Friday 7 October 2011

SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY COMPENDIUM REVIEW: Manhattan in Reverse - Peter F Hamilton

Release Date: 07/10/11

SYNOPSIS:

In 1998, Peter F Hamilton, the master of space opera and top-ten bestselling author, published his first collection of short stories in A Second Chance At Eden. Thirteen years later he returns with a new collection, including ‘Manhattan in Reverse’ - an original and exclusive story featuring detective Paula Myo from his Commonwealth series.

From ‘Watching Trees Grow’, a murder mystery set in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s, to ‘The Forever Kitten’, the questions of eternal youth and the sacrifices required to pursue this, these stories deal with intricate themes and sociological issues, and take an intriguing look at what makes us enduringly human.

With all his usual imagination for futuristic technology, complexity of character and brilliantly conceived storytelling, Peter F. Hamilton shows through this collection of work what it is that makes him Britain’s number one science fiction writer.


REVIEW:

I love short stories as it’s something that you can quite easily dip into on journeys or lunch breaks or a brief time of peace and quiet without worrying about forgetting what’s gone before. When you add to this an author with a huge amount of talent to the mix such as Peter F Hamilton, you know that you’re going to get value for money, especially when you know that it’s going to have his trademark pace and prose that have made him a name to reckon with within the Science Fiction genre.

Each of the stories within are great fun and my personal favourite was The Forever Kitten as I loved the way that he developed the characters, the setting as well as the overall plot which kept me glued from start to finish as you question yourself about the real world applications of the research. Great stuff.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I concur, I love short stories and flash, I'm a busy mom, I don't always have time for a novel. But I'd have to know an author well to buy a collection of shorts done completely by them themselves. Last time I did that was for a Poe collection. Been awhile. :)