Customer Reviews

Quantum Murder (Greg Mandel)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Well, here we have the sequel to Mindstar Rising. It has many of the same characters, bringing some old favorites back for a second book.
Overall, this book is 3 stars. Some elements were better than others, obviously. The characters were good, though Eleanor still seems to have no personallity whatsoever. The plot was inplausible, at best, and hard to believe. The writing style was still very interesting, and is, in fact, the only reason that I finished this book at all.
A murder mystery set in future England, with not one but several odd twists. Not good twists really, nor believable, but not too farfetched, if you have a very, very open mind. (I think I'll leave it at that.)
One of the best things about this book though was the fact that the author obviously took some pains to follow semi-known physics, and tried not to bend the laws of the universe too far. Also, even though these things play a major part in the story, the aren't the dominating feature. So, for those of you not interested in theoretical quantum physics, or cosmology, this book won't bore you to tears.
All in all, it flowed (to me at least) better than Mindstar Rising, even if the storyline was a little thin in several places.
I also found the discription of the inside of an insane seriel killer's mind quite interesting; it really makes you wonder.
So, if you liked the first book, chances are that this one will appeal to you as well.

Some years after the events portrayed in Mindstar Rising, Greg Mandell finds himself being called in to help Julia Evans solve the mystery of the murder of a scientist who was doing some work for her company - Things start to get 'interesting' very quickly - in the sense of the Chinese Curse, that is.

Again set in the Rutland area of England, Greg has now married the girl he met in the first book & that adds its own complications (read the book to find out more on that); with psychic abilities also playing a large part in this book, including a very nice twist to 'solving' the murder.

These books always get me thinking, the events are set in the near future, with environmental & political upheavals which are all too possible. A very good read.

If you haven't read 'Mindstar Rising'(the first book), don't worry - this book stands on its own, but you will benefit if you read 'Mindstar' first.

Better still, read the trilogy, you won't regret it.

The three books in Peter F. Hamilton's Greg Mandel series were written before his "Night's Dawn" series. I'm not certain of this, but they seem to occur in the same universe as that series, just at a MUCH earlier time. Regardless, this series is excellent. What's especially nice, is that, for the most part, each of these books stands alone. You still need to read them in order, but none of them ends in a cliff-hanger requiring your reading of the next. Unfortunately, each of these books has a few fairly explicit sexual situations described in them. The amount of sex increases as you move from book to book. If it weren't for that, I'd recommend these books for everyone.

"Mindstar Rising" is the first book in the series. It's a very good, fast-paced sci-fi action thriller. The book introduces all the important characters and the "universe" used throughout the series. For the most part, the character development is good. I have a few qualms about a character or two suddenly being more capable than they are during the majority of the book, but that's mostly inconsequential. The plot, too, is very good. However, the transition between the first, introductory, situation in the book and the primary situation could have been worked better: it seems contrived. But, I might be seeing that solely because I've read the book four times now.

"A Quantum Murder" is the second book in the series. This book takes place about three years after "Mindstar Rising." Instead of being the science-fiction action thriller that the first book is, it's more of a science fiction mystery. It's a close call, but I think this book is slightly better than "Mindstar Rising." Once again, there's good character development, but this time, the plot is somewhat more tightly put together. I've only got a couple of quibbles: first, in one scene, Mandel's psi powers inexplicably include actual telepathy instead of just the empathy described in "Mindstar Rising." And, second, after the characters find out who the murderer is, instead of sending the police out immediately, they close up shop for the night and say they'll do it in the morning. Other than that, this is an excellent book which shows the origins of a lot of the technology in the "Night's Dawn" series.

"The Nano Flower" is the third, and final, book in the series. The various dates specified in the book don't quite agree, but, in general, it seems to takes place about 16 years after "A Quantum Murder." Like "Mindstar Rising," it's a sci-fi action thriller. Like "A Quantum Murder," it further develops technologies that Hamilton uses in his "Night's Dawn" series. Also, as in "A Quantum Murder," Mandel's psi-powers have once again expanded. Of the three books, this is probably the best. It's a hard comparison to make since the second book is more of a mystery and this book more of an action-thriller. But, in general, I'd say there's an incremental improvement in these books as you move through the series (all of them are very good, though).

Hamilton delivers another solidly entertaining novel with A Quantum Murder. In this book, Greg Mandel is called back to the service of Julia Evans to solve the mystery of a murder that it appears nobody has committed. It is not long into the investigation before the political involvement and strange case features make it clear that this is no ordinary case...

Although the writing is very smooth in A Quantum Murder (smoother than in Mindstar Rising, actually) I still found it a little bit of a letdown after the first book. In Mindstar Rising Hamilton played with mystery genre characteristics-- in A Quantum Murder the book is driven by them. Despite the futuristic technology, this book had significantly less scifi elements than the first. The plot was also quite a bit simpler and significantly more hackneyed in several places.

I liked the first book in the series precisely because it combined the two genres (mystery and science fiction) very effectively. I suspect that A Quantum Murder will generally appeal more to mystery fans who are more tolerant of the genre's standard flaws than it will to science fiction readers. Still, I found it an absorbing read which kept the pages turning very quickly.

This, the second of three Greg Mandel novels, is quite similar in style and substance to Mindstar Rising. Hamilton brings back all the old familiar characters in a story set a year or two after the events of Mindstar Rising. He offers up an interesting detective story mixed in with occasional (well written) action sequences. He continues to flesh out his post-global-warming vision of England and the world, providing a relatively realistic and consistent background for the events of this story to unfold. His prose style has improved nominally, but still has a way to go before it reaches the excellence of The Neutronium Alchemist.

The one failing of this book lies in the extreme lack of explanation, support, theorizing or whatever that surrounds the psi 'powers' of the Mindstar veterans. It's a bit hard to swallow the notion that nobody has bothered to work on figuring out the mechanism by which the psi faculty works. Even accepting the notion that they can't figure out why Greg has an intuitive sense, it seems that the people of this future world too readily accept the results of this ability. A bit more healthy skepticism, even in the face of clear demonstrations of the power, might serve the story well.

Nonetheless, though it is not a cornerstone of hard sf, the book is a fairly good read, a diverting page-turner.

A Quantum Murder (1994) is the second SF novel in the Greg Mandel series, following Mindstar Rising. In the previous volume, Greg and Gabriel were captured by their enemies and taken into the Fens. They were handcuffed to a wrought iron railing in a tower.

Greg got them out of the handcuffs and they set the tower on fire. They got out though a window and headed toward the town. But they were pursued by their captors in hovercraft.

In this novel, Greg Mandel is a former Captain in the Mindstar Brigade. He has a bionode that allows him to read emotions and some thoughts. He had been a private detective, but now he is retired. He married Eleanor and bought a farm.

Eleanor Broady is married to Greg. They are now living on a farm across the water from his former chalet.

Philip Evans was Chairman of Event Horizon, a multibillionaire and the grandfather of Julia. Now his personality resides within a neuronode.

Julia Evans is now in the late teens and owner of Event Horizon. She is running the company with some help from her management team and her grandfather's personality. She is a very important person, but still has moments of adolescent insecurity.

Morgan Walshaw is a former soldier. He is also head of security for Event Horizon.

Gabriel was a Major and a prescient in the Mindstar Brigade. Now she is an advisor to Event Horizon security and living with Morgan.

Edward Kitchener is a double Nobel Laureate in cosmology and solid-state physics and holder of some very valuable patents. He lives in Launde Abbey, where every year he invites three students for a two year residence study under his personal direction.

Nicholas Beswick is a graduate of Cambridge in physics. He is now living at Launde Abbey. He is very shy around other people, but is being gradually coaxed out of his shell by Kitchener.

In this story, Greg is planting lime trees. The English monsoon is about to start and he and Eleanor are hurrying to get fifty trees into the ground before the rain and wind arrives. A village boy comes to summon him to town.

A villager has accused a local man of being a PSP apparatchik. Eleanor drives Greg to the house, where he interrupts a small mob beating the accused man. Then he uses his bionode to discover the truth and sends the mob away.

Meanwhile, at Launde Abbey, Nicholas sees somebody drive a Suzuki jeep down the road toward the river. Lightning flashes dazzle him. After recovering his vision, he can no longer see the vehicle.

later, Nicholas sees a reflection of a woman in his window, but she is not behind him. Then he sees two female students walking down the hall with the woman behind them. Then the woman disappears again and he thinks that she is a ghost.

Nicholas is awakened by screaming. He rushes out of his room and finds Kitchener dead. His sternum has been split and the lungs placed to the sides.

Julia is informed of the murder and told that Kitchener was working on a subcontract for Event Horizon. The police investigation hasn't found the murderer. So Julia gets the Home Office to appoint Greg as an advisor to the local police.

Greg is reluctant to take the case. He is happy in his retirement, but the gruesome murder offends his sensibilities. Besides, Eleanor urges him to help find the killer.

The police are not happy with the orders from the Home Office. They think that he is an amateur and snub him at the station. But Greg has probably interrogated more prisoners than most of the police and can tell when a prisoner is lying.

Greg interviews all the students and Eleanor checks the data files, but they discover nothing new. There is an anomaly in the skin scans, but not anything major. However, Greg almost remembers something about the lakes at Launde Abbey.

The murder method is familiar to Greg and the police. A serial killer used this method about four years before. Greg interviews the man in a nearby prison and finds his mind to be really weird.

This tale has Greg searching for information on the abbey. The local police files have been destroyed by crackers. Philip's personality checks the national files and finds that they also have been destroyed. Eleanor gets help from Gabriel to check local news files.

This plot has major twists and turns. The next installment in this series is The Nano Flower. This novel and the previous volume are being reprinted as The Mandel Files, Volume 1.

Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of psychic talents and tough detectives. Read and enjoy!

-Arthur W. Jordin

This boot took me longer time to read than Mindstar Rising. I dont know if that has anything to do with my feelings about the book.. I do not find it as good as Mindstar Rising, but I wanted to finish it when i started. But you really want to read it to learn more about Greg and his orangefarm.. :)

peter hamilton is a wonderfully innovative science fiction writer. this book is also a murder mystery. the protagonist and antagonists are well developed and the characters are memorable. i have reread it once -- just so that i could enjoy the writing style more.

and that's a good thing...Hamilton makes this more than just a near future thriller or even a run of the mill sci fi novel....by mixing genres he's turned A Quantum Murder into a good old fashioned whodunnit....just with better technology ;)

When an eccentric but brilliant physicist is brutally murdered by one of his very own students things get very complicated for Greg Mandell. Normally something of this nature would be totally off his radar now that he's living the quiet life of a farmer. Unfortunately for him, the victim has ties to Event Horizon and Greg just can't seem to help himself when Julia Evans bats her eyelashes and says please.

At the heart of this book is a great murder mystery. If you take out all the high tech and near future aspects of the book you're still left with a very good whodunit and that's saying something. Hamilton hit his stride on this one. While I enjoyed Mindstar Rising I think I liked this one even more because Hamilton is playing around in a universe he's already created and as a result the book flows a little more organically.

Even if you're not into science fiction, this book is worth a try simply because it boils down to being a really good mystery with a colorful rogues gallery.

I have read all of Peter Hamilton's books and like them all. That is why I will still give this (and all his) book(s) a good rating despite my oh so witty remarks about the cover art below. I just have to get this off my manly and hairy - not at all like the deceased but oh so highly talented and forever remembered Freddie Mercury - chest.

However, I recently pulled the Mindstar series off my bookshelf for a third read. Now I would normally never judge a book by it's cover - BUT - OMG - the book covers in this series - both the "new" one shown in the photo on this page and the older original cover - are so cheesy - cheesy, smelly, old Xmas socks, yuck.

Perhaps back when they were first published - circa early 1990's - the publishing house did not want to waste more than a bag of candy on a ten year old to do the covers. Even for the 90's they look like something from the late 70's to early cheesy 80's - Logan's Run looks rampantly heterosexual compared to this. Maybe, it was something left over from a cheesy romantic thriller, or found in an old cupboard drawn by a long dead crazy drugged up hippy's vision of what the 1990s would be like, or from the collection of someone's zit covered scion.

[...].

I need to check with my dear old Mum - but I'm sure the same guy used as the "model" in these pictures is the same one used for the Mills & Boone classics - as a Pilot, Billionaire, Sailer, whatever. Although, if they are really based on a real person then ... well poor sod.

[...].

Ugggh - no wonder SciFi gets such a bad rap. Get caught with that cover art in plain sight and your dates will run away, your buddies will think you collect action men figures under your bed, and your mum will start asking if same sex marriages are legal in your state/country/planet. No - sorry - strike that as an unfair generalization as - quite frankly - all my gay friends have way way better taste than that - this level of bad art could only come from a VisualBasic programmer.

[...].

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