J'ai rarement eu un avis aussi mitigé sur un bouquin. Mais avant d'aller plus loin, un rapide résumé ne peut pas faire de mal. Dans un récit structuré par les flashbacks sur la vie et la carrière de Lawrence Newton, héros supposé de cette histoire, l'auteur nous conte ses mésaventures sur une planète où la société qui l'emploie va faire du recouvrement de créances. Enfin, c'est-à-dire qu'ils vont aller voler toutes les richesses des gens de cette planète pour retourner les vendre sur Terre, afin que l'investissement consenti dans la conquête de cette planète ne soit pas passé aux profits et pertes. Et, naturellement, les choses ne vont pas se passer si bien que ça. Voici maintenant pourquoi j'ai un avis si profondément mitigé sur ce bouquin. D'abord, parce qu'il s'agit d'un bouquin d' Hamilton. Et que cet auteur maîtrise très bien son écriture (bien aidé par un traducteur qui ne le trahit pas vraiment, je crois). Comme pour L'aube de la nuit, les personnages sont bien campés, le quota de scènes chaudes est respecté(1), les technologies présentées le sont avec un luxe de détail qui leur donne une formidable crédibilité et le récit est habilement construit, intercalant avec une certaine maîtrise littéraire un Lawrence Newton adolescent désoeuvré et le même homme nettement plus mûr et nettement plus occupé. Malheureusement, cette construction (aussi bien de l'univers que du récit) tourne un peu à vide dans cette guérilla urbaine assez peu reluisante et franchement statique. Car il aurait fallu à ce récit un climat autrement inquiétant et glauque pour faire décoller cette histoire, en fait, le même climat d'angoisse qui suinte de L'aube de la nuit dès le deuxième ou le troisième tome. C'est peut-être simplement dû au fait que le scénario n'est pas assez costaud pour tenir la route, ou alors qu' Hamilton ne s'intéresse pas assez à son récit principal et trop à l'entourloupe sur laquelle je reviendrai plus loin. Avant, il me faut évoquer l'un des aspects qui me plaît le moins dans ce bouquin : son côté libéralement capitaliste. Puisque j'ai vu hier soir Starship Trooper, ça me rappelle très précisément la citoyenneté de Etoiles, garde à vous. En effet, dans ce bouquin, toute la vie est conditionnée par l'actionnariat dans la société détenant votre monde. Ainsi, il n'y a pas de gouvernement, mais un conseil d'administration, et le droit de vote dépend directement des parts possédées. C'est d'ailleurs ce qui fait du héros un simple soldat : le fait d'avoir trop peu de parts pour monter en grade. Et, bien sûr, personne ne remet en cause ce système, ni même le fait que cette ploutocratie soit le seul système de gouvernement valable. Car, comme le disent plusieurs personnages, c'est la seule chose qui permette à la civilisation d'avancer et de ne pas être ralentie par les exclus du système. De la même manière, cette piraterie intersidérale qui s'attaque aux colonies terrestres n'est finallement pas dénoncée par l'auteur. Bien sûr, Hamilton en définit clairement les limites, mais il ne semble poas souhaiter la fin de ce système, mis à part "grâce à la grande roue de la vie". Bref, le postulat de civilisation est au mieux puant. Et ça influe très malheureusement sur l'histoire. Entendre parler des chiffres de la campagne de recouvrement quand il s'agit d'une opération militaire m'est par exemple très difficile. Mais il faut peut-être voir là un aléa de la société de consomation et une manière déguisée d'en fustiger les incohérences. Si c'est le cas, c'est fait avec trop de légèreté pour moi. Passons maintenant au Deus Ex Machina par lequel l'auteur espère sauver son récit qui s'embourbe. Et donc à une partie de l'histoire qui commence après la page 600. Ainsi donc, le dragon déchu qui donne son titre au roman est un oeuf de dragon extra-terrestre ? Super. Et ce dragon extra-terrestre (pardon, cet oeuf incomplet) donne la possibilité aux colons d'obtenir des modifications génétiques supérieures à ce qu'obtiennent les soldats avec leurs combinaisons de combat ? Vraiment génial. Et finallement, toute cette histoire de résistance n'était qu'une mise en bouche pour ce voyage spatial ? C'est un peu gonflé de nous avoir pris 600 pages pour une mise en bouche, non ? Surtout quand le voyage est décevant, sauf lorsque les vrais dragons déclarent cet oeuf aussi important pour eux qu'un spermatozoïde l'est pour nous. Et plus encore quand, finallement, grâce à cette technologie extra-terrestre, Newton ROT13ergbhear qnaf fba cnffé cbhe cbhibve nvzre yvoerzrag yn srzzr dh'vy n nonaqbaaé cbhe qrirave fbyqng. Franchement, vous voulez mon avis ? La fin est à chier. A brûler, à pilloner, à désintégrer. Une merde sans nom qui me met dans une rage folle et fait passer ce bouquin de très bon à minable. Maintenant, vous savez tout. (1) Et il s'agit clairement là d'un quota visant à émoustiller le lectorat
Fallen Dragon is the only real stand alone space opera that Peter F Hamilton has written. His series' to date are huge multi-volume affairs that are as impressive as they are ambitious. Therefore, taking his skill and applying it to a stand alone book was always going to have an interesting result. Not only does he manage to keep the sense of wonder that he has in his trilogies and series, but he does so with flair and style, bringing the military SF of old up to speed in only the way he can.The universe that Hamilton has created here is bleak and unforgiving. Interstellar travel is expensive and trade between planets is impracticable, never really justifying the cost. There is travel between planets, though not very often and usually at great cost to those wishing to make the journey. The companies that started and funded colonies find themselves in massive debt because of this - there is no way for them to maintain them during the phases of development require until they are fully self sustaining. Enter companies like Zantiu-Braun, they buy these colony worlds from the debt ridden founding companies so they can 'realise assets' from the planets they take control of. Essentially, it's piracy. Their security division supplies the brawn to enforce cooperation and they walk away with as much as they can.Technology wise, Fallen Dragon is a true military sf novel. The skin suits (and their predecessors) are awesome and show just how unstoppable the technology can be, even if it has it's weaknesses when put against superior technology. The ftl of the starships, and that of the one-shot wormholes fits well into a story that has humanity at the top of their technological level. There isn't too much in here that is surprising, most of the tech that's in Fallen Dragon is a believable extrapolation of the technology of today, and applied well throughout.As for the story, it's a very character focused affair with Lawrence Newton the main protagonist. The novel is split into three distinct sections - the here and now following Newton and the asset realisation of Thallspring; Newton's past and the events leading up to the present; and a plot thread that follows Denise and the attempts of the Thallspring natives (or at least a select few) to disrupt the operations of Zantiu-Braun to their own ends. Both the present story focusing on Newton and Denise run side by side and are interspersed with Newton's history and previous missions.Hamilton is very capable at melding these stories to form a coherent whole and manages to stay focused on the plots at hand, never straying into needless side plots. There are times when his storytelling prowess is at its best - the sections where Denise tells a tale of the ancient Ring Empire springs instantly to mind - and I found Fallen Dragon to be a most enjoyable story. Lawrence Newton is a character with motivations that are relatable, although sometimes I questioned why he acted in the way he did during his formative years, but at the end of the day that's why the story is successful - it manages to convey a real sense of character growth which isn't limited to Newton. Going into too much detail will take away from the enjoyment of the novel, and enjoyment is what this novel is about.Personally I find Fallen Dragon to one of Peter's strongest novels to date and is certainly the starting point I would recommend to anyone new to his work. While it doesn't have the scope of his previous Night's Dawn Trilogy, nor the cast of characters I've come to expect from his latest works (the Commonwealth Saga and Void Trilogy), it delivers a solid and thoroughly enjoyable story. Well worth the effort and time, and very, very highly recommended.
What do You think about Fallen Dragon (2002)?
Reminiscent of Heinlein's early sci-fi stuff, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible, Fallen Dragon started off slow and built to a crescendo that kept me up far later than I meant to be up two nights in a row. I couldn't make myself put it down. The far-flung cast of characters had all come together in a frantic race that could have come from one of Dan Brown's books it was paced so quickly. It was almost as if a door would shut behind the pursued just before the pursuer would open a door into that room, they were that close for pages and pages. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There were parts of the tech that if they were explained I missed it, but my guess is they weren't explained so much as talked about enough that I had a general feel for what it mean and that was how it was supposed to be. Peter Hamilton didn't try to bog me down with the science of what G-writing was, how it worked, who discovered it when,or how V-writing was different. He had an idea and he used it without trying to convince me we were on the brink of inventing it today and here's 20 pages of explanation of how it will work. Good sci-fi hangs on the story and the characters and the story and characters in this book were interesting and likable. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending. After the race of the last third of the book I wasn't sure what was going to happen next and what DID happen next was great. It left an opening for a second book that wouldn't have to be anything like the first book and would, hopefully, remind me of the Lensmen series. It doesn't need a second book at all, but I liked the characters and worlds he created enough that I would really enjoy a second visit with them.
—Rich
I read this book a long while before writing this, but to this day Fallen Dragon is still my favorite science fiction novel. I know this opinion may be out of the norm for this novel, but honestly, pretty much everything about this book is perfect. Mr. Hamilton has a way of making his stories seem large in scope while keeping his characters real and worlds they inhabit fascinating and believable. This book embodies everything I love about Peter's writing and storytelling style.This isn't so much a review as it is a general recommendation of Fallen Dragon. Because it's a short (for Hamilton) novel as well as a standalone, it makes a great intro into Peter's work. If you hate it, you didn't lose much, and if you love it, keep going! Mr. Hamilton has tons of great, thick science fiction books to jump into and spend some time in. This one just happens to be my favorite of the bunch. Pros:Strong characters. Fully realized setting. Excellent pacing (if you can stand a few flashbacks) and plotting.Cons:Long flashbacks, though they're really more like an essential third subplot that weaves around the other two. Deus Ex Machina ending (although it's still quite satisfying, in my opinion).
—Andrew
Pretty good book ... suffers from a great deal of back story, so the entire novel feels like your losing ground, until 100 pages from the end. Fortunately, it is all entertaining. Another unfortunate aspect is that there are no likable characters. The protagonist is pig-headed and on the side of an obvious evil. The sub-main character (the second story protagonist) is hopelessly naive and equally pig headed. The antagonist was pretty awesome, I have to admit ... in fact his motives are pure, despite his unconscionable methods - and the fact that he his never happy unless someone is causing him damage - made him fun and interesting. It is not until the very end that you come to understand all the characters ... but waiting and reading close to 400 pages to get to that point (with what you think are ugly characters) bit on the "too little" information side of the "Too much/too little" tight-rope that authors try to walk ... But the end is satisfying (if too short) and looking back on it I could see how Hamilton was working - it was a neat trick.
—Jonathan
