Any Other Peter F. Hamilton Fans?

[williamjm]

I've read almost all his books. I haven't read Misspent Youth, since the premise didn't sound that interesting and it seems to get negative reviews even from Hamilton fans. I saw Hamilton give a talk a few months ago and he commented that he likes all his books, even the one that everyone else hated which I assume was a reference to Misspent Youth.

I read the Nights Dawn books first, which I still thing is among his best work with some great world-building and action scenes even though the last book is a disappointment (particularly the ending). I'd say the Commonwealth books and Great North Road (nice to see that he can do standalones as well as series) were also among his best. I really liked the bits of the Void trilogy set inside the Void, but thought the portion of the story outside the Void wasn't as good as some of his other space opera work. The Greg Mandel books are also good, although on a much smaller scale than his other work. I wasn't that keen on Fallen Dragon which had some interesting ideas but it got less interesting as the story went on.

Can anyone tell me if it is worth reading the precursors once I finish the Void Trilogy? Or is there too much spoilage to justify other long (I presume, as these are) reads?

I'd say it was, since I don't think the Void books went into a huge amount of detail about what happened in the first series and the plots are only loosely connected (despite many characters appearing in both series). You might know how things ultimately turned out (and something about which characters survived) but there should be a lot of things you don't know.

 

[the Jester]

Can anyone tell me if it is worth reading the precursors once I finish the Void Trilogy? Or is there too much spoilage to justify other long (I presume, as these are) reads?

I read them out of order, and I still liked them enough to start this thread.

 

[doctordarts]

Only read Mindstar Rising, but that was good; should really try a few more.

 

[Vertigo]

Only read Mindstar Rising, but that was good; should really try a few more.

You should be aware that Mindstar Rising was (I'm pretty sure) his first book and is a pretty straight forward, though good, SF book. In his later series he ramps up onto a much grander scale (and grander book size too).

 

[Jojo999]

I like Ozzie's wandering through those personal wormhole portals (created by the Silfen?) in the Void books. I think PFH could do a lot more with this theme in the future.

 

[Peter V]

Big fan since The Reality Dysfunction... I remember waiting impatiently for the other parts of the trilogy. I read this about the same time as Simmons Hyperion Cantos & for a while was gorging myself on superb world building Space Opera. Pandoras Star & Judas Unchained I found even better & although thoroughly enjoying the Void trilogy, I did not like this as much as his earlier work.

Just finished Kings Dr Sleep (excellent) & currently wrapping up Tad Williams Bobby Dollar trilogy & then it is on to The Abyss Beyond Dreams & Night Without Stars which have been waiting patiently on my Kindle for this vacation.
I did see on Peter's Facebook page that he is working on a trilogy set in a completely new universe and I am anticipating this greatly. Be interesting to see if he can top The Commonwealth - it's a big ask

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

SPOILERS and questions.......

I've recently finished The Reality Dysfunction and absolutely loved it. It was dark, gritty, exciting and I loved the characters.

I'm part way through The Neutronium Alchemist and I'm not enjoying this quite as much, it certainly doesn't seem as dark or gritty. The thing that is bothering me the most are some of the characters he's introducing - Al Capone and Fletcher Christian. I honestly had a WTF moment when I realised who Hamilton was introducing. I didn't think it necessary to introduce infamous characters such as these to enhance the story in any way. I actually thought it was a bit silly and is affecting my enjoyment of the story. Does anyone else agree?

Is The Reality Dysfunction the best book in the trilogy? Do the next two live up to the same heights as the first?

 

[Bugg]

The Neutronium Alchemist was actually my favourite of the trilogy. I loved the Capone stuff. It made sense to me - at the time, anyway - that someone from the past would come back and take advantage of the situation, the way the story was set up. I was reading the books as they were published, and re-read the previous book(s) as each one came out. So I read The Reality Dysfunction three times and loved it each time, but I found TNA truly thrilling both times I read it. I was so eager to read it that I didn't wait for the regular paperback. I was lugging that big-ass trade paperback with me to work and back for a couple of weeks Of course the upshot of that was that I only read The Naked God once, and I think it is the lesser of the three books. I must re-read them all at some point.

 

[Gonk the Insane]

Is The Reality Dysfunction the best book in the trilogy? Do the next two live up to the same heights as the first?

I find it hard to choose between that one and the final one, The Naked God, but The Reality Dysfunction probably edges ahead for me.

I actually thought it was a bit silly and is affecting my enjoyment of the story. Does anyone else agree?

It's a long time since I first read them, but it felt a little odd initially. By the end of the book though I'd changed my mind, so you may feel differently a little further into the book as the story develops.

 

[Pedro Del Mar]

Thanks guys, only part way through so hopefully my opinion may change as the story develops.

Have to say though - what a story!!

 

[Fedos]

I'm currently on The Neutronium Alchemist as well and having a blast. This is only the second of Hamilton's books I've read and I think I have found me a new favorite modern day science fiction author.

 

[picklematrix]

Nights dawn trilogy, and the common wealth universe, are among my favourite books. I find his ideas impressive, but his characters are fun and relatable and fun enough to really elevate it above average.
Also, he examines to social and economic implications of thing like FTL and mind uploading in interesting ways, imo

 

[biodroid]

I've read Mindstar Rising and thought it was OK, I got 50% into Fallen Dragon and felt it was a novels with too many flashbacks, a lot about a teacher and students and little story development.

 

[Jojo999]

Peter F. Hamilton fans should also check out this thread on his latest two books:

The Chronicle of the Fallers by Peter F. Hamilton

 

[jeffbrownsf]

So I read Judas Unchained 7 years ago and am now starting on The Dreaming Void. I remember the overall story of Pandora's Star / Judas Unchained, but I only vaguely remember the extended road trip. Can someone fill in the details?

 

[soulsinging]

I've started Pandora's Star twice but fizzle out inevitably. It's too slow and the hang gliding scene kills me every time. If someone can promise me those hang gliding skills are VERY important later on, maybe I'll try to fight through it. Slow isn't always bad if the writing makes you enjoy the journey, but his prose is pretty workmanlike, reminding more of Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth than Tad Williams in Dragonbone Chair. He's definitely got big ideas, but I just won't do 2000 page stories anymore unless I LOVE it. I gave up on Sanderson's Mistborn for similar reasons. In both cases, I see why people rave about them and hear the payoff is worth it, but my reading time is too limited for me to be 200-300 pages in and wondering when something is going to happen, while knowing there's another 1500 pages to go before the pay off.

 

[Ian Fortytwo]

I have three books by Peter F. Hamilton, A Second Chance At Eden, Great North Road and Manhattan in Reverse. They are a bit on the chunky size, even his short stories.

 

[williamjm]

I've started Pandora's Star twice but fizzle out inevitably. It's too slow and the hang gliding scene kills me every time. If someone can promise me those hang gliding skills are VERY important later on, maybe I'll try to fight through it. Slow isn't always bad if the writing makes you enjoy the journey, but his prose is pretty workmanlike, reminding more of Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth than Tad Williams in Dragonbone Chair. He's definitely got big ideas, but I just won't do 2000 page stories anymore unless I LOVE it. I gave up on Sanderson's Mistborn for similar reasons. In both cases, I see why people rave about them and hear the payoff is worth it, but my reading time is too limited for me to be 200-300 pages in and wondering when something is going to happen, while knowing there's another 1500 pages to go before the pay off.

From what I remember the hang-gliding does become relevant in about another 1000 pages or so. It is definitely Hamilton's usual style to spend a lot of time on subplots and set-up, so it's possible the series isn't really for you.

 

[soulsinging]

From what I remember the hang-gliding does become relevant in about another 1000 pages or so. It is definitely Hamilton's usual style to spend a lot of time on subplots and set-up, so it's possible the series isn't really for you.

Yeah, the problem with epics is the ones I love become all-time favorites, and the ones that don't completely blow me away like that are hard for me to finish. So I always want to give them a try, but even some of the greats don't stick for me (eg. Sanderson and Rothfuss).

 

[BigBadBob141]

Read "The Reality Dysfunction", then was annoyed to find it was volume one of a trilogy, have yet to read the other two, not very good aliens in these, but a good read non the less.
Have read the "Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained" duet, not bad, interesting idea, using trains to travel between planets!