**** Who
killed Edward Kitchener?
The second
book in the Greg Mandel Trilogy is in some ways a proper mystery. All the
elements are there: one dead, a secluded place, a small number of possible
culprits, many of which would have a good reason to kill him, and apparently no
one of them did it. To figure out who the murderer is, you must choose the
least likely, but can in no way imagine what lies beneath. The sci-fi element
is what makes the magic, leaving you speechless.
As always
in Hamilton
The novel,
however, does not stand comparison with the first. Once the surprise after
discovering and understanding Mandel’s abilities, given to him by his gland, is
over, the author had to create a new story unrelated to the previous one, so
that the novel could be a standalone. This is made possible by the numerous
recaps on past events and the historical and political situation, which on the
one hand slow down the book and the other bore the reader who had already
endured all those explanations in “Mindstar Rising”. I understand the need to
put them, but not to make them so long.
Even if the
intricate case treated in this novel is completely new, I found too many
similar elements to the previous book that caused me a sense of déjà-vu. There
are too many descriptions. In the first book they were essential, because the
reader was experiencing a new world. In the second they become annoying. In
general, with the exception of the last part, which has an excellent pace, the
book shows a very slow action (relatively few things happen for a book of 376
pages written in small print) and at the same time is not always able to keep
the reader interested with new and original elements.
However,
the last chapter is very nice and improved my judgment on the book.
A Quantum Murder on Amazon.
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