Light Chaser

By: Peter F. Hamilton, Gareth L. Powell

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

In Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell's action-packed sci-fi adventure Light Chaser, a love powerful enough to transcend death can bring down an entire empire.

Amahle is a Light Chaser—one of a number of explorers, who travel the universe alone (except for their onboard AI), trading trinkets for life stories.

But when she listens to the stories sent down through the ages, she hears the same voice talking directly to her from different times and on different worlds. She comes to understand that something terrible is happening, and only she is in a position to do anything about it.

And it will cost everything to put it right.

©2021 Rutland Horizon Ltd and Gareth L. Powell (P)2022 Tantor

Enjoyable

The plot is par for the course for a Peter Hamilton story and I liked this one. I think the overall review rating is from people who had different expectations but I think the premise was actually rather interesting. Perhaps my only gripe would be the rather weak ending. Lastly, the narrator was fantastic.

didn't really get the point

The performance was great but the actual story was kind... lackluster? I just did not get the point of it all and it was never really explained how reincarnation works.

Not bad

A wonderful love story spanning eons and generations in space. The writing is reminiscent of some of Roger Zelany’s experimentals, with its own styling. Do yourself a favor and don’t look too closely at the plot and just enjoy the ride.

Bad audio, okay story

Audio recording is pretty poor quality, leaving the (good) narrator sounding breathy and difficult to understand in parts. The story and plot is an interesting concept, but not done in a very satisfying way. Ending was especially unsatisfying.

"Oh Thank Heavens!"

Much more "Hamilton" than recent books!
After the recent "British Towns in Space, YA" book releases, it's VERY nice to see a return to something more like Hamilton's "normal" writing style.
Not sure how much is "Peter F. Hamilton", and how much is "Gareth L. Powell", but it's a very nice feeling to enjoy Hamilton's books again, with the usual descriptive Far-Future Tech and Vision!! The overall plot is a bit weak ("Love concurs all"), but it's so good to have "Hamilton" back that I can forgive that.
Imogen Church does a great job with the narration, without going to an "Overboard High-Brow Accent".. Well Done! Just.. Well Done!

LISTEN TO THE SAMPLE

Okay, so I ve never criticized a narrator before. That being said, Imogen Church is awful. Period. She reads like a 15 year old theater kid. There is absolutely no way the author placed that many words in italics, any competent editor would not have allowed it. Yet Imogen narrates as though an over tired child is recalling a story to their parents.
The worst part is the story is captivating. But I find myself "translating" from what I'm hearing, into written word, then imagining what alternatives the author may have meant when characters are speaking had they been read in a more neutral tone. At the end of the day I'll probably buy the book (or ask for it as a throwdown holiday gift idea) but I cannot listen to another chapter. Waste of a credit through no fault of the author.

Wonderful Adventure Among the Stars

Amahle is a Light Chaser who travels the universe collecting life stories. But one voice chases her through the ages telling her that something terrible is happening and she must fix it. So she risks everything. A love eternal that spans the universe. Great story and narration.

I was NOT disappointed, at all.

I love anticipating a book, based on the author (or authors, in this case) alone, and not knowing anything about it. Sometimes it's not the kind of tea you'd like filling your cup, but this one was. A great storyline, and one I'm already dying to see continued!

Story chaser

While an interesting and compelling tale, it’s not your regular Hamilton space opera. No zombie Al Capone, although it could be argued everyone’s back from the dead. The story is told mostly as flashback. I’m still musing on that design. Ms. Church’s narration is quite good although I chuckled many times over her different pronunciation of common English words. I’m American and we don’t say ‘em that way here.

hard to hear

the story was decent. my only problem was the audio quality. not that great.