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Night's Dawn #3, Part 1 of 2

The Naked God 1: Flight

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This breathtaking climax to the acclaimed saga of "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist" finds the Confederation on the verge of collapse, as more and more star systems fall to the Possessed. An alien god may hold the solution to the crisis--if Joshua and Syrinx can discover it in time.

800 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

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About the author

Peter F. Hamilton

208 books10.2k followers
Peter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.

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5 stars
1,501 (51%)
4 stars
957 (33%)
3 stars
349 (12%)
2 stars
65 (2%)
1 star
15 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
Profile Image for Michael Behrmann.
108 reviews6 followers
February 29, 2020
Viel ist passiert in der ersten Hälfte von „The Naked God“, auch Überraschendes, und das Gefühl dass das Ende nicht mehr fern ist durchzieht fast jeden Handlungsstrang, und dass obwohl noch über 1000 Seiten warten.
So deutlich wie hier hat ist mir noch nie aufgefallen dass das Buch einfach vollkommen willkürlich in zwei Teile gerissen wurde, ein wirkliches Urteil ist also kaum möglich. Aber dass ich unbedingt wissen möchte wie alles ausgeht spricht ja schon mal nicht gegen den „Roman“.
Profile Image for Taseen Muhtadi.
123 reviews14 followers
February 21, 2017
The vividly told story continues, with the story being told from many points of view. This not only shows how crisis effects indivisuals and governments alike but also brings Hamilton's world alive. Having to keep track of all the threads can be difficult at times and some important characters of the past books link Dr Alkad gets sidelined. Some characters, link Liouse, really come into thier own here. The doomsday weapon is developed and debate regarding it's use continues. Another interesting plot point is the political developments around the crisis. Ombey plays a major part in the narrative. What really surprised me was interactions of the possessed of Ombey. The clash of characters of Staphanie and Ekelund was astoundingly well told. Cochrane was a blast; absolutely loved him with his hippy referrences and accent. The division of all the books in the series seems arbritrary. In reality, the whole trilogy is one long novel.
Profile Image for Dave.
949 reviews37 followers
July 18, 2018
This is Book 5 of a massive six-book space opera. The Possessors from Beyond (our own dead spirits from millennia past if you've been reading the series) are gaining ground by most measures, although infighting is a bit of a hindrance to them. The human governments are beginning to find ways to resist them and their powers to some extent, but progress is slow and inconsistent. One group of humans is off on a desperate flight to the other end of the galaxy to try to learn how other species have battled this threat. Nothing is certain, especially as we begin to question the motives of one powerful group in the Earth government as we learn of some uncertain allies and actions. There is much in this book, and much has to happen in the final book
Profile Image for Matteo Pellegrini.
625 reviews33 followers
February 3, 2014

Dopo gli scontri sempre più cruenti tra esseri umani e posseduti, la civiltà di un'intera galassia scivola verso la distruzione. Attraverso una terribile infezione il nemico minaccia ormai il pianeta più protetto: la Terra. La setta di immortali che segretamente la dominano reagisce debolmente, ma forse la salvezza è ancora una volta nello spazio. Lassù, Edenisti e Confederazione decidono di giocare l'ultima carta: inviare una spedizione a cercare l'antica razza che a suo tempo avrebbe sconfitto la "crisi della realtà". Gli indizi sono vaghi, il fatto in sé è una leggenda, il tempo è poco... Ecco una caccia che richiederà tutta la fortuna di Joshua Calvert!

Profile Image for Sunsy.
1,901 reviews28 followers
May 9, 2016
So langsam stolpern wir auf den Showdown zu, aber noch ist alles offen. Ein bombastisches Epos in Science Fiction!

Für Band 5 der 6bändigen Reihe "Der Armageddon-Zyklus" gebe ich 09/10 Punkte.

Hier gehts zu meiner kurzen Einschätzung: http://sunsys-blog.blogspot.de/2016/0...
Profile Image for noxruit.
Author 1 book4 followers
September 18, 2012
Di una noia mortale. Forse avrei dovuto resistere ancora qualche pagina, considerata la fama che avvolge questa serie, ma se la si confronta con altre saghe di new space opera come quelle di Alastair Reynolds, c'è un abisso e la vita è troppo breve per perdere tempo con quello che non ci convince.
365 reviews2 followers
January 24, 2025
A continuation of the massive story that began with The Reality Dysfunction. Each of these books does close a part of the story. The first book describes the emergence of the possessed and the disappearance of Lalonde. The second seems to resolve the story of The Neutronium Alchemist and the pursuit of Alkad Mzu. The Naked God closes the series, and this volume seems to focus on two possible gods---Satan and the Sleeping God of the Tyrathca. While this book still follows plot threads on New California, Valisk, and Ombey. There is increased focus on Quinn and Joshua. The former wants to bring Night to Earth, and Joshua leads a scientific mission to find the Sleeping God. I still enjoy the series, but it is difficult to recommend because it is simply too long and full of unnecessary details.
Profile Image for Seth Kaplan.
423 reviews19 followers
April 16, 2025
Almost through with this massive story! Book 5 being more detailed points of view from some places we haven’t spent a lot of time in before. Love the parts taking place on Earth involving Louise, Quinn and Banneth and the slow reveal of how Earth’s arcologies work. The exploration of the Tyrathca also adds another fun dimension as Joshua and Syrinx work together. This is masterful storytelling and only felt bogged down when telling the story of the liberation of Mortonridge. Looking forward to seeing how this is all tied up and where Al Capone’s comic relief leads to.
1,818 reviews5 followers
December 6, 2017
More of the same - some of the plotlines are more interesting than others, and the book is mostly set up for what's sure to be an exciting climax.
Profile Image for Leo.
340 reviews
September 13, 2018
OK. This is it! The big finish, after 3000+ pages!
Not bad! Not as good as his later work, but a solid, fun read.
Profile Image for Danny.
110 reviews18 followers
February 20, 2019
Awesome space opera, fast pacing with many threads of the story!
Profile Image for nathaniel.
642 reviews20 followers
July 23, 2022
All the same positives and negatives of the previous books. Impressive scope, but often feels bloated and there is a lot of unenjoyable torture.
Profile Image for reherrma.
2,133 reviews37 followers
April 25, 2015
Die Review zu Peter F. Hamilton's Armageddon-Zyklus stellt den Rezensenten vor einige Probleme. Nicht nur der Umfang von ca. 5800 Seiten, sondern auch die über 200 handelnden Personen der Story sprengen jeden üblichen Rahmen innerhalb der SF. Der Versuch, jeden Band einzeln zu rezensieren, wird durch den Umstand einer durchgehende Story zunichte gemacht. Deshalb darf und kann nur die gesamte Geschichte betrachtet werden, unabhängig von den inhaltlichen und stilistischen Höhen und Tiefen der einzelnen Bände.
Konzeptionell benutzt Hamilton den Aufbau der klassischen Space Opera, fügt dieser neue Elemente aus dem Bereich der Biotechnik und Genetik hinzu und erweitert das Szenario auf ein komplettes Universum mit einer Vielzahl von Regierungs- und Herrschaftsformen. Folgerichtig ergibt sich ein Leseumfang, der alle bis dahin veröffentlichen Werke in diesem Genre weit hinter sich lässt und der zukünftig als Paradebeispiel für die neue britische Ausprägung der Space Opera dienen wird.

In etwa 600 Jahren hat sich die Menschheit auf hunderte von Planeten, die nach und nach in bewohnbare Welten terrageformt wurden, ausgeweitet. Dabei haben sich im Laufe der räumlichen Expansion zwei unterschiedliche Richtungen des Homo Sapiens entwickelt. Auf der einen Seite die Adamisten, die nach herkömmlichen Grundsätzen und technologischen Entwicklungen leben und anderseits die Edeniten, eine Form der Kollektivgesellschaft, die über biotechnische Eingriffe ihre Fähigkeiten gesteigert haben und eine andere philosophische Grundlage für ihr Dasein benutzen. Während die Adamisten Planet um Planet besiedeln, leben die Edeniten vorzugsweise in künstlich erzeugten BiTek-Habitaten, die, zwecks Energiehaushalt, in der Nähe von Gasriesen positioniert werden. Adamisten konstruieren und bauen ihre Raumschiffe in herkömmlicher Weise; die Raumschiffe der Edeniten werden im Weltraum "geboren", zeitgleich mit der Geburt ihres zukünftigen Kapitäns in einem Habitat. Jahrelang umkreisen die Schiffe, sogannte Hawks, wie die Habitate einen Gasriesen und wachsen. Dabei entsteht zwischen Raumschiff und dem zukünftigen Kapitän eine enge emotionale Bindung. Über ein Affinitätsband kommunizieren die Edeniten gedankenschnell nicht nur mit ihren Raumschiffen, sondern auch mit ihren Habitaten und untereinander. Beide Menschengruppen leben trotz unterschiedlicher Auffassung und Technologie friedlich miteinander.
Ausserirdische Lebensformen, die ebenfalls in dieser Galaxis weilen, haben sich mit der Menschheit arangiert, treiben Handel oder tauschen Informationen aus. Eine dieser Rassen sind die Kiint, eine sehr alte und in ihrem Wissen sehr fortschrittliche Lebensform, die mehr verheimlicht, als alle anderen ahnen...
Vor diesem Hintergrund setzt die Handlung auf dem Planeten Lalonde, am Rande des bewohnten Universums, der sich in der Entwicklungphase der Besiedelung durch die Menschen befindet, geschieht ein Vorgang, der sich in seiner Kausalität eigentlich nie ereignen dürfte. Der daraus resultierende Prozess wird die Menschheit zutiefst erschüttern ...
Mit Hilfe von ungewöhnlichen, aber sehr innovativen SF-Elementen beschreibt Hamilton mit dem "Armageddon-Zyklus" nicht nur ein Universum, sondern geht mit diesem Werk sehr viel weiter. Für die Frage nach dem Sinn unseres Daseins und dem Leben nach dem Tod, entwirft er eigene Denkmodelle... und die haben es in sich. Beindruckend gelingt es ihm, Ideen von rein philosophischer Natur mit einem Konstrukt aus physikalischen Naturgesetzen und technologischen Beschreibungen zu ummanteln und hinterlässt beim Leser den Eindruck, soeben der wissenschaftlich fundierten Erklärung von Religion und Glauben beigewohnt zu haben...
Profile Image for Nicolas.
1,396 reviews77 followers
August 16, 2008
Voilà ce que j'en avais dit en 2006


Et voici le retour de Joshua Calvert, de Quinn Dexter et de tous leurs
amis, possédés ou non.
Et dans ce troisième tome, après les effrayantes révélations du début, la lente descente aux enfers de Consolidation, les non-possédés envisagent la possibilité de résister à leurs ennemis déja morts. Bien sûr, comme Hamilton est très doué, il sait trouver les différents angles d'approche qui peuvent nous intéresser, de la guerre de reconquête aux proportions insensées à la lutte intime entreprise par Louise Kavannagh. Sans oublier, bien sûr, la mission du héros de service...
Pour être franc, ce sixième tome en poche fait du bien. Parce que, pour formidable qu'il soit, ce monstre de roman n'en est pas moins glauque. Et du glauque, on en a mangé, en déja 2000 pages (à peu près). Alors, que les "gentils" reprennent lentement le dessus, ça me fait vraiment plaisir. Ca n'aidera bien sûr pas le roman à se terminer rapidement, c'est sûr, et on aura encore droit à notre lot de batailles spatiales et terrestres, de dégats collatéraux ou non.
Et bien je vais vous dire ... tant mieux, parce que c'est vraiment
rudement bien.


Donc, tout ça, c'est une préparation intéressante à la conclusion épique qui se prépare. Hélas, au bout d'un moment, même les tomes de 500 pages ne font plus d'effet quand ils s'enchaînent par paquets comme ça.
747 reviews1 follower
May 5, 2020
More of the same as in previous novels. There are few secrets left, so Hamilton sticks to advancing the adventures of the myriad plot lines he's hatched in the past.
Profile Image for David Rowan.
9 reviews1 follower
August 29, 2007
The third volume in the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy Hell just went quantum...The Confederation is starting to collapse politically and economically, allowing the 'possessed' to infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she manages to acquire some strange and powerful allies whose goal does not match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonbridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind that hasn't been seen by humankind for six hundred years. Then some of the protagonists escape in a very unexpected direction...Joshua Clavert and Syrinx now fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God - which an alien race believes holds the key to finally overthrowing the possessed
Profile Image for Reads with Scotch .
86 reviews28 followers
February 12, 2008
The last book in the Nights Dawn trilogy. Hamilton proves himself over and over in his series. Hamilton has a way of writing that keeps the story fresh book after book. But I think the most important achievement is that the man knows how to end his stories. Hamilton’s ability to end a series ( I say end a series because if there are 3 books it is actually 1 big book and you don’t get an ending till you finish) is solid good story telling. The endings don’t seem forced, or as an after thought. I can not articulate how well the guy writes, if you enjoy Sci-Fi, Space Opera, someone that adds in just the right amount of “what if “Technology, Then I say Peter F Hamilton is your guy. Happy reading
Profile Image for Richard Houchin.
400 reviews41 followers
April 24, 2008
Sci-fi space zombies have never been done as well as. Sheer amazingness. The entire philosophical concept of the after life and souls as handled in the The Night's Dawn trilogy is worth the entry ticket alone, nevermind the brilliance hard sci-fi and action and hot chicks and zombies and...

About that entry ticket, the first 200 pages or so of the first book are pretty boring. But the subsequent 3,000+ pages are pure happiness. Enjoy!
Profile Image for pruq76.
1 review
February 4, 2007
Hamilton recrea no uno sino varios universos con un detalle asombroso. Quizás demasiado detalle, por eso no le he dado la quinta estrella, a trozos se hace demasiado embrollado.
Si te gusta la ciencia ficción ( y lees en inglés)la trilogía de la Confederación es de lo mejor que he leido ultimamente.
Profile Image for Obidiwhite.
41 reviews
May 4, 2015
The dead are back , bringing back with them superhuman powers to torment the living . It will only take intervention of an all powerful god ; whom no human believe in - to save humankind from inevitable extinction. This book serves as a grand climax to the saga of "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist" where science and spirituality converge in ways that make sense .
77 reviews1 follower
August 26, 2010
Half way through what is essentially book 5 of 6 for those going with paperback. I'm still enjoying this series after nearly 2500 pages. I don't know what else to say. I finished reading the entire series, and overall I enjoyed all 3500+ pages.
Profile Image for Kim.
315 reviews28 followers
June 9, 2014
While I don't always ENJOY the events in this saga, I do find them riveting. Meanwhile, the characters are rich, and the science is intriguing. One more book to go in this six (yes, Steve, you were right!) book series.
19 reviews
January 3, 2017
Everybody seems to love this book, but I was bored. It is basically another Han Solo-type adventurer doing crazy things in space. Well written, because I did manage to finish it - but then I felt cheated. The story is very thin. He gets the girl too, and rescues her. Blah.
Profile Image for Lew.
605 reviews30 followers
October 21, 2024
I continue to enjoy this epic series though I'm ready to reach the end in the next book. This has been one the best sci-fi series. The only complaint is there are sometimes too many story lines.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews

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