Rating: 
Summary: The book left me barely satisfied.
Review: Why is it a writer as seemingly talented at Peter Hamilton can't put a complete story into a nearly 600 page book? Obviously other readers think this is cool. But a truly great sci-fi novel needs to come to a conclusion by the time you reach the last page. I have seen this book compared to writings by Asimov and Bujold, but Hamilton doesn't compare. Those writers have given us complete stories between the covers. I'll add David Brin to the same list. There's a writer who can put together a successful series and still give us complete stories. Hamilton belongs to a differnt group of authors, such as Dan Simmons, who seem more concerned with selling books that telling great stories. By the time I got to the end of Hyperion I felt cheated when I realized I had to buy another book to find how the story ended. It's not the purchase of another book that bothers me; it is the fact that the author can not come to a resolution by the end of the book. I'll take David Brin, Lois Bujold, Connie Willis, or Neal Stephenson over this any day.
Rating: 
Summary: Epic scale, a 2AM in the morning book!
Review: Intense! I was swept away the minute I started reading. The plot spans several systems (planets, asteroids, etc.) and yet Hamilton manages to flesh out the settings and characters, always providing believable scientific basis for his vision of the future. Hamilton balanced his characters and plot within the larger framework of science and philosphophy, without ever getting preachy. His characters are heroic, trivial, irritating and noble. Real. Although the introduction of more and more characters and their settings can get tiresome, they only serve to populate Hamilton's fascinating future world. The excitement/ tension can be unbearable! Fantastic work. I lost a lot of sleep reading these books...just completely lost track of the 'now time', stepping into the future. Some similarities in terms of scope and pacing, to the Julian May Pliocene / Intervention series, but completely original. Brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: Detailed and vibrant
Review: I remember when I read the first several pages of the first book- it pulled me in very quickly. The characters are believable, the ships are marvelous wonders, the science is simply cool and the plot continues to keep my attention. In short, I can't wait for the final two books and I know that one day I'll be reading all 3,500+ pages again- what a ride!
Rating:
Summary: Tom Clancy of Sci-Fi
Review: The Reality Dysfunction and The Neutronium Alchemist were 4 books I *COULD NOT PUT DOWN* I tore thru all of them as fast as I could....and there is still a third installment yet to be released. I was sucked in on a friend's recommendation to "read these, you'll like them." I have since passed on the favor. Our support group meets weekly to try to get by until the 3rd installment comes out. Hamilton has crafted a sci-fi series a la Tom Clancy. I enjoy Clancy novels because they consist of many separate threads that you never think will come together, but actually do, and do well. Hamilton ups this one by building your interest in a story line to a fevered pitch, then dropping it to switch to another, leaving you crying for more...until you read the current thread, built to a fevered pitch, and so on. Best books I've read in a long while
Rating:
Summary: Big, solid, hard science fiction on an epic scale.
Review: Hamilton's done a great job with this novel. The Reality Dysfunction was released in Australia as one novel, rather than two parts, as in the U.S, and the initial page count appeared a little daunting. The book is exceptional in it's ability to maintain a common thread through vastly different charcters, settings, and time scales. Hamilton's use of bitek and nanotek in the augumentation of humans (particularly fighters) is compelling, his fight scenes are great action pieces, with super-tough, strong operatives (boosted muscles, neural nanonic combat programs) which virtually guarantee an action packed narrative. I loved the cyborgs and mutants in Christopher Rowley's Starhammer, and Hamilton has developed these concepts to an enthralling level, creating a new series of evolutionary steps in human augumentation as he does so. If you like Rowley (early science fiction only, not his tawdry Dragon series), or Banks, or even Gibson, you deserve to read this book. I literally did not put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Riveting, Creates a deep desire for more like it
Review: It is going to be a long year waiting for Hamilton's conclusion to the Trilogy. Never before has books so large held me so totally engrossed as the first two volumes. Hamilton has managed to take something that I would normally look upon with scorn and made it into the plausible. Read it, live it and enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: The dead return from the grave with a thin veneer of SF.
Review: Firstly, it's not a book, it's half of a book. And it's not even half a book, because the book it's half of is a third of a trilogy. And since it's about 600 pages long, you're looking at close to four thousand pages! Secondly, it's mostly about people coming back from the dead and possessing the living. Maybe there's an interesting explanation for this, but I've read the first two installments and so far it might as well be an SF version of "Night of the Living Dead". I have no intention of reading further, but have demanded the "friend" who recommended the books let me know if anything interesting ever happens. So far he's been quiet, but the last third of the story isn't out yet. So what did I think of the story itself, other than my obvious distaste for the hook? Well, it's average except for the excessive length. The author juggles a lot of characters and manages to develop each of them pretty well. Far too well in many cases -- many dozens of pages of the first book set up a whole set of characters so they can be brutally murdered by the undead. It's this sort of excess that bloats the novel's size beyond all reason. But I digress. The book sets up a fairly interesting variation of the multi-planet future with political and biological flavors of humanity scattered about it. I liked that part. The story follows various characters about, focussing on the undead "plague" and the adventure of a roguish protagonist Joshua something or other. The other major weak point of the story is that Joshua is supposed to be an ingenious rogue, able to cleverly exploit an edge for personal gain, but the examples given by the author are just silly. For example, the implausibly secret trick behind his sexual prowess and the absurdly simple deal he "brilliantly" develops to trade wood for wine are both utterly unconvincing. It's weird that the author lavishes time showing us all sorts of background in astonishing detail rather than simply alluding to it in passing, and yet is is so lame in his attemps to convince us that this guy is smart. Bottom line: It's waaaay too long for the amount or quality of plot involved, but the writing is pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: Definitely worth the effort!
Review: This series is based on the premise that an accidental rift in the space-time continuum is allowing the souls of the dead to come back and possess the living. Most of you are probably losing interest right about now, and I understand that -- it took a LOT of commentary by a lot of people before I finally decided to pick it up and give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did. First, the universe that Hamilton has created, where both Adamists (those who use mechanical technology) and Edenists (who use biotechnology, generically called "bitek") live in an uneasy truce, is superbly detailed. In my mind, the books are worth reading just for the background. Second, the plot works surprisingly well. It sounds corny (did I mention Al Capone? how about Fletcher Christian?) and I was initially very skeptical, but Hamilton is able to pull it off, to such a degree that I have both ordered the books in hardcover and added Hamilton's other books to my "must buy" list. Three words of warning, though. First, these books are long, so long that the US paperback editions come in two volumes, each of almost 600 pages. They are clearly marked, though -- just make sure you have both part 1 and part 2. Second, I found it took me almost the entire first half of _The Reality Dysfunction_ (i.e., about 500 pages, or almost all of the first paperback) to get into the story. Stick it out; while some of it may appear superfluous, it isn't, and the long lead-in also serves to familiarize the reader with the technology, to the point where it becomes natural. Third, the final volume in the series isn't due out until 1999. This is *extremely* frustrating. While I would suggest buying it now (while you still can -- you know how bookstores and publishers are these days), I would also seriously consider not actually reading it to the next volume comes out.
Rating:
Summary: Its superb original SF
Review: The reality dysfunction and neutronium alchemist are both superb. The ideas are original and the characters are more fully developed than most SF. However, there is a point after about 300 pages in the first book when the story seems to change from core SF into something else, and I will admit it was a real turn off at the time. But stick with it and you realise its core SF, its simply another idea thrown into a very good SF future and the way the people react in the future is totally believable. No one is too stupid and no one is too smart. I love it, can't wait for the next one. ps It also has one of the most evil and nasty group of characters you can imagine, which may put you off if you have a weak stomach.
Rating:
Summary: A totally gripping novel, both space opera and gritty SF
Review: I found it hard to put the book down and equally hard to fault most of the ideas presented. Hamilton combines a truly exciting, involving story with an excellent analysis of his envisaged future. The impact of biological and nano-electrical engineering is well thought out and makes for some interesting plot twists. The novel does jump from one perspective to another but is not nearly as disjointed as David Brin's Uplift Storm Trilogy. In fact, where Brin switches the plot, every few pages, AWAY from the action, Hamilton focuses on the conflicts, fights, explosions and important events as much as he possibly can. Still, a glossary with the important characters and their affiliations, especially the intelligence operatives would be useful. Also, it may seem frustrating to be given terms such as 'Adamist' and 'Edenist' without full explanations. These things are all explained in time and the plot is good enough to stop you from worrying about terms and definitions unduly. Given the length of the book, the background is laid down fairly early on, in context and in an interesting way. There is also lots of sex in the book - something that is not really out of place in a future society derived from our own - and violence. The latter is normally all good stuff - space battles; goodies vs baddies - but there are places where too much description is given of pretty awful eviscerations. Marks could be taken off for this but if so most history books would be lucky to get any stars in reviewer ratings. Realism (at least as far as human behaviour is concerned) is more important than warm fuzzy feelings. That being said, the heroes are suitably heroic and there is a clear distinction between good and evil through most of the book. If you want an intelligent read with plenty of action, realism and new ideas, read The Reality Dysfunction. If not, wait for Teletubbies:The Novel.
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