Great North Road

I am a huge fan of Peter Hamilton, and, if you like the kind of epic hard-ish space opera that he tends to write, this is yet another amazing novel. It moves from the far future of his recent books to a single-volume near future adventure, but all of things that make Pandora's Star or the Void Trilogy great are here. But, for new readers, you should know that Hamilton tends to write a very specific sort of novel, and this is no exception.

So, here is what you should expect: As in all of his novels, it starts a bit slow, as Hamilton throws you into the world with little explanation, while the viewpoint switches often between many well-rounded characters, most of whom have obvious mysteries in their backstories that will only be slowly revealed. The book therefore takes a bit of patience as a result (though it is never boring) and Hamilton takes his time filling in the details of his plot. As a reader, I find the journey from confusion about the world to eventual understanding to be a huge amount of fun, and it is a pretty standard approach among the best epic space operas (think Alastair Reynolds or Iain M. Banks). If you don't like the same progression, you may wish the novel had more info-dumps, and fewer characters.

There are lots of other standard Hamiltonian elements as well. There are gateways to other worlds and hardboiled detectives who won't give up the case. There is detailed technology (especially military technology) and top-notch worldbuilding, including governmental and economic elements left out of most other science fiction. There are the usual (very) slowly revealed mysteries and complex wheels-within-wheels plot elements. There are lots of high-powered action and adventure sequences. And, at the heart of the (really long) novel, are some fundamental mysteries that keep you listening late into the night.

In short, this is Hamilton at the top of his game, and is much tighter than a lot of his previous work. If you love epic near-future science fiction, this should be an instant buy. Your patience in figuring out the details of the world will be well-rewarded, and the reading is superb.

I'm only a couple of hours in and I'm hooked. It's everything I expect from Peter F. Hamilton. A note for listeners: The print copy has a map, a timeline and a very helpful cast of characters. If you have a Kindle you can download the free sample and, since these are in the front of the book, they are included. The cast is large and I find it helpful to have a printed list.

So that I don't bury the lead -- this is one sophisticated, complex wonderful book. The narration is great as well. I wish Audible/Amazon would allow folks who listen to more than 20 books a year to, just a once a year, give a 6 star rating. Just one. Like a premium frequent traveler rating. I'd love to see the books that made that list. I'm certain this would be get the 6th star from a lot of people.

I enjoy historical biographies and hard science fiction particularly when the Sci-Fi comes in very long books or multiple book series -- with one or more of the following themes: modern space operas, complex storylines, detective or noir/cyberpunk overtones, cascading clever thoughts/dialogue and/or military. This has led me to earlier works by Peter F. Hamilton (Void Trilogy, Greg Mandel Series), Dan Simmons (Hyperion), Alastair Reynolds (Revelation Space Trilogy, Terminal World), Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon) and most recently Charles Stross. (Halting State and Rule 34.) (A swirling, clever, funny and very complex pair of police procedurals done just enough into the future to look at the next big thing in social engineering, computing, communications and just about anything else you can imagine.)

I never thought I'd say that I liked another Hamilton book as much as the Void Trilogy -- and this is a slightly different type of animal. Where that was broad and wild, this is tight and classy. It is like Wallander (obscure Swedish police procedural reference) meets the Void Trilogy. It IS "modern space opera, complex storyline, detective or noir/cyberpunk overtones, cascading clever thoughts/dialogue and/or military."

When I read Charles Stross' Halting State, I initially found it hard to get into the three rotating storylines and the fact that the narration is, oddly, in the second person -- but it was worth the work to do so. This one takes no such early work. Pay your one credit, hit the button an WHOOOOOSSSHHHH ! You are off. Like Halting State, it is a rock solid police procedural with a clever and appealing set of smart characters.

It is like listening to a great new song...you sort of know the rhythm and style but WOW. Toby Longworth is perfect too -- superb meld of material and delivery. Like I said, a 6 on a scale of 5.

New entry on the top ten.

I read Peter Hamilton’s Pandora’s Star a few years ago, and was neither disappointed nor wowed by it. Entertaining plot, interesting alien, but rather pulpy world-building and characters.

This novel is set in a much nearer future (130 years from now), and I found its world more believable. Humanity has colonized other planets, thanks to the invention of interstellar gateways that connect them directly to Earth, but society hasn’t evolved a great deal. Technology, of course, has gone through a few generations of updates, but mostly, people have just spread out into the new worlds (or been handed a few supplies and forcibly exported there, in the case of the very poor). Culture on Earth itself is stagnant.

Much in the greater human sphere is controlled or influenced by an extremely rich family of cloned brothers, and their clone descendents, called the Norths. When one member of this family, who no one seems able to identify, is found savagely murdered, dark events from the past are recalled. Might a mysterious alien have been responsible? Or was it a human conspiracy? So begins an elaborate plot, which has one group of characters doing detective work in Newcastle, England, and the other on a scientific/military mission to find sentient life on the gateway-linked tropical world of Saint Libra. Some secret pasts eventually bring these two main stories together. There’s also a history with another weird alien, called the Zanth (sp?), which mostly lurks off stage, but instills a sort of Cold War paranoia in everyone.

I found Hamilton’s ideas for his universe fairly interesting and enjoyed the suspense, once it builds up. However, I agree with a lot of other readers that this is a somewhat bloated novel. Hamilton seems to love technical procedures, politics, and family backstories, but the many, many pages of detail he devotes to the these things are filled with stretches of tedium that add little to the main story. It doesn’t help that most of his characters are pretty two-dimensional, their actions motivated more by soap-opera-y “twists” than by any real internal complexity. If an editor had gotten the author to cut out some of the unnecessary padding and build-up, and focus more on his characters’ inner lives, this book would have been a winner. I was curious what the dynamics of a family of clones might be like, but, alas, there’s not a lot of getting inside the heads of the Norths on this issue. Also, I got pretty weary of certain catch-phrases, which the characters use over and over and over. Again, editor.

That said, I wouldn’t go so far as to give Great North Road a thumbs-down. It kept me entertained, and the Saint Libra plot, which had an expedition gradually unraveling under duress in a way that reminded me a lot of Dan Simmon’s gripping novel The Terror, had its strong parts. It was also interesting to consider (in the detective plot) how police work might evolve as technology advances, but still be hampered by the same old problems, such as budget cuts, politics, and better-equipped criminals.

In sum, there’s a great, much shorter novel in here. Whether or not you might want to read this longer, inflated one in order to get to it will depend on much you like Peter Hamilton’s work and how patient you are. 3.5 stars.

The audiobook narrator wasn’t bad. He reads in a style that was maybe slightly too “dramatic” for me, but does a range of accents and voices that distinguish the characters well.

Great North Road is truly a masterpiece of literature, all the better because it's sci-fi. Hamilton crafts a richly complex tale of murder and intrigue that gradually expands to an interstellar affair with multiple alien species. The backstories and flashbacks are deliciously detailed and subtly presented to create an onion peeling effect as the tale evolves. The multiple characters are multifaceted with many foibles and failings that are both endearing and identifiable. Hamilton constructs an eminently believable picture of life in the mid-22nd century, especially police procedures and bureaucracy.

The sci-fi elements are varied and comprehensive, but do not overwhelm the story. Included are physics with wormholes, stellar aberrations, quantum state matter, and nanotechnology; biology with rejuvenation, genetic evolution, and unique alien lifeforms; and cyber with electronic implants, complex digital networks, and powerful AI level software. At the same time, Hamilton pays attention to interpersonal and societal relations: realistic family experiences; romance, parental devotion, law enforcement & crime, government bureaucracy, and military. There is heroism & humiliation, ideological rigidity & flexibility, poignant tenderness & vicious ruthlessness, and struggles with decisions on alien genocide & dating partners.

The narration is equally outstanding; all the more given the enormous number of characters. The tone, mood, and pace of delivery are perfect for the story.

I really felt that this was missing something as I closed in on the final hours of the book. I felt uncommitted to the story for the entire first half, waiting for something (anything) to happen. Finally in the fifth part you get the bigger picture, but even now that I've completed the book, I feel like a couple of things were executed on in a funny way.

Right at first, I was kind of afraid that the detective premise would be a rehash of a Paula Myo circumstance from Pandora's Star and the followup books. I wasn't going to be super enthusiastic about that sort of lack of imagination, but Hamilton really does nothing for you to alleviate that fear: nothing happens. No really. For 18.25 hours, nearly nothing happens.

It's not for a lack of shifting perspective either. The story is built on a lot of flashback material, which at first feels like a crude LOST-style maneuver. Entire scenes in the present are created and inhabited just so that you can go back in time 20 years. Which could have been fine, but nothing happened in the present, and nothing helpful happened in the flashback. One flashback, a pilot, has a nice colorful flashback story, but Angela and the others are all severely lacking, because telling you what happened would sort of undermine the whole set of mysteries in the character timeline. It very very obviously gives you only what you need, showfully leaving out material that is clearly important.

So for over 18 hours, you've got nothing to chew on but really empty flashbacks that, while interesting at first, are actually lacking substance.

The worst of it is really just that the mystery at the heart of the book feels extremely manufactured after a while. Flashbacks are clearly incomplete, probably to instill doubt about the identity of a murderer. But once you finally get the missing 30 second memory, it's nearly uninteresting. Not irrelevant, just not impressive for the core of a huge mystery.

The second half of the book makes it good. The first half is a character-building experience, I grant you, but man was it drawn out. I was even expecting that, but was still surprised.

If the book has any weakness, it's one of managing expectations. I say that with an open mind, having considered several angles.

The whole story looks great from the bird's eye view, but when I was in the thick of some of its parts I found myself just listening to an extra hour or two just to cut through and absorb more, to compress the experience and convince myself I'm interested in what happens next.

I enjoyed it, and the end is good. I gave it a good rating, because it's a good story. My qualms come from stylistic preference, especially held up against Hamilton's previous previous sci-fi work. I think Alastair Reynolds has given me a taste for heavier science components woven into all that storycrafting (which I generally enjoy, mind you).

My advice: if you're unsure about getting the book, don't rush to this one at the expense of something else you're excited for. This one will be waiting for you when you're ready. On an my impromptu eventfulness scale of 1-10 (say, 1Q84 to Daemon) this is a 5, while I'd place Pandora's Star and related works in the 7-8 range.

Peter F. Hamilton is one of my favorite sci/fi authors. Just short of 1,000 pages in hardcover, I was really looking forward to digging into this book (yes, I bought the hardcover also). His books are usually sweeping space opera's with enough sci and fi to choke a normal person. This book started out with the usual excellent overflowing amount of cool ideas, interesting characters, and pacing that I have come to know and love. Please note that I rated this book 4 Stars, so I want to re-iterate that I really liked the book overall.

However, somewhere in the middle, things got a bit muddled, a little repetitive, dare I say... a little boring. The writing was excellent, don't get me wrong. But, I think writers of this quality sometimes get away with a lack of hard editing simply based on their reputation. I myself could have probably edited out 25% of this book without the story having suffered at all. Granted, that 25% that I would throw away would be better than 90% of anything I could write, but that's not really the point.

Another "tell" in a book that sags is that it gets really good again near the end and the pace noticeably increases. It's as if the writer has discovered their error and is trying to make good. This is where the editor should step in, remove the overstuffing, and make the whole thing sing. The amount of sci-fi-ness that was put into the last 10% of the book was more than what was in the middle 40%, which is saying a lot for a book of this size. I think that at some point during his writing, the author may have bored of writing about forward-looking tech, sweeping universes, and the story of mankind and wanted to tell a good simple family/people story.

The characters were fresh and engaging. There was a great bit of suspense/mystery which I really liked and was refreshing (I don't think sci/fi writers employ mystery enough). Aside from when it sagged, the story moved along well and kept me very engaged. As always Peter F. Hamilton's technology is all stuff that I fully expect my great great grandkids to have. It's well researched and based in the realm of possibility such that you don't find it far-fetched, just forward-looking.

The narration was excellent! The accents sometimes faltered and some characters were a little hard to differentiate, but excellent nonetheless. Anybody that can narrate a book this long gets extra kudos in my book.

So it goes without saying that PFH (Peter F Hamilton) is among the best out there for long sci-fi books and this one is long, 976 pages in print form so you can understand why its 36 hours long but don't let that put you off its totally worth it.

This isn't like the other PFH books but that's sorta like he writes, each one is different but has the same feel to it.

This is a standalone book which is not something that this author has done much of in the past, its really always been 3 books or 2 like Pandora's Star/Judis Unchained, but thats not a problem, PFH said in an interview that he likes the idea of finishing a book and having that story be over, not having to work on the next book - well this works good for me as long as he writes one every year or more ha.


The Review:

This is a great story about a murder 20 years apart on 2 different planets in the same fashion the supposed killer Angela Tramelo was convicted and jailed for that murder but it seems that her story of an alien attack might be true, so this causes all sorts of problems.

This is the story of a mother who would do anything to save her sick daughter, and how she was once a rich girl who lost everything when all the other rich families conspired against hers and her father's company causing her to loose everything, she grew up and hatches a plan to rip off some people who wronged her because it turns out he daughter is sick, the kind of sick that costs so much the only people who can afford the treatment are the ultra-wealthy milti-billionaires on the planet and she was no longer one of those.

But something happens on that mission, an alien monster? or some sorta crazy person in a muscle armor suite with blades for fingers? whatever it is they go back to the planet that the original murder happened at and "look for an alien monster" because that's what Tramelo said happened, and that's where this story starts.

Although the author said hes not writing another book in this "world/universe" there could be one after this ended, its not like things were left open and misunderstood, everything is explained pretty much and the rest is obvious. I wont tell you if there is or isn't an alien monster you will have to read to find out but what you do find out is that its something that you didn't expect because that's how PFH does it.


Great book, highly recommended!

Yes, interesting mix of detective story and scifi

Most other space Opera

Angela was the most interesting

Great North Road is one of the best books I've ever encountered. It's a visionary masterpiece! Even with the few minor flaws in the story and in narration Great North Road is as close to perfect as is possible. I became totally absorbed in the world, characters, and story created by author Peter F. Hamilton and narrator Toby Longworth. Even had dreams about it! This book has everything for everyone -- excellent and creative writing, great characters, thrilling action, adventure, mystery, horror, romance, incredibly imaginative yet believable science fiction, and the narrator did a truly outstanding job! Seriously the best narrator I have yet encountered! I am recommending this book to everyone I know. Plus, it's almost 30 hours long, so it's a great entertainment $/hr bargain.