The human being is a fascinating animal. He is capable of great goodness, acts of charity, selflessness and kindness that have the power to inspire a transformation of our world. But he is also capable of great ugliness, dark deeds driven by avarice and self-interest that have the power to infect and corrupt those he influences. How do we choose our paths? What factors, biological, environmental, circumstantial, shape that choice? And having once made it, can we go back and choose again? These are all questions that have been debated many times, in literature and in the culture, but they are questions no less potent for being so frequently posed. They underpin this gripping piece of cyberpunk from Mr. Hamilton, elevating it well above the fray.
In a near-future England devastated by climate change and political and economic upheaval, life is as tempestuous as it is treacherous. After ten years of communist rule, in which the country's infrastructure was allowed to decay, the Peoples Socialist Party (PSP) have been violently overthrown, their leader, along with much of Parliament, immolated by a powerful, non-nuclear bomb that could have only come from a handful of the world's richest nations. The conservatives, having been restored to power, try to implement economic reforms to get the country back on its feet, but ten years is an eternity in the arena of competitive advantage and England is sure to lag behind the rest of the advanced world for some time to come.
Enter Event Horizon, England's last, great corporate hope. Helmed by Philip Evans, an eccentric but brilliant billionaire, the British company, one of the world's foremost manufacturers of bleeding-edge technology, moved its operations into international waters to avoid the punitive collectivism of the PSP. Now that communism has left the isles, Event Horizon has welcomed itself back into the fold and is doing all it can to be the Atlas upon whom the British economy rests. And so, when its operations are sabotaged and its founders targeted for assassination by powerful but unknown interests, everything is at stake. For if Event Horizon falls, England may well fall with her.
A freak and a murderer, Greg Mandel is the result of a military experiment gone sideways. Attempts to breed a better soldier have left Mandel with hyperactive empathy, an ability which allows him to sense nearby minds and delve into them to sift truths from lies. Since his military days ended in a disastrous expedition in Turkey, he's been hiring out his gun to those who'll pay, keeping his head down and his conscience dormant while the world around him accretes towards oblivion. This chain of nihilistic jobs is broken, however, when Event Horizon comes calling. It's the job of a lifetime, a job so lucrative Mandel couldn't turn it down if he wanted to. It's a job that will take him to the highest orbits and into the most secretive of corporate enclaves to learn the truth behind the attacks on the Evans clan and the company they hold dear. He has a talent and they have a need. It's a match made in purgatory's shadow.
Mindstar Rising is quality science fiction that draws upon the conventions of the detective novel to create a compelling, high-tech thrillride. Originally published in 1993, it is the first entry in a trilogy conceived prior to the rise-to-dominance of the Internet and social media. And while this awkward timing leaves the piece feeling somewhat dated, like much of pre-millennial SciFi, the author is close enough for comfort. Even if one would wish to deduct points for his misses on the technology, Mr. Hamilton more than earns them back with his imagining of a future England savaged by Global Warming which, while discussed in 1993, certainly wasn't as ubiquitous a concern as it is today. His depiction of an overheated England is, to say the least, disturbing.
Though Mindstar Rising blends a solid plot with a decent mystery and seasons this mixture with interesting characters, flashy tech and a splash of sex, there's no doubt that the piece's unusual politics take center stage. In fitting collectivists with villainous black hats and then having the eccentric, ultra-capitalist billionaire ride in on his white steed to save the day, Mindstar Rising feels like a 1990s, science-fiction reinterpretation of Atlas Shrugged complete with all its unnuanced defenses of vulture capitalism. The author contends that he simply did not want to have fascists be the boogeymen for the umpteenth time and this is perfectly understandable. But what Mr. Hamilton seems to have missed here is that totalitarian regimes all desire to have power and to make war. They all invest in nationalistic symbols regardless of whether they are communist or fascist. The lengths Mr. Hamilton has gone to make the PSP seem bumbling and foolish compared to the unstoppable, inventive brilliance of his own Steve Jobs causes the piece to feel like a pretty lame argument for conservatism rather than a plausible glimpse into a dystopian future.
In any event, Greg Mandel is a fantastic hardman, a burdened man with a stained soul who finds a kind of redemption in Event Horizon. The author successfully animates both Mandel and his environment, investing them with sexy charm. I'll certainly be reading on. For while it's not Gibson, it's quality. (3/5 Stars)
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