Peter F. Hamilton

[Christopher Lee]

For those of you who have read his body of work, what would you recommend reading of his above all others?

 

[alchemist]

I've racked up about nine of his books. None are perfect but I'd suggest starting with the Night's Dawn trilogy. It's big, but not as unnecessarily big as some of his later works, and illustrates his strengths i.e. fantastic world-building, a rattling yarn, great action

And the series gave me my username.

Edit: just added a necessary NOT

 

[Christopher Lee]

Night's Dawn trilogy, awesome. I'll find it and snatch it up! Thanks for the quick reply.

 

[Anudar]

I'm resuming here the discussion about Peter F. Hamilton, opened on the "It's May - what are you reading ?" topic.

Thanks for the heads-up!

I have only covered the first 10 pages or so of "..Dysfunction", with another 1200 pages to go! I am totally new to Hamilton, and if you feel this isn't his best work, I'm wondering if I should downsize a little to something not quite so heavy & long-winding?

How you rate the Pandora's Star series? Would it be a more accessible introduction to his works for a noob like me?

Thanks

I don't think you should stop your reading now. Give it a try, see for yourself, try and see if you're hooked at the first cliffhanger. If you're not, you can try Pandora's Star series, it's shorter and maybe more entertaining. If you feel entertained by The Reality Dysfunction, by all means go on reading.

There is another Hamilton's book you could give a try, it is Great North Road. It's a one-shot, even if it's divided in two here in France ...

 

[Vertigo]

As I mention in the May reading thread his Greg Mandel books are probably his most accessible, being straightforward SF thrillers, however I wouldn't say they are representative of Hamilton's more normal style or of what is possibly his greatest strength which is creating complex sagas set on truly huge canvases.

 

[SilentRoamer]

I am a fan of Hamilton. I personally think the Commonwealth Saga is the strongest of his works - alongside Fallen Dragon which is a great standalone.

I have The Abyss Beyond Dreams sat at home waiting for a read (bought it at Christmas and shelved it). Might read that next rather than fantasy.

 

[Gnrevolution]

Having read a fair few of his books, I would agree that the Commonwealth / Void books are his best, along with Fallen Dragon. I liked the world building and scope of the Night's Dawn Trilogy (some of the action scenes are just jaw dropping), but the plot just seemed a little tacked on (and implausible) to me.

I also read Great North Road but was horribly disappointed with it so I certainly would not recommend that...

 

[Overread]

Night's Dawn is a great series and I'd heartily recommend it. The only problem I've had with his books are:

1) They are heavy - even in paperback they are over 1K pages long
2) They are thick - be mindful of the spines (I think they use some dark magics as mine haven't given out yet -but when you've 500 pages either side its going to be bent back a lot).

Both solved with ebooks of course.



Honestly I find him a very talented sci-fi writer. He manages to expertly mix description with action with heavy science in a way that means the casual reader without a heavy science background can easily access the books. They feel heavy on the science background; yet at the same time the descriptions are such that you're never left in the dark. Some concepts might take a while to fully reveal themselves in all their depth, but in general they are fantasy enough that such would be the same for any reader and its part of the overall story in itself.

 

[SilentRoamer]

Only problem I ever had with Hamilton are that he gets a bit carried away writing the sex scenes. He also has a very heavily influenced male gaze. I think he toned it down in latter works because he was criticised for it.

 

[Mangara]

Agree on most of the comments here. I like his books and worlds but I don't like how long they take me to get through. I wish it could be condensed just a little because his ideas are first class.

 

[Christopher Lee]

Great recommendations, guys. I'll work on the Night's Dawn trilogy and see where I go from there.