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Bengal Station #3
Cosmopath
Telepath Jeff Vaughan is approached by billionaire tycoon Rabindranath Chandrasakar, who wants him to read the mind of a spacer on an unexplored world on the edge of known space. There's only one problem - the spacer is dead. On Delta Cephei VII, Vaughan finds himself drawn into a web of treachery and deceit in a bid to discover what an alien race is concealing from humanity - a secret that could change forever the course of human expansion through the galaxy.
A thrilling action adventure as well as a convincing character study, Cosmopath is the triumphant finale to Brown's Bengal Station trilogy.
A thrilling action adventure as well as a convincing character study, Cosmopath is the triumphant finale to Brown's Bengal Station trilogy.
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2009
170 people want to read
About the author
Eric Brown
380 books186 followersEric Brown was a British science fiction author and Guardian critic.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 7, 2017
"Cosmopath" being the third book in the series of Bengal Station books by Eric Brown and also the last in this series the story takes place four years later than the previous book.
In the distant future, the human race has been steadily pushing into new territories, new planets, into an growing sphere called the "Expansion". At the edge of this expansion, a ship has gone missing and Vaughn is hired by a space liner and void-ship tycoon to accompany the search party.
Vaughn's role in the mission is to play the part of the "necropath", someone who can read the thoughts of the dying or recently dead. Vaughan and party head to an alien planet, Delta Cephei VII, and encounter a species new to humans. The planet is covered in an ever-hanging fungal landscape.
This is great Science Fiction at its best.
In the distant future, the human race has been steadily pushing into new territories, new planets, into an growing sphere called the "Expansion". At the edge of this expansion, a ship has gone missing and Vaughn is hired by a space liner and void-ship tycoon to accompany the search party.
Vaughn's role in the mission is to play the part of the "necropath", someone who can read the thoughts of the dying or recently dead. Vaughan and party head to an alien planet, Delta Cephei VII, and encounter a species new to humans. The planet is covered in an ever-hanging fungal landscape.
This is great Science Fiction at its best.
June 11, 2024
Vaughan was three days into a routine murder investigation when the assassin came after him with a pulse-gun. - the very first line of Cosmopath.
This is the final entry in the Bengal Station trilogy featuring the novels:
1. Necropath
2. Xenopath
3. Cosmopath
The protagonist in this trilogy is a telepath, but as every book title suggests, there is a little twist to each, as they detail him coming to terms with his ability, learning to control it and testing its limits.
In fact, this trilogy has a very clear character development path, or trajectory. The Jeff Vaughan of Cosmopath is very different to the embittered, nihilistic and cynical Jeff Vaughan of Necropath, especially considering the series wrap-up (which pertains to the title of the novel).
This is all good and well, unless you prefer the considerably darker tones of the first novel in the series. There is a love interest introduced over the course of the trilogy, and some child characters (all of which form an important part of the protagonist’s development), but I did find some of the interactions to be a bit syrupy for my tastes, especially juxtaposed against the darker tones of the world described here. Or perhaps that is the whole point.
She leaned to starboard in the cushioned seat as the flier banked on its approach run to Bengal Station. This was the first time she’d ever set eyes on the marvel of twenty-second-century design and technology, a foursquare, twenty-level hive that was home to over thirty million citizens. It was the size of ten cities, or even a medium-sized country…
Which brings us to Bengal Station, which is where a lot of the events take place, and where our main characters are based. As far as I can recall, there isn’t really any technical detail provided as to how something like this could function, or how the void-ships work. Nevertheless, in terms of setting, I found it fascinating and integral to my enjoyment of the stories.
Below, the spaceport came into view. This took up a good eighth of the Station’s top level, a rectangle marked with docking rigs and a hundred starships at rest, and dozens more phasing in or out. Vehicles beetled their way between the behemoths and port personnel scurried like ants between the ships and terminal buildings.
It is worth noting that the action isn’t confined to the station, and does go off-world. The author does offer up alien worlds, abandoned alien cities and some fun alien secrets, as well as a few things to do with post-diaspora human colonies. Conspiracies for all.
Cosmopath is a fitting final entry, and despite its flaws I enjoyed the trilogy. One could argue that there is a lack of scientific exposition or that the characters aren’t as fleshed out as one would want (which is why I subtracted a star). Some reviewers have played the “Deus Ex Machina” card, and that is fine, but when it comes to big-idea science fiction most of the ideas being bandied around could easily qualify. Remember the third law of Arthur C. Clarke?
This is the final entry in the Bengal Station trilogy featuring the novels:
1. Necropath
2. Xenopath
3. Cosmopath
The protagonist in this trilogy is a telepath, but as every book title suggests, there is a little twist to each, as they detail him coming to terms with his ability, learning to control it and testing its limits.
In fact, this trilogy has a very clear character development path, or trajectory. The Jeff Vaughan of Cosmopath is very different to the embittered, nihilistic and cynical Jeff Vaughan of Necropath, especially considering the series wrap-up (which pertains to the title of the novel).
This is all good and well, unless you prefer the considerably darker tones of the first novel in the series. There is a love interest introduced over the course of the trilogy, and some child characters (all of which form an important part of the protagonist’s development), but I did find some of the interactions to be a bit syrupy for my tastes, especially juxtaposed against the darker tones of the world described here. Or perhaps that is the whole point.
She leaned to starboard in the cushioned seat as the flier banked on its approach run to Bengal Station. This was the first time she’d ever set eyes on the marvel of twenty-second-century design and technology, a foursquare, twenty-level hive that was home to over thirty million citizens. It was the size of ten cities, or even a medium-sized country…
Which brings us to Bengal Station, which is where a lot of the events take place, and where our main characters are based. As far as I can recall, there isn’t really any technical detail provided as to how something like this could function, or how the void-ships work. Nevertheless, in terms of setting, I found it fascinating and integral to my enjoyment of the stories.
Below, the spaceport came into view. This took up a good eighth of the Station’s top level, a rectangle marked with docking rigs and a hundred starships at rest, and dozens more phasing in or out. Vehicles beetled their way between the behemoths and port personnel scurried like ants between the ships and terminal buildings.
It is worth noting that the action isn’t confined to the station, and does go off-world. The author does offer up alien worlds, abandoned alien cities and some fun alien secrets, as well as a few things to do with post-diaspora human colonies. Conspiracies for all.
Cosmopath is a fitting final entry, and despite its flaws I enjoyed the trilogy. One could argue that there is a lack of scientific exposition or that the characters aren’t as fleshed out as one would want (which is why I subtracted a star). Some reviewers have played the “Deus Ex Machina” card, and that is fine, but when it comes to big-idea science fiction most of the ideas being bandied around could easily qualify. Remember the third law of Arthur C. Clarke?
February 19, 2015
4.5 Stars
Cosmopath by Eric Brown is a very good science fiction novel and book three in a series. The whole Bengal Station series is tailor made for me and my likes. It is a science fiction series that is heavy in both science fiction and hard boiled detective novel mashed into one. The science fiction is of the light nature as there is very little technical data discussed or utilized. Cosmopath is well written and fast paced. The book takes place in the future when Earth has expanded to the stars and we are now in contact with many different alien species. All of this has a light space opera feel.
This is the weakest of the three novels, but it is still excellent. I applaud Brown for not wasting our time with long winded rehashing of what has previously happened over the course of the first two books. There is next to no additional backstory in this book. Cosmopath plays out much more as an adventure story in space and is way less of a detective novel. This is not necessarily a good thing. Brown does the adventure justice by treating us to an imaginative new world, new environments, and cool new creatures too.
Jeff is good in this one as the main protagonist but due to the nature of the story, he seems to be just along for the ride. Overall, this is a fun read with a satisfying ending. My only real gripes is I do not know if there will be more adventures with our telepath hero.
A great light science fiction series that is easy for me to give my highest recommendations!
Cosmopath by Eric Brown is a very good science fiction novel and book three in a series. The whole Bengal Station series is tailor made for me and my likes. It is a science fiction series that is heavy in both science fiction and hard boiled detective novel mashed into one. The science fiction is of the light nature as there is very little technical data discussed or utilized. Cosmopath is well written and fast paced. The book takes place in the future when Earth has expanded to the stars and we are now in contact with many different alien species. All of this has a light space opera feel.
This is the weakest of the three novels, but it is still excellent. I applaud Brown for not wasting our time with long winded rehashing of what has previously happened over the course of the first two books. There is next to no additional backstory in this book. Cosmopath plays out much more as an adventure story in space and is way less of a detective novel. This is not necessarily a good thing. Brown does the adventure justice by treating us to an imaginative new world, new environments, and cool new creatures too.
Jeff is good in this one as the main protagonist but due to the nature of the story, he seems to be just along for the ride. Overall, this is a fun read with a satisfying ending. My only real gripes is I do not know if there will be more adventures with our telepath hero.
A great light science fiction series that is easy for me to give my highest recommendations!
January 1, 2025
"Cosmopath" es la tercera y última novela de la trilogía de Bengal Station, escrita por Eric Brown. La historia sigue a Jeff Vaughan, un detective privado con habilidades psíquicas, y su esposa Sakura, quienes ahora disfrutan de una vida familiar estable en la estación espacial. La trama se inicia con una serie de asesinatos de telepatas en la estación, lo que lleva a Jeff a recibir una propuesta del multimillonario Chandrasakar para leer la mente de un empleado fallecido. Esto implica un viaje a un planeta remoto en el espacio humano, donde Jeff debe desentrañar el misterio detrás de la muerte del empleado y el valor del planeta para Chandrasakar.
La novela desarrolla un ritmo intrigante, con la relación entre Jeff, Sakura y sus hijas destacando al principio, seguida de la interacción entre Jeff y Das, una miembro de la expedición de Chandrasakar, que añade profundidad a la narrativa. Una vez en Delta Cephei VII, la historia se vuelve aún más interesante, manteniendo al lector enganchado con un final satisfactorio que concluye la trilogía sin descartar la posibilidad de futuras exploraciones en este universo.
A pesar de que algunas temáticas pueden resultar familiares, la narrativa de Brown logra mantener el interés y ofrece una experiencia de lectura atractiva para los aficionados a la ciencia ficción.
La novela desarrolla un ritmo intrigante, con la relación entre Jeff, Sakura y sus hijas destacando al principio, seguida de la interacción entre Jeff y Das, una miembro de la expedición de Chandrasakar, que añade profundidad a la narrativa. Una vez en Delta Cephei VII, la historia se vuelve aún más interesante, manteniendo al lector enganchado con un final satisfactorio que concluye la trilogía sin descartar la posibilidad de futuras exploraciones en este universo.
A pesar de que algunas temáticas pueden resultar familiares, la narrativa de Brown logra mantener el interés y ofrece una experiencia de lectura atractiva para los aficionados a la ciencia ficción.
March 4, 2016
This is the final installment in Brown's Bengal Station series and it's a fine and fitting finale to what was, for me, one of the better "low-key" sci-fi series that I've read. I say low key because, as with much of Brown's other work, the story reads easily and is reminiscent of a fun pulp-style story from the sci-fi golden age. I mean this as a compliment, because there is a huge amount of enjoyment packed in there.
Cosmopath continues the story of Jeff Vaughan who is a telepathic investigator stationed on an orbital station above the Bay of Bengal. He's a likeable character and sticks with Brown's standard modus operandi of main characters who have no shortage of personal battles and vices that lend validity to and enrich the story. I guess it's because I can relate to Vaughan's internalizing and can see myself reacting in similar ways.
Also of huge enjoyment are the alien species and interplanetary space opera elements that are right up my alley, and we spend a large portion of this book enjoying the wonders of a planet light years away from Earth and home to a fantastic ecosystem and marvelous creatures.
It's all here, the elements that make up fun and enjoyable science fiction adventure. In most other reviews that I've written of Brown's work I've made the statement "Brown fails to disappoint", and I unashamedly say it again. I'm not sure how to put it any other way, but simply said, Brown is one of the best authors in the science fiction field today, and should go down as one of the greats, in my humble opinion.
Highly recommended, and definitely a series that I'd suggest for either a newcomer to science fiction or a seasoned fan who appreciates fun and easy to read stories.
Cosmopath continues the story of Jeff Vaughan who is a telepathic investigator stationed on an orbital station above the Bay of Bengal. He's a likeable character and sticks with Brown's standard modus operandi of main characters who have no shortage of personal battles and vices that lend validity to and enrich the story. I guess it's because I can relate to Vaughan's internalizing and can see myself reacting in similar ways.
Also of huge enjoyment are the alien species and interplanetary space opera elements that are right up my alley, and we spend a large portion of this book enjoying the wonders of a planet light years away from Earth and home to a fantastic ecosystem and marvelous creatures.
It's all here, the elements that make up fun and enjoyable science fiction adventure. In most other reviews that I've written of Brown's work I've made the statement "Brown fails to disappoint", and I unashamedly say it again. I'm not sure how to put it any other way, but simply said, Brown is one of the best authors in the science fiction field today, and should go down as one of the greats, in my humble opinion.
Highly recommended, and definitely a series that I'd suggest for either a newcomer to science fiction or a seasoned fan who appreciates fun and easy to read stories.
January 19, 2010
Bengal Station is located in the Indian Ocean and is “a marvel of twenty-second century design and technology, a foursquare, twenty level hive that was home to over thirty million citizens. It was the size of ten cities, or even a medium sized country, a military-industrial power in its own right and independent of Indian political influence and that of the China, Europe and the Federated Northern States of America.”
This is home to the Bengal Station Novels.
Cosmopath is set 4 years after Xenopath, the second book in the series. Li, Jeff Vaughn and Sukara’s four-year-old daughter, has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Her chance of survival depends on the level of treatment Jeff and Sukara can afford. Their insurance will only cover a small part of the cost. There is further trouble when an assassin tries to kill Jeff. Then the voidship tycoon and billionaire businessman Rabindranath Chandrasakar offers Vaughn a job that will pay all of Li’s treatment cost and get him away from the station for two weeks. Jeff does what he vowed never to do again; he agrees to read the mind of someone as they die. Rabindranath is not telling all that he knows about their destination Delta Cephei VII. As the trip progresses both Jeff on Delta Cephei VII and Sukara on Bengal Station are put in incredible danger.
While reading Necropath, Xenopath and Cosmopath I have become very fond of Jeff and Sukara and intrigued by the Bengal Station universe. Eric Brown has written an exciting and surprising conclusion to the Bengal Station Novels. While I loved the ending I am also sad that the series is over.
This is home to the Bengal Station Novels.
Cosmopath is set 4 years after Xenopath, the second book in the series. Li, Jeff Vaughn and Sukara’s four-year-old daughter, has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Her chance of survival depends on the level of treatment Jeff and Sukara can afford. Their insurance will only cover a small part of the cost. There is further trouble when an assassin tries to kill Jeff. Then the voidship tycoon and billionaire businessman Rabindranath Chandrasakar offers Vaughn a job that will pay all of Li’s treatment cost and get him away from the station for two weeks. Jeff does what he vowed never to do again; he agrees to read the mind of someone as they die. Rabindranath is not telling all that he knows about their destination Delta Cephei VII. As the trip progresses both Jeff on Delta Cephei VII and Sukara on Bengal Station are put in incredible danger.
While reading Necropath, Xenopath and Cosmopath I have become very fond of Jeff and Sukara and intrigued by the Bengal Station universe. Eric Brown has written an exciting and surprising conclusion to the Bengal Station Novels. While I loved the ending I am also sad that the series is over.
November 18, 2011
Pedestrian, predictable and completely unimaginative.
I have read all three books in this series in the hope the story improved or developed. The phrase "deus ex machina" is appropriate to how each of these books are resolved.
As a series I can only recommend the first book of the series as having any spark to it. I could go on about how poor this series is but just save yourself some time read Necropath and leave it at that.
Overall fairly dreadful.
I have read all three books in this series in the hope the story improved or developed. The phrase "deus ex machina" is appropriate to how each of these books are resolved.
As a series I can only recommend the first book of the series as having any spark to it. I could go on about how poor this series is but just save yourself some time read Necropath and leave it at that.
Overall fairly dreadful.
October 18, 2010
It was somewhat entertaining. Some vague references to Star Trek movies, rather weak resolutions and characters. The beginning was very good.
October 29, 2019
When I bought the novel, the premise seemed promising, yet already the blurb were full of praise which made me suspicious.
Rare are the occassions when such commendments are justified.
The first sentence wasn't overwhelming and not bad either.
Soon the protagonist gets in trouble and the whole setting was well done.
What turns me off is when characters are one dimensional, predictable and bland.
Almost immediately the author gets melodramatic and delves right into one cliché after another.
This moves me immediately away from the persons which should become dear to me.
The lack of depth let me loose interest about sixty pages in.
As it is not a cleverly conceived novel and for the reasons mentionend above, I would advise to spare time and disregard this book.
Rare are the occassions when such commendments are justified.
The first sentence wasn't overwhelming and not bad either.
Soon the protagonist gets in trouble and the whole setting was well done.
What turns me off is when characters are one dimensional, predictable and bland.
Almost immediately the author gets melodramatic and delves right into one cliché after another.
This moves me immediately away from the persons which should become dear to me.
The lack of depth let me loose interest about sixty pages in.
As it is not a cleverly conceived novel and for the reasons mentionend above, I would advise to spare time and disregard this book.
June 12, 2023
The Bengal Station trilogy is a wonderful read. A superb setting, Bengal Station, and a flawed but believable protagonist, Jeff Vaughan. Terrific individual stories in a detailed future scenario that interlock into a very satisfying series.
A very real loss to science fiction with the death of Eric this year, 2023. Not just his own writings but his perceptive reviews that introduced me to many authors I would most likely have never read.
RIP.
A very real loss to science fiction with the death of Eric this year, 2023. Not just his own writings but his perceptive reviews that introduced me to many authors I would most likely have never read.
RIP.
May 4, 2017
A thrilling finale to this engaging trilogy.
November 23, 2020
Disappointing simplistic plod in third book of Amrita Station. Didn't finish.
September 10, 2024
Fun, but a weak conclusion to an otherwise good series. Too many deus ex machina moments and improbable moments.
October 11, 2011
Cosmopath is the last book in the Bengal Station trilogy, preceded by Necropath and Xenopath. I really enjoyed these books about psychic private detective Jeff Vaughan set in the expanse of the Bengal Station, and with Xenopath delivering a stronger story and a more widescreen view at the galaxy I had very high hopes for Cosmopath - hopes that were exceeded with ease!
Moving on a few years from the events of Xenopath, Jeff and Sakura are now settled with a family of their own. Life is good for them both and Jeff's work keeps them very happy and comfortable in Bengal Station. After the murders of a few telepaths on the station Jeff is approached by billionaire Chandrasakar who would like him to read the mind of a dead employee which will involve Jeff travelling to the far reaches of human space to a planet with unclear settlement rights and claims, and to discover just what the crewman died for - and why this planet is so valuable to Chandrasakar. Having to leave his family behind at the worst possible time is out of necessity and not choice, but without Chandrasakar's offer his family may suffer even more.
I love the Bengal Station books, I'll get that out of the way right now. Not only was it a joy to return to the familiar surroundings, it was great to rejoin Jeff and see how his life is going. What I've enjoyed about this series to date is the way that Eric Brown has taken a character like Jeff and let him grow and evolve to what we see on the pages of Cosmopath: a man dedicated to his family - he has settled down and is enjoying the sort of life many people wish for. When the bad news comes Brown very effectively shows us how emotions can take over and how the love for others will take priority, not only from Jeff's point of view, but that of Sakura too.
While it is the relationship between Jeff, Sakura and their girls that start the novel off so well, it is the relationship that builds between Jeff and Das (a member of Chandrasakar's expedition), and the relationship between Das and Chandrasakar, that carry the novel through to its exciting conclusion. With information obviously being withheld from members of the expedition to Delta Cephei VII it changes the dynamic of the relationships between many of the characters. This is a good thing, for it allows us to see events through Jeff's eyes and we can try and make sense of what is going on. It also allows Jeff and Das to develop a friendship of sorts that is not quite the usual, especially because of Das's own telepathic powers and her close relationship with Chandrasakar.
To go along with these interesting characters and relationships, Eric Brown gives us some great settings. Bengal Station is still the hub of space travel and this time we see more of what it offers its residents - it's not just a spaceport, but a city in itself and everything that goes with it. If you've read Necropath and Xenopath you won't find much has changed on the station, but its the familiarity that makes you feel at home once again. As for Delta Cephei VII, well that's a whole different ball game. Completely alien and utterly amazing, Brown describes the landscape so vividly that you can close your eyes and imagine you're there. The further the expedition travels, the more wonderful the scenes and the more satisfying the read becomes. Eric Brown can certainly present an alien world full of wonder and surprises.
The story proceeds at a good pace, but once the expedition reaches Delta Cephei VII things get very interesting. Suffice to say that going into more detail will give away much of the plot, but Cosmopath is firmly a 'just another page' type of book. You start reading and the tidbits that are scattered through the chapters are too tempting to leave, I certainly needed to know what was going to happen next and only put the book down when I had to. I was also very satisfied with the conclusion, but while successfully completing the trilogy it leaves so much potential for further exploration of this setting. Whether it happens or not is another question entirely, but these books are must-reads. If I had any gripes with Cosmopath it would simply be that some of the themes are very familiar, but because of the flair that Eric Brown has in telling the story it didn't bother me in the slightest.
So, another series come to an end and one of my favourites in a while. Although I have a soft spot for psychic detectives Eric Brown delivered a consistently good series and Cosmopath was the icing on the cake. This has the sort of appeal that can bring new fans to the genre and highlights all that is good about sci-fi. Excellent stuff and highly recommended.
Moving on a few years from the events of Xenopath, Jeff and Sakura are now settled with a family of their own. Life is good for them both and Jeff's work keeps them very happy and comfortable in Bengal Station. After the murders of a few telepaths on the station Jeff is approached by billionaire Chandrasakar who would like him to read the mind of a dead employee which will involve Jeff travelling to the far reaches of human space to a planet with unclear settlement rights and claims, and to discover just what the crewman died for - and why this planet is so valuable to Chandrasakar. Having to leave his family behind at the worst possible time is out of necessity and not choice, but without Chandrasakar's offer his family may suffer even more.
I love the Bengal Station books, I'll get that out of the way right now. Not only was it a joy to return to the familiar surroundings, it was great to rejoin Jeff and see how his life is going. What I've enjoyed about this series to date is the way that Eric Brown has taken a character like Jeff and let him grow and evolve to what we see on the pages of Cosmopath: a man dedicated to his family - he has settled down and is enjoying the sort of life many people wish for. When the bad news comes Brown very effectively shows us how emotions can take over and how the love for others will take priority, not only from Jeff's point of view, but that of Sakura too.
While it is the relationship between Jeff, Sakura and their girls that start the novel off so well, it is the relationship that builds between Jeff and Das (a member of Chandrasakar's expedition), and the relationship between Das and Chandrasakar, that carry the novel through to its exciting conclusion. With information obviously being withheld from members of the expedition to Delta Cephei VII it changes the dynamic of the relationships between many of the characters. This is a good thing, for it allows us to see events through Jeff's eyes and we can try and make sense of what is going on. It also allows Jeff and Das to develop a friendship of sorts that is not quite the usual, especially because of Das's own telepathic powers and her close relationship with Chandrasakar.
To go along with these interesting characters and relationships, Eric Brown gives us some great settings. Bengal Station is still the hub of space travel and this time we see more of what it offers its residents - it's not just a spaceport, but a city in itself and everything that goes with it. If you've read Necropath and Xenopath you won't find much has changed on the station, but its the familiarity that makes you feel at home once again. As for Delta Cephei VII, well that's a whole different ball game. Completely alien and utterly amazing, Brown describes the landscape so vividly that you can close your eyes and imagine you're there. The further the expedition travels, the more wonderful the scenes and the more satisfying the read becomes. Eric Brown can certainly present an alien world full of wonder and surprises.
The story proceeds at a good pace, but once the expedition reaches Delta Cephei VII things get very interesting. Suffice to say that going into more detail will give away much of the plot, but Cosmopath is firmly a 'just another page' type of book. You start reading and the tidbits that are scattered through the chapters are too tempting to leave, I certainly needed to know what was going to happen next and only put the book down when I had to. I was also very satisfied with the conclusion, but while successfully completing the trilogy it leaves so much potential for further exploration of this setting. Whether it happens or not is another question entirely, but these books are must-reads. If I had any gripes with Cosmopath it would simply be that some of the themes are very familiar, but because of the flair that Eric Brown has in telling the story it didn't bother me in the slightest.
So, another series come to an end and one of my favourites in a while. Although I have a soft spot for psychic detectives Eric Brown delivered a consistently good series and Cosmopath was the icing on the cake. This has the sort of appeal that can bring new fans to the genre and highlights all that is good about sci-fi. Excellent stuff and highly recommended.
January 28, 2010
Review from my blog cybermage.se
The alien empath assassin tracking Jeff where thrown off when Sakura called and told that their daughter had leukemia. The emotions saved his life. Private investigator Jeff Vaughan was not having a good day.
This is the third, and final long awaited book in the Bengali Station Trilogy. My wait has been longer than most, the postal service in Europe took the long way from UK to me. Anyway…
Jeff was the fourth telepath assassination target and only survivor in a recent killing spree. The authorities didn’t have any clue what was behind it. Jeff, his beloved wife and two daughters goes into hiding in a safe house as a security measure while they struggle with how to pay for their daughters cancer treatment. Their insurance only pay for a fraction of the cost.
Bengali stations own Fagin, Dr Rao shows up unexpected at their doorsteps and offer Jeff a meeting with the billionaire Rabindranath Chandrasakar about a job. Vaughan sees the man about a job. He is made an offer hard to refuse, the best treatment available for his daughter’s cancer and a nice bonus if he reads the mind of a dying spacer on an unexplored world at the edge of known space. Jeff would never ever again link with a mind as it is dying feeling it slip away in oblivion, but for his daughter he agrees to become a Necromancer again and go to Delta Cephei VII.
Chandrasakar’s expedition to Delta Cephei VII is a nest of treachery and deceit, and the planet itself holds alien secrets that might change the way we look at the universe forever.
This is a worthy conclusion of The Bengali Station Trilogy that started with Necropath (which I haven’t read yet, it’s in the oh so slow postal service’s hands) and Xenopath.
Eric Brown has built a world where humanity has reached the stars and where every-day life still seems real. The Bengali influence is also a difference approach than most other more North American ones. The reality of the little people is masterfully illustrated by Eric.
The story here is initially told from two perspectives, Jeff Vaughan’s and his fellow telepath Parveen Das, an expedition member with some moral dilemmas to deal with. She is a Xenologist, an Indian secret agent, convinced communist and in love with a billionaire. The dilemmas facing a telepath able to read another mind, or getting his/her’s mind read is also covered in interesting detail. From both Jeff’s and Parveen’s point of view.
Characterization is a strong point in Eric Brown’s writing. I have come to love the people in this series Jeff, Sakura, Dr Rao and so on. Luckily for us all there is openings for many more stories in the Bengali Station universe.
Presence and details are another strong point. Bengali Station, alien cities and planets all come alive from the words of Mr Brown.
I suspect and hope this isn’t the last time we meet Jeff Vaughan, Cosmopath.
The alien empath assassin tracking Jeff where thrown off when Sakura called and told that their daughter had leukemia. The emotions saved his life. Private investigator Jeff Vaughan was not having a good day.
This is the third, and final long awaited book in the Bengali Station Trilogy. My wait has been longer than most, the postal service in Europe took the long way from UK to me. Anyway…
Jeff was the fourth telepath assassination target and only survivor in a recent killing spree. The authorities didn’t have any clue what was behind it. Jeff, his beloved wife and two daughters goes into hiding in a safe house as a security measure while they struggle with how to pay for their daughters cancer treatment. Their insurance only pay for a fraction of the cost.
Bengali stations own Fagin, Dr Rao shows up unexpected at their doorsteps and offer Jeff a meeting with the billionaire Rabindranath Chandrasakar about a job. Vaughan sees the man about a job. He is made an offer hard to refuse, the best treatment available for his daughter’s cancer and a nice bonus if he reads the mind of a dying spacer on an unexplored world at the edge of known space. Jeff would never ever again link with a mind as it is dying feeling it slip away in oblivion, but for his daughter he agrees to become a Necromancer again and go to Delta Cephei VII.
Chandrasakar’s expedition to Delta Cephei VII is a nest of treachery and deceit, and the planet itself holds alien secrets that might change the way we look at the universe forever.
This is a worthy conclusion of The Bengali Station Trilogy that started with Necropath (which I haven’t read yet, it’s in the oh so slow postal service’s hands) and Xenopath.
Eric Brown has built a world where humanity has reached the stars and where every-day life still seems real. The Bengali influence is also a difference approach than most other more North American ones. The reality of the little people is masterfully illustrated by Eric.
The story here is initially told from two perspectives, Jeff Vaughan’s and his fellow telepath Parveen Das, an expedition member with some moral dilemmas to deal with. She is a Xenologist, an Indian secret agent, convinced communist and in love with a billionaire. The dilemmas facing a telepath able to read another mind, or getting his/her’s mind read is also covered in interesting detail. From both Jeff’s and Parveen’s point of view.
Characterization is a strong point in Eric Brown’s writing. I have come to love the people in this series Jeff, Sakura, Dr Rao and so on. Luckily for us all there is openings for many more stories in the Bengali Station universe.
Presence and details are another strong point. Bengali Station, alien cities and planets all come alive from the words of Mr Brown.
I suspect and hope this isn’t the last time we meet Jeff Vaughan, Cosmopath.
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August 3, 2011The "Final" book in the Bengal Station Novels did not dissapoint me. I do not want to give away too many things to not spoil to those ones who are or want to read but I would say that If you have not read the first 2 novels, you would still enjoyed COSMOPATH but all things would seem a bit all over the place in regards to Vaughan past and to what I read somewhere in a review of the previous novel, vaguely sketched secondary characters.
The Bengal Station novels isn't so much about a big mistery and lots of laser action. It is, as the book brief said a "journey" a personality study on our anti-hero Vaughan and an very good excuse for Brown to take us out into imaginary Worlds where he definitely excels as his descriptions and building up of the Worlds are just fascinating. Just when I thought he wouldn't top up Mallory's recreation, he came around with Landfall and all the fungus World!
The action and the intrigued is ramped up for this final book and while Sukara's plot was annoying last time, this time is actually interesting.
It is not perfect and not at the levels of KETHANI or HELIX but it is definitely very good reading.
Looking forward to whatever he comes up next!
The Bengal Station novels isn't so much about a big mistery and lots of laser action. It is, as the book brief said a "journey" a personality study on our anti-hero Vaughan and an very good excuse for Brown to take us out into imaginary Worlds where he definitely excels as his descriptions and building up of the Worlds are just fascinating. Just when I thought he wouldn't top up Mallory's recreation, he came around with Landfall and all the fungus World!
The action and the intrigued is ramped up for this final book and while Sukara's plot was annoying last time, this time is actually interesting.
It is not perfect and not at the levels of KETHANI or HELIX but it is definitely very good reading.
Looking forward to whatever he comes up next!
July 21, 2022
When I began this book it was at a solid 3 stars. It wasn’t incredible or gripping, but the story was somewhat well developed and it was easy to read. However as I continued, it got to be more of a slog. The middle portion was by far the hardest part to get through and the only reason I kept going, was because I was determined to see if the book could redeem itself. By the end I was severely disappointed. Eric Brown had turned the last six uninteresting chapters into racist shenanigans. That was as offensive as it was boring. The overall concept of the plot had good bearings, but the execution was lacking tremendously. I would not recommend this book. And I won’t be reading anything else from this author.
March 29, 2010
Another well done book that mixes a nice detective story with the wonder of old sci/fi. Brown does not hesitate to slow his story down to build up the mystery, but also has flashes of rough violence to raise the danger and underline what is at stake. Though he does delve into alien species a bit, which I'm not a fan of, he does so in ways that it fits well with the story and does not over do it.
June 15, 2011
This book was better than the first book by far. There was a lot of political stuff that I didn't like and the book could have done without. I liked that this book wasn't so much of a murder mystery but a true sci fi with aliens and space travel concepts. Another easy read, but one that I won't read again.
May 18, 2014
This wasn't a bad book, but the ending was a little weak. The previous two books in the series were basically mysteries set in the future. This one started the same way, but then ended up going somewhere different. I won't give any more details than that, but if you were expecting a standard mystery like the other two books you will be disappointed.
December 19, 2014
This is the third book in the Bengal Station series. It is set about 4 years after the 2nd book. Although I really liked it, it probably isn't as good as the third and the series is getting a bit tired. Although part of me would like to know what happens next, I think it is better to bring the series to a close on this note rather than ending on a bad note.
October 5, 2010
I found this book to be much slower than the previous books in the trilogy. I think it suffered from the lack of a strong antagonist character. By the time any antagonists were revealed they were dead.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2010
Interesting book, almost like starwars.
July 4, 2010
More broad-reaching plot than previous in the series, but still personable. Finally revealing more tech and futurism. Curious if there will be a follow-up.
April 29, 2011
I thought this series was quite good. I highly recommend it!
September 4, 2016
This is book 3 of a trilogy. I really hope there's more. I really enjoyed the series.
September 6, 2013
Bengal Station #3
November 24, 2015
The conclusion of this series. A good, solid series. Nothing terribly spectacular, but entertaining enough. And this officially puts me over my total number of books read from last year. Yay!
September 2, 2014
2.7/5.
Trashy mix of popular themes:
prostitutes, assassins, telepaths, bad aliens, good aliens,
bad "Chinks", and Really Truly Absolutely Loving Husband!
Trashy mix of popular themes:
prostitutes, assassins, telepaths, bad aliens, good aliens,
bad "Chinks", and Really Truly Absolutely Loving Husband!
December 9, 2015
weaker than the previous book, just extending to a trilogy I guess, but not bad either
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