Great North Road

Peter F. Hamilton

Jan 2013 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Toby Longworth

About this audiobook

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family-composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone "brothers" have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies.Or maybe not so friendly. At least that's what the murder of a North clone in the English city of Newcastle suggests to Detective Sidney Hurst. Sid is a solid investigator who'd like nothing better than to hand off this hot potato of a case. The way he figures it, whether he solves the crime or not, he'll make enough enemies to ruin his career.Yet Sid's case is about to take an unexpected turn: because the circumstances of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to a killing that took place years ago on the planet St. Libra, where a North clone and his entire household were slaughtered in cold blood. The convicted slayer, Angela Tramelo, has always claimed her innocence. And now it seems she may have been right. Because only the St. Libra killer could have committed the Newcastle crime.Problem is, Angela also claims that the murderer was an alien monster.Now Sid must navigate through a Byzantine minefield of competing interests within the police department and the world's political and economic elite...all the while hunting down a brutal killer poised to strike again. And on St. Libra, Angela, newly released from prison, joins a mission to hunt down the elusive alien, only to learn that the line between hunter and hunted is a thin one.

Ratings and reviews

I've listened to all but four of Peter's books and while Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are my two favorites of his, this is the best of his stand alone books. While most of his books have a lot of individual characters and events going on at the same time, which I really enjoy, this one keeps it to a minimum and only follows about three main characters, with a handful of backstory events. it's not quite as heavy with the sci-fi as a lot of his other books, certainly doesn't go into as much detail, but it's a refreshing breath of fresh air. I would definitely recommend this book.

About the author

Peter F. Hamilton is the author of numerous novels, including A Night Without Stars, Great North Road, The Evolutionary Void, The Temporal Void, The Dreaming Void, Judas Unchained, Pandora's Star, Misspent Youth, Fallen Dragon, and the acclaimed epic Night's Dawn trilogy. He lives with his family in England.

Toby Longworth is a versatile British actor with a background in comedy and a specialty in voiceover. He has performed in Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and My Blue Wedding, and his voice is also featured in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.