The Reality Dysfunction

Oh my gosh...This is the most difficult work of Hamilton's I have read to date to get started in. Up front, I have not finished the works yet. Absolutely loved Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Read them twice, a year apart and even got my wife to read them. She is not a science fiction fan, and found the science a little overwhelming and underwhelming, that is, she likes a good story without the technical jargon which threatened to derail her read of them. Ultimately, she stuck it out, got the characters straight, and fell into the story, hook, line, and sinker. I would not expect her to stick it out through the first quarter of this two part saga. On the otherhand, now that I have, I am just as thrilled to pick it up, again and again, as I was with PS and JU. This just hits me as the most enthralling SF I have ever read, and I have shelves of the stuff. I have found that I don't care much for short reads, I just can't sink my teeth into them. Hamilton's Space Operas will keep you entertained for weeks, if not months, (relative to life style). If you buy this work, and find you are having some level of difficulty staying with the first two hundred pages, I feel confident saying that your efforts will be well rewarded as you read the next 600.

I was a little disappointed with the vehemence of all the negative reviews. I'm a hard sci-fi & fantasy reader (been reading since 5th grade)and I didn't see any of the problems that other reviewers mention. Sure, it gets a little rambling and some plotlines get lost, but a) not all plotlines HAVE to be resolved with the end of the book and b) a work of this huge scope will have some mistakes and/or mis-edits. I won't rehash the plot, as others have done that very well. I just gotta say it's one of my favorite series, not only because of the plot and awesome twist (the dead coming back to inhabit bodies in a hard sci-fi future? sweet!), but also because of the deep richness of this universe. It's very well realized with a great background history, and I love how each culture is so well thought out. My one and only complaint is the villain: Just like in the Pandora's Star series (where we have a Socialist villain. Huh?), I don't get the villain. I mean, a Satanist? Really? Paging Geraldo Rivera... that is too trite a way of creating a "bad guy". I'd rather Quinn be more morally ambiguous to pin down rather than just make him a Satanist and it's done, he's evil, and there's no more writing to do. Maybe it's a British author thing? But other than that, fantastic series.

Very few Science Fiction novels can manage (well) the scope and intricacy required to effectively build characters that literally jump out of the book....This is one of those few. Every reader has personal favorites in terms of story lines and writing style...As for myself... I will proudly rate this series above Asimov's "Foundation Series", Vinge's "Fire Upon the Deep" or Herbert's "Dune",(Blasphemy I know). I found it difficult to put the book down, even at work:). The intricate character building, assorted plots and the insightful, but original, variations of technology used, create a believable world that swallows the reader and drags them willingly into the future. Far too often SciFi "epics" expose the reader to the same technology and themes...NOT this series. If you want to read horror...SciFi at its grandest...political intrigue...Future economics...All out, Ultra High-Tech Warfare...and ABOVE ALL "Original Thought"...Then read "The Reality Dysfunction" and ALL of the others in this series. It will be difficult to find another Science Fiction epic capable of building such a grand cast of characters and intensly high energy plot. If you love SciFi at its best and want to immerse yourself into the funnest, most enjoyable page burn'n novel ever...Read this!

This book is great! I've just finished it, and I can't wait to read the next parts. This guy takes its time to build the characters (I remember saying: "I've read half the book and the characters still don't know each other"), like developing his pieces, but once he starts moving the pieces, the action really starts. The author takes you from one story to another, and you just can't wait to see how both of them develop. It's a very good book. People "datavises", "sensevises" and lots of stuff that really leave your brain spinning. I love Asimov and Clark, and like Stephen Baxter's work a lot, if that serves you as a reference.

I could blabber on for ages about how amazingly cool this book is... But the fact is all I can say is simply - READ IT! Ok, so it takes a while to get going. But when it does it's a real page-turner... And when the Reality Dysfunction itself occours, the story takes on a whole new dimension. Exotic technology, facinating characters, sentient starships, massive space-battles... If this were ever put on the big screen it would blow everything else away. It seemed a bit daunting at first taking on the whole 1200 pages of this (the European version), but I found myself realy getting into it after the first couple of hundred pages and ploughing through chapters after that. The only gripe I have with it is the sheer number of characters (each with thier own colourful histories) that are introduced. No wonder the sequal book, 'The Neutronium Alchemist' (which I have just started by the way and does not let up the pace) has a cast-listing of them all! The universe Hamilton has created is Epic in scope and TRD keeps hopping from planet to planet following the advance of the darkness... Probably the greatest creative act in the field of Sci-Fi since Babylon 5 blew away the cobwebs of Star Trek... Without a doubt the best book I've read this year.