A Quantum Murder

Don’t get me wrong, I have not done a U-Turn on the Greg Mandel series in the last week; I am neither an Italian, nor a member of a Coalition Government. I am still an advocate of the series and of the man, and will be in avid attendance when he speaks at the Sci-Fi Society’s Picocon Convention in a little over a week’s time.

I am, however, a little unsure of the overuse of the word Quantum. Published in 1994, a year after the first of the series, A Quantum Murder was conceived when the Q word was still the buzz word of the time. We can at least be thankful that Hamilton did not go along with ‘black-hole’, a similarly popular 90s buzzword, which wouldn’t have even had the snappy ring of Greg Mandel continuing on in true detective novel style.

Getting over my minimal gripe about titling we start to see why Hamilton doesn’t consider this series a trilogy. Though it is moretrue of the final book of the series the title does work as a stand-alone despite several returning characters including the Event Horizon heiress Julia Evens and even the return of the massive conglomerate itself. A classic ‘who-dunnit’ murder mystery set in a country estate that manages to evoke the nostalgia of a man clinging to tradition while merging this with the home of a paranoid scientist in the high-tech future.

A much tighter, more atmospheric plot with more interplay between characters than Mindstar Rising this is the sort of thing where you see why Mandel is good at his job. If you look closely you’ll see that the Will Smith film I, Robot where it diverges from the revolutionary Asimov classic has some striking similarities to the plot of A Quantum Murder. A secretive professor murdered in a seemingly impossible fashion leaves high tech clues to the way to solve his murder. In fact it’s a tale that’s been told many times, The Da Vinci Code, for instance, is also not so very different. But remember that Hamilton is a trailblazer in this. And, in fact, there is plenty to help Hamilton stand out from the crowd of mystery writers; the backdrop of an England clawing its way back from the brink, or possibly past it, has progressed a little in the two years that have passed in setting.

Seeing the country move forwards a little in this is an interesting experience. At the same time technology is starting to become more integrated; perhaps that’s a mark of the crowds Greg is starting to circulate within, certainly the estate is a level of prestige and technology that isn’t available elsewhere.

In fact, it’s the sort of think tank style setup that is a Physicist’s wet dream. Still the levels of technology remain believably attainable in the near future, but they are gently progressing along with everything else and with the final instalment The Nano Flower set some time further on, A Quantum Murder provides an interesting hint of what might be coming from the last book.

In fact I am certain it is no accident that researchers are a feature of this book, providing solid evidence of the way the world is moving on and how hard fought that struggle is. And next week we will have a look at just how far things progress in a decade and a half and I will leave you to discover if and how Mandel manages to unravel the sinister motives of Double Nobel Laureate Edward Kitchener’s demise and a plot he’s more integral too than he could possibly have thought.

Peter F. Hamilton will be at Imperial College for Picocon 30 on Saturday. February 16. As one of the Guests of Honour he will give an individual talk and participate in the main panel with Steph Swainston, Richard Morgan, Kate Griffin and Jaine Fenn. For more information, and to register your attendance, visit icsf.org.uk/picocon