Great North Road - Peter F. Hamilton

Great North Road

By Peter F. Hamilton

  • Release Date: 2013-01-01
  • Genre: Science Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 256 Ratings

Description

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

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.

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Peter F. Hamilton’s The Abyss Beyond Dreams.

Praise for Great North Road
 
“A mesmerizing page-turner.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)
 
“A gripping saga that blends wilderness survival, police procedural, political and social intrigue, and dynastic sf into a mammoth tale featuring believable characters and exceptionally skilled storytelling.”Library Journal (starred review)
 
“A perfect introduction to [Hamilton’s] gifts for character design, dialogue, and sheer, big-idea-driven storytelling.”Booklist (starred review)
 
“Compelling and original . . . an awesome novel [with] plenty of action.”—SFRevu
 
“One very compelling and entertaining science fiction novel.”—SF Site
 
“Simply brilliant . . . an astonishing achievement.”—Tor.com

Reviews

  • Sad it had to end.

    5
    By Ukko Kotila
    Outstanding book, so much more than just a science fiction novel. I will read more of Hamilton’s work.
  • Total waste of time and$

    1
    By Ibooksbullcrap
    Characters are flawed, story is incredibly boring. Fifth of the way through and doubt i will bother finishing this one.Spend the six dollars on lottery tickets. You'll get more satisfaction.
  • Great book

    5
    By YetAnotherKate
    This is another hugely imagined, fully immersive future from Peter Hamilton. I find myself wishing I could go live in so many of his worlds after I've finished reading the books, just to hang out longer with his characters.
  • Good Read!

    5
    By J-B-3
    Peter F. Hamilton has written another captivating story. His ability to write multi-world/multi-character literature always makes me look forward to new material from him. Great North Road is not only a good read, but delivers good messages too. Enjoy!
  • AWESOME

    5
    By igero
    Great read. I love the way all the roads lead to one in the end. Another must read from Hamilton.
  • The Rock Guy

    5
    By Chocks12345
    Somehow I had never heard of this author, and after read this book I intend to read everything he's written. The comparisons to Asimov and Herbert are well deserved. Brilliant stuff!
  • Total Snooze

    2
    By MarkWhiteLotus
    Very boring. Story never got going and characters were dull and uninteresting. Found myself thinking why do I care about this detective?
  • Worth the read

    5
    By Jalaroc
    A bit obfuscatory in order to try and keep the reader guessing and some of the plot points don't mesh very well but an amazing book. There's two whole novels worth of plots in this book and part of a third as well. I suspect there might be a sequel where we find out more about the zanth.