Monday 22 February 2010

SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW: Fallen Dragon - Peter F Hamilton

BOOK BLURB:
From the author of the bestselling 'Night's Dawn Trilogy', a new space adventure on galactic scale. Born in a colony world in 2310, Lawrence Newton hankered after the golden era of starships exploring the galaxy. But the age of human starflight was drawing to a close, so this hot-heated teenager ran away from home in search of adventure... Twenty years later, he's the sergeant of a washed-out platoon taking part in the bungled invasion of another world. The giant corporations euphemistically call such campaigns 'asset realization', but in practice it's simple piracy. While he's on the ground, being shot at and firebombed by local resistance forces, Lawrence hears stories about the Temple of the Fallen Dragon -- and a sect devoted to the worship of a mythical creature that fell to the ground millennia ago. More importantly, its priests are said to guard a hoard of treasure large enough to buy lifelong happiness -- which information prompts him to mount a private-enterprise operation of his own. For Lawrence, such wealth would allow him one last chance to put right the mistakes of his past -- and finally go home. But, unfortunately, treasure isn't always measured in monetary terms. And just because something is called mythical doesn't mean it isn't real...


REVIEW:

If you like your Sci-Fi hard then this is the book for you. Not only do you get the thoughts and technologies of the imagination accompanied by a reasonable answer but you also get some top notch characterisation which blended beautifully within the contexts of this title. Add to this a reasonable plot tied up with a masterful understanding of descriptiveness accompanied by an unparalleled understanding of prose and it pretty much ticks all the boxes. Whilst the tale is a tad heavy on the science and takes a while to get going it is a title worth reading and will demonstrate why Hamilton truly is a modern fan favourite.

1 comment:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Sounds like a great read. Really like the cover art, too.