Thursday, November 29, 2012

Great North Road


New York Times bestselling author Peter F. Hamilton’s riveting new thriller combines the nail-biting suspense of a serial-killer investigation with clear-eyed scientific and social extrapolation to create a future that seems not merely plausible but inevitable.

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family—composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone “brothers” have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies.

Or maybe not so friendly. At least that’s what the murder of a North clone in the English city of Newcastle suggests to Detective Sidney Hurst. Sid is a solid investigator who’d like nothing better than to hand off this hot potato of a case. The way he figures it, whether he solves the crime or not, he’ll make enough enemies to ruin his career.

Yet Sid’s case is about to take an unexpected turn: because the circumstances of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to a killing that took place years ago on the planet St. Libra, where a North clone and his entire household were slaughtered in cold blood. The convicted slayer, Angela Tramelo, has always claimed her innocence. And now it seems she may have been right. Because only the St. Libra killer could have committed the Newcastle crime.

Problem is, Angela also claims that the murderer was an alien monster.

Now Sid must navigate through a Byzantine minefield of competing interests within the police department and the world’s political and economic elite . . . all the while hunting down a brutal killer poised to strike again. And on St. Libra, Angela, newly released from prison, joins a mission to hunt down the elusive alien, only to learn that the line between hunter and hunted is a thin one.(book cover and synopsis from Goodreads)

My Thoughts:

Incredible!!!!

I requested this book from Netgalley because the synopsis looked interesting. When I saw the publish date was Dec. 26, 2012, I set it aside so I could read and review it closer to this date. When I finally took a closer look at it, I discovered two things that struck terror in my heart:
the book is 976 pages and the genre is science fiction!!!!!!

Why do I phrase it like this? I have read some sci-fi in the past and while it has been fine, this is not really a genre that I gravitate towards. Also, 976 pages - really? Did I even want to go there?

Being the slow reader that I am, I decided I better start early if I had any hope of finishing the book close to the publish date (if I even finished it. Sci-fi - 976 pages - really?).
 
So, here it is, the end of November and I have finished this totally amazing book. From page 1 to page 976, the book never let me down. You know how sometimes with a lengthy book there are times you think - oh man, shoot me now. Or - just get on with it. Or - blah, blah blah - so much filler.
 
Not with this story. Not once. Honestly, I am flabbergasted. I am in awe. The author weaves such an intricate tale and it all made sense. I applaud you Mr. Hamilton. In research, I find that you are a seasoned author and it shows. I am just so happy I decided to give this book a try. What a totally unexpected surprise. I even did a happy dance.

Thank you to Random House/Del Ray and Netgalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an unbiased review.



 

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