Rating: 
Summary: Clearly a 'first' book - not as good as his later works.
Review: I picked up this trilogy after reading, and loving, The Reality Dysfunction and The Neutronium Alchemist. Mindstar Rising is entertaining and moves along well, but comes nowhere near the scope, grandeur, and excellence of his later works. It is clearly a 'first' novel - it became rather tedious to receive a description of hair and clothing every time a character appeared in a scene. Hamilton does demonstrate, however, his knack for creating a rich and detailed world - one of the elements that makes The Neutronium Alchemist such an astounding work. The book is easy reading, and has plenty to keep the reader's interest, but I'd steer towards the latter series if you haven't already read them.
Rating: 
Summary: This book made me an instant Peter F Hamilton fan!
Review: I've always loved the genre of science fiction loosely called cyberpunk, dealing with a dark future of societal collapse where humanity is a quality that is no longer taken for granted, and so my husband picked this book up, thinking I might like it. I loved it! Greg Mandel is not a stereotypical cyberpunk hero, his internal conflicts go beyond whether or not the girl he's sleeping with is a threat to his career or not, he is a thinking person's cyberpunk. Hamilton creates a very real future, including political intrigue, underground warriors, and of course the not so wonderful life of the new race of supermen.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific blend of sci-fi and detective fiction.
Review: Mindstar Rising is a pleasant and addictive read which combines the best of the noir detective genre with the best of science fiction. Greg, Eleanor, and Julia are characters that John D. MacDonald would have introduced in some of his better works. At the same time, the future world introduced here is credible, with exciting new technologies and political complications. The combination between the two genres is skillfully done. It allows Hamilton to play with reader expectations in a manner that raises the suspense and keeps the pages turning.
Readers of the Night's Dawn trilogy may find this book a mixed blessing. Mindstar Rising is much more self-contained as a book, much lighter and less epic. I found that a pleasant surprise, but that reaction will obviously depend on the taste of the reader.
Recommended for fans of combined science fiction/detective novels such as Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan. This may also be a good book for someone who is just starting to read science fiction but who does not want to stray too far from more traditional comfort zones.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent start to an excellent trilogy!
Review: Mindstar rising was the first Peter Hamilton book I read - but not for long. As soon as I had got past the first couple of chapters of this book, I went out & bought the rest of the trilogy ('A Quantum Murder' and 'The Nano Flower'). All concern a 21st Century dramatically changed both Politically and Environmentally. The main protagonist is Greg Mandell, a veteran of the second Gulf war, who has some enhanced psychic ability - due to experimental surgery performed on him & others who tested 'positive' for the basic capability. Due to this ability (and the fact that he has become a private detective), he gets pulled into a world of high-powered politics & intrigue, with the action mainly taking place in the Rutland area of England. If you haven't read any of his books, this is good one to start with; but don't forget to buy the rest of the trilogy. The book is handled well, with the characters being believable, & having a depth to them that you will find in all his books.Any complaints? Ony one - that I hadn't read it sooner. This trilogy is one I keep coming back to (8 times so far), and has become one of my firm favourites. Saying that.....which bookcase did I put them? I think I'll start them again, ta ta.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent start to an excellent trilogy!
Review: Mindstar rising was the first Peter Hamilton book I read - but not for long. As soon as I had got past the first couple of chapters of this book, I went out & bought the rest of the trilogy ('A Quantum Murder' and 'The Nano Flower'). All concern a 21st Century dramatically changed both Politically and Environmentally. The main protagonist is Greg Mandell, a veteran of the second Gulf war, who has some enhanced psychic ability - due to experimental surgery performed on him & others who tested 'positive' for the basic capability. Due to this ability (and the fact that he has become a private detective), he gets pulled into a world of high-powered politics & intrigue, with the action mainly taking place in the Rutland area of England. If you haven't read any of his books, this is good one to start with; but don't forget to buy the rest of the trilogy. The book is handled well, with the characters being believable, & having a depth to them that you will find in all his books. Any complaints? Ony one - that I hadn't read it sooner. This trilogy is one I keep coming back to (8 times so far), and has become one of my firm favourites. Saying that.....which bookcase did I put them? I think I'll start them again, ta ta.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent start to an excellent trilogy!
Review: Mindstar rising was the first Peter Hamilton book I read - but not for long. As soon as I had got past the first couple of chapters of this book, I went out & bought the rest of the trilogy ('A Quantum Murder' and 'The Nano Flower'). All concern a 21st Century dramatically changed both Politically and Environmentally. The main protagonist is Greg Mandell, a veteran of the second Gulf war, who has some enhanced psychic ability - due to experimental surgery performed on him & others who tested 'positive' for the basic capability. Due to this ability (and the fact that he has become a private detective), he gets pulled into a world of high-powered politics & intrigue, with the action mainly taking place in the Rutland area of England. If you haven't read any of his books, this is good one to start with; but don't forget to buy the rest of the trilogy. The book is handled well, with the characters being believable, & having a depth to them that you will find in all his books. Any complaints? Ony one - that I hadn't read it sooner. This trilogy is one I keep coming back to (8 times so far), and has become one of my firm favourites. Saying that.....which bookcase did I put them? I think I'll start them again, ta ta.
Rating: 
Summary: Never fails to please
Review: Mr. Hamilton may be the best thing to happen to the science fiction genre in a while. His most recent novels are breathing a breath of fresh air into a market of sad worn out tales and books written by formula. This, one of his early works lacks some of the finess we now expect but all the same is very enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent entry into a tough field of writing!
Review: Near-future SF seems to be almost as hard to do well as fantasy. Too often, authors of both kinds of material rely on tired cliches or an assumption that a reader will fill in the blanks rather than taking the time to create and then ground their story in a fully realized world. Thankfully, Peter F. Hamilton took the time in 'Mindstar Rising' to fully introduce the reader to the 21st century world of Greg Mandel (a veteran soldier turned trouble-shooter for hire) before launching his characters into a thrilling mystery plot. The end result is a futuristic detective story that has heavy techno-thriller aspects and touches of the fantastic, by the way of psionics and precognative abilities. Nonetheless, it all makes perfect sense... and at no time does the reader feel like an alien in the setting. This makes his already well-drawn characters even more believable. If more writers were willing to spend the time that Hamilton spends on world-development, we might see non-media tie-ins reclaim some of the shelfspace in the bookstores. We certainly need more writers of Hamilton's calibre working in the science fiction and fantasy genres!
Rating:
Summary: Weak Characterization But Engrossing Plot
Review: The characterizations in this novel were largely one-dimensional and the society lacked depth in many areas, but the book was still a page-turner because of a hard-driving and engaging plot. Definitely recommended if you're looking for some light summer SF reading. I look forward to reading the sequel - if Hamilton can beef up the characterizations he could be a top-tier author.
Rating:
Summary: A Really Good Book
Review: The first chapter doesn't mean a lot to the story. It is more a way of introducing the main character. That frankly could have been done better. But if you give it the first few chapters you will become hooked with a superb sf mystery. Great characters and great plot keep you turning the pages right up to the very end.
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