Fallen Dragon
 Peter F. Hamilton
 (Sr. Staff Reviewer - D. H. BROWN)
 2002 Warner Books
  ISBN: 0446527084


By the 25th century, the brilliant notion of a star-trading civilization linking Earth to its interstellar colonies has petered out & the victim of stock market manipulation & cost-benefit analysis. Trade has been replaced by a business-friendly policy of “asset realization” ... which some might call piracy.

Corporate starships of the Zantiu-Braun 3rd Fleet deploy to colonies, disgorging hordes of invulnerable soldiers called Skins. Enforcing their dictates with both orbital weaponry & civilian hostages, the Skins loot whole planets, leaving only poverty, misery, & an industrial infrastructure, so that a few years later, Z-B can harvest again.

But on the bucolic world of Thallspring, Z-B's plans are about to go badly awry, all because of one Skin's determination to wrest his soul from a soul-destroying military life, one teacher's guerrilla resistance & one director of security who serves his masters with a dedication nobody fully grasps.

Senior Staff Reviewer D. H. BROWN writes:

While Rebecca was browsing the Time Warner catalog, she happened across the Science Fiction works of Peter F. Hamilton, & without asking me, requested a review copy of his Fallen Dragon.

& so I was unaware, until it arrived, that I had a book to read & review from Time Warner. I dutifully stacked it into my pile, somewhere near the bottom & worked my way down to it. Except, for some strange reason, it kept drawing my eye until finally, I took it off the shelf, opened it up, read the flyleaf & set out.

I have never heard of Peter Hamilton, never read any of his work, so it was with a self-admitted less-than-open mind, that I began to read.

Wow! By the time I had turned page five, I knew that I was going to be hard-pressed to get any other work done that day! I liked Fallen Dragon!

I finished the book, right in the place I'm sure Peter Hamilton wanted to leave me -- wanting more! So I'm now on the hunt for his other works, & can't wait to get something else of his to review.

The greatest gift I feel that Peter Hamilton gave me from reading Fallen Dragon, was the understanding that our human evolution is definitely not over!

So Readers, I encourage you to start looking & acquaint yourself with this author's written gifts.

& Peter Hamilton, if by some chance you should read this review, please put me on your list as an avid fan!

I also highly recommend his The Confederation Handbook, a Galactic Almanac of 600-years of history with more than 21,500 inhabited worlds, asteroids & bitek habitats:- how Edenist spaces colonies are grown; the real story of the Kulu Kings & the exiled Lord of Ruin; Why Adamist religions caused the human schism by rejecting Affinity; the tragic legacy of Rubra, the Edenist rebel who created Valisk; Tyrathca mating rituals & much, much more...). This is the Essential Companion Guide, giving you all the players & their place within the scheme of his Night's Dawn Trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God.

Also reviewed Futures : Four Novellas by Peter F. Hamilton, et al. (05/12/02)

D. H. BROWN
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Staff Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
D. H. BROWN is the author of the critically acclaimed HONOR DUE and the Citizens Warrior Series. The son of missionary parents and with the help his Uncle Sam, he has touched base in more than 40 countries.  In 1986 he produced the independent children's film Lessie's Rainbow.  During the late 80s and early 90s, he wrote the book Common Sense and delivered the seminars of the same name for the Community Action Network of Seattle (CAN).  While doing his early Vietnam recovery work, he counseled Veterans and spoke widely to men's groups in Washington state, and was a founder of The Lodge of the Wolf.

D. H. BROWN has worked as a Logistics and Weapons Specialist in Viet Nam; day laborer; Director of Security; Armored Car Driver; Police Officer; Professional Hunting Guide; Trapper; Dog Sledder; Homesteader; Truck Driver; General Contractor; Minister; Editor; Writer; Speaker; Restaurateur; Movie Producer; Antique Restoration Specialist; Personal Care Worker; PC Repair Specialist; Computer Instructor; Webmaster and Web Designer. "I write about what I know."

He lives deep in the Pacific Northwest rainforest with his wife, author and editor Rebecca and Buddy Dog, working on his next book.
Visit him at: www.dhbrownbooks.com