Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Solaris (2008), Edition: Book Club Edition, Hardcover
Description
1. This is classic SF from the author of HELIX. 2. Will appeal to mystery fans, as well as a core science fiction readership. 3. Will appeal to fans of Richard Morgan and Alastair Reynolds. 4. This novel has generated interest from movie production companies. 5. Author will be promoting at conventions and events, including BEA. Science fiction meets crime noir, as Jeff Vaughan, jaded telepath, employed by the spaceport authorities on Bengal Station, discovers a sinister cult that worships a mysterious alien god. We follow Vaughan as he attempts to solve the murders and save himself from the psichopath out to kill him. This is Eric Brown's triumphant return to hard SF.
User reviews
LibraryThing member RoboSchro
"He had the strange feeling, now, that today was yet another beginning -- the beginning of the end, when the events of the past week would be resolved for good, one way or the other. He felt the weight of responsibility settle heavily upon him. If he acted with care and vigilance, he could
This is the second of Eric Brown's novels I've read, and I had a similar response to both: he's got some fine, interesting science fiction ideas -- but his writing just isn't good enough to make a quality book out of them.
The setting is a promising one -- in the near future, aboard a city-sized space station constructed in the Bay of Bengal. The station, populated mainly by Indians and Thais, makes for a pleasant change from the more common Western setting. It's crowded, noisy, socially stratified, and an unusual mix of the high-tech and third-world.
The main protagonist is a less successful creation. Jeff Vaughan is a telepath, employed by the spaceport to screen new arrivals. He's a miserable sod with a traumatic past, who dislikes humanity and hates what he sees in peoples' minds. This misanthropy rather clunkily alternates with a compassionate side that drives him to help poor children. There's a revelation late in the book that attempts to explain his nature, but it doesn't make him a convincing character.
Another major character is even worse -- Sukara, a teenage Bangkok prostitute. She's unattractive, dim-witted, and easily manipulated by those around her. There's little to like about her, and less to like about what a character like her is doing in the book in the first place. A middle-aged Englishman is always going to struggle to give an authentic voice to a poor Asian girl, and Brown doesn't do very well at it. Sukara, despite a string of awful experiences, seems to spend all her time either being naïve or whining, or (and this feels rather creepy) being desperately grateful to anyone who treats her decently.
The plot has some more good ideas in it. Vaughan follows a hunch about an incoming ship, and turns up evidence of smuggling living things. This leads him to investigate a cult, and trace it to a colony world. The aliens that he discovers there are an imaginative and threatening creation. At times the book seems to be developing rather nicely. But there are too many let-downs. Vaughan's motivations are unconvincing throughout. Brown so often tells, instead of showing, that the sense-of-wonder that his ideas should generate never blossoms. And there's no explanation at all for the way Sukara is drawn into the subplot involving Vaughan's past.
An okay read for science fiction fans, in the end, but not good enough to appeal to anybody else.
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eradicate the threat that hung over the Station. ... For the first time in years, Vaughan felt that his existence had purpose and meaning."This is the second of Eric Brown's novels I've read, and I had a similar response to both: he's got some fine, interesting science fiction ideas -- but his writing just isn't good enough to make a quality book out of them.
The setting is a promising one -- in the near future, aboard a city-sized space station constructed in the Bay of Bengal. The station, populated mainly by Indians and Thais, makes for a pleasant change from the more common Western setting. It's crowded, noisy, socially stratified, and an unusual mix of the high-tech and third-world.
The main protagonist is a less successful creation. Jeff Vaughan is a telepath, employed by the spaceport to screen new arrivals. He's a miserable sod with a traumatic past, who dislikes humanity and hates what he sees in peoples' minds. This misanthropy rather clunkily alternates with a compassionate side that drives him to help poor children. There's a revelation late in the book that attempts to explain his nature, but it doesn't make him a convincing character.
Another major character is even worse -- Sukara, a teenage Bangkok prostitute. She's unattractive, dim-witted, and easily manipulated by those around her. There's little to like about her, and less to like about what a character like her is doing in the book in the first place. A middle-aged Englishman is always going to struggle to give an authentic voice to a poor Asian girl, and Brown doesn't do very well at it. Sukara, despite a string of awful experiences, seems to spend all her time either being naïve or whining, or (and this feels rather creepy) being desperately grateful to anyone who treats her decently.
The plot has some more good ideas in it. Vaughan follows a hunch about an incoming ship, and turns up evidence of smuggling living things. This leads him to investigate a cult, and trace it to a colony world. The aliens that he discovers there are an imaginative and threatening creation. At times the book seems to be developing rather nicely. But there are too many let-downs. Vaughan's motivations are unconvincing throughout. Brown so often tells, instead of showing, that the sense-of-wonder that his ideas should generate never blossoms. And there's no explanation at all for the way Sukara is drawn into the subplot involving Vaughan's past.
An okay read for science fiction fans, in the end, but not good enough to appeal to anybody else.
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LibraryThing member andyl
This book is an expansion (and reinstatement of editorially cut material) of Eric Brown's earlier book Bengal Station. It is the first book of a trilogy although it is completely self-contained.
It is a competent thriller mostly set on a space station above the Indian Ocean. The main character is a
Bengal Station itself bustles with life, there is a real east Asian feel to the place it isn't just another US/British monoculture. Also Eric Brown isn't afraid to populate the station with an underclass (deliberately crippled) beggars and prostitutes living alongside the more usual station inhabitants. It is also obviously a permanent floating city, there are streets and parks, and not just some anti-septic/grimy (delete as appropriate) space port.
Because Vaughan has built up walls between him and the outside world, and is a very private man I never felt that I got that close to him. He is obviously hiding his past from the outset and we see little glimpses of that in his interactions with a young Thai street girl called Tiger. As the book moves on we do get closer to Vaughan and gain some understanding of what has shaped his personality and outlook on life.
For those who have read a lot of Eric Brown before then some of the themes will seem familiar however that is not to knock the book. I found it a relatively quick and entertaining read.
It is a competent thriller mostly set on a space station above the Indian Ocean. The main character is a
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jaded telepath called Jeff Vaughan who despite his wishes for a quiet life, and to keep his past secret, tracks down a sinister cult as his past tracks him down.Bengal Station itself bustles with life, there is a real east Asian feel to the place it isn't just another US/British monoculture. Also Eric Brown isn't afraid to populate the station with an underclass (deliberately crippled) beggars and prostitutes living alongside the more usual station inhabitants. It is also obviously a permanent floating city, there are streets and parks, and not just some anti-septic/grimy (delete as appropriate) space port.
Because Vaughan has built up walls between him and the outside world, and is a very private man I never felt that I got that close to him. He is obviously hiding his past from the outset and we see little glimpses of that in his interactions with a young Thai street girl called Tiger. As the book moves on we do get closer to Vaughan and gain some understanding of what has shaped his personality and outlook on life.
For those who have read a lot of Eric Brown before then some of the themes will seem familiar however that is not to knock the book. I found it a relatively quick and entertaining read.
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LibraryThing member jprutter
Necropath by Eric Brown is a novel about Jeff Vaughan, a telepath who works as custom officer at Bengal station. He scans passengers coming into the station looking for thoughts of crimes or knowledge of smuggling. Vaughan grows suspicious of some activity on the station and as he starts to poke
I enjoyed many things about Necropath. Characters were interesting and well developed, and Vaughan’s telepathic ability was especially well handled. Though Vaughan has a talent for getting general impressions of peoples minds and moods, he can not truly read thoughts without assistance. This assistance comes in the form of a pin which inserts into his brain stem. I thought that this was a good way to avoid the omniscient protagonist.
The main issue I had with this story is the ease with which Vaughan bumbles his way to the conclusion. Without much thought or motive he seems to always end up in the right place to learn what is needed to move the plot along.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those looking for a Sci-Fi detective story.
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around he gets drawn into an interstellar conspiracy. Events from his past drive him on to try to help those who would become victims to this conspiracy.I enjoyed many things about Necropath. Characters were interesting and well developed, and Vaughan’s telepathic ability was especially well handled. Though Vaughan has a talent for getting general impressions of peoples minds and moods, he can not truly read thoughts without assistance. This assistance comes in the form of a pin which inserts into his brain stem. I thought that this was a good way to avoid the omniscient protagonist.
The main issue I had with this story is the ease with which Vaughan bumbles his way to the conclusion. Without much thought or motive he seems to always end up in the right place to learn what is needed to move the plot along.
Overall, I would recommend this book to those looking for a Sci-Fi detective story.
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LibraryThing member irapearson
I am not familiar with Eric Brown's work. In fact I'd never heard of him before this. As a consequence, I had no expectations while reading Necropath. What I found was a fast, fun sci-fi thriller with interesting, if not entirely three dimensional, characters.
A very brief over-simplified synopsis:
Each one of the main characters suffers from a single-minded obsession which propels them throughout the plot of the novel. That's not really a criticism and it works for this story. I'm not really a fan of the broken English used by the main female character, Sukara, when speaking aloud. It makes her sound extremely unintelligent even though the reader knows, being privy to her thoughts through the narration, that she isn't at all unintelligent. It also makes me wonder why she'd even be using English to communicate in the first place when she exists in such a multi-cultural non-English location. I believe the wisest course for any author is just to ignore language altogether unless it's relevant to the plot. It isn't relevant in this particular case.
Although this novel does deal with religion and belief in deity, the author does an admirable job of keeping his personal beliefs hidden. I can take a guess as to what they are, but it shouldn't really matter at all.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel, and will probably, eventually, seek out the other two novels in this proposed trilogy.
A very brief over-simplified synopsis:
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Jeff Vaughan, a cynical telepath with a hidden past, investigates some murders and a dangerous new drug on board the Bengal Station spaceport somewhere above the Indian Ocean, and stumbles upon a cult that worships sinister alien "gods". Meanwhile, Sukara, a young Thai prostitute, searches for her long-lost younger sister.Each one of the main characters suffers from a single-minded obsession which propels them throughout the plot of the novel. That's not really a criticism and it works for this story. I'm not really a fan of the broken English used by the main female character, Sukara, when speaking aloud. It makes her sound extremely unintelligent even though the reader knows, being privy to her thoughts through the narration, that she isn't at all unintelligent. It also makes me wonder why she'd even be using English to communicate in the first place when she exists in such a multi-cultural non-English location. I believe the wisest course for any author is just to ignore language altogether unless it's relevant to the plot. It isn't relevant in this particular case.
Although this novel does deal with religion and belief in deity, the author does an admirable job of keeping his personal beliefs hidden. I can take a guess as to what they are, but it shouldn't really matter at all.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel, and will probably, eventually, seek out the other two novels in this proposed trilogy.
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LibraryThing member eyloni
After the wonderfully original surprise that was Kéthani, reading this book was a disappointment.
Let's begin with the setting and a little rant by yours truly. The novel is set in Bengal Station, which the back cover describes as “an exotic spaceport that dominates the ocean between India and
Thankfully, Brown refrains from throwing in too much Hindi and Thai jargon, and somehow even manages to avoid Burmese culture wholesale. The fact that the only cultural references are stereotypes is quite telling and you don't really get any new insight into an unknown culture. All of the Thai scenes happen in a Bangkok brothel and all South Indian cultural scenes involve either the burning ghat or mutilated kid baggers. Again, not much insight there. Compared to Kéthani, where he managed to skillfully portray regular people's lives as they are affected by momentous world events, it is almost as if he did not even try to turn on his sensitivity.
And don't get me started about the plot. The book starts in a real promising way, with the characters developed very well, but somewhere around page 150 it becomes rushed and full of regular detective sci-fi shticks.
I am going to read his previous Helix, and I may even give the next one in the Bengal series a shot. But I really hope that he gets his act together and delivers on the level of Kéthani and more.
Let's begin with the setting and a little rant by yours truly. The novel is set in Bengal Station, which the back cover describes as “an exotic spaceport that dominates the ocean between India and
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Burma”. Now, is it just me, or is this trend of ethnic sci-fi starting to seem a little bit over the top? Don't get me wrong, having a non-western culture at the center of a futuristic novel can be the basis of a great book, as Ian McDonald's Evolution's Shore (UK: Chaga) clearly demonstrated. But even McDonalnd's latest Brasyl relies way too much on the amalgamation of cultural clichés (favela, futebul, ayahuasca...) without delivering any really original imaginative ideas. Thankfully, Brown refrains from throwing in too much Hindi and Thai jargon, and somehow even manages to avoid Burmese culture wholesale. The fact that the only cultural references are stereotypes is quite telling and you don't really get any new insight into an unknown culture. All of the Thai scenes happen in a Bangkok brothel and all South Indian cultural scenes involve either the burning ghat or mutilated kid baggers. Again, not much insight there. Compared to Kéthani, where he managed to skillfully portray regular people's lives as they are affected by momentous world events, it is almost as if he did not even try to turn on his sensitivity.
And don't get me started about the plot. The book starts in a real promising way, with the characters developed very well, but somewhere around page 150 it becomes rushed and full of regular detective sci-fi shticks.
I am going to read his previous Helix, and I may even give the next one in the Bengal series a shot. But I really hope that he gets his act together and delivers on the level of Kéthani and more.
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LibraryThing member psybre
I generally enjoyed "Necropath" as a story about a dark, brooding, telepathic, former special operative turned vigilante. The character development of the protagonist was engaging and novel. The book was a quick read for its 400+ pages and flowed well. However, on many levels this book fails to
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live up to the claim of "Hard SF" foremost because of the absense of science to explain certain realities that the reader was meant to simply accept. To wit, a planet claiming to have four times the land mass of earth, yet containing oceans, implies that the planet was larger. And its days are half the length of earth therefore spinning faster. The suspension of disbelief was twarted by this reader when it seemed ridiculous that there was no mention of the difference in gravity, no severe wind patterns, no difference in magnetism or atmosphere (either gas distribution or pressure). Aliens in the book were common but not described beyond their physical aspects. The protagonist Vaughn's perspective, to the question recurring and important throughout the book as to whether there is life after death, was interesting and new to me; the answers explained in the narrative, however, were mundane. I recommended this book only to lovers of "military SF" or "psi-enhanced SF" though it is a far cry from the likes of Peter F. Hamilton's Greg Mandel series or Iain M. Bank's Culture novels. Steer away from this book, if you are a "Hard SF" fan, since it is disappointing from that respect. Show Less
LibraryThing member jerm
Just finished this one. Has a very decent Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon) feel to it. Good Sci-Fi. Maybe a little Stephen Woodward too (Through Violet Eyes). Still processing it, and wondering how it turns into a trilogy, but then I wondered the same thing about the Morgan books too.
Jeff Vaughan
jerm
Jeff Vaughan
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is a telepath, one who has had his ability augmented, and now he uses it as a kind of freelance customs official, until one of his friends dies, and another is in danger, plus a weird cult has arrived on Bengal Station (where he lives and works) and did I mention someone is trying to kill him? Anyway, a very cool sci-fi detective type story, that I really kinda enjoyed.jerm
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LibraryThing member gordsellar
Eric Brown's Necropath is a fine, competent novel that is a kind of SFnal private-detective tale set on a spaceport in the Indian ocean. I rather wished that Brown had made more of the very interesting setting, where Thai and Indian cultures meet on a massive artificial structure in the middle of
One thing, though: telepathy -- even tech-augmented -- is not "hard SF" as I understand it. I'm a bit puzzled what made this novel hard SF, or what made the publisher bill it as such.
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the water, but instead they were somewhat segregated and the atmosphere seemed to be relatively negligible compared to what he could have done with the setting. There was also something unsettling about his use of teenaged Thai girls, not because I think it doesn't happen in Thailand today, but because I wondered about how his futuristic Thailand being so much like Thailand today, except with space aliens playing the role that more earthly male tourists so often do there today. But the book was absolutely a page-turner, and I tore through it very quickly, which is unusual for me. (On one level, of course, the ends of all the chapters ended in such a way as to force me on -- something that, when it's as overt as it was here, I actually resent as a reader. But on the other hand, it kept me reading, almost despite myself.) Brown hasn't made it into my top list for the year, but I did find the book interesting enough. All in all, I'm curious to see where the upcoming Bengal Station books will go, but I'm not in a huge rush to find out. One thing, though: telepathy -- even tech-augmented -- is not "hard SF" as I understand it. I'm a bit puzzled what made this novel hard SF, or what made the publisher bill it as such.
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LibraryThing member godbyk
The book opens with Vaughan, a telepath, aboard Bengal Station. Vaughan spends his days at work inspecting ships for stowaways and evidence of criminal mischief and his nights brooding over his dark past while avoiding a social life, preferring to drown his sorrows with alcohol and numbing drugs.
On to the criticism...
Judging by the cover, one would presume that Bengal Station orbits Earth. I can't fault the artist for that, however, because the book lacks a good description of the station. About three quarters of the way through the book you find out that the station sits in the Indian Ocean and is cubical in shape. I haven't resolved the description of the interior spaces on the station with the external description, yet.
The characters are all quite simple and lack depth. The main protagonist Vaughan's mood rarely changes and is barely justified by his back-story. The other characters seem to exist merely to guide Vaughan through the plot and are otherwise disposable. Even the aliens, who seemed more interesting than most of the humans, were devoid of personality—only their physical attributes were described.
(An aside: I'm not sure how "Vaughan" is supposed to be pronounced. I would've guessed that it's a monosyllabic word that rhymes with "fawn", except that it's hyphenated so often at the end of lines as "Vaugh-/an".)
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Unfortunately, Vaughan finds himself wrapped up in a conspiracy investigation which takes him to the dark corners of Bengal Station, India, and even another planet.On to the criticism...
Judging by the cover, one would presume that Bengal Station orbits Earth. I can't fault the artist for that, however, because the book lacks a good description of the station. About three quarters of the way through the book you find out that the station sits in the Indian Ocean and is cubical in shape. I haven't resolved the description of the interior spaces on the station with the external description, yet.
The characters are all quite simple and lack depth. The main protagonist Vaughan's mood rarely changes and is barely justified by his back-story. The other characters seem to exist merely to guide Vaughan through the plot and are otherwise disposable. Even the aliens, who seemed more interesting than most of the humans, were devoid of personality—only their physical attributes were described.
(An aside: I'm not sure how "Vaughan" is supposed to be pronounced. I would've guessed that it's a monosyllabic word that rhymes with "fawn", except that it's hyphenated so often at the end of lines as "Vaugh-/an".)
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LibraryThing member Wickedmick
Very confusing, good story but hard to get into the book. This book took me a-while to finish it and I was not impressed by it at all. If I had first read some of the other books in the world this one might have made more sense.
LibraryThing member georgehawkey
The idea of "ethnic" sci-fi (being that most of it is caucasian American or British focused) is better in idea than in execution. I was set to like this, I am a big proponent of "River of Gods," but I found the derivative aspects of cyber-punk (augmentations, etc.) and tv-series sci-fi (overly
Overall, was semi-diverting, but not something I would have continued reading, had I not been part of the Early Review batch. There is far better new and classic sci-fi out there.
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complicated political and cultural structures, meant to be played out over multipe books) bothersome.Overall, was semi-diverting, but not something I would have continued reading, had I not been part of the Early Review batch. There is far better new and classic sci-fi out there.
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LibraryThing member esther_a
I suppose that if you aren't irritated by the main character, the book could qualify as mediocre, but personally, it was a total waste of time. The premise had potential, but the pacing dragged, the setting is vague through most of the book, and the main character is not only kind of a jerk, he is
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utterly boring. The narrative is strongly focused on Jeff Vaughan, and every time he was on screen, my eyes glazed over. It was like the interminable camping sequence in Harry Potter 7. There were brief flickers of interest when other things happened, but they were promptly drowned out when the narrative returned to dwelling on Vaughan's manpain. Also, the entire subplot with Osborne and Sukara seemed clumsily tacked on. Show Less
LibraryThing member LynnMPK
This book was fine. The characters were ok and the plot was passable. Just incredibly mediocre overall. Not bad enough to DNF, but not good enough to make me think about it when I wasn't reading.
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
8.2 inches
ISBN
1607513536 / 9781607513537