A Second Chance at Eden (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Peter F. Hamilton (Author) "It was daylight, so Battersea was in gridlock..." (more)
Key Phrases: Penny Maowkavitz, Hoi Yin, Lady Mac (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a superb collection of stories from Peter Hamilton, set in the same universe as his excellent, bestselling epics Reality Dysfunction (Emergence and Expansion) and The Neutronium Alchemist (Consolidation and Conflict). It's hard to pick favorites here, because every one of the stories is superbly plotted, exciting, and full of fresh ideas. The novella "A Second Chance at Eden" is a classic detective story with unpredictable twists and turns. "Escape Route," which also appeared in The Year's Best Science Fiction, marks the reappearance of the starship Lady Macbeth and her crew, who must figure out a xenoc relic before they run afoul of some heavies. Hamilton favorites like bitek, affinity genes, xenocs, and Edenists are threaded throughout the collection, weaving detail into the epic tapestry of his universe. A Second Chance at Eden is perfect for Hamilton aficionados and novices alike. --Therese Littleton

Product Description

Here are seven stories set in the same universe as the author's bestselling "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist". In "A Second Chance at Eden", a new police chief on a new world must solve the ultimate locked-room mystery. In "The Lives and Loves of Tiarella Rosa", a fugitive terrorist crosses worlds to find love--and learns what one woman will do to protect her destiny. And in "Escape Route", the "Lady Macbeth" discovers an ancient, derelict starship, and Captain Marcus Calvert must unlock its alien secrets in time to save his crew.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Aspect (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446606715
• ISBN-13: 978-0446606714
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #809,421 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #51 in

  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hamilton, Peter F.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary read for any Hamilton fan., March 27, 2000

By	Adam Ruddermann (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God) I found myself WANTING to learn more about the universe that he had so wonderfully created.

I found this little book full of short stories set in the same universe as that series and was totally impressed. There are hints to the stories in A 2nd Chance at Eden in The Naked God (When Calvert tells Ione that his dad had once traveled through time and she didn't believe him, for example.)

There is also a VERY valuable and fascinating story of Edenism which paints its esteemed leader in a much different light than most would think after reading the entire Night's Dawn series.

So, check it out, and enjoy!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fabulous Prefatory Collection, October 1, 2000

By	Penner (Brattleboro, VT USA) - See all my reviews

Just what the Night's Dawn trilogy needed: A set of short stories in chronological order that lay out the future history of his universe up until Volume I begins. For those intending to read the Night's Dawn books, I would actually recommend reading this first, as it introduces each of the major technologies and political entities prevalent in the trilogy one by one, while at the same time exploring their darker side and giving you some historical insight for the events of the trilogy. And don't worry: the major thread of Night's Dawn is a completely new storyline so this volume will ruin nothing.

Hamilton is a brillant, versatile, sexy writer who knows how to control information and how to throw action and intrigue together in the right mixture.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for Hamilton fans. 4.5 stars, December 29, 2003

By	Peter D. Tillman (Taos, NM USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This collection, a mix of new and reprint stories, is set in his
"Night's Dawn" universe. The stories collectively form something
of a prequel to the Reality Dysfunction, and Hamilton presents a
detailed future-history timeline as interstitial material.

The core of the book is the previously-unpublished title novella, a
twisty murder-mystery/police-procedural set in the first Edenist
bitek habitat, a He(3)-mining outfit in orbit around Jupiter. The
protagonist, a tough, competent corporate cop with a shaky
marriage, is straight out of Greg Egan or Ed McBain. The setting is
nicely-extrapolated nearish-term hard-SF -- not a dead-demonic
possession in sight, thank heavens. I found it cleaner & more
plausible than his "Greg Mandel" sf-mysteries. Highly
recommended.

The other stories range from excellent (Tiarella Rosa, Escape Route)
down to a couple Hamilton might better have left in the trunk.
All feature his trademarks: a glossy, hi-tech future, larger-than-life
characters, lots of sex & violence. It's interesting to see Hamilton
working at shorter lengths, and US readers are unlikely to have
seen these stories before, except perhaps "Escape Route", reprinted
in the Dozois Year's Best for 1997

Happy reading!
Pete Tillman