twenty level hive that was home to over thirty million citizens. It was the size of ten cities, or even a medium sized country, a military-industrial power in its own right and independent of Indian political influence and that of the China, Europe and the Federated Northern States of America.”

This is home to the Bengal Station Novels.

Cosmopath is set 4 years after Xenopa...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Ove rated it 5 of 5 stars

Review from my blog cybermage.se
The alien empath assassin tracking Jeff where thrown off when Sakura called and told that their daughter had leukemia. The emotions saved his life. Private investigator Jeff Vaughan was not having a good day.

This is the third, and final long awaited book in the Bengali Station Trilogy. My wait has been longer than most, the postal service in Europe took the long way from UK to me. Anyway…

Jeff was the fourth telepath assassination target and only survivor in a rece...more Review from my blog cybermage.se
The alien empath assassin tracking Jeff where thrown off when Sakura called and told that their daughter had leukemia. The emotions saved his life. Private investigator Jeff Vaughan was not having a good day.

This is the third, and final long awaited book in the Bengali Station Trilogy. My wait has been longer than most, the postal service in Europe took the long way from UK to me. Anyway…

Jeff was the fourth telepath assassination target and only survivor in a recent killing spree. The authorities didn’t have any clue what was behind it. Jeff, his beloved wife and two daughters goes into hiding in a safe house as a security measure while they struggle with how to pay for their daughters cancer treatment. Their insurance only pay for a fraction of the cost.

Bengali stations own Fagin, Dr Rao shows up unexpected at their doorsteps and offer Jeff a meeting with the billionaire Rabindranath Chandrasakar about a job. Vaughan sees the man about a job. He is made an offer hard to refuse, the best treatment available for his daughter’s cancer and a nice bonus if he reads the mind of a dying spacer on an unexplored world at the edge of known space. Jeff would never ever again link with a mind as it is dying feeling it slip away in oblivion, but for his daughter he agrees to become a Necromancer again and go to Delta Cephei VII.

Chandrasakar’s expedition to Delta Cephei VII is a nest of treachery and deceit, and the planet itself holds alien secrets that might change the way we look at the universe forever.

This is a worthy conclusion of The Bengali Station Trilogy that started with Necropath (which I haven’t read yet, it’s in the oh so slow postal service’s hands) and Xenopath.

Eric Brown has built a world where humanity has reached the stars and where every-day life still seems real. The Bengali influence is also a difference approach than most other more North American ones. The reality of the little people is masterfully illustrated by Eric.

The story here is initially told from two perspectives, Jeff Vaughan’s and his fellow telepath Parveen Das, an expedition member with some moral dilemmas to deal with. She is a Xenologist, an Indian secret agent, convinced communist and in love with a billionaire. The dilemmas facing a telepath able to read another mind, or getting his/her’s mind read is also covered in interesting detail. From both Jeff’s and Parveen’s point of view.

Characterization is a strong point in Eric Brown’s writing. I have come to love the people in this series Jeff, Sakura, Dr Rao and so on. Luckily for us all there is openings for many more stories in the Bengali Station universe.

Presence and details are another strong point. Bengali Station, alien cities and planets all come alive from the words of Mr Brown.

I suspect and hope this isn’t the last time we meet Jeff Vaughan, Cosmopath.(less)

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Oct 11, 2011 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-read, 2010-read

Cosmopath is the last book in the Bengal Station trilogy, preceded by Necropath and Xenopath. I really enjoyed these books about psychic private detective Jeff Vaughan set in the expanse of the Bengal Station, and with Xenopath delivering a stronger story and a more widescreen view at the galaxy I had very high hopes for Cosmopath - hopes that were exceeded with ease!

Moving on a few years from the events of Xenopath, Jeff and Sakura are now settled with a family of their own. Life is good for th...more Cosmopath is the last book in the Bengal Station trilogy, preceded by Necropath and Xenopath. I really enjoyed these books about psychic private detective Jeff Vaughan set in the expanse of the Bengal Station, and with Xenopath delivering a stronger story and a more widescreen view at the galaxy I had very high hopes for Cosmopath - hopes that were exceeded with ease!

Moving on a few years from the events of Xenopath, Jeff and Sakura are now settled with a family of their own. Life is good for them both and Jeff's work keeps them very happy and comfortable in Bengal Station. After the murders of a few telepaths on the station Jeff is approached by billionaire Chandrasakar who would like him to read the mind of a dead employee which will involve Jeff travelling to the far reaches of human space to a planet with unclear settlement rights and claims, and to discover just what the crewman died for - and why this planet is so valuable to Chandrasakar. Having to leave his family behind at the worst possible time is out of necessity and not choice, but without Chandrasakar's offer his family may suffer even more.

I love the Bengal Station books, I'll get that out of the way right now. Not only was it a joy to return to the familiar surroundings, it was great to rejoin Jeff and see how his life is going. What I've enjoyed about this series to date is the way that Eric Brown has taken a character like Jeff and let him grow and evolve to what we see on the pages of Cosmopath: a man dedicated to his family - he has settled down and is enjoying the sort of life many people wish for. When the bad news comes Brown very effectively shows us how emotions can take over and how the love for others will take priority, not only from Jeff's point of view, but that of Sakura too.

While it is the relationship between Jeff, Sakura and their girls that start the novel off so well, it is the relationship that builds between Jeff and Das (a member of Chandrasakar's expedition), and the relationship between Das and Chandrasakar, that carry the novel through to its exciting conclusion. With information obviously being withheld from members of the expedition to Delta Cephei VII it changes the dynamic of the relationships between many of the characters. This is a good thing, for it allows us to see events through Jeff's eyes and we can try and make sense of what is going on. It also allows Jeff and Das to develop a friendship of sorts that is not quite the usual, especially because of Das's own telepathic powers and her close relationship with Chandrasakar.

To go along with these interesting characters and relationships, Eric Brown gives us some great settings. Bengal Station is still the hub of space travel and this time we see more of what it offers its residents - it's not just a spaceport, but a city in itself and everything that goes with it. If you've read Necropath and Xenopath you won't find much has changed on the station, but its the familiarity that makes you feel at home once again. As for Delta Cephei VII, well that's a whole different ball game. Completely alien and utterly amazing, Brown describes the landscape so vividly that you can close your eyes and imagine you're there. The further the expedition travels, the more wonderful the scenes and the more satisfying the read becomes. Eric Brown can certainly present an alien world full of wonder and surprises.

The story proceeds at a good pace, but once the expedition reaches Delta Cephei VII things get very interesting. Suffice to say that going into more detail will give away much of the plot, but Cosmopath is firmly a 'just another page' type of book. You start reading and the tidbits that are scattered through the chapters are too tempting to leave, I certainly needed to know what was going to happen next and only put the book down when I had to. I was also very satisfied with the conclusion, but while successfully completing the trilogy it leaves so much potential for further exploration of this setting. Whether it happens or not is another question entirely, but these books are must-reads. If I had any gripes with Cosmopath it would simply be that some of the themes are very familiar, but because of the flair that Eric Brown has in telling the story it didn't bother me in the slightest.

So, another series come to an end and one of my favourites in a while. Although I have a soft spot for psychic detectives Eric Brown delivered a consistently good series and Cosmopath was the icing on the cake. This has the sort of appeal that can bring new fans to the genre and highlights all that is good about sci-fi. Excellent stuff and highly recommended.(less)

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Nov 18, 2011 Machalla rated it 1 of 5 stars

Pedestrian, predictable and completely unimaginative.

I have read all three books in this series in the hope the story improved or developed. The phrase "deus ex machina" is appropriate to how each of these books are resolved.

As a series I can only recommend the first book of the series as having any spark to it. I could go on about how poor this series is but just save yourself some time read Necropath and leave it at that.

Overall fairly dreadful.

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Oct 17, 2010 Eric Holm rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was somewhat entertaining. Some vague references to Star Trek movies, rather weak resolutions and characters. The beginning was very good.

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Mar 29, 2010 Jason Reeser rated it 3 of 5 stars

Another well done book that mixes a nice detective story with the wonder of old sci/fi. Brown does not hesitate to slow his story down to build up the mystery, but also has flashes of rough violence to raise the danger and underline what is at stake. Though he does delve into alien species a bit, which I'm not a fan of, he does so in ways that it fits well with the story and does not over do it.

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Jul 03, 2010 Emmanuel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

More broad-reaching plot than previous in the series, but still personable. Finally revealing more tech and futurism. Curious if there will be a follow-up.

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Mar 13, 2012 Stephina rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is book 3 of a trilogy. I really hope there's more. I really enjoyed the series.

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Mar 02, 2010 Gerry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Interesting book, almost like starwars.

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Mar 20, 2010 CB rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: space-junk, sci-fi

Here's my review.

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Jun 15, 2011 LadyCroft86 rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was better than the first book by far. There was a lot of political stuff that I didn't like and the book could have done without. I liked that this book wasn't so much of a murder mystery but a true sci fi with aliens and space travel concepts. Another easy read, but one that I won't read again.

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Oct 05, 2010 Screwloose rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 29, 2011 Arthur rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this series was quite good. I highly recommend it!

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May 20, 2013 Bill Davis rated it 5 of 5 stars

May 13, 2013 J.t. rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 06, 2013 Vic rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 28, 2013 Rachel marked it as not-to-read

Shelves: books-sean-owns

Apr 27, 2013 Linus Kvist rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 27, 2013 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 23, 2013 Bkepub added it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative, fiction, bengal, station

Apr 21, 2013 Justin Clark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Apr 14, 2013 Doc99 marked it as to-read

Apr 13, 2013 Joel marked it as to-read

Apr 11, 2013 Wade rated it 5 of 5 stars

Apr 10, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Apr 07, 2013 Adrian Smith marked it as to-read

Apr 07, 2013 Jean-François added it

Mar 31, 2013 Ian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mar 29, 2013 Greg Wilson added it

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About Eric Brown

Eric Brown's first short story was published in _Interzone_ in 1987, and he sold his first novel, _Meridian Days_, in 1992. He has won the British Science Fiction Award twice for his short stories and has published forty books: SF novels, collections, books for teenagers and younger children, and he writes a monthly SF review column for the _Guardian_.

He is married to the writer and medievalist Fi...more

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Cosmopath (Bengal Station #3)

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