Product Description

Julia Evans, billionairess owner of Event Horizon, has for fifteen years been the power behind England’s economic renaissance – but now she’s in trouble.

With her husband missing, and rival companies suddenly claiming to have acquired a technology impossibly superior to anything on Earth, she has no time to take notice of a single flower delivered anonymously. But this flower possesses genes millions of years in advance of any terrestrial DNA.

Is it a cryptic alien message, or a poignant farewell token from her husband? One man might discover its origin – but Greg Mandel will not be alone in his desperate search. And, as they both now discover, simply being first in the race isn’t nearly good enough when the Nano Flower begins to bloom . . .

‘All the criteria of great SF. Fully fleshed-out characters living in an immaculately imagined and executed near-future world, lush prose, crystal-sharp dialogue . . . Unreservedly recommended’ Interzone

‘Reaches another level of excellence . . . Brilliant’ Locus

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13276 in Books
• Published on: 2006-02-17
• Format: Unabridged
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 9999 pages

About the Author

Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960, and still lives near Rutland Water. His previous novels are the Greg Mandel series and the bestselling 'Night’s Dawn' trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction , The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God. Also published by Macmillan (and Pan) is A Second Chance at Eden, a novella and six short stories, and The Confederation Handbook, a vital guide to the ‘Night’s Dawn' trilogy. His most recent novels were Fallen Dragon, Misspent Youth and the Commonwealth Saga novels, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, the latter to be published in hardcover in October 2005.

Customer Reviews

Still My Favourite.
I wasn't going to write a review but I was so amazed at the previous reviewers comment: "The poorest Peter Hamilton novel I've read" that I felt moved to add my own comments.
It has, perhaps, been superseded by the later, grander works, but not in terms of quality.

The major problem with this book, and indeed with the "Greg Mandel Series" as a whole, is that like so many SF authors, the author set the events a little too close to the present. Real history has over-taken the events described.
When reading the books today you have to suspend the natural inclination to see the book as predictive and view it instead, as a kind of parallel alternate history(like "Watchmen" or "The Man in the High Castle").If you can do that there is much to enjoy in the series.
A more minor difficulty is, that this is the third book in the series, and while it is possible to read it without reading the others first, it is not advisable. In fact one of the best features of the books is the way that all the characters grow and change as the story progresses.

The first book in the series("Mindstar Rising") is good and introduces the characters and world very well. The second is a decent enough read, but ultimately not of the standard of the others. This book, the third and final instalment, is the best by far and features some of the the most brilliantly realised SF I've ever read.
A criticism sometimes directed at the later works is that the ride is great but the finish doesn't always match it. In this book he actually exceeds expectations.

Since all three books in the series, put together, are about as long as one instalment of the "Night's Dawn Trilogy" and are as readable as anything he has written since, I would recommend this, and them, to any fan of the author.
In truth the series is a great place to start if you are new to him; it worked for me.

A good thriller
This is Hamilton's third Greg Mandel novel, but it is the first I have read, having previously read the wonderful Night's Dawn Trilogy.

Maybe it is because of this that it took me a while to get into the story, but once in, it is a satisfying cyber-thriller.

Hamilton's vision of a near-future England is as interesting as the story itself. Near-future is always dangerous territory - everyone has their own vision and what seems credible to one person is not so to another. In this case it hangs together pretty well.

If you only intend to ever read one Peter F Hamilton novel, I would not recommend this one - try the Reality Dysfunction instead (its part 1 of the Night's Dawn trilogy, and ensures that you will read three Hamilton novels instead of one!)

That said, the Nano Flower is still well worth a read.

Early Peter F, at it's best!
An excellent sci-fi read! Much of the terminology in the novel shows up in Peter F's later series, "The Nights Dawn Trilogy" (one of the best sci-fi stories I've ever known!), making you realise just where the inspiritation for it came from. This is easily the best book in "The MindStar Trilogy", and is easy to pick up even if you haven't read the previous two novels. Well done Peter F!!! 5/5