Rating: 
Summary: Superb (still)... like his other's
Review: Outragaeous book - read his others if you have the chance...
Rating: 
Summary: Immensely enjoyable
Review: Peter F. Hamilton is a first-rate sci-fi author. His bitek and neural nanonic technologies are fresh to me and I am continuously amazed by how deeply these simple-at-first-glance technologies have revised human culture. I am even more amazed that this is a work of fiction, not some history book detailing what life was like in the era. I find myself drawn into the world and forced to feel for the characters. Whether it is irritation/jealousy for Joshua Calvert, sympathy for poor Louise Kavanagh, or eerie worry about Quinn Dexter, Mr. Hamilton has managed to get me involved in his creations. As for the story itself, I was initially unimpressed (the living dead, how original) but soon found myself impressed by how originally the (admittably tired) idea was approached. These are NOT walking corpses (unless they want to be!) but real people, who happen to be dead, have stolen bodies, and be capable of feats of magic. This particular installation, while weaker than the books bordering it, had me enthralled. When I finished it I all but murdered my father, so slow was he in finishing the next installment in the series so that I could read it. In closing, and hoping it doesn't ruin the series for you: Alkad Mzu is one scary woman.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: Peter.F.Hamilton certainly knows how to write
a great page turner, The reality dysfunction was
excellent, the Neutronium Alchemist just as good.
The slide from sci-fi into horror was a risky but
successful move. I look forward to last in
The Night's Dawn trilogy, Although I have no idea
of the title.
Rating:
Summary: IT MAKES YOU WANT MORE AND MORE.
Review: So many storylines twist and turn, if you keep up with it you won't want to put it down. Far better then watching the TV to get your imagination ignited.
Rating: 
Summary: A logical follow-up to the first book, but not as engaging
Review: That's right - I mean it. Not as engaging as the first, but this is through no fault of Hamiltons. This sad fact is true of most sequels. The first book was replete with countless examples of good versus evil and hard, shocking acts of violence and horror. This volume is not as hard hitting - but perhaps it shouldn't be. After all you can't manufacture identical responses from the reader again and again. Thus, this book is the expected progressment of the story of the Confederation doing what they can in preperation against the dead. More 'technical' or 'diplomatic' than the Reality Dysfunction's actiony themes. However, I expect this will change with the next volume titled 'Conflict'. I hope it does because so far I've been fairly bored with this volume compared to the audaciousness of the previous two. However, the 'dead-end' dead vs. living situation has so far proved to be a truely impressive plot situation. If Hamilton can somehow snap this dead-end away and into some sort of satisfying conclusion he'll go down as one of the best writers I've seen... And I mean that in a positive way. He's deliberately written such a bleak situation. Only the next three volumes will reveal if he does cleverly conclude this nightmare or if he will take 'the easy way out' and let the possessed triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Keeping up the quality.
Review: The complexity of this series is staggering. If you have read the reality dysfunction and enjoyed it, I would recommend you move straight into reading this sequel. If you leave a large gap you may forget a raft of plot lines and characters.There is little point in trying to summarise what happens in this book. That would defeat the point in reading the book! What I can say, is that the pace is just as frenetic, and the detail continues to build in this episode of the story. Excellent stuff, and well worth keeping up with the series.
Rating:
Summary: Keeping up the quality.
Review: The complexity of this series is staggering. If you have read the reality dysfunction and enjoyed it, I would recommend you move straight into reading this sequel. If you leave a large gap you may forget a raft of plot lines and characters. There is little point in trying to summarise what happens in this book. That would defeat the point in reading the book! What I can say, is that the pace is just as frenetic, and the detail continues to build in this episode of the story. Excellent stuff, and well worth keeping up with the series.
Rating:
Summary: A fast and loose plot ruins an otherwise great series.
Review: The first book in this series, The Reality Disfunction: Emergence, was a tour de force. Then, in the subsequent novels,things take a turn for the worse with "souls" of the dead coming back from purgatory (?!) to take over the unsuspecting living (and to insult the unsuspecting reader). This story is like a cross between The Science Fiction Channel's "Sightings" and your average supermarket tabloid. Too bad, because Peter Hamilton is an otherwise great writer and the degeneration of what could have been THE science fiction series into pedantic schlock is an insult to even the semi-rational.
Rating:
Summary: Superb!!!
Review: The only bad thing about this book is that it is so good that I'm forced to save it for special occasions and read other books while I'm waiting for the sequel. Superb characters, technology, and plot, and all this with a welcome British angle. Recommended for ANYONE!
Rating: 
Summary: The payoff in volume 3 is really weak
Review: The premise and much of the action was good throughout the series, but after wading through 1500 pages, I could not believe how lame the ending was. It would be unfair to reveal the ending, so I will not do so. The ending reminded me of a bad mystery story where the killer was a new character introduced in the last 50 pages. I think Hamilton must have run out of ideas. If you believe that it is the journey and not the destination, then go ahead and read these books. They are in the pulp fiction style of several plots that more or less merge at the end.
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