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Greg Mandel #3
The Nano Flower
Peter F. Hamilton is one the rising stars of science fiction in the nineties. His epic space adventure, The Reality Dysfunction, was a major international bestseller, while his near future thrillers, Mindstar Rising and A Quantum Murder , introduced an intriguing new hero in the character of Greg Mandel, a freelance operative whose telepathic abilities give him a crucial edge in the high tech world of the twenty-first century. Now Mandel returns in a spectacular new adventure that blows open the possibilities of the next century.
Julia billionairess, owner of Event Horizon, for fifteen years undisputed power behind the world's economic renaissance. And in trouble.
With her computer-genius husband missing and rival companies suddenly claiming to have acquired a technology impossibly superior to anything on Earth, Julia has no time to notice an anonymously delivered flower. But this flower has genes millions of years in advance of terrestrial DNA.
Is it a cryptic alien message or a poignant farewell from her husband?Only Greg Mandel can discover its origin, but he is not alone in his desperate search. A vicious mercenary killer, a jade merchant, and a high-priced courtesan all have a part to play.
It was never going to be easy, but as Greg and Julia discover, simply being first in the race ins't nerly good enough as teh Nano Flower starts to bloom....
Julia billionairess, owner of Event Horizon, for fifteen years undisputed power behind the world's economic renaissance. And in trouble.
With her computer-genius husband missing and rival companies suddenly claiming to have acquired a technology impossibly superior to anything on Earth, Julia has no time to notice an anonymously delivered flower. But this flower has genes millions of years in advance of terrestrial DNA.
Is it a cryptic alien message or a poignant farewell from her husband?Only Greg Mandel can discover its origin, but he is not alone in his desperate search. A vicious mercenary killer, a jade merchant, and a high-priced courtesan all have a part to play.
It was never going to be easy, but as Greg and Julia discover, simply being first in the race ins't nerly good enough as teh Nano Flower starts to bloom....
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
122 people are currently reading
1407 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
198 books10.3k followersPeter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.
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August 4, 2011I was a bit apprehensive about starting this book - I'm a big Peter F Hamilton fan, but as good as his earlier work is, it does not compare to the Reality Dysfunction and beyond.
I should not have worried, this, the last of the Greg Mandel books shows a writer really starting to come into his own.
It deals with big themes (especially the end), a rapidly escalating situation, some dynamic action sequences, while keeping true to the characters established in the earlier novels.
There is a genuine feeling of life moving on between these books, and it is like coming back to rejoin old friends, looking in on their lives and seeing how they have changed. There is also the feeling that they have grown and aged, something that is often forgotten in novels.
Greg is meant to be more of an advisor rather than an action hero, leaving that to his team and Suzi.
Some good technology, some fun action, some shocking deaths, characters to love, to hate and at least one shocking death from a character that has been there from near the start (of the series) not the book.
Well worth a read!
I should not have worried, this, the last of the Greg Mandel books shows a writer really starting to come into his own.
It deals with big themes (especially the end), a rapidly escalating situation, some dynamic action sequences, while keeping true to the characters established in the earlier novels.
There is a genuine feeling of life moving on between these books, and it is like coming back to rejoin old friends, looking in on their lives and seeing how they have changed. There is also the feeling that they have grown and aged, something that is often forgotten in novels.
Greg is meant to be more of an advisor rather than an action hero, leaving that to his team and Suzi.
Some good technology, some fun action, some shocking deaths, characters to love, to hate and at least one shocking death from a character that has been there from near the start (of the series) not the book.
Well worth a read!
February 16, 2016
I really love the Greg Mandel books and would have given them 5 stars as they were particular favourites when I was a teenager, however on a re-read I find the concept of a conservative government and benevolent captalism saving the day (particularly as embodied by Julia Evans) rather galling.
The concept is great fun though. An ex-army commando acquires a useable psychic ability as part of a military experiment and then uses his ability to set himself up as a private detective. The Psi Boost (mostly an empathic ability, which allows him to detect strong emotions) is believably portrayed and isn't overused -- Greg doesn't have superpowers and solves cases by being street smart and on the ball. The setting-- East Anglia after massive global warming and deprivations caused by an ultra-socialist government -- is also very good, both detailed and internally consistent without too much exposition of backstory. The pacing (which I find problematic in some of Peter f Hamilton's other series) is excellent, rollicking good reads if you don't analyse them too closely.
The concept is great fun though. An ex-army commando acquires a useable psychic ability as part of a military experiment and then uses his ability to set himself up as a private detective. The Psi Boost (mostly an empathic ability, which allows him to detect strong emotions) is believably portrayed and isn't overused -- Greg doesn't have superpowers and solves cases by being street smart and on the ball. The setting-- East Anglia after massive global warming and deprivations caused by an ultra-socialist government -- is also very good, both detailed and internally consistent without too much exposition of backstory. The pacing (which I find problematic in some of Peter f Hamilton's other series) is excellent, rollicking good reads if you don't analyse them too closely.
December 7, 2017
This is the third book in the Greg Mandel trilogy (series?) and by far the weakest of the lot. Each book is completely self-contained, and I wish I'd stopped with the last one instead of continuing to read this. This takes place years after the last book ended. The husband of ultra-rich businesswoman Julia Evans goes missing before the book opens. She is sent a flower from him that appears to have come from space somewhere, as it features alien technology, but she doesn't know what it means or how it was obtained. Her good friend Greg Mandel, an empath who's able to tell when someone is lying, is brought in to help discover the origins of the flower.
This book is far longer than either of the two previous installments, but the plot is by far thinner and weaker. I think this was meant to read like a cross between a thriller and a space opera, and it didn't really succeed as either. The flower seemed like a way to kick off the plot, but because the flower itself never seemed to be that important (or perhaps it was that important and its importance was simply not conveyed strongly enough to me), it seemed to mostly be a weak attempt to establish a reason for this book to move on. The majority of the book was more about shady business dealings and potential corporate espionage and trying to track down the high-priced courtesan who'd delivered the flower in the first place.
There were scenes I found interesting, particularly when something was hinted at but not immediately answered. For example, why was there no record of a businessman's son's birth? Clearly there was more of a story there - and there was! But the majority of the book seemed to just drag along and go into technical detail with long conversations that didn't seem all that important. There didn't seem to be much in the way of character development, at least not for the characters who'd been introduced in the previous books, and because this story was set so many years after the last one, it didn't seem to fit in with the others quite as seamlessly as it should have. The characters felt slightly different and obviously a lot had happened in the meantime that wasn't fully explained.
My mind wandered a lot while reading this book and I ended up skimming parts, simply because I was curious to know what would happen but the pages simply didn't hold my full attention. Overall, I'd say this was fairly forgettable. The author can clearly tell excellent stories, since I've read other books by him and enjoyed them, but this one fell flat.
This book is far longer than either of the two previous installments, but the plot is by far thinner and weaker. I think this was meant to read like a cross between a thriller and a space opera, and it didn't really succeed as either. The flower seemed like a way to kick off the plot, but because the flower itself never seemed to be that important (or perhaps it was that important and its importance was simply not conveyed strongly enough to me), it seemed to mostly be a weak attempt to establish a reason for this book to move on. The majority of the book was more about shady business dealings and potential corporate espionage and trying to track down the high-priced courtesan who'd delivered the flower in the first place.
There were scenes I found interesting, particularly when something was hinted at but not immediately answered. For example, why was there no record of a businessman's son's birth? Clearly there was more of a story there - and there was! But the majority of the book seemed to just drag along and go into technical detail with long conversations that didn't seem all that important. There didn't seem to be much in the way of character development, at least not for the characters who'd been introduced in the previous books, and because this story was set so many years after the last one, it didn't seem to fit in with the others quite as seamlessly as it should have. The characters felt slightly different and obviously a lot had happened in the meantime that wasn't fully explained.
My mind wandered a lot while reading this book and I ended up skimming parts, simply because I was curious to know what would happen but the pages simply didn't hold my full attention. Overall, I'd say this was fairly forgettable. The author can clearly tell excellent stories, since I've read other books by him and enjoyed them, but this one fell flat.
January 16, 2022
As much as I enjoy reading and writing sci-fi, I often feel behind in my sci-fi reading. More so than I feel behind in my reading in any other genre, haha!
So I was happy to find a bunch of Peter F. Hamilton books on sale, because I needed to catch up on him. My first encounter was the spectacular "Sonny's Edge" story in Love, Death & Robots—a beautifully rendered, edgy cyberpunk nightmare, dripping in neon. I then read half of A Second Chance at Eden before leaving it half-read on my ever-expanding half-read shelf for who knows why :D
I guess I hadn't read much of him because he seemed like he'd be one of those military fiction guys for manly men who described breasts often. I thought I'd start by reading his books in order, so I began with the Greg Mandel trilogy, about an ex-military, uh... something, breasts, etc xD
Jk, they're not bad! But way baggier than the first 150 pages of The Dreaming Void, which I also read, before shelving because I realised I was reading the books out of order.
I'm glad to see the consensus on Goodreads that while the Mandel trilogy shows a lot of promise, Hamilton gets way better. That seems to be my impression, and while I'm excited to continue, I don't think I'd recommend these books just because they're a bit too baggy. I lost momentum during all three of them because there wasn't enough meat per page and skipped to the end.
I'd ordinarily be concerned that sci-fi wasn't for me—there's something about the genre that seems so damn unfriendly and challenging!—but thankfully I'd conquered a few Alastair Reynolds books first, and also Dune!
Compare this series with Alastair Reynolds, my god! You couldn't cut a paragraph out that guy's prose. What a legend. Nothing but meat :D
So I was happy to find a bunch of Peter F. Hamilton books on sale, because I needed to catch up on him. My first encounter was the spectacular "Sonny's Edge" story in Love, Death & Robots—a beautifully rendered, edgy cyberpunk nightmare, dripping in neon. I then read half of A Second Chance at Eden before leaving it half-read on my ever-expanding half-read shelf for who knows why :D
I guess I hadn't read much of him because he seemed like he'd be one of those military fiction guys for manly men who described breasts often. I thought I'd start by reading his books in order, so I began with the Greg Mandel trilogy, about an ex-military, uh... something, breasts, etc xD
Jk, they're not bad! But way baggier than the first 150 pages of The Dreaming Void, which I also read, before shelving because I realised I was reading the books out of order.
I'm glad to see the consensus on Goodreads that while the Mandel trilogy shows a lot of promise, Hamilton gets way better. That seems to be my impression, and while I'm excited to continue, I don't think I'd recommend these books just because they're a bit too baggy. I lost momentum during all three of them because there wasn't enough meat per page and skipped to the end.
I'd ordinarily be concerned that sci-fi wasn't for me—there's something about the genre that seems so damn unfriendly and challenging!—but thankfully I'd conquered a few Alastair Reynolds books first, and also Dune!
Compare this series with Alastair Reynolds, my god! You couldn't cut a paragraph out that guy's prose. What a legend. Nothing but meat :D
May 24, 2012
It starts with a robot cockroach being dropped into a toilet. Tee hee!
5/18 hrs - Good characters and tech, and the possibility of aliens. Now this is the Hamilton I know and love.
16/18 hrs - Seeing some ideas from his next Night's Dawn trilogy. There was actually a lot of action around 9 hours. It almost felt like the end of a book. I'm sure some action is coming up now.
All done. The conclusion was very 'organic'. There were definitely precursors to his later work. I loved the female tech merc character.
5/18 hrs - Good characters and tech, and the possibility of aliens. Now this is the Hamilton I know and love.
16/18 hrs - Seeing some ideas from his next Night's Dawn trilogy. There was actually a lot of action around 9 hours. It almost felt like the end of a book. I'm sure some action is coming up now.
All done. The conclusion was very 'organic'. There were definitely precursors to his later work. I loved the female tech merc character.
January 1, 2021
This is the third book in the Greg Mandel series. I haven't read the first two, but all the books are standalone novels, so I didn't have any difficulties in following the story - although there may have been some nuances with the recurring characters that I didn't pick up on.
The book opened with a very cyberpunk feel, which is not something I associate with Hamilton's work, but that didn't last. Humans interfacing with tech was a major part of the novel, but not the gritty cyberpunk feel that the novel opened with.
Peter Hamilton is one of my favourite authors, and this book didn't disappoint. It's a lot longer than the first two in the series, but a lot shorter than the books that brought him much wider recognition, such as the Night's Dawn trilogy and the Commonwealth novels. It is also more hard sci-fi than his later works, which tend to fit firmly in the space opera category - the tech in this is, for the most part, all likely to be available within the timeframe of the novel.
There is a lot going on in this book, which is set in a near future (within the next century) Earth, after global warming has ravaged the planet. Most of the subplots are resolved, although some of the resolutions happen off-screen, which sets up the possibility of further developments, and some of them are resolved as afterthoughts. Although as Hamilton hasn't returned to this series in the last 25 years, it seems unlikely that there will be a 4th Greg Mandel novel.
The resolution of the main plot was somewhat of a surprise, and I didn't find it completely satisfactory.
The book opened with a very cyberpunk feel, which is not something I associate with Hamilton's work, but that didn't last. Humans interfacing with tech was a major part of the novel, but not the gritty cyberpunk feel that the novel opened with.
Peter Hamilton is one of my favourite authors, and this book didn't disappoint. It's a lot longer than the first two in the series, but a lot shorter than the books that brought him much wider recognition, such as the Night's Dawn trilogy and the Commonwealth novels. It is also more hard sci-fi than his later works, which tend to fit firmly in the space opera category - the tech in this is, for the most part, all likely to be available within the timeframe of the novel.
There is a lot going on in this book, which is set in a near future (within the next century) Earth, after global warming has ravaged the planet. Most of the subplots are resolved, although some of the resolutions happen off-screen, which sets up the possibility of further developments, and some of them are resolved as afterthoughts. Although as Hamilton hasn't returned to this series in the last 25 years, it seems unlikely that there will be a 4th Greg Mandel novel.
The resolution of the main plot was somewhat of a surprise, and I didn't find it completely satisfactory.
December 29, 2022
15 ans après le deuxième tome de la trilogie, Greg Mandel enquête à nouveau pour le compte de Julia Evans, héritière et directrice de Event Horizon, alors que celle-ci reçoit une fleur étrange, et que son mari disparait ...
Bon.
Alors.
Déjà, tonnerre d’applaudissements, j'ai ENFIN fini cette trilogie de la mort, et je vais pouvoir m'intéresser aux sagas plus intéressantes de Hamilton. Parce que si j'avais déjà peu apprécié les deux premiers, la conclusion qu'offre The Nano Flower encapsule TOUT ce qui ne va pas dans cette série : en fait, j'ai juste l'impression qu'elle vient d'un fantasme d'ado de 15 ans, avec des femmes magnifiques qui se tapent des ados (oui), des fleurs aliens (spoiler, on s'en fout), des explosions, des cataclysmes climatiques, tout ça tout ça. Honnêtement, celui-ci était extrêmement fouillis, pas plaisant à lire, et partait juste beaucoup trop loin dans son délire - surtout au niveau techno, mais aussi avec le délire des aliens. Parce que si Event Horizon possède vraiment les technologies présentées ici, et en est le seul propriétaire ... Alors Julia Evans pourrait littéralement prendre le contrôle du monde (ce qu'elle fait un peu d'ailleurs dans un sens). Et vous vous souvenez quand j'ai parlé de la pédophilie dans les 2 premiers ? Celui-ci montre une prostituée de 23 ans (bien sur, magnifique, hyper bonne et intelligente et la femme parfaite, fantasme d'ado je vous dis) engagée pour "accompagner" un ado de 15 ans (oui, on voit des scènes) ... Et qui tombe amoureuse de lui putain de merde.
Trop, c'est trop, au suivant
Bon.
Alors.
Déjà, tonnerre d’applaudissements, j'ai ENFIN fini cette trilogie de la mort, et je vais pouvoir m'intéresser aux sagas plus intéressantes de Hamilton. Parce que si j'avais déjà peu apprécié les deux premiers, la conclusion qu'offre The Nano Flower encapsule TOUT ce qui ne va pas dans cette série : en fait, j'ai juste l'impression qu'elle vient d'un fantasme d'ado de 15 ans, avec des femmes magnifiques qui se tapent des ados (oui), des fleurs aliens (spoiler, on s'en fout), des explosions, des cataclysmes climatiques, tout ça tout ça. Honnêtement, celui-ci était extrêmement fouillis, pas plaisant à lire, et partait juste beaucoup trop loin dans son délire - surtout au niveau techno, mais aussi avec le délire des aliens. Parce que si Event Horizon possède vraiment les technologies présentées ici, et en est le seul propriétaire ... Alors Julia Evans pourrait littéralement prendre le contrôle du monde (ce qu'elle fait un peu d'ailleurs dans un sens). Et vous vous souvenez quand j'ai parlé de la pédophilie dans les 2 premiers ? Celui-ci montre une prostituée de 23 ans (bien sur, magnifique, hyper bonne et intelligente et la femme parfaite, fantasme d'ado je vous dis) engagée pour "accompagner" un ado de 15 ans (oui, on voit des scènes) ... Et qui tombe amoureuse de lui putain de merde.
Trop, c'est trop, au suivant
August 20, 2017
“The Nano Flower” is written by Peter F. Hamilton and is the third Greg Mandel book of three. ISB number 978-0-812-57769-8, first published in 1998 by Tor.
First of all I would like to mention that the illustration of the book is for e a little bit disappointing. The cover art is by Barclay Shaw and the cover design by Carol Russo Design printed in America. For me the cover is important and must have some relation with the story and the setting of the story. When I look at the cover it gives me more a feeling of really old-fashioned SF. Two people wearing a nice and shining overall and waving around with water pistols.
The first book was written around corporate espionage combined with neural implants, global warming and high tech warfare. The second book was a murder mystery combined with quantum mechanics and the flow of time. The third book is all about Techmerkcs, space, alien life forms and DNA sequencing. Hamilton did a great job writing these three books where the story seems to flow naturally from book one to book three.
However Hamilton doesn’t have the suppleness to create a credible female character with his writing style and I think he misses a chance there. This is a reoccurring subject in nearly all his book by the way.
Below an abstract of the personages:
Event Horizon:
Julia Evans, currently 34 years.
Royan, married to Julia.
Danielle and Matthew, children of Royan and Julia.
Rachel Griffith, now Julia’s PA.
Kirsten McAndrews, Julia’s private secretary.
Victor Tyo, Security chief.
Peter Cavendish, director.
Nicolas Beswick, Physics Professor.
Eugene Shelby, attempted to snatch data from Event Horizon and offers 0,5 mio for the assassination of Victor Tyo.
Eddie Loghlan, Institute security manager.
Dr. Rick Parnell, Institute SETI project manager.
Event Horizon’s hardliners:
Pears Solomons
Malcom Ramkartra.
Howard Lovell.
Katie Sanson.
Alex Lahey, armourer.
Event Horizon Crahsh Team:
Melvin Ambler, crash team captain.
Josh Baily.
Teresa Farrow (equipped with a psychic saq implant), also Charlotte’s body guard.
Jim Sharman.
Carlos Monetti.
Dennis Naverro.
Lesley.
Isaac.
Dean.
Robbie.
Lilian.
Neil.
Catherine Rushton, Pegasus Pilot.
Maria Garrick, Julia’s pilot of the CHO-808 Falcon Space plane.
The Anastacia, Orion Class Space plane.
Greg Mandel, now owner of a citrus fruit farm.
Elanor Mandel, Greg’s wife.
Christine, daughter.
Oliver and Anita, 11-year-old twin of Greg and Elanor.
Derek Peters.
Alan and Simon, helping out at the farm picking fruit.
Mel Gainlee, also fruit picker.
Suzie, former Trinity and now independent Techmerk.
Andria, Suzie’s partner.
Taylor Faulkner, Suzie’s client.
Suzie’s Team:
Jools the Tool, fitting out insects with camera’s. (Frankenstein Cockroach).
Maurice Picklyn, hotrod.
Josh Laren, small time hood.
Amanda Duncley.
Karen Naughton, Suzie’s alias.
Morell, Microgee equipment company.
Chris Brimley, programmer at Morell.
Leol Reiger, tekmerc and Suzie’s adversary.
Leol’s teckmerc team:
Chad, Psi teckmerc.
New London, Event Horizon’s hollowed out nickel-iron asteroid in orbit around the earth.
The Celestial Apostles, illegal inhabitants of the asteroid.
Sinclair, leader of the the Celestial Apostles.
Talbot Lombard (Tol), technician of the Celestial Apostles.
Sean Fransis, Govenor.
Michelle Waddington, Sean’s secretary.
Lloyd MacDonnald, corporate security chief.
Gene Learmont, Bobby of the New London’s police force.
Bernard Kemp, sergeant of the New London’s police force.
Berni Parking, Duty commander.
Kiley, Jupiter probe, sample return mission.
Newton’s Apple, Clarke class space plane used for launching the Jupiter probe.
Irvin Diwan, Newton’s Apple Captain.
Meg Knowles, payload officer.
William Tyrell, manager assembling bay 37.
Monaco, still separate mini state and protected by means of a dome.
Commissaire André Dubaud, Monaco’s deputy police chief.
Casino and Hotel Halhari.
Claude Murtand, hotel security manager.
Charlotte Diane Fielder, art student and paid companion in service of Dimitri Baronski.
Jason Whitehurst, wealthy independent trader and Charlotte’s patron.
Fabian Whitehurst, 15 years and Jason’s son.
Colonel Maintland, old passenger air ship bought by Jason Whitehurst.
Nia Korovilla, maid at the Colonel Maintland.
Ali Murdad, Charlotte’s former patron from Aflaj Industrial cybernetics.
Eduard Miller, Mutizen’s Vice President.
Horace Jepson, Channel Magnate Globecast.
Clifford, Horace’s son.
Melaine Jepson, Clifford’s wife.
Sonnie, son of Melaine and Clifford.
Government of England:
Micheal Hartvourt, Minister of Industry
David Merchant, first elected Prime Minister after the PSP fell.
Joshua Wheaton, current Prime Minister.
Nova Kirov, Homestead in Greenland.
General Vassile Kaunoskin, he served together with Greg Mandel in Turkey.
Natalia, Vassile’s wife.
Dolgoprudnensky, communist party successor.
Pavel Kirilov, leader of the Dolgoprudnensky.
North Sea Farm Company:
Eliot Haydon, director.
Judy Tobandi, security officer.
First of all I would like to mention that the illustration of the book is for e a little bit disappointing. The cover art is by Barclay Shaw and the cover design by Carol Russo Design printed in America. For me the cover is important and must have some relation with the story and the setting of the story. When I look at the cover it gives me more a feeling of really old-fashioned SF. Two people wearing a nice and shining overall and waving around with water pistols.
The first book was written around corporate espionage combined with neural implants, global warming and high tech warfare. The second book was a murder mystery combined with quantum mechanics and the flow of time. The third book is all about Techmerkcs, space, alien life forms and DNA sequencing. Hamilton did a great job writing these three books where the story seems to flow naturally from book one to book three.
However Hamilton doesn’t have the suppleness to create a credible female character with his writing style and I think he misses a chance there. This is a reoccurring subject in nearly all his book by the way.
Below an abstract of the personages:
Event Horizon:
Julia Evans, currently 34 years.
Royan, married to Julia.
Danielle and Matthew, children of Royan and Julia.
Rachel Griffith, now Julia’s PA.
Kirsten McAndrews, Julia’s private secretary.
Victor Tyo, Security chief.
Peter Cavendish, director.
Nicolas Beswick, Physics Professor.
Eugene Shelby, attempted to snatch data from Event Horizon and offers 0,5 mio for the assassination of Victor Tyo.
Eddie Loghlan, Institute security manager.
Dr. Rick Parnell, Institute SETI project manager.
Event Horizon’s hardliners:
Pears Solomons
Malcom Ramkartra.
Howard Lovell.
Katie Sanson.
Alex Lahey, armourer.
Event Horizon Crahsh Team:
Melvin Ambler, crash team captain.
Josh Baily.
Teresa Farrow (equipped with a psychic saq implant), also Charlotte’s body guard.
Jim Sharman.
Carlos Monetti.
Dennis Naverro.
Lesley.
Isaac.
Dean.
Robbie.
Lilian.
Neil.
Catherine Rushton, Pegasus Pilot.
Maria Garrick, Julia’s pilot of the CHO-808 Falcon Space plane.
The Anastacia, Orion Class Space plane.
Greg Mandel, now owner of a citrus fruit farm.
Elanor Mandel, Greg’s wife.
Christine, daughter.
Oliver and Anita, 11-year-old twin of Greg and Elanor.
Derek Peters.
Alan and Simon, helping out at the farm picking fruit.
Mel Gainlee, also fruit picker.
Suzie, former Trinity and now independent Techmerk.
Andria, Suzie’s partner.
Taylor Faulkner, Suzie’s client.
Suzie’s Team:
Jools the Tool, fitting out insects with camera’s. (Frankenstein Cockroach).
Maurice Picklyn, hotrod.
Josh Laren, small time hood.
Amanda Duncley.
Karen Naughton, Suzie’s alias.
Morell, Microgee equipment company.
Chris Brimley, programmer at Morell.
Leol Reiger, tekmerc and Suzie’s adversary.
Leol’s teckmerc team:
Chad, Psi teckmerc.
New London, Event Horizon’s hollowed out nickel-iron asteroid in orbit around the earth.
The Celestial Apostles, illegal inhabitants of the asteroid.
Sinclair, leader of the the Celestial Apostles.
Talbot Lombard (Tol), technician of the Celestial Apostles.
Sean Fransis, Govenor.
Michelle Waddington, Sean’s secretary.
Lloyd MacDonnald, corporate security chief.
Gene Learmont, Bobby of the New London’s police force.
Bernard Kemp, sergeant of the New London’s police force.
Berni Parking, Duty commander.
Kiley, Jupiter probe, sample return mission.
Newton’s Apple, Clarke class space plane used for launching the Jupiter probe.
Irvin Diwan, Newton’s Apple Captain.
Meg Knowles, payload officer.
William Tyrell, manager assembling bay 37.
Monaco, still separate mini state and protected by means of a dome.
Commissaire André Dubaud, Monaco’s deputy police chief.
Casino and Hotel Halhari.
Claude Murtand, hotel security manager.
Charlotte Diane Fielder, art student and paid companion in service of Dimitri Baronski.
Jason Whitehurst, wealthy independent trader and Charlotte’s patron.
Fabian Whitehurst, 15 years and Jason’s son.
Colonel Maintland, old passenger air ship bought by Jason Whitehurst.
Nia Korovilla, maid at the Colonel Maintland.
Ali Murdad, Charlotte’s former patron from Aflaj Industrial cybernetics.
Eduard Miller, Mutizen’s Vice President.
Horace Jepson, Channel Magnate Globecast.
Clifford, Horace’s son.
Melaine Jepson, Clifford’s wife.
Sonnie, son of Melaine and Clifford.
Government of England:
Micheal Hartvourt, Minister of Industry
David Merchant, first elected Prime Minister after the PSP fell.
Joshua Wheaton, current Prime Minister.
Nova Kirov, Homestead in Greenland.
General Vassile Kaunoskin, he served together with Greg Mandel in Turkey.
Natalia, Vassile’s wife.
Dolgoprudnensky, communist party successor.
Pavel Kirilov, leader of the Dolgoprudnensky.
North Sea Farm Company:
Eliot Haydon, director.
Judy Tobandi, security officer.
November 19, 2012
I really enjoyed The Nano Flower..up until the ending...It's not that it's a 'bad' ending exactly, it's just that the latter portions of the novel get a little strange...
the book's been summarized pretty well in the editorial excerpts as well as the previous reviewers' statements so I won't go into that in any great depth.
Greg's pulled out of retirement (once again) by Julia Evans (you guessed it) because she gets a note from her missing lover Royan, delivered by a known consort (read, call girl) at one of her charity functions. Royan up and disappeared 8 months prior to the beginning of the novel but didn't go without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for Julia and company to follow. You see, Royan discovered something..something big..something that will change the entire planet's world view forever.
Over the course of the series I found myself liking Greg's character more and more. The former hardliner and psychic detective for hire just wants to wind down. He's become more thoughtful and introspective over the years whereas in his younger days he was just about getting the job done. Conversely I'm still not sure how I feel about Julia Evans. I know she has the weight of the world's largest conglomerate on her shoulders and overall her motivations are altruistic. She wants the world to be better than what was left to her generation with the crash of governments and the global warming crisis. What I have trouble with is that while this trait pervades her character there are undercurrents of things always being about making a profit usually through shady business means. She's a complex character that usually gets her way by way of business savvy and much confidence. Her confidence will surely be tested before the novel is over. I won't say I hate the Julia Evans character, but I'm not enamored with her either.
This is by far the most ambitious and lengthy of the trilogy. It literally spans earth and beyond. As I said, the end gets a little odd and the ending is a little quirky and I do mean the VERY end. As a matter of fact, this novel almost reminds me a little of Fallen Dragon in a way. That's all I'll say on that.
At the end of the day an overall pleasing ending to a great sci fi trilogy. Being there's 17 years or so between the end of Quantum Murder and the beginning of Flower, it would have been nice to see some more novels in the series but Hamilton does a nice job with the exposition so it doesn't seem as if we've been left out in the cold all that time.
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the book's been summarized pretty well in the editorial excerpts as well as the previous reviewers' statements so I won't go into that in any great depth.
Greg's pulled out of retirement (once again) by Julia Evans (you guessed it) because she gets a note from her missing lover Royan, delivered by a known consort (read, call girl) at one of her charity functions. Royan up and disappeared 8 months prior to the beginning of the novel but didn't go without leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for Julia and company to follow. You see, Royan discovered something..something big..something that will change the entire planet's world view forever.
Over the course of the series I found myself liking Greg's character more and more. The former hardliner and psychic detective for hire just wants to wind down. He's become more thoughtful and introspective over the years whereas in his younger days he was just about getting the job done. Conversely I'm still not sure how I feel about Julia Evans. I know she has the weight of the world's largest conglomerate on her shoulders and overall her motivations are altruistic. She wants the world to be better than what was left to her generation with the crash of governments and the global warming crisis. What I have trouble with is that while this trait pervades her character there are undercurrents of things always being about making a profit usually through shady business means. She's a complex character that usually gets her way by way of business savvy and much confidence. Her confidence will surely be tested before the novel is over. I won't say I hate the Julia Evans character, but I'm not enamored with her either.
This is by far the most ambitious and lengthy of the trilogy. It literally spans earth and beyond. As I said, the end gets a little odd and the ending is a little quirky and I do mean the VERY end. As a matter of fact, this novel almost reminds me a little of Fallen Dragon in a way. That's all I'll say on that.
At the end of the day an overall pleasing ending to a great sci fi trilogy. Being there's 17 years or so between the end of Quantum Murder and the beginning of Flower, it would have been nice to see some more novels in the series but Hamilton does a nice job with the exposition so it doesn't seem as if we've been left out in the cold all that time.
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October 3, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in November 2000.
The third Greg Mandel novel is, like its predecessors, obviously flawed; unlike them, it is more a thriller than a mystery. It is set the better part of two decades later, when Greg and his wife Eleanor have teenage children, and Greg's friend and employer (billionaire industrialist Julia Evans) has a husband and children of her own. Had a husband, I should say, for he has gone missing before the start of the novel. The story begins when a flower is delivered to Julia along with a message from her husband; the flower, it turns out, is not from earth but contains alien genetic material. Julia asks Greg to track down her husband and find the source of the flower, which appears to be connected with rumours of an incredible new technology - also possibly of alien origin.
As a thriller, the plot amounts to a race between Greg and Julia on the one hand and unscrupulous unknown rivals on the other to gain control of this new technology. This would be fine, and has obviously been the basis of quite a large number of enjoyable thrillers. However, The Nano Flower has several flaws. The characterisation, particularly of Julia, is inconsistent. Greg's psychic powers are rather different from those he has in the earlier novels, with intuition emphasised rather than empathy. Most seriously, The Nano Flower has a poor beginning, the first fifty or so pages almost completely failing to grip the imagination even for a reader who has already read both Mindstar Rising and A Quantum Murder. Though it picks up in the middle, the ending is also something of a disappointment. The poorest in the series.
The third Greg Mandel novel is, like its predecessors, obviously flawed; unlike them, it is more a thriller than a mystery. It is set the better part of two decades later, when Greg and his wife Eleanor have teenage children, and Greg's friend and employer (billionaire industrialist Julia Evans) has a husband and children of her own. Had a husband, I should say, for he has gone missing before the start of the novel. The story begins when a flower is delivered to Julia along with a message from her husband; the flower, it turns out, is not from earth but contains alien genetic material. Julia asks Greg to track down her husband and find the source of the flower, which appears to be connected with rumours of an incredible new technology - also possibly of alien origin.
As a thriller, the plot amounts to a race between Greg and Julia on the one hand and unscrupulous unknown rivals on the other to gain control of this new technology. This would be fine, and has obviously been the basis of quite a large number of enjoyable thrillers. However, The Nano Flower has several flaws. The characterisation, particularly of Julia, is inconsistent. Greg's psychic powers are rather different from those he has in the earlier novels, with intuition emphasised rather than empathy. Most seriously, The Nano Flower has a poor beginning, the first fifty or so pages almost completely failing to grip the imagination even for a reader who has already read both Mindstar Rising and A Quantum Murder. Though it picks up in the middle, the ending is also something of a disappointment. The poorest in the series.
September 14, 2013
The final book in the Mandel series. It was very awesome. Just as good as the first, though different, and far better than the 2nd. And it's the only one in the series that can possibly be classified as a space opera.
Note that you can safely skip the 2nd book in the series and only read #1 and #3 if you want. This one takes place 15 years after the 2nd book and the plot is not contiguous except for the introduction of a couple minor characters.
Hamilton's story pacing, action sequences, and world building are the best of this series. The characters are many that you've come to love over the last 2 books. Mandel is an old man, but age has enhanced his psychic ability, and you see him combat other empaths for the first time.
The only real disappointment in this book is that there was never an urgent feeling of jeopardy for the main characters like there was in book 1. The suspense somehow wasn't as severe, and Greg never really got stuck. That doesn't mean this wasn't a well-paced book, but that the focus wasn't so much on the suspense and action as developing a really interesting theory of an alien species that is far different than any other that I've seen. Really cool stuff.
And the Epilogue is perfect.
Overall, great series. Sad to leave the Mandel universe, and I've already started The Reality Disfunction.
Note: read via Audiobook. The reader was excellent.
Note that you can safely skip the 2nd book in the series and only read #1 and #3 if you want. This one takes place 15 years after the 2nd book and the plot is not contiguous except for the introduction of a couple minor characters.
Hamilton's story pacing, action sequences, and world building are the best of this series. The characters are many that you've come to love over the last 2 books. Mandel is an old man, but age has enhanced his psychic ability, and you see him combat other empaths for the first time.
The only real disappointment in this book is that there was never an urgent feeling of jeopardy for the main characters like there was in book 1. The suspense somehow wasn't as severe, and Greg never really got stuck. That doesn't mean this wasn't a well-paced book, but that the focus wasn't so much on the suspense and action as developing a really interesting theory of an alien species that is far different than any other that I've seen. Really cool stuff.
And the Epilogue is perfect.
Overall, great series. Sad to leave the Mandel universe, and I've already started The Reality Disfunction.
Note: read via Audiobook. The reader was excellent.
October 25, 2007
This is the first Peter Hamilton book I ever read although it is the third in the trilogy. I found it as an import, and thank goodness for that because if I had first encountered this book through the (original) US version, I never would have picked it up, because the cover is absolutely atrocious. That would have been a shame, because this is a wonderful near future cyber thriller. The first book is good. The second one I did not like very much. But this one is a classic. It is set in the UK and I had an easier time picturing the settings reading this than I did reading Virtual Light by William Gibson which is set in my home town of San Francisco.
January 17, 2009
The third Greg Mandel novel finds Hamilton straining the limits of his post-Warming, post socialist tyrany, hi-tech world of psychics and corporate espionage: suddenly we have an alien flower and visits to space. This is a thriller more in the vein of the first Mandel novel, Mindstar Rising, than the formal murder-mystery of the second. That's probably why I prefer the middle novel: Hamilton is at his best when writing detective stories.
April 9, 2018
It's an OK Peter F. Hamilton book.
If you have read The Night's Dawn Trilogy and The Commonwealth Saga you don't really need to bother with this book, but it's OK if you are a completionist.
If you have read The Night's Dawn Trilogy and The Commonwealth Saga you don't really need to bother with this book, but it's OK if you are a completionist.
January 16, 2013
For the final book in the Greg Mandel series, Hamilton gives him his biggest case. Greg's journey is well drawn and convincing: he's changed considerably since the first book and it's a shame to see him hang up his psychic powers. Hamilton caps off the series nicely: it's sad to see it end, but it's always good to see a series finish on high rather than left open for a sequel that never comes.
March 22, 2013
The last Book in the Mandel series. I have to say I am sad to have finished them. I like Hamilton's vision of the future,the characters and character development and story lines. As such I have read almost all his published work. It seems he has explored several time periods in earths future. Though the characters in this book were getting older it is a shame they have passed out of time.
May 24, 2014
Don't know why, but every other time I read it, I fell asleep before I got a full chapter in. It had all the sorts of bits that would make it exciting in theory, but just literally put me to sleep every time. Not bad, but I'm glad to be finally done with it.
February 9, 2017
This is another fine Greg Mandel sci-fi mystery, with many the familiar and loved cast of characters of the first two books. The Nano Flower is creative and clever often, but truly a pre-cursor to the wonderful work of Pandora's Star and the subsequent books of the Commonwealth Universe.
July 15, 2017
Third in the series. I liked the others, but the main characters seemed out-of-character of sorts in this one. I put this one down much more than the previous and I don't think I will recommend this one.
July 27, 2012
The most "Hamilton" of the 3 Greg Mandel books and I also notice some idea he later expanded on in his other books. Fun read.
December 14, 2013
I've never met a Mandel book I didn't like
August 21, 2017
Enjoyed the first half or the "scene setting" - but found it then meandered a bit too much towards a slightly unsatifying conclusion . . .
October 18, 2024
I'd read some of Peter F. Hamilton's more recent work (the second two thirds of the Void trilogy, to be precise), so I thought it would be interesting to check out some of his early stuff. As always, I came in on book 3 in a trilogy. It's like a curse or something with me. For once, though, it didn't matter. Apparently The Nano Flower picks up many years after the first two books.
Basically, it's a great cross-genre romp. Huge chunks play out like a standard technothriller, only a few decades into a post-climate change future. Then at other times, it's all very cyberpunk. But it all zips along at a hugely readable pace that more than justifies its 560 or so pages.
It's a bit... odd... from a 2024 standpoint, to read a genuinely progressive novel in which the heroes are, fundamentally, a trillionaire capitalist and her private army. Technocrat Julia Evans is a likeable enough character, but I think it's fair to say Hamilton would probably have made Other Choices if he was writing the novel today.
Evans drives the novel - her partner has gone missing, but somehow delivers an alien flower to her. The rest of the book centres on her quest to track down her lover, but also to protect her corporate interests. She clashes with fellow oligarchs and more or less declares war on their businesses. She clashes with an ambitious politician and decides to prevent him from becoming democratically elected. Again all this does provoke the odd raised eyebrow when read through a modern lens.
But of course, you make your heroes heroic by making their opposition even more vile. Despite having enough money to lasso asteroids into Earth's orbit to mine them for precious metals, Julia is shown to have a strong moral compass, particularly in comparison with her peers.
Parallel to Julia's shenanigans, psychic detective Greg Mandel is brought out of retirement to track down the flower's courier. This strand of the story is where most of the action comes in, and for a book which will occasionally lapse into a three page conversation about genetic structures, it does properly kick off from time to time, in huge set-piece scenes full of military hardware and jetpacks.
Niggles aside, this is a great fun book. Particularly as nothing dates faster than the futuristic. We're now 30 years on from the book's publication and already characters drinking cans of Ruddles Bitter are charmingly funny.
Basically, it's a great cross-genre romp. Huge chunks play out like a standard technothriller, only a few decades into a post-climate change future. Then at other times, it's all very cyberpunk. But it all zips along at a hugely readable pace that more than justifies its 560 or so pages.
It's a bit... odd... from a 2024 standpoint, to read a genuinely progressive novel in which the heroes are, fundamentally, a trillionaire capitalist and her private army. Technocrat Julia Evans is a likeable enough character, but I think it's fair to say Hamilton would probably have made Other Choices if he was writing the novel today.
Evans drives the novel - her partner has gone missing, but somehow delivers an alien flower to her. The rest of the book centres on her quest to track down her lover, but also to protect her corporate interests. She clashes with fellow oligarchs and more or less declares war on their businesses. She clashes with an ambitious politician and decides to prevent him from becoming democratically elected. Again all this does provoke the odd raised eyebrow when read through a modern lens.
But of course, you make your heroes heroic by making their opposition even more vile. Despite having enough money to lasso asteroids into Earth's orbit to mine them for precious metals, Julia is shown to have a strong moral compass, particularly in comparison with her peers.
Parallel to Julia's shenanigans, psychic detective Greg Mandel is brought out of retirement to track down the flower's courier. This strand of the story is where most of the action comes in, and for a book which will occasionally lapse into a three page conversation about genetic structures, it does properly kick off from time to time, in huge set-piece scenes full of military hardware and jetpacks.
Niggles aside, this is a great fun book. Particularly as nothing dates faster than the futuristic. We're now 30 years on from the book's publication and already characters drinking cans of Ruddles Bitter are charmingly funny.
November 20, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️ IT WAS GOOD BUT NOT GREAT -- This book was enjoyable, but I didn't LOVE it. I may have had some small issues with things like the plot or characterisation, or it may have just been a bit slow occasionally which led to my attention wandering. I'll also probably not remember this book distinctly in a few months time. Still, I would recommend this book to people who like other similar works.
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My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too matureortoo young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ❌
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ➖
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ➖
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ✅
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ✅
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: None.
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 6/10 (3/5 stars)
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Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
Full review to come.
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Series ratings:
1. Mindstar Rising - 4 stars
2. A Quantum Murder - 4 stars
2.5 Family Matters - 2.75 stars
3. The Nano Flower - 3 stars
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My ranking criteria (✅= Yes, ❌= No, ➖= Kind of/a little bit):
*Bonus points if I can't put the book down, it makes me feel strong emotion, or genuinely surprises me in some way.
*Penalty points for editing errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.), for children who act too matureortoo young for their age (this is a bugbear of mine), or if there is something in the book that just really pisses me off for any reason.
1. I was sucked into the story from the beginning ❌
2. The story had a proper beginning, middle, and end ✅
3. The writing evoked a feeling of suspense ➖
4. I was engaged the whole way through/didn't get bored ➖
5. The characters were interesting ➖
6. There was some form of character development ➖
7. The book wasn't predictable in terms of relying on tired tropes, clichés, themes, stereotypes, etc. ➖
8. I cared about the outcome of the story ✅
9. I didn't work out the ending/the ending surprised me ✅
10. The ending was satisfying ➖
🌟 Bonus points: None.
☠️ Penalty points: None.
🏅 OVERALL RANKING: 6/10 (3/5 stars)
----------
Thoughts, Conclusion, and Recommendation:
Full review to come.
----------
Series ratings:
1. Mindstar Rising - 4 stars
2. A Quantum Murder - 4 stars
2.5 Family Matters - 2.75 stars
3. The Nano Flower - 3 stars
February 12, 2025
Julia Evans, billionaire boss of megacorporation Event Horizon, receives a strange flower at a business reception, delivered by an anonymous young woman. All innocuous until they find it is from Julia’s missing beau Royan, and the flower is of an unknown type, probably extraterrestrial. Calling on retired Mindstar Greg Mandel, Julia (with her Neural Net upload of her grandfather) puts together a small team to track down the delivery girl Charlotte, and Royan. However, Charlotte, also a courtesan, has been ostensibly hired by a rich broker to initiate his teenage son into the mysteries of sex, but in reality she has been kidnapped and is to be auctioned to the highest bidder for her knowledge of the flower and the alien secret of atomic structuring it hints at. Unfortunately this is so valuable that consortia will stop at nothing to get it and tekmerc squads from at least two other bidders have been sent to get her. The trail leads to the orbiting habitat of New London, a hollowed-out asteroid, where the person who gave Charlotte the flower is masquerading as a Celestial, a religious group. Meanwhile, tracking down the money leads to the Russian mafia. Royan has been leaving a breadcrumb trail of hidden memory chips which imply that he has brought back and modified alien bacteria, and that the presence of an alien on New London cannot be ruled out. Charlotte, in a desire for vengeance, has made a devastating error in judgement and drawn all the competing forces together for a climactic and unexpected encounter. Exciting, tense, action-packed, and filled with characters you are either drawn to or repelled by. Fabulous conclusion to the Greg Mandel books by Peter F. Hamilton. Can be read as standalone.
June 29, 2017
I didn't think that The Nano Flower was as good as the previous two books in the trilogy. It sort of feels like it was written only to tie in the trilogy to the author's later novels (will know for sure once I've read those).
But one can't deny Peter F. Hamilton's talent and great writing style. I don't like space opera, but after these three novels I'll definitely give some of the author's other works a shot.
I tend not to comment on authors' idiosyncrasies, but one peculiar thing that really stood out to me was the number of men in The Nano Flower who are described as "balding" or having "thinning hair". Without exaggeration, two out of three male side characters are 'folliclly challenged'. In the shiny bright future inhabited by Greg Mandel, humans have brain implants giving them incredible memory and processing power, grow fruit on the bottom of the sea and have solved the problem of drought and famine in Africa. The very wealthy can even have an entire body vat-grown to order. Yet male-pattern baldness continues to confound the best geneticists of the era. Pretty harsh.
But one can't deny Peter F. Hamilton's talent and great writing style. I don't like space opera, but after these three novels I'll definitely give some of the author's other works a shot.
I tend not to comment on authors' idiosyncrasies, but one peculiar thing that really stood out to me was the number of men in The Nano Flower who are described as "balding" or having "thinning hair". Without exaggeration, two out of three male side characters are 'folliclly challenged'. In the shiny bright future inhabited by Greg Mandel, humans have brain implants giving them incredible memory and processing power, grow fruit on the bottom of the sea and have solved the problem of drought and famine in Africa. The very wealthy can even have an entire body vat-grown to order. Yet male-pattern baldness continues to confound the best geneticists of the era. Pretty harsh.
February 26, 2019
Something happened to Peter F. Hamilton between the second and third volumes of the Greg Mandel trilogy. He turned from a good average writing style to a great one. The Nano Flower is almost at the same level as Pandora's Star and births Hamilton's detailed universe. No wonder there was no fourth novel in the series, it would only drag the writer down.
The book has everything I came to expect from Peter F. Hamilton: hard sci-fi, detailed sociopolitical context, aliens, the party of braves, the sociopathic villains, a reference to Lord of the Rings... I do believe that Tolkien inspired Hamilton to write, but now it has become the chink in the writing armor, Achilles' heal. I've read a few great Hamilton books, but each had the basic layout of a battle between good and evil, groups of people uniting under improbable ideals to defeat an all too dark a villain. The qualities that attracted so many people to Lord of the Rings, for example, like camaraderie, honor, desire to help others, are not so attractive to me anymore. They are basic, very unlikely to truly define a character. I would very much want to see a Hamilton gray book. Maybe the new Void Trilogy will fulfill my wish (if I don't die of waiting for it to appear), although the vengeance driven character that remains pure and good at heart described in the first volume doesn't give me a lot of hope.
Anyway, even if I do seem to concentrate on what I don't like or what I would change in the writing of this great book maker, my appreciation for him is way higher than any possible defect in his writing. So, if you don't totally dislike sci-fi, go to a book store and buy Peter F. Hamilton books.
The book has everything I came to expect from Peter F. Hamilton: hard sci-fi, detailed sociopolitical context, aliens, the party of braves, the sociopathic villains, a reference to Lord of the Rings... I do believe that Tolkien inspired Hamilton to write, but now it has become the chink in the writing armor, Achilles' heal. I've read a few great Hamilton books, but each had the basic layout of a battle between good and evil, groups of people uniting under improbable ideals to defeat an all too dark a villain. The qualities that attracted so many people to Lord of the Rings, for example, like camaraderie, honor, desire to help others, are not so attractive to me anymore. They are basic, very unlikely to truly define a character. I would very much want to see a Hamilton gray book. Maybe the new Void Trilogy will fulfill my wish (if I don't die of waiting for it to appear), although the vengeance driven character that remains pure and good at heart described in the first volume doesn't give me a lot of hope.
Anyway, even if I do seem to concentrate on what I don't like or what I would change in the writing of this great book maker, my appreciation for him is way higher than any possible defect in his writing. So, if you don't totally dislike sci-fi, go to a book store and buy Peter F. Hamilton books.
June 17, 2020
Like the other two books in the series, this book is set in a future past global warming where Britannia, once more, rules the global waves. This could be a fun self-deprecating exercise of a style that marries James Bond to Red Dwarf, but unfortunately, it ends up being Nigel Farage on a one-night stand with Starship Troopers.
Elite white people execute God's will in any way they choose, because they are chosen. A world queen made to dominate the globe through capitalist industrial might is charged with making it right. She is beautiful, young, successful mother and lover. She rules over an ever smaller tapestry of mini-states, because, as we learn in an unfiltered political monologue towards the end, division is better than union.
After travelling into the mind and into the past in previous books, in this final episode, God sends his Gaya tendrils to Earth and the common people cannot see the implication of the mighty sign in the desert. And so the world queen and her lover have to take it onto themselves to receive the gift of eternal life and travel out to promote Global Britain among the stars.
All of this, being space opera, is garnished with a rich panache of shooting, maiming and killing, provided by the TechMerc(TM), the trustee go-between of the future which outflanks and outranks any regular law enforcement.
Other than that, it is quite a compact book. Both plot and characters are so shallow they fit under any door.
Elite white people execute God's will in any way they choose, because they are chosen. A world queen made to dominate the globe through capitalist industrial might is charged with making it right. She is beautiful, young, successful mother and lover. She rules over an ever smaller tapestry of mini-states, because, as we learn in an unfiltered political monologue towards the end, division is better than union.
After travelling into the mind and into the past in previous books, in this final episode, God sends his Gaya tendrils to Earth and the common people cannot see the implication of the mighty sign in the desert. And so the world queen and her lover have to take it onto themselves to receive the gift of eternal life and travel out to promote Global Britain among the stars.
All of this, being space opera, is garnished with a rich panache of shooting, maiming and killing, provided by the TechMerc(TM), the trustee go-between of the future which outflanks and outranks any regular law enforcement.
Other than that, it is quite a compact book. Both plot and characters are so shallow they fit under any door.
August 30, 2023
In a way, I've read my Peter F. Hamilton backwards. I began with the Commonwealth universe novels, moved forward to the Salvation Sequence, went back to his second ever trilogy in the Confederation universe and finally, now, read his first set of novels, the Greg Mandel trilogy. In doing this, it has been interesting to see a lot of things in common between his novels, things that are taken as given with future tech, have their beginnings of sorts in the Mandel stories.
Educational laser paradigms
Wormhole research
Gene tailoring
Downloaded consciousnesses and consciousness proxies (Julia Evans here; Ione Saldana later)
Domed cities
Bioware implants for enhanced abilities
Instantaneous mental communication
The beginnings of force fields, e.g. solidified air
Lingering spirits (ok not tech but he uses this idea in later works)
Strategic defense platforms
Even ESP ideas began here, later found in Edeard and his Living Dreams.
And haha the word "lenticular" begins in these books, I guess, although "Jesus wept" doesn't really take off until his later works.
It was also interesting to see these detective novels move towards the space opera genre in the conclusion to the trilogy. As with many of his works, we had the big reveal at the end that one might consider contrived.
I really enjoyed going back to Hamilton's beginnings, and very much look forward to all of his future work.
Educational laser paradigms
Wormhole research
Gene tailoring
Downloaded consciousnesses and consciousness proxies (Julia Evans here; Ione Saldana later)
Domed cities
Bioware implants for enhanced abilities
Instantaneous mental communication
The beginnings of force fields, e.g. solidified air
Lingering spirits (ok not tech but he uses this idea in later works)
Strategic defense platforms
Even ESP ideas began here, later found in Edeard and his Living Dreams.
And haha the word "lenticular" begins in these books, I guess, although "Jesus wept" doesn't really take off until his later works.
It was also interesting to see these detective novels move towards the space opera genre in the conclusion to the trilogy. As with many of his works, we had the big reveal at the end that one might consider contrived.
I really enjoyed going back to Hamilton's beginnings, and very much look forward to all of his future work.
August 4, 2023
This final installment of the Greg Mandel Trilogy has all the Hamilton trademarks and doesn't disappoint with plenty of futuristic scenarios and lots of action in a post global-warming Earth that seems to be prospering.
But this story isn't so much about Greg (though he features prominently in the tale) as it is about Royan, a horribly mutilated kid in a ruthless street gang whom Greg and his mentor, Julia Evans had befriended due to his cybernetic genius and his opposition to the Maoist regime now recently overthrown.
In a flashback it tells the story of Royan's rescue by Julia (a tech oligarch with a brilliant mind of her own) and Greg. Julia rehabilitates Royan and makes him whole again. They become lovers, parents and partners in Julia's massive economic powerhouse, Event Horizon.
Then Royan disappears completely and in desperation Julia enlists Greg's aid to find him. Greg in turn recruits another of Royan's old friends Suzi, a deadly tech-merc and from here the action goes almost non-stop through a maze of corporate plots, kidnappings, and a soulless tech-merc adversary who always shoots first and asks questions never. The battle for the dirigible is a classic heart-stopping action piece.
The story is full of great characters and the post-warming Earth and space station/asteroid display some very good world building.
But this story isn't so much about Greg (though he features prominently in the tale) as it is about Royan, a horribly mutilated kid in a ruthless street gang whom Greg and his mentor, Julia Evans had befriended due to his cybernetic genius and his opposition to the Maoist regime now recently overthrown.
In a flashback it tells the story of Royan's rescue by Julia (a tech oligarch with a brilliant mind of her own) and Greg. Julia rehabilitates Royan and makes him whole again. They become lovers, parents and partners in Julia's massive economic powerhouse, Event Horizon.
Then Royan disappears completely and in desperation Julia enlists Greg's aid to find him. Greg in turn recruits another of Royan's old friends Suzi, a deadly tech-merc and from here the action goes almost non-stop through a maze of corporate plots, kidnappings, and a soulless tech-merc adversary who always shoots first and asks questions never. The battle for the dirigible is a classic heart-stopping action piece.
The story is full of great characters and the post-warming Earth and space station/asteroid display some very good world building.
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