# What do we think of Peter F. Hamilton? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 12, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366 "2002-11-12T03:38:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366/1 "2002-11-12T03:38:06Z")
This is the (British, I’m guessing) author who wrote the Night’s Dawn trilogy, the Greg Mandel trilogy, and the standalone Fallen Dragon. My impressions: His writing is cliched. He writes in sentance fragments. And yet, he manages to come up with dozens of incredibly cool ideas, each of which could justify their own story, and lets them fight it out. I like him, although my literary snobbery is still intact enough to make me prefer Pratchett. How about all’y’all? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366/2 "2002-11-12T05:14:36Z")
Love him. Do yourself a favor and read his latest novel, _Fallen Dragon_, which is possibly the finest space opera since Vinge’s _A Deepness in the Sky_. For me, Hamilton has reached that most select group of authors: those that I buy hardcover. Do you belong to the mailing list? It’s been a bit dead lately, but some new blood could stir things up a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366/3 "2002-11-12T12:59:48Z")
I think he is a good writer who wimps out. I mean, c’mon, the ending to the Night’s Dawn trilogy was SSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad I could smell it a hundred pages from the end. What started out as the best space opera I had ever read, turned into a silly, childish, boorish trip through ‘the other side’. “I moved the Earth to another universe(!), freed all of the lost souls, fixed everything that was broken, have now figured out that my days sleeping with gorgeous women are over…let’s go raise that kid of ours, darlin’…” All in about 2, maybe 3 paragraphs. Or otherwise put: “Oh, this plot is too complicated to come up with a good ending… let’s just go with that omnipotent-object-from-afar-that-saves-everyone-and-everything. That always works.” What a horrible way to end anything. I fear reading his latest because of the disappointment I suffered with that. Will he wimp out again? I’m not sure I want to find out the hard way. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![robertliguori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@robertliguori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robertliguori)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366/4 "2002-11-12T13:43:44Z")
Second the complaint to Night’s Dawn ending. Now, see, a godlike object that can teleport planets is the basis for a story, not a cheap deus ex machina. ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2002, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-we-think-of-peter-f-hamilton/136366/5 "2002-11-12T18:07:28Z")
Dammit. Spoiler boxes if you please. I’ve just started reading the Night’s Dawn series, and I really didn’t want to have the ending of the series spoiled for me. On the subject of the OP, I pretty much agree with you. He has very neat ideas and creates his words well, but his writing style is rather poor.