I have long admired Peter F. Hamilton's sprawling space operas. I usually steer clear of his work that includes psychic powers, fantasy, horror, or anything involving ESP, because the soft physics behind those elements bothers me. For that reason I had skipped the Greg Mandel series.
After a few disappointing recent reads in newer space opera, I decided to return to an author whose style I already trust. Mindstar Rising did not let me down.
The plot moves quickly and keeps delivering twists. The characters are engaging and easy to follow. The near-future setting—post-climate-collapse Britain—feels plausible and detailed. I especially liked the neural augmentations and the way Hamilton explores the boundary between human consciousness and machine intelligence. Those ideas are sharp and thought-provoking.
The psychic abilities remain the one part I could do without. They feel out of place in an otherwise grounded tech story. Still, they did not ruin the book for me.
Hamilton's writing pulled me through effortlessly. I have already started the next volume in the series. 5/5 stars.
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