Fallen Dragon, Peter F. Hamilton
“Fallen Dragon” is most likely the most consistent work I’ve read from Hamilton. It’s not a bazillion pages long and it doesn’t contain stories about the friend of the waiter who met a guy on the street who ran into a character that was mentioned in passing by someone who might constitute a major character. It is however one of the best story-based sci-fi books I’ve read in ages.
This is one story told as just that, it doesn’t try to dazzle you with extras, blind you with plot twists and hide itself under a ton of text. It’s solid and quite well paced, it’s also quite an interesting story, you might find yourself caring about the people involved, which I do admit isn’t the main draw of some of his other works.
So aye, I liked it. If you’re looking to start on Hamiltion, or giving him another shot, try it. It’s not hard sci-fi and it’s not the big evil needing to be put down. It’s quite refreshing in both regards.