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From Publishers Weekly
This hefty novel of interstellar war and alien contact in the 25th century, a sort of Starship Troopers as if written by Charles Dickens, ranks as one of Hamilton's best. Though he's a mercenary for the Zantiu-Braun corporation, which gets its profits by periodically looting old interstellar colonies, Lawrence Newton has his eye on picking up a treasure trove of alien technology not on his employer's approved list of loot. When the Zantiu-Braun Third Fleet descends on the planet Thrallspring, the invaders unexpectedly find the inhabitants, who have access to some of that lost alien technology, prepared to fight back. After several hundred pages of well-depicted action and intrigue, the technology of the "dragons" makes the war superfluous, a definite victory for all opponents of the corporate pirates. It also makes it possible for Newton himself to travel in both time and space, and to put right the mishandling of a youthful love affair that forced him into exile in the first place. Ignoring conventional wisdom about expository lumps, flashbacks and viewpoint shifts, Hamilton (The Reality Dysfunction) nicely develops character while he also does some fine world building that's as good as it gets in space opera short of Lois McMaster Bujold. Despite the somewhat uneven pacing, the book is undeniably a page-turner and should provide many absorbing hours for the author's existing readers as well as a salutary introduction to a major SF author for a new audience. (Mar. 11)Forecast: With a five-city author tour and national print advertising both mainstream and genre, expect this one to rack up strong sales.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From Library Journal
In a far future, where interstellar trade has devolved into legitimized piracy, the Zantiu-Braun Corporation sends an elite troop of Skins, nearly invulnerable soldiers, to the planet Thallspring to collect their periodic dividends. The residents of Thallspring, however, have different ideas, as well as a secret weapon that has the potential to change not only the future but the past as well. The author of the "Night's Dawn" trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God) offers a standalone novel that combines personal drama with high-tech military sf and political intrigue. Hamilton has a knack for complex, believable characters; his heroes have flaws while his villains act according to their own codes of honor. A good choice for most sf collections.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not great sci-fi, but definately good,
By "altana01" (Alamo TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fallen Dragon (Hardcover)
As a frequent traveler, I find myself at the mercy of the stocking choices of airport booksellers when I have forgotten to bring sufficient reading material for my trip. This has resulted in my having intaken many, many awful science fiction books (Kevin J Anderson comes to mind as a guilty party). I didn't expect much else from Fallen Dragon, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a story of complexity and depth buried among the space opera. It's certainly not a landmark science-fiction novel, but the concepts are sound, the characters plausible, and there's enough neat ideas between the pages to create an entertaining universe. I liked this book.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
It sure takes that Dragon a long time to fall!!!,
By David "dtstrange" (Pleasant Hill, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fallen Dragon (Hardcover)
First, let me say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In many respects, it was much better then the Night's Dawn Trilogy, which kind of put Hamilton on the Sci-Fi scene. For one thing, this book has a much better ending then Night's Dawn and it doesn't try to do too much as that series did. However, Hamilton's one fault as a writer is that he doesn't know when to stop. The story of a 25th Century dreamer who is forced to become a low-level corporate enforcer in order to realize his dream of star travel is quite good and very imaginative. I enjoyed Hamilton's vision of the future and found it quite plausible in many respects. The book jacket has you believe that this is a story of three individuals, but in reality, it's the story of one and one only. While other characters get their time in this lengthy novel, it's Lawrence Newton's story that forms the basis for the book and that's the one that Hamilton concentrates his themes and arguments on the direction our current society is taking. (Yes, parts of this book are a little preachy, but it's well disguised!!)This book is too long and it starts very slow. It takes a bit of effort to get through the first 100+ pages. There are very lengthy flashbacks, which don't seem to have a point until you get to the end of the book. Literally, the last chapter. Hamilton's editor could have done us a favor and had him chop those flashbacks down a bit. You get the point and the tricks early on and the details are not necessary to appreciate the author's argument. Overall, however, be grateful that Hamilton is no Robert Jordan and he does end the book, with no sequel needed or requested!! I do recommend this book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mature Hamilton in a non-epic package,
By
This review is from: Fallen Dragon (Hardcover)
"Fallen Dragon" is an awesome sci-fi novel by an incredible talent in the genre. Some of these reviews compare the novel unfavorably to Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" trilogy, but I think it's rather better: while ND is an epic space opera which draws strength from both its exploration of posthuman themes and grand drama on a cosmic scale, Fallen Dragon's strength is in its focus on characters and a far more mature style than was evident in ND. Fallen Dragon basically focuses on three characters and their involvement in the travails surrounding a particular colony world (though these events have implications for all human society, one eventually discovers), and this focus helps to create a strong storyline and character development that really matters to the reader.
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