Necropath A Bengal Station Novel by Eric Brown

Necropath A Bengal Station Novel by Eric Brown

This is a science fiction novel. The main character, Jeff Vaughan is a telepath who scans incoming ships for contraband from alien worlds. His job is to watch for the thoughts and feelings that are out of place on the incoming ships.

Jeff Vaughan discovers a strange problem, the station director is hiding something, but the director kills himself before Vaughan can scan him.

Thus begins a story of intrigue involving a strange alien drug which leads to a feeling of unity, and a cult that is connected to alien beings.

The setting is very interesting. Bengal Station is a bustling space port situated on the ocean. It is a mix of Thai and Hindi culture which enlivens the setting. The setting is mainly the bustling streets, except for a visit to an offworld colony.

This is the first time I have ever read this author. I was pleasantly surprised. Even though I read science fiction novels regularly, I had not seen this author before despite him having won two British Science Fiction Awards.

His writing is very gritty and dark, but at the same time fulfilling. There is quite a bit of the darker side of life in this novel, prostitution, begging, police corruption, and dark secrets. Despite, this there is still a sense of hope in this novel.

It looks like the publisher of this novel, Solar Books is also relatively new. I see titles going back to 2007, but nothing before that. This means, I may get a chance to find a whole new set of authors. This book was published in October of 2008. http://www.solarisbooks.com/science-fiction.asp