QueenLyssa's Full Review: Peter F. Hamilton - The Reality Dysfunction: Expan...
The Reality Dysfunction series is a departure from the stand alone Greg Mandel novels which gave Peter F Hamilton his breakthrough. Rather, this time Hamilton takes on a future that spans years and several planets and governments. By necessity a timeline is provided with each book since the story is so complex the reader would get lost without it. It is an epic undertaking merely as a trilogy, the final book of which is still due, but when one considers that this is merely the first trilogy (The Neutronium Alchemist is a concurrently published trilogy, also still awaiting the conclusion, with another separate stand alone novel The Naked God and a series of short stories in A Second Chance at Eden rounding out the offerings so far) of an entire writing system, one can understand the depth of the project this talented writer has taken on. One should also understand that picking up one of the novels is a commitment. You won't get answers or full satisfaction from any one of the books, you will get intrigue and an addiction leading you to wait anxiously for the next publication.
The complexity may be overwhelming and intimidating to first time Hamilton readers, but Hamilton's spicy writing style and amazing imagination are more than enough to make it worth the investment. In Part 1: Emergence, we are introduced to the host of characters that the trilogy follows. Part 2: Expansion, continues their dramas as their paths cross more deeply.
If any one character can be singled out as the protagonist, it would be Joshua Calvert, an opportunistic starship captain and capitalist extrordinaire, but he hardly hangs as the center of the system amongst the wide cast of characters. Storylines weave in an amongst each other with only loose threads tying them, forcing you to puzzle out what the possible link may be, and therein lies the intrigue of the series. How are remote but horrifying incidents of supernatural activity related and what is behind it all? To reveal more would be to spoil for those who haven't read it the thrill of the chase.
But the mystery is hardly the only level to The Reality Dysfunction. Hamilton sets this tale of gothic horror against a backdrop of dark future science fiction, a war of technology and humanity. Added to that is a classic exploration of intolerance and racism, with a healthy dash of political twist to it. To give the series even more for the reader to chew on, there is a thought-provoking element of spirituality and religious questioning that is worthy of the great philosophers.
The Reality Dysfunction is not a light read, and those considering a weekend book would do better to stick to the fantastic Greg Mandel books, but those willing to make the commitment to this epic work will find themselves enriched in a way that is seldom managed by science fiction novels.
Joshua Calvert, owner of the Lady Macbeth, is cursed by his good luck; Ione Saldana, Lord of Ruin, is cursed by her royal birth; colonists trapped on ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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