Customer Reviews

Fallen Dragon

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you assume we can have interstellar colonies, how do you keep mankind from simply creating its old problems on new worlds? In a world of nanotech, artificial sentience and customized genese, what's really important?

Hamilton doesn't dodge the Big Questions in "Fallen Dragon." The book intertwines four stories: Lawrence Newton as adult, a pirate for a multi-national, interstellar corporation that engages in colonial piracy at an interstellar scale; the same Lawrence Newton as a youth, a child of the ruling class in one of those colonies, obsessed with interstellar exploration; Denise, a colonist on another planet, who tells children the most amazing stories and may or may not be more than she seems; and Simon Roderick, a director of the the corporate pirates that employ Newton. Each has a different view of his or her universe, each has a different set of goals and each has a different set of means to those goals. Who's right and what's right are the heart of this story, as well as what's a legitimate way to pursue those goals.

Hamilton's concept of multi-national corporations whose shareholder return is based on a eumphemistic "asset realization" - simple piracy - of interstellar colonies is plausible, and has precedent in the British East india Company. The development choices made by the colonists on each of the colonies Newton visits to loot are imaginative; the colony of Santo Christo is especially interesting. "Skin" is the next obvious step after the armor in Heinlein's "Starship Troopers." And Hamilton does a nice job of tying the various plots together at the end, in a climax somewhat reminiscent of Iain M. Bank's "Use of Weapons."

On the other hand, the lengthy expository sections, as other reviewers have noted, do bog the story down somewhat, and could have used some editing. It's not clear to me what the purpose of the extended steamy sex scenes is, either.

Still and all, the story works, and works at several levels. Hamilton slyly hides a few cards until the last few pages, incuding the reason why Newton, apparently improbably, shifts sides near the end of the book, after hearing the story of Modrik. And I liked the ambiguity of the ending: you can't really be sure which solution is the "right solution," and perhaps there is neither a right solution nor a single right solution to the intractable problems that afflict mankind. Less palatable is Hamilton's implication that the only true virtue is selfishness.

But it's a good yarn, and well told. Recommended, with a caution that it may be dangerous to skim the tedious parts.

I bought "Fallen Dragon" on the strength of Hamilton's previous works, especially the Reality Dysfunction series. When Hamilton is writing at his peak he is superb, throwing off new ideas like a shower of sparks, and generating gripping plots and fascinating characters. Other times Hamilton will become a bit long-winded, or will paint himself into a corner which requires a deus ex machina to extricate things.

I wasn't sure how "Fallen Dragon" would measure up, especially since interspersed flashbacks are not my favorite format for storytelling. But Hamilton was a good enough writer to pull me through the doubts I had early in the book. Pretty soon it turned into a "can't put it down" novel, costing me significant sleep time. I can't even complain too much about the deus ex machina aspect of "Fallen Dragon". It was carefully foreshadowed from the very beginning, and it made sense within the context of the story.

The surprise ending caught me completely by surprise. It did a beautiful job of tying up all the loose ends, and it was very satisfying.

My reaction upon finishing the book was, "Damn, that was good!" It was much better when viewed as a whole, which was pretty impressive considering how good the individual parts were. It far exceeded my expectations going in. It left me eager to read Hamilton's next new novel, and simultaneously apprehensive that he'll be able to maintain the high standards set by this and previous works.

I have read several other works by Peter Hamilton like the Reality Dysfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, et.al so I am very familar with his writing. I was very excited upon reading the dust jacket. I was prepared to read a ripsnorting tour de force of military sci-fi like Hammer's Slammers or Starship Troopers. Instead I got a very personal tale of one man's life journey to fulfill a dream. The main character Lawrence Newton gives up home, family and love to get the chance to become a starship pilot. Then years later, he discovers all that he gave up is all he ever really wanted in the first place. I also saw a repeat of a message that seems to recur throughout Hamilton's work - What is the good of technological advances, mastery of the physical world and exploring space if humanity's heart doesn't change and become better? Or as one character asks Newton 'You would sell your soul to go home?' He replies 'I left my soul at home'. This is a great book about shattered dreams and second chances.

This forey into military sci-fi may be in the tradition of Heinlein, but it does not satisfy as well. The universe of the story is quite well done and well thought out, down to the stagnation and issues such a society would face. But it comes off as preachy in many places, lacking the "ah-ha" other military sci-fi social commentaries get to.

For all that actually happens during the book, it seems very slow paced a read. I don't regret reading it, but I don't think I'll be going back for more.

As the novel states at the beginning, the fault of most things in the universe is money.

And money is the problem with space exploration in the mid-24th century. Space exploration and colonization just isn't paying for itself. Colonies take centuries to repay investors. To make matters worse, some declare themselves independent of their corporate founders on Earth. The solution? The "asset-recovery mission", legalized piracy where corporate armies swoop down on colonies to plunder them.

Lawrence Newton is a sergeant in such an army, and, when he gets word of an impending mission to the planet Thallspring, he starts to plan a little private asset realization of his own. On Thallspring, we get the story of a mission frustrated by local resistance headed up by Denise Ebourn who is much more than the simple storyteller and schoolteacher she appears to be.

Alternating with this plot is the story of how Newton, son of corporate elite on the colony Amethi, fled his home after a bitter betrayal. Spurred on by a beloved science fiction "i-drama", he dreams of becoming a starship explorer. Twenty years later, this exiled corporate prince is a corporate mercenary and still dreaming. Counterpointed to Newton's adventures are Ebourn's tales, for her students, of Prince Mozark of the long dead Ring Empire and the civilizations he finds in his quest for life's purpose and what course his people should adopt.

Thus the novel not only turns out to be filled with Hamilton's typically clear and exciting combat sequences and technological skullduggery but is also a look at the economic constraints on space travel and colonization, the spreading of corporate uniculture on Earth and on man's colonies, the purpose humans should find in their lives as technology advances, and the influence of science fiction's romances on our future.

This novel doesn't immerse you in a world as thoroughly as Hamilton's Night's Dawn series did simply because it has fewer pages, but Hamilton pays careful attention to his technology and economics.

And the last hundred pages of this novel will change your whole perception of what has gone before.

I've waited some time to write my first "review" in this format - for the good reason I wanted to start off with a book I'd recommend to anyone. I've read other books in the past that make me race to the finish but this one I could start all over again immediately.

Hamilton's characters are so well-rounded, so full of questions they're ready to explore about what could be termed the 'meaning of life' that it was damn near impossible to put the book down.

"Fallen Dragon" has enough cutting edge science fiction to engage even the most widely-read SF fan. In addition, the flow of the book slips with a delicate ease between points of view / situations / decades that I found myself almost saying "thank you" out oud at times. Concepts are raised that are answered in what I can only describe as "well, of course he had to put the book together in that order - it's the RIGHT order." In that fashion it resembles DUNE (the original by Frank Herbert, not the current dregs).

I don't want to spoil the plot - suffice it to say there are concepts of starflight, nanotechnology, biomorphing, neural interfaces, etc. enough to keep anyone happy and explained most thoroughly. What appealed to me even more were the journeys through philosophy by the characters that fairly leapt off the pages.

Thank you, Mr. Hamilton.

I've been waiting for the US edition of this book since it was published in the UK last fall, and dove right in once it arrived. I don't think Hamilton's fans will be disappointed, newcomers should find plenty to like as well. Be warned that this is not his best, if you haven't gotten into the The Reality Dysfunction and the other books in the Night's Dawn trilogy, you may want to start there.

The Bad: The story really builds at a solid clip, but the last few chapters seemed a bit inevitable, kinda like you knew roughly what would happen (though Hamilton still surprises in the details). Sometimes the socio-political discussions seem a bit forced, or awkwardly placed (like in a hostile zone just after a firefight!?! Forget that, I'd still be hauling ash right back to base!)

The Good: There are some fantastic scenes with complex and interesting characters on all sides of this conflict. The tech didn't seem especially new, but was used very creatively, which is what really counts. There are multiple mysteries unfolding at the same time, and Hamilton drops just enough hints throughout the book to keep you constantly hooked.

Best Line: "It's a biomech heart, Dennis, you just plug it in and switch it on." Actually, this sounds a bit glib out of context, but what follows is a pretty damn triumphant moment that had me standing up and verbally cheering, one of the best in the book, just read it and see...

Overall: A nice mix of thumping action, and thoughtful narrative, I think there's enough here to keep the both the combat-freak and the plot-junkie happy for the duration. I would probably rate this book more as 3 1/2 stars rather than the full 4 since Hamilton has more distinctive titles in his canon, but still more enjoyable than a lot of others I've read recently from other authors (like "Battlefield Earth", UGH!) Hop to it!

Fallen Dragon is a solid, entertaining sci-fi story. The world is rich and unique and the characters have depth. The technology described is novel and believable. The book is overly long and contains a couple of gratuitous sex scenes not appropriate for younger readers but overall it is a good read. Those who enjoy military and technical sci-fi will enjoy Fallen Dragon.

I didn't know if this would be good, like the Reality Dysfunction, or bad like the sci-fi mysteries from Peter Hamilton. I was happy to see that he had continued with good technological science fiction. The technology in this book, as in the Reality Dysfunction is very well presented, and seems very believable. Also, the cultures and characters are very well developed and interesting. And if that wasn't enough, there is an interesting twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

I just about used up all my free time reading this book. I even sacrificed some sleeping time for it. The story is just so interesting. Lawrence Newton's quest for happiness was especially spell binding. Powerful issues in love, socioeconomics, idealogies, class, etc. swirl around this magnificent military sci-fi. As always, the worlds Hamilton's characters inhabit are rich and well-developed. Hamilton understands the social, political, technological, and economic realities of life. I have to applaud Hamilton for having no clear villains and heroes in this book. The warring sides simply have different goals and prefer different means in achieving what they want. All are convinced of the righteousness of their cause and think the others are crazy/misguided/brainwashed (Lawrence Newton, Denise Ebourn, Simon Roderick). I have read his Greg Mandel books and the Reality Disfunction Series. I eagerly await his next novels.