The Reality Dysfunction
Ratings89
Average rating3.7
Massive space opera. Pacing was not... ideal... but it's a genuinely original and interesting world.
PFH is one of my favorite sci fi authors. I think if I had read this before the commonwealth and void series I would have enjoyed it more. I'll just say I think has improved greatly over his career.
This book is quite long, and some parts were tough to get through. I think overall I was a bit dissatisfied with the antagonists reveal of “it's ghosts”, and I felt the ending was a bit it rushed. Maybe that's just because Hamilton tends to write trilogies that feel more like one big novel. I also felt the abilities and motivations of the possessed were inconsistent.
One of the aspects of his later books I enjoyed most was that I found the characters extremely capable and intelligent. That kind of fell flat in this one and I was consistently frustrated by the decisions of characters. It just felt like so much of the plot was based around the characters not knowing enough because information couldn't travel quickly. One of the main storylines ending in Atlantis ends up having zero bearing on the following events, but again maybe just covered in the next book.
It did not disappoint in world building, and I could see the Kint being a creative precursor to the Raiel. Reading in 2024, I had a good chuckle reading the timeline at the beginning.
Overall I enjoyed it, but won't be continuing the series.
FINALLY finished this. It was a very long book with more characters then you could ever imagine. So many in fact that I had to buy the companion book just to help remember. Think of all the characters that appeared in TWoT and put them all in one book and you still wouldn't have as many as this. Most of the characters end up being entertaining even though everyone, especially Joshua, are the horniest people in the galaxy. Seriously, Peter Hamilton has a serious sex fetish. Of 1,100 pages I would say 100-150 is dedicated to sex or the desire to have sex.
All that being said this book is the most epic book I've ever read. Everything about is just huge. I think on a reread I'd end up giving it 5 stars but the first 200 pages of this book was really hard for me to get into. I was very surprised about the horror elements in this book but I absolutely loved it. I wish there was more of it. I'll definitely be continuing this series and will probably read everything by Hamilton.
pretty good, maybe ill finish the rest of the series one day when im old and dead.
recenzie pe larg https://bloguldesefe.ro/2021/01/24/zorii-noptii-de-peter-f-hamilton/
I think What I love most about Hamilton's books is the detail. Every minor thing is explained in such detail you wonder if what he is explaining is going to be a major point in the future of the story. I think that's really the mastery of his works, because it makes you study each sentence clearly, to determine if there's any hidden glimpses of revelation in their statement. This book is no different.
Another thing I love about Hamilton, is his universes. Each one is similar, in a great way. Things like his focus on longevity of life, differing beliefs etc. and the way that screws with the psychology of humankind.
This book and subsequent series adds a bit of religion into the mix to see how it fares in frozen voids (surprisingly well), and throws in his usual universe changing storyline. I liked it a lot.
Amazing, and introduction to a fascinating series, the interweaving stories starting 30 years before the present and even touching before they start to converge. The scene setting is descriptive and character introductions give the impression that Hamilton hadn't decided who would die when he wrote them giving a good ‘Anyone Can Die' feel initially though later on some characters are obviously not expendable (yet). The only downside is a few just-in-time/just-to-late coincidences, and these look to be expanded further later
While the enemies could (crudely) be described as “fast zombies with superpowers” initially it doesn't stay that simple, and will be the crux of the series