Rating: 
Summary: Riverworld meets Space Opera
Review: Have you ever read a story and experienced a moment where you stopped seeing the words and started seeing the world through the eyes of the characters? That is what happened to me while reading "The Reality Dysfunction: Expansion." There is a wonderful space battle in this book that is worth the price of admission. And happily there are other reasons to recommend this book - lively characters, gripping battles, and loads of action make for major amounts of space opera fun.Unfortunately, this is not a perfect book. The story can get longwinded at times. I often found myself wondering if the author was being paid by the word. But would the story be better if it was briefer? I'm not convinced. And I'm concerned that some of the better moments would be lost. And this book is sorely in need of an editor. Characters disappear for major stretches of the story, then reappear without a by your leave. It makes it difficult to follow the story at times. Weeks pass for some while hours pass for others. Very annoying. But there are some wonderful moments and some fine concepts at work here. What would society be like if everyone could honestly share thoughts and emotions telepathically? Just how would your life be changed if you had proof of an afterlife? I think these are ideas worth exploring and expounding upon. This is not heavy literature. It's modern, pulp science fiction. Written to be enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: Potential Masterpiece Spoiled by Long-windedness
Review: This could have been one of the finest science fiction novels, if not for its extraordinary length. At 1200+ pages, the book is plain too long (even as a standalone - well, it is the first part of a trilogy). The story starts off in a promising manner - exciting starfleet action, exotic biotechnology, mysterious alien race, and more. It all bogs down in the backward colony planet (the mood is very much like the tropical jungle it depicts, messy and drowsy). The main theme of the tale, reality dysfunction, emerges after an incredible 400 pages. Then it wanders off again to the intentionally stale Victorian countryside. Battle scenes follow, clearly influenced by the SF/horror movies Predator and Aliens. Admittedly, there are flashes of brilliance throughout the volume, but with lots of dilation, the pace is hard to sustain. The finest hour of the story comes up after about 900 pages, when it takes on some qualities of a fable. The structure of the many sub-plots is more disciplined at the start, but they become badly intermingled near the end, making it difficult to follow. Clear headings of the chapters, a list of characters, a glossary, even a starmap, will all be welcome additions. Finally, perhaps an abridgement of the novel would be more of a success (a 'good parts version', to quote from Princess Bride).
Rating: 
Summary: Amazon download/review mistakes
Review: "In the far future...The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with telepathic affinity to their biotechnological homes and ships. Adamists are...the Luddites of the future, willing to pioneer new worlds... The two clash on a primitive world called Lalonde..." Amazon.com review
As I have a bone or two to pick, don't read on unless you've read the novel: Despite the Amazon.com summary, the Edenists and Adamists do not "clash." In fact, they have nothing to do with each other, which is one of the premises of the novel. Adamists resolutely go their own low tech way. They are, however, as Hamilton puts it, "sequestrated" because their newly colonized planet Lalonde is the vortex entry point for
the souls of the DEAD. It isn't the hard working Adamist colonists hacking a life out of the frontier who confront the Edenists, but the reincarnated Dead. And that's a whole
nuther ballgame. The Planet Lalonde is a pretty insane place. But for the Amazon "review" of part I, "Emergence" to call an Adamist priest "an ineffectual ....shocked by the world he has
come to settle... " is essentially an unfair and misleading characterization because it's relevant only to the first half of the novel. As anyone who has read the entire novel knows, the priest is the sole adult on the entire Planet to survive in his own skin. So if that is being "ineffectual," one has to wonder what "effectual" means. Indeed, what strikes me as ineffectual is loosing one's will and identity to another personality come
from the Beyond. In point of fact, the priest heroically saves some 23 children from being consumed by metaphysical beings incarnated into the living bodies of each and every colonist. Each and every, that is, except him. And this, I assume, is because he is the only man of the cloth, the only Adamist churchman. He alone goes through the gauntlet from Hell; but he emerges as himself. HIS self; not somebody else's. He alone
remains who he is. That seems pretty effectual to me. And finally, "Joining the large cast of characters is Graeme Nicholson, a reporter....who will regret ever learning about the biggest story to hit the galaxy in a thousand years." Amazon.com review Graeme who? The guy at the bar in scene one who is never mentioned again? That Graeme? Either I missed something, or Graeme Nicholson does not join the cast. And regret? I don't recall him actually regretting anything since I don't recall him being part of the plot. In any event, Peter Hamilton has, in this novel, created a space opera that helps define contemporary SF. For lack of a better term, this novel is awesome. Its big, its bulky, its a
fantabulously detailed mind-boggling melding of DH Lawrence, Buck Rogers and HP Lovecraft (or something like that): Heroes and Maidens indulge in country matters; Living Habitats for a number of species germinated by a kind of Medici royalty have the
capacity to download the "soul" of a dying person; there are the technologies of ancient civilizations of unknown origin to be studied; and, of course, the incursion of the souls from the Beyond to wage a cosmic civil war, etc, etc. What's not to like? Finally, beware axegrinding naysayers who after a thousand pages decide they don't like what they're reading. If they wasted their time, it's not the book's fault.
Rating:
Summary: A walk through a universe beyond imagination
Review: This was even better than the first. The plot is more solid, more connected, and you begin to get a feeling for what the story is truely about.
The scope of this book was astonishing. You literaly span the galaxy, visiting places and meeting people so far beyond your wildest dreams..... It's incredible.
The characters begin to take a more concrete shape, forming more solid personalities and becoming more real. As this book unfolds, the mysteries left by the first start to make more sense, becoming a part of the story that fits tightly and perfectly.
The writting is just wonderful. It pulls you in, making you feel like you just have to know what happens next. You tell yourself that after you find out you'll stop, and then another unbelievable surprise hits you and you know it's hopeless. I finished this book in even less time then it took me to finish the first. I just couldn't put it down.
This book is an amazing epic all on it's own!
And just think! There are still more left to read!
The only thing I'm sorry about is that I didn't discover this series sooner!
One of the thing I like best is how unpredictable the story is. You never know what's next, or how it will happen. I just can't wait to find out!
A truely incredible story, and well worth reading. More than once!
Rating:
Summary: Lives up to the promise of "Emergence"
Review: After reading the first book in this series "Reality Dysfunction: Emergence", I was hooked, and immediately bought the second installment. It has lived up to the promise of the first book, and comes to a nail biting and edge of seat conclusion. Hamilton continues to develop the universe he has created, giving us a glimple into the Tyrathca society and suggesting that they have direct knowledge of the catastrophe that caused the collapse of Laymil civilization. The stars of this book are the mechanically enhanced troops that are set down on Lalonde, both the hi-tech body enhancements and their Esprit de Corps and devil may care attitude to life, death and danger. Needless to say I have purchased the next installment of the series, which amounts to six books in total, if you don't count short stories and add ons. A great universe full of interesting characters, clever twists and unforseen developments. Brilliant stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: Just a quick review : Read this superb series, Its a must for any space opera fan.
Rating:
Summary: Riverworld meets Space Opera
Review: Have you ever read a story and experienced a moment where you stopped seeing the words and started seeing the world through the eyes of the characters? That is what happened to me while reading "The Reality Dysfunction: Expansion." There is a wonderful space battle in this book that is worth the price of admission. And happily there are other reasons to recommend this book - lively characters, gripping battles, and loads of action make for major amounts of space opera fun. Unfortunately, this is not a perfect book. The story can get longwinded at times. I often found myself wondering if the author was being paid by the word. But would the story be better if it was briefer? I'm not convinced. And I'm concerned that some of the better moments would be lost. And this book is sorely in need of an editor. Characters disappear for major stretches of the story, then reappear without a by your leave. It makes it difficult to follow the story at times. Weeks pass for some while hours pass for others. Very annoying. But there are some wonderful moments and some fine concepts at work here. What would society be like if everyone could honestly share thoughts and emotions telepathically? Just how would your life be changed if you had proof of an afterlife? I think these are ideas worth exploring and expounding upon. This is not heavy literature. It's modern, pulp science fiction. Written to be enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: It's Not Worth It
Review: Volume 2 of a six volume series. See series review on the Reality Dysfunction:Emergence page.
Rating:
Summary: The Plot Thickens
Review: The second half of this novel is a bit better than the first half. It generated enough interest to make me buy "The Neutronium Alchemist."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, get all three
Review: These three books (Reality Disfunction, Neutronium Alchemist, and the Naked God) are some of my favourite scifi ever. I generally consider myself to be quite discerning, and hate anything implausable in scifi that I read. Hamilton not only sticks to the laws of science, but within those laws creates a universe on the edge of human imagination. He describes ideas and concepts, each of which could be the fuel for a fascinating story in themselves, yet they are mere background to the actual story which will really challenge your imagination.
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