Flatlander - The Collected Tales Of Gil The Arm Hamilton

Flatlander: The Collected Tales of Gil "The Arm" Hamilton (1995) – Larry Niven
Del Rey | ISBN: 0345394801
Condition: Good | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Crime. That tiresome human institution which has survived thousands of years of civilisation, legal reform and increasingly sophisticated methods of detecting wrongdoing. Unfortunately, even the invention of interplanetary travel, advanced medicine and spectacular new technologies cannot entirely eliminate humanity’s determination to steal things, murder inconvenient acquaintances and behave like complete scoundrels.

Welcome to Flatlander, Larry Niven’s wonderfully inventive collection of science-fiction detective stories featuring Gil "The Arm" Hamilton, a future investigator whose unusual abilities make him particularly effective at solving crimes that would leave an ordinary policeman reaching desperately for the instruction manual.

Hamilton is an operative of ARM, the United Nations police organisation in Niven’s celebrated Known Space universe. He is also a former asteroid miner who lost an arm in an accident, only to discover that his missing limb has been replaced by something considerably more interesting: an invisible psychic arm capable of interacting with the physical world.

Naturally, this makes him rather useful in difficult situations.

Where conventional detectives might rely upon fingerprints, witness statements and the occasional conveniently abandoned cigarette butt, Hamilton can employ his extraordinary ability to investigate mysteries involving futuristic technology, unusual murders and criminal schemes that would have thoroughly bewildered Sherlock Holmes.

The collection brings together five Gil Hamilton adventures, including Death by Ecstasy, The Defenseless Dead, ARM, The Patchwork Girl and The Woman in Del Rey Crater.

These stories explore a future in which scientific progress has created fascinating new opportunities for criminal enterprise. Organ transplantation, artificial environments, advanced medical procedures and exotic technologies have transformed society, but human greed, desperation and moral ambiguity remain stubbornly familiar.

Particularly disturbing is Niven’s examination of the ethical consequences of medical advancement. When replacement organs become extraordinarily valuable, the boundary between saving lives and exploiting human beings can become uncomfortably blurred.

It is a splendidly unsettling premise: civilisation has developed the technology to replace practically everything in the human body, yet somehow neglected to improve the moral character of the people operating the equipment.

Niven combines ingenious scientific speculation with the atmosphere of traditional detective fiction, creating mysteries in which understanding the technology is often just as important as identifying the criminal.

Hamilton himself is an appealingly unconventional investigator, combining intelligence, determination and professional cynicism with an ability that makes ordinary police equipment seem positively primitive.

Originally published as a collection in 1995, Flatlander brings together stories from different stages of Niven’s career, offering an entertaining introduction to one of the more unusual detectives in science fiction.

This 1995 Del Rey edition, offered in Good condition by Crappy Old Books, is an excellent acquisition for admirers of Larry Niven, collectors of Known Space fiction and readers who enjoy crime mysteries with a generous helping of speculative science.

A clever, entertaining and occasionally disturbing combination of futuristic detective work, technological imagination and humanity’s enduring capacity for unpleasant behaviour.

Because mankind may eventually colonise distant worlds, conquer the limitations of biology and develop extraordinary psychic abilities.

But there will still be criminals.

And somebody will still have to catch them.

Preferably a detective who can reach through a locked door without troubling himself about the key.

Keep browsing: See more Science-Fiction books Other books by Larry Niven