Written by Shane Dowling | 01 February 2012

Macmillan, London 2011 ISBN: 978-0230750319

In his introduction to Manhattan in Reverse, Peter Hamilton tells us that these stories have been collected over 13 years. His last collection of short stories was A Second Chance at Eden, published in 1998. Fans of Peter F. Hamilton will be more familiar with his novels, on which he spends most of his time. He's written ten of them, most recently the well-received Void trilogy, with more on the drawing board.

The first story in this collection, 'Watching Trees Grow', is a cleverly told alternate history in a world where the Roman Empire never fell. The differences are subtle at first but as we learn more about this world we discover that the descendants of those who played ‘The Sport of Emperors’ prove to hold a distinct advantage, which significantly accelerates human evolution. This is a thought provoking story based in a society where murder is an unthinkable crime and where citizens and governments consider carefully the long term consequences of their actions.

'Footvote', an interesting political allegory, gives a poignant commentary on a relatively recent British political climate. While reading the story I found myself wanting to scream at the audacity of the antagonist, but after the impact of its surprising resolution, wound up thinking more of the story's deeper meanings.

'If at First' is a quirky time travel story with the obligatory twist at the end. 'The Forever Kitten', is an extra short, short story. I found these stories a little simplistic, but entertaining nonetheless.

'Blessed by an Angel', was a tale of the future, exploring the ethical dilemma between the "backward" technologies of biological immortality, versus the carefree life offered by the higher civilisation and their ‘bionics’.

'The Demon Trap' was another murder mystery, again exploring ethical themes within the technology of immortality. These themes seem to recur throughout this collection and the dogged investigator, who is the main character of this story provides an interesting device with which to explore them.

Finally, the story which provides the name for this collection, 'Manhattan in Reverse', reintroduces us to the investigator Paula Myo from 'The Demon Trap'. Myo was genetically selected and bred for her investigative abilities on her home world of Huxley's Haven. She was, however, rescued from this world as a child and raised amongst the citizens of the Intersolar Commonwealth. Consequently, Myo grew into one of the Commonwealth's most respected police investigators. In this story, Myo is called in to investigate some curious behaviour against colonists on a new planet by creatures previously classified as non sentient.

Overall these stories are well conceived and the characters well developed, especially in the case of Paula Myo, but the character development in ‘Watching Trees Grow’ was also compelling.

These stories explore many ethical themes connected with the expansion of the human race through the galaxy, but also into the biological enhancement of our species towards functional immortality.

For further information about Peter F. Hamilton, (including updates on his current work, a novel called 'The Great North Road', which is nearing completion) visit his website/ blog/ guestbook at http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/ where you can also learn what he got up to at Christmas!