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Night's Dawn #1, Part 1 of 2
The Reality Dysfunction 1: Emergence
In the far future, humanity has divided into two diametrically opposed groups. The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with telepathic affinity for their biotechnological homes and ships. The Adamists, effectively the Luddites of the future, are willing to pioneer new worlds, much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. The two groups, peopled by fascinating characters, clash on a primitive world called Lalonde, setting in motion a tale of adventure unparalleled in this universe.
592 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1997
50 people are currently reading
1909 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
208 books10.2k followersPeter 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
April 13, 2016
I’ve read, or attempted to, my share of stupid books over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever picked up a book this damn stupid in my entire life! I’m astounded, because The Reality Dysfunction has a great 4.24 rating on Goodreads, one of the highest ratings I’ve ever seen. Yet, it’s unbelievably stupid. I don’t see how anyone could possibly read past the first three chapters and not laugh their asses off at the sheer idiocy of the author. Cause that’s how far I got before giving up. And I’m not going to read the sequel, which has a higher rating than this! Unreal.
The first chapter isn’t that bad with a chase and destroy scene between three presumably white “good” starships and five black “bad” starships. Nothing to write home about, in fact a little boring, but an okay start. Actually, too much sci fi jingo, like the author’s trying to impress his audience with his sci fi tech knowledge. It’s weak.
The second chapter is about a planet. An alien planet somewhere … out there. It formed out of a nova or dwarf or something and then with the right light and elements, became life bearing and after billions of years, algae evolved. And then you get a whole damn chapter on evolution on this planet, which frankly mirrors Earth’s pretty closely. Why the hell is this there? Why couldn’t this have been a two paragraph aside somewhere? Why does this boring shit merit its own chapter? Who cares about how this evolution occurs? Allegedly, according to reviewers, for this author, it occurs pretty much the same way on every planet, so what’s the big deal?
The third chapter is the bozo chapter. A ship is bringing its 108-year-old female captain and her husband back to Saturn to die. Apparently, she’s outlived it and he, cause I guess it’s a HE, tells her It’s Time. Cause they talk telepathically. Cause they have some sort of emotional love link. Cause she tells him that of her three husbands and two lovers, she loves her ship more than anyone ever. She tries to talk it out of dying, but he insists he must. They talk about her 10 children/zygotes she has finally produced after 108 years, one of them with her current husband’s sperm. As she goes by each zygote, the ship names each one. It’s agonizing to read each paragraph as it oh so romantically goes on and on about how great each one will be. Then the moment comes when they must separate. It’s horrible. She can’t take it. Her husband, who apparently can also talk to her telepathically, leads her away from the ship to a terminal, since it has magically docked without our being told, and this is a terminal for captains to mourn and see their ships die and console each other and basically hold funeral services. I’m not fucking kidding.
It gets worse. Free of the humans, the ship goes off and calls to his fellows and similar ships answer his call in droves and come to it while he goes flying off. One links to him, I guess physically, even though they’re going at about nine gees and they don’t collide and blow each other up, which is a miracle, and through their link, they have a ship orgasm. Yep. Not kidding. Then it’s time to birth the babies. I didn’t see this coming. One by one, ten ships come up to this flying ship and take a baby … ship and look after it, telling it where it is and herding it into the safety of Saturn’s rings, where they’ll be growing for the next 18 years when they’ll finally be adult ships and will have captains of their own. So this female human captain who had 10 babies, one of whom was from her husband’s own sperm, gave birth to 10 spaceships. Excuse me, but what the motherfuck is that??? And then, to top it off, a “bad” black ship invades and connects with the soon-to-die ship and they produce a baby ship which the original ship predicts will be the greatest of them all. Then this dying ship goes flying every which way and pretty much blows itself up, oh so romantically while everyone sheds a tear, yet is happy for it. To end the chapter, the black clad stranger/pilot walks into the mourning terminal and no one wants anything to do with him, so the captain goes to him and starts talking to him and starts joking about how she’s got some granddaughters she needs to marry off. To him. Oh.My.God. The most stupid chapter ever written in the history of the universe. Reading it was both priceless and sheer torture. I’ve never read anything like it and hope to never do so again.
Apparently, other characters appear and other worlds come into play and apparently there are a ton of Satanists, although why, possibly billions of years in the future, there would be Satanists, is beyond me. This author has written quite a few sci fi novels, but what I don’t know what his personal background is. Most of the sci fi writers I read are actual scientists or come from a military background, or both. I get the idea this guy is neither. He probably owns a comic book store. Maybe he’s a middle school dropout. Whatever the case, this book is rubbish, the author is a ninny, and I’m glad I bought this used cause I could never forgive myself if I had paid full price for this piece of shit. Grudgingly one star, because I can’t give zero stars. Most definitely not recommended at all.
The first chapter isn’t that bad with a chase and destroy scene between three presumably white “good” starships and five black “bad” starships. Nothing to write home about, in fact a little boring, but an okay start. Actually, too much sci fi jingo, like the author’s trying to impress his audience with his sci fi tech knowledge. It’s weak.
The second chapter is about a planet. An alien planet somewhere … out there. It formed out of a nova or dwarf or something and then with the right light and elements, became life bearing and after billions of years, algae evolved. And then you get a whole damn chapter on evolution on this planet, which frankly mirrors Earth’s pretty closely. Why the hell is this there? Why couldn’t this have been a two paragraph aside somewhere? Why does this boring shit merit its own chapter? Who cares about how this evolution occurs? Allegedly, according to reviewers, for this author, it occurs pretty much the same way on every planet, so what’s the big deal?
The third chapter is the bozo chapter. A ship is bringing its 108-year-old female captain and her husband back to Saturn to die. Apparently, she’s outlived it and he, cause I guess it’s a HE, tells her It’s Time. Cause they talk telepathically. Cause they have some sort of emotional love link. Cause she tells him that of her three husbands and two lovers, she loves her ship more than anyone ever. She tries to talk it out of dying, but he insists he must. They talk about her 10 children/zygotes she has finally produced after 108 years, one of them with her current husband’s sperm. As she goes by each zygote, the ship names each one. It’s agonizing to read each paragraph as it oh so romantically goes on and on about how great each one will be. Then the moment comes when they must separate. It’s horrible. She can’t take it. Her husband, who apparently can also talk to her telepathically, leads her away from the ship to a terminal, since it has magically docked without our being told, and this is a terminal for captains to mourn and see their ships die and console each other and basically hold funeral services. I’m not fucking kidding.
It gets worse. Free of the humans, the ship goes off and calls to his fellows and similar ships answer his call in droves and come to it while he goes flying off. One links to him, I guess physically, even though they’re going at about nine gees and they don’t collide and blow each other up, which is a miracle, and through their link, they have a ship orgasm. Yep. Not kidding. Then it’s time to birth the babies. I didn’t see this coming. One by one, ten ships come up to this flying ship and take a baby … ship and look after it, telling it where it is and herding it into the safety of Saturn’s rings, where they’ll be growing for the next 18 years when they’ll finally be adult ships and will have captains of their own. So this female human captain who had 10 babies, one of whom was from her husband’s own sperm, gave birth to 10 spaceships. Excuse me, but what the motherfuck is that??? And then, to top it off, a “bad” black ship invades and connects with the soon-to-die ship and they produce a baby ship which the original ship predicts will be the greatest of them all. Then this dying ship goes flying every which way and pretty much blows itself up, oh so romantically while everyone sheds a tear, yet is happy for it. To end the chapter, the black clad stranger/pilot walks into the mourning terminal and no one wants anything to do with him, so the captain goes to him and starts talking to him and starts joking about how she’s got some granddaughters she needs to marry off. To him. Oh.My.God. The most stupid chapter ever written in the history of the universe. Reading it was both priceless and sheer torture. I’ve never read anything like it and hope to never do so again.
Apparently, other characters appear and other worlds come into play and apparently there are a ton of Satanists, although why, possibly billions of years in the future, there would be Satanists, is beyond me. This author has written quite a few sci fi novels, but what I don’t know what his personal background is. Most of the sci fi writers I read are actual scientists or come from a military background, or both. I get the idea this guy is neither. He probably owns a comic book store. Maybe he’s a middle school dropout. Whatever the case, this book is rubbish, the author is a ninny, and I’m glad I bought this used cause I could never forgive myself if I had paid full price for this piece of shit. Grudgingly one star, because I can’t give zero stars. Most definitely not recommended at all.
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...
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...
January 18, 2008
I actually rate this book as a 3 ½ stars. I am a big fan of Hamilton’s. But I must admit that starting his books can be tedious. They read like a technical manual to start off with. Lots of 7000 kilometers this, and red dwarf that… This book was no different. It was like reading a Carl Sagan Cosmos transcript. (Which is cool and all but I would rather watch it on discovery). I didn’t even know what the plot was until about 130 pages into the book.
After all the explaining and details were finally put up the story took off. Hamilton never seems to use cliché’ alien personalities. And dives deep into the what if’s. Over all this book was good, if you can press threw the first 130 pages, after that it is smooth sailing and a great read, I am currently reading the second book. (Like all his series, it picks up were the last left off, seamlessly. All around the world it is a trilogy, but in the US it is a 6 volume series. Go figure. Happy readin
After all the explaining and details were finally put up the story took off. Hamilton never seems to use cliché’ alien personalities. And dives deep into the what if’s. Over all this book was good, if you can press threw the first 130 pages, after that it is smooth sailing and a great read, I am currently reading the second book. (Like all his series, it picks up were the last left off, seamlessly. All around the world it is a trilogy, but in the US it is a 6 volume series. Go figure. Happy readin
December 21, 2019
Teil 1 von 6. Eigentlich aber nur die erste Hälfte des ersten Teils der Original-Trilogie. Also viel zu früh um schon wirklich ein Urteil abgeben zu können. Gefällt mir aber schon ausgesprochen gut. Die sich langsam abzeichnende Hauptgeschichte mag nicht übermäßig originell sein, einige Charaktere nicht so komplex gezeichnet wie sie es sein könnten, und bei manchen der vielen Handlungsstränge könnte man sich schon fragen ob das jetzt wirklich so ausführlich sein muss. Macht aber alles nichts, denn ich hab selten so viel Spaß beim lesen gehabt. Genau so muss eine Space-Opera anfangen!
February 16, 2015
The first Peter F Hamilton book I listened to was Fallen Dragon. A very good introduction to his way of storytelling.
I loved his Commonwealth Saga. To this day Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are still my favourite space operas, the exploration of new and interesting ideas on an epic scale through the eyes of multiple protagonists, unputdownable.
The first part of the The Reality Dysfunction, Emergence, has finally become available as an audiobook. It reminds me a lot of the Commonwealth Saga. I think it has even more point of view characters, but a lot of them have a rather short lifespan.
This is only part 1 of 6, so take it with a grain of salt, but I guess if you liked Peter's other books you can't go wrong with the Night's Dawn series.
I loved his Commonwealth Saga. To this day Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are still my favourite space operas, the exploration of new and interesting ideas on an epic scale through the eyes of multiple protagonists, unputdownable.
The first part of the The Reality Dysfunction, Emergence, has finally become available as an audiobook. It reminds me a lot of the Commonwealth Saga. I think it has even more point of view characters, but a lot of them have a rather short lifespan.
This is only part 1 of 6, so take it with a grain of salt, but I guess if you liked Peter's other books you can't go wrong with the Night's Dawn series.
May 26, 2012
Not the easiest thing I've read. Hamilton is introducing people, planets, starships and technology almost every other page and sometimes he takes quite a bit to go back to them. There were several occasions where I was trying to remember what a name referred to. On the other hand, the story so far is compelling and he's build quite a remarkable world to set it in. I've already started on the second part ... Expansion which promises to pick up the pace.
March 12, 2021
Es gibt Bücher, die altern einfach nicht gut, und dieses ist für mich eines davon. Vielleicht hätten wir aber auch einfach immer schon kritisch sein müssen, denn es kann nicht sein, dass auch 1997 ein Science Fiction Werk Frauen ausschließlich sexualisiert und in Relation zu einem Mann einsetzt.
Hier und da mit interessanten Ansätzen, die sich schnell wieder verloren, kann ich nicht mal richtig sagen, worum es in "Die unbekannte Macht" eigentlich geht - der Klappentext ist etwas am Geschehen vorbei und passiert erst nach 50% des Buches. Generell gibt es unglaublich langatmige, detaillierte Kapitel zu einzelnen Figuren, die dann erst 200 Seiten später wieder auftauchen. Was George Martin o.ä. noch gut verwebt zu einer spannenden Welt, ist hier ein abstruser Mix aus Weltraum (viel zu wenig), Planeten, die sich nur wie eine Kolonialfantasie lesen, und lauter unsympathischen Figuren, die ständig an Sex denken und sich quasi nicht beherrschen können. Während Frauen vor allem Sex haben, damit sie irgendwas zu tun haben, selbst wenn sie eigentlich Raumschiffe fliegen oder Planeten regieren sollten, können Männer das quasi gar nicht kontrollieren und immer, wenn es irgendwo böse werden soll oder man die harte, harte Realität auf Lalonde, dem neuen Kolonieplaneten, kennenlernen soll, wird eine Frau vergewaltigt.
Als dann noch anstelle von Aliens, über die ich gern mehr erfahren hätte, eine Dämonenart die unbekannte Macht zu sein wird, die dann vollkommen abstrus und einfach nur noch böse über Lalonde herfällt, war es mir zu viel. DNF (did not finish) bei 70% - die restliche Reihe werde ich brav einem Bücherschrank oder ähnlichem spenden und mir das nicht weiter antun.
Sorry, aber ich erwarte mir von guter Space Opera einfach etwas anderes, vor allem, dass ein Fokus auf dem "Space" liegt und Frauen etwas mehr tun dürfen als nur Objekte zu sein.
Ganz klare Nicht-Lesen-Empfehlung.
Hier und da mit interessanten Ansätzen, die sich schnell wieder verloren, kann ich nicht mal richtig sagen, worum es in "Die unbekannte Macht" eigentlich geht - der Klappentext ist etwas am Geschehen vorbei und passiert erst nach 50% des Buches. Generell gibt es unglaublich langatmige, detaillierte Kapitel zu einzelnen Figuren, die dann erst 200 Seiten später wieder auftauchen. Was George Martin o.ä. noch gut verwebt zu einer spannenden Welt, ist hier ein abstruser Mix aus Weltraum (viel zu wenig), Planeten, die sich nur wie eine Kolonialfantasie lesen, und lauter unsympathischen Figuren, die ständig an Sex denken und sich quasi nicht beherrschen können. Während Frauen vor allem Sex haben, damit sie irgendwas zu tun haben, selbst wenn sie eigentlich Raumschiffe fliegen oder Planeten regieren sollten, können Männer das quasi gar nicht kontrollieren und immer, wenn es irgendwo böse werden soll oder man die harte, harte Realität auf Lalonde, dem neuen Kolonieplaneten, kennenlernen soll, wird eine Frau vergewaltigt.
Als dann noch anstelle von Aliens, über die ich gern mehr erfahren hätte, eine Dämonenart die unbekannte Macht zu sein wird, die dann vollkommen abstrus und einfach nur noch böse über Lalonde herfällt, war es mir zu viel. DNF (did not finish) bei 70% - die restliche Reihe werde ich brav einem Bücherschrank oder ähnlichem spenden und mir das nicht weiter antun.
Sorry, aber ich erwarte mir von guter Space Opera einfach etwas anderes, vor allem, dass ein Fokus auf dem "Space" liegt und Frauen etwas mehr tun dürfen als nur Objekte zu sein.
Ganz klare Nicht-Lesen-Empfehlung.
June 30, 2017
Anläßlich der Neuveröffentlichung des Armageddon-Zyklus durch Piper, konnte ich mir doch nicht verkneifen, den Roman nochmals zu lesen (wenn auch nur oberflächlich) um herauszufinden, ob meine Einschätzung vor 17 Jahren bei der deutschen Erstveröffentlichung bei Bastei-Lübbe, noch etwas hinzuzufügen ist bzw. ob ich meine damalige Einschätzung revidieren muss.
Nein, ich denke, der Zyklus und dieser Auftaktband ist eine zeitlose Darstellung des Zustandes der SF-Space Opera am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts, man kann ihn mit viel Vergnügen auch heute und auch in Zukunft mit Gewinn noch im lesen.
Wenn ich auch den Kritikern etwas entgegen kommen muss was den Umfang und die dadurch entstehenden Längen angeht, allerdings muss ich sagen, wenn eine Space Opera so gut und so spannend geschrieben ist, dann ist mir jede Seite mehr lieb; aber ich vermute, dass Hamilton während dieses Zyklusses immer wieder in eine Schreib-Orgie hineingeraten ist und deshalb ein so gigantischer Umfang entstanden ist; es spricht ja Bände, dass es Piper nicht gewagt hat, die Trilogie, wie in der englischen Orginalfassung, in drei Bänden erscheinen zu lassen.
Dieser Auftaktband des Armageddon-Sechsteilers hat mir jedenfalls wieder so viel Spaß gemacht, dass ich daran denke, mir die anderen Bände auch wieder zuzulegen, zumal die antike Bastei-Ausgabe sich inzwischen auf dem Weg zur Auflösung befindet...
Nein, ich denke, der Zyklus und dieser Auftaktband ist eine zeitlose Darstellung des Zustandes der SF-Space Opera am Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts, man kann ihn mit viel Vergnügen auch heute und auch in Zukunft mit Gewinn noch im lesen.
Wenn ich auch den Kritikern etwas entgegen kommen muss was den Umfang und die dadurch entstehenden Längen angeht, allerdings muss ich sagen, wenn eine Space Opera so gut und so spannend geschrieben ist, dann ist mir jede Seite mehr lieb; aber ich vermute, dass Hamilton während dieses Zyklusses immer wieder in eine Schreib-Orgie hineingeraten ist und deshalb ein so gigantischer Umfang entstanden ist; es spricht ja Bände, dass es Piper nicht gewagt hat, die Trilogie, wie in der englischen Orginalfassung, in drei Bänden erscheinen zu lassen.
Dieser Auftaktband des Armageddon-Sechsteilers hat mir jedenfalls wieder so viel Spaß gemacht, dass ich daran denke, mir die anderen Bände auch wieder zuzulegen, zumal die antike Bastei-Ausgabe sich inzwischen auf dem Weg zur Auflösung befindet...
March 18, 2022
I did like it. I will read the next one. The things about it that irritated me happened too often.
An ensemble of... interesting? characters populating a world filled with some of the more interesting expressions of reinvented science fiction tropes. The cast is united in spending all their time answering science fiction's most pressing question: can we bang our way to the solutions of our problems?
There was a lot of banging in this book. To a distracting point. And the dumb part of that was how many cool sci-fi ideas and things were in it. I would have liked a more science fictional looking book. The ideas were cool. The conflicts were interesting.
The banging was too much.
Eh. Maybe the second half is better.
Would recommend.
An ensemble of... interesting? characters populating a world filled with some of the more interesting expressions of reinvented science fiction tropes. The cast is united in spending all their time answering science fiction's most pressing question: can we bang our way to the solutions of our problems?
There was a lot of banging in this book. To a distracting point. And the dumb part of that was how many cool sci-fi ideas and things were in it. I would have liked a more science fictional looking book. The ideas were cool. The conflicts were interesting.
The banging was too much.
Eh. Maybe the second half is better.
Would recommend.
December 14, 2020
After part 1, I am having a great time in the Night's Dawn universe. I will have a full review for The Reality Dysfunction after I finish part 2.
May 28, 2025
-1 star for the first 75 pages being so dry but this was so cool
February 16, 2011
"Mr. Hamilton, a comma is not a semicolon nor an em-dash."
(pullquote from the review below, serving as a title for this review)
An awful book that I dreaded more and more as I read it all those years ago.
How bad was this experience? I read it in 1997, and subsequently never read any other Peter F. Hamilton until December 2010. (Coincidentally, the recent story I read was in the anthology entitled The Good Stuff edited by Gardner Dozois.)
I hated the Reality Dysfunction, laboring through it simply to allow myself to continue to say that I've never yet given up on a book and left it unfinished.
(But that's only a technicality, because this isn't the whole book - it was cut in half for publication. So unless I ever read part 2 of the Reality Dysfunction, I actually only read half of the first book in the trilogy!)
So, did I find any improvement in the recent story I read? Surprisingly, yes - it was very good. But it avoided some of the things that destroyed my enjoyment of The Reality Dysfunction.
What were my complaints against this book? Bear with me, because the first one is going to sound petty.
1) Peter Hamilton's comma splices
Sorry - this could be forgiveable in other circumstances. (Actually, this problem still shows up in the story I recently read, but I was able to not allow it to detract me.) But in this book, it is just too glaring.
Mr. Hamilton, a comma is not a semicolon nor an em-dash. Nor is it a conjunction. Allow me to demonstrate in the paragraph below which expounds on my hatred of the comma splice:
This problem could be overlooked in a short story, the longer novel allows annoyances to build until they become major distractors. In many places it actually causes confusion, I found myself jarred from my reading wondering why a good editor didn't fix these things up. Clean grammar is important for increased comprehensibility, it helps to frame ideas so that they are contained logically in appropriate segments.
Just my own brief attempt to encapsulate Hamilton's favorite stylistic device, which unwisely rebels against a particularly useful rule in the English language.
Enough said; let's move on to flaw #2.
2) Satanists
I thought I was reading science fiction. There were some familiar elements common to other genre novels. And then things just fell apart. Suddenly it was time to throw in some good old-fashioned satanists on the planet.
I tried to keep reading in hopes that the author would find a good way to sort this out. Perhaps if I had gone on to the other book (part 2 of the Reality Dysfunction), I might have been won over. (And that's a major reason why I do insist on always finishing every book I start, because some books really redeem themselves in the last 100 pages or so.)
But this was published in two parts, and I just couldn't force myself to go through the next half (especially knowing that by doing so I'd only be 1/3 through the trilogy proper, anyways).
Therefore, I fought my way to the end of this novel, felt bitterly disappointed that there wasn't even a partial resolution and a cliff-hanger ending, and resolved that I wouldn't waste my time on the next volume. (And I even owned it - it was on my shelf, bought brand new when it was first printed, and it stayed there for years until my brother decided to read this, and I gave away my copy of part 2.)
I've read other trashy sci-fi before (Battlestar Galactica, some Star Trek, etc), so I can deal with fake SF disguised as real SF. But at least those books have simplicity on their side - the books are usually slim, and they read easily because the author didn't put much into it. The difference here is that there's a lot going on in The Reality Dysfunction, and obviously the author meant this to be an important work.
So I'm obligated to hold this work to different standards when I judge it, as compared to Spock Must Die (by James Blish). And sorry, Mr. Hamilton, but your novel is actually a pretty lousy example of why space opera is NOT always the best type of science fiction available. It's why SF fans such as myself have often felt a little chagrin when non-SF fans automatically think of trashy space opera when they snicker at the latest book (whether space opera or not, and whether trashy or not) they find me reading at any particular instance.
There are redeeming qualities in this work, but not often enough (or fundamental enough) to make me rate this more than 1 star. And I don't go out of my way to avoid Hamilton's writings - he's just not on my list of authors that I buy on sight. When I come across anything more by Hamilton, I'll judge it on its merits.
Not particularly recommended to anybody, although I know lots of people will enjoy it.
(pullquote from the review below, serving as a title for this review)
An awful book that I dreaded more and more as I read it all those years ago.
How bad was this experience? I read it in 1997, and subsequently never read any other Peter F. Hamilton until December 2010. (Coincidentally, the recent story I read was in the anthology entitled The Good Stuff edited by Gardner Dozois.)
I hated the Reality Dysfunction, laboring through it simply to allow myself to continue to say that I've never yet given up on a book and left it unfinished.
(But that's only a technicality, because this isn't the whole book - it was cut in half for publication. So unless I ever read part 2 of the Reality Dysfunction, I actually only read half of the first book in the trilogy!)
So, did I find any improvement in the recent story I read? Surprisingly, yes - it was very good. But it avoided some of the things that destroyed my enjoyment of The Reality Dysfunction.
What were my complaints against this book? Bear with me, because the first one is going to sound petty.
1) Peter Hamilton's comma splices
Sorry - this could be forgiveable in other circumstances. (Actually, this problem still shows up in the story I recently read, but I was able to not allow it to detract me.) But in this book, it is just too glaring.
Mr. Hamilton, a comma is not a semicolon nor an em-dash. Nor is it a conjunction. Allow me to demonstrate in the paragraph below which expounds on my hatred of the comma splice:
This problem could be overlooked in a short story, the longer novel allows annoyances to build until they become major distractors. In many places it actually causes confusion, I found myself jarred from my reading wondering why a good editor didn't fix these things up. Clean grammar is important for increased comprehensibility, it helps to frame ideas so that they are contained logically in appropriate segments.
Just my own brief attempt to encapsulate Hamilton's favorite stylistic device, which unwisely rebels against a particularly useful rule in the English language.
Enough said; let's move on to flaw #2.
2) Satanists
I thought I was reading science fiction. There were some familiar elements common to other genre novels. And then things just fell apart. Suddenly it was time to throw in some good old-fashioned satanists on the planet.
I tried to keep reading in hopes that the author would find a good way to sort this out. Perhaps if I had gone on to the other book (part 2 of the Reality Dysfunction), I might have been won over. (And that's a major reason why I do insist on always finishing every book I start, because some books really redeem themselves in the last 100 pages or so.)
But this was published in two parts, and I just couldn't force myself to go through the next half (especially knowing that by doing so I'd only be 1/3 through the trilogy proper, anyways).
Therefore, I fought my way to the end of this novel, felt bitterly disappointed that there wasn't even a partial resolution and a cliff-hanger ending, and resolved that I wouldn't waste my time on the next volume. (And I even owned it - it was on my shelf, bought brand new when it was first printed, and it stayed there for years until my brother decided to read this, and I gave away my copy of part 2.)
I've read other trashy sci-fi before (Battlestar Galactica, some Star Trek, etc), so I can deal with fake SF disguised as real SF. But at least those books have simplicity on their side - the books are usually slim, and they read easily because the author didn't put much into it. The difference here is that there's a lot going on in The Reality Dysfunction, and obviously the author meant this to be an important work.
So I'm obligated to hold this work to different standards when I judge it, as compared to Spock Must Die (by James Blish). And sorry, Mr. Hamilton, but your novel is actually a pretty lousy example of why space opera is NOT always the best type of science fiction available. It's why SF fans such as myself have often felt a little chagrin when non-SF fans automatically think of trashy space opera when they snicker at the latest book (whether space opera or not, and whether trashy or not) they find me reading at any particular instance.
There are redeeming qualities in this work, but not often enough (or fundamental enough) to make me rate this more than 1 star. And I don't go out of my way to avoid Hamilton's writings - he's just not on my list of authors that I buy on sight. When I come across anything more by Hamilton, I'll judge it on its merits.
Not particularly recommended to anybody, although I know lots of people will enjoy it.
December 30, 2018
Maybe 7/10.
Too many parallel lines with many names, so when you read with pauses, you forget who is who...
Too many parallel lines with many names, so when you read with pauses, you forget who is who...
March 3, 2021
This book is 17 cm tall, 10 cm wide, and 2.5 cm deep.
Painfully descriptive for the first 200 or so pages, not so bad beyond that.
Painfully descriptive for the first 200 or so pages, not so bad beyond that.
January 9, 2012
Every once in a while I love to sink my teeth into something epic - metaphorically speaking of course. Although I did bite Margaret Atwood’s “Bodily Harm” and toss it across the room one day - but that is another tale and I have never bitten another book since. Of course I have never read another Margaret Atwood book since either - shudder . . .
Anyway, this book by Peter F. Hamilton, was exactly what I was looking for in a huge, huge, huge epic galactic science fiction novel - beginning. And yes, it is only part 1 or 6. In the UK these books were first released in three volumes only but for US and Canadian consumption (we must have shorter attention spans, or this was done to squeeze extra coins from our pockets) it was released in 6 parts.
So on to the part 1 review of Reality Dysfunction Part 1: Emergence. What I will say right off is after a couple hundred pages you know you are in for something huge (as if you couldn’t already guess from part one being almost 600 pages) and the world as set up by Peter is quite interesting. The main actions take place either on the planet Lalonde or up in the vastness of space. And of course an extinct highly-advanced race, the Laymil, have left a vast mystery behind of their sudden demise.
Peter does a great job of linking the many threads in the story together and by the end of the first volume you literally know that the fan has been liberally splattered with dung. And you have to keep in mind that this is only part one of six, and actually only the first half of what was originally one book so you are kind of stuck in limbo, but wanting to find out more.
Not a really hard read in terms of ideas or plot, but well executed and looking promising at this stage of the game. Not having read the entire series - yet - I can’t speak for all six volumes as a whole, but so far I am going to continue to read. If you are up for a lot of pages and a galactic epic, this is a good place to be.
Oh, and it’s not a Star Trek or Star Wars ripoff either.
Anyway, this book by Peter F. Hamilton, was exactly what I was looking for in a huge, huge, huge epic galactic science fiction novel - beginning. And yes, it is only part 1 or 6. In the UK these books were first released in three volumes only but for US and Canadian consumption (we must have shorter attention spans, or this was done to squeeze extra coins from our pockets) it was released in 6 parts.
So on to the part 1 review of Reality Dysfunction Part 1: Emergence. What I will say right off is after a couple hundred pages you know you are in for something huge (as if you couldn’t already guess from part one being almost 600 pages) and the world as set up by Peter is quite interesting. The main actions take place either on the planet Lalonde or up in the vastness of space. And of course an extinct highly-advanced race, the Laymil, have left a vast mystery behind of their sudden demise.
Peter does a great job of linking the many threads in the story together and by the end of the first volume you literally know that the fan has been liberally splattered with dung. And you have to keep in mind that this is only part one of six, and actually only the first half of what was originally one book so you are kind of stuck in limbo, but wanting to find out more.
Not a really hard read in terms of ideas or plot, but well executed and looking promising at this stage of the game. Not having read the entire series - yet - I can’t speak for all six volumes as a whole, but so far I am going to continue to read. If you are up for a lot of pages and a galactic epic, this is a good place to be.
Oh, and it’s not a Star Trek or Star Wars ripoff either.
February 3, 2011
I knew going into this that this was not as much a three book series (each book was actually split into two for North American release), but more of a 3000 page story.
I also knew from some reviews that the first 130 pages were a major slogfest, and that once you were able to make it through there, it was clear sailing as far as the story went. That is very true, and I'm so glad that many people wrote that, otherwise there is no way I would have made it past 20 pages.
So, I did make it to about page 450, but, as another Goodreads reviewer puts it, I felt my mortality hit hard as I was reading it. Is the story that good that I am willing to devote a few months of my life to it? Almost.
But, Hamilton does tend to bog down the reader with over-descriptiveness. I totally get that the descriptiveness is essential, but the way it was presented just didn't mesh with me in an immediate way. This made for slow reading, and I found that I was trying to push my way through rather than being pulled through a story.
Once that happens, I'm less inclined to continue.
All in all, it just became too much work to get through, and I need a really big payoff to justify the effort. The story was quite good, the concept of Edenist affinity was awesome, but unfortunately I can't see myself doing this for 3000 pages.
That's too bad, because as far as the big picture goes, I'm probably missing out on a very cool story.
Still rates a 4, because of the sheer ambitiousness of it all.
I also knew from some reviews that the first 130 pages were a major slogfest, and that once you were able to make it through there, it was clear sailing as far as the story went. That is very true, and I'm so glad that many people wrote that, otherwise there is no way I would have made it past 20 pages.
So, I did make it to about page 450, but, as another Goodreads reviewer puts it, I felt my mortality hit hard as I was reading it. Is the story that good that I am willing to devote a few months of my life to it? Almost.
But, Hamilton does tend to bog down the reader with over-descriptiveness. I totally get that the descriptiveness is essential, but the way it was presented just didn't mesh with me in an immediate way. This made for slow reading, and I found that I was trying to push my way through rather than being pulled through a story.
Once that happens, I'm less inclined to continue.
All in all, it just became too much work to get through, and I need a really big payoff to justify the effort. The story was quite good, the concept of Edenist affinity was awesome, but unfortunately I can't see myself doing this for 3000 pages.
That's too bad, because as far as the big picture goes, I'm probably missing out on a very cool story.
Still rates a 4, because of the sheer ambitiousness of it all.
February 5, 2013
This is typical PFH with a cast of thousands approach, but we definitely focus on a central few - most notably Josh Calvert. It's obviously only half of a book really, but it was certainly enjoyable. A strange mix of hyper technological hard sci-fi foiled with a couple of very non-technological planets - the frontier colonial Lalonde and the pastoral Norfolk.
I was a little surprised, but not particularly bothered by, the abundance of sex. And though many of the characters seem like stock cut-out characters - indeed Josh Calvert himself is straight out of central casting - it's done seemingly intentionally so that the reader can enjoy a bit of tongue in cheek with the author at times as he pokes fun at some of the tropes and stereotypes and blatant over-the-top antics.
There's no doubt I'll eventually end up reading all of PFH's stuff - his work resonates well with the parts of the space opera I really enjoy and I connect with his stories and characters pretty easily.
Definitely recommended - I'll see how the second half, and eventually rest of the series, pans out.
I was a little surprised, but not particularly bothered by, the abundance of sex. And though many of the characters seem like stock cut-out characters - indeed Josh Calvert himself is straight out of central casting - it's done seemingly intentionally so that the reader can enjoy a bit of tongue in cheek with the author at times as he pokes fun at some of the tropes and stereotypes and blatant over-the-top antics.
There's no doubt I'll eventually end up reading all of PFH's stuff - his work resonates well with the parts of the space opera I really enjoy and I connect with his stories and characters pretty easily.
Definitely recommended - I'll see how the second half, and eventually rest of the series, pans out.
September 25, 2012
Boring. That pretty much sums up this book for me. I just could not get into it. I sort of liked one character, but as I read further I didn't care about him anymore. And that means I didn't care about any character in this book. That would naturally make it hard to keep reading, so its no surprise that I read about 150 pages, and then skipped through the rest of the book. I wanted to find out
And Hamilton had this really annoying habit of giving you the size and distance of everything in this book. "She was 3 millimeters shorter than him." or "It was 20 kilometers across, and 35.5 kilometer long." And when I say everything, I mean everything. I read another reviewer say that his books start out like a technical manual, and that's true. The only reason I kept reading was because this reviewer said it got better. Well, I can tell you folks...it didn't.
And Hamilton had this really annoying habit of giving you the size and distance of everything in this book. "She was 3 millimeters shorter than him." or "It was 20 kilometers across, and 35.5 kilometer long." And when I say everything, I mean everything. I read another reviewer say that his books start out like a technical manual, and that's true. The only reason I kept reading was because this reviewer said it got better. Well, I can tell you folks...it didn't.
July 27, 2011
Good new-fashioned space opera stuff. It's got freaky tech, massive space ships, twisty heroes and turny plots. The book started a bit slow and it was only as I was one third way through (it's one tousand plus pages) that I realised it's part one of three. What is is with sci-fi and series. Puts the opera back in space-opera that's for sure.
But it's the bad-guys who are the star of the show. I won't go into it too much because like you I think spoilers suck-ass. Take it from me though the bad-guys are bad, and it's hard to know what their evil plan (or plans) may be, or even if they present a united force.
The future is fractious in Peter F Hamilton's books, but human beings are always at centre stage. And the human dramas that play out here, while oh so comic-book in parts, are good, sci-fi adventure stuff. I broke my own rule and started on the second the day I finished the first.
But it's the bad-guys who are the star of the show. I won't go into it too much because like you I think spoilers suck-ass. Take it from me though the bad-guys are bad, and it's hard to know what their evil plan (or plans) may be, or even if they present a united force.
The future is fractious in Peter F Hamilton's books, but human beings are always at centre stage. And the human dramas that play out here, while oh so comic-book in parts, are good, sci-fi adventure stuff. I broke my own rule and started on the second the day I finished the first.
December 6, 2020
A long read (600 pages) that's only half of the first volume of Night's Dawn trilogy (+1000 pages each volume).
At first glance it sounded something that was going to be really epic, so many characters (by the dozens), locations (loved some), events right and left, but nothing was really happening plotwise for the first 400 pages.
When the trigger event finally occurred it was touching the fantasy genre, not sci-fi and I was disappointed. That together with some very cliched main characters (and bad guys) killed the book for me.
Overall it was a good book (ignoring the flaws mentioned above) but it's not enough to keep investing more of my time in reading another 2500 pages to reach the end of this trilogy.
However, I will definitely read more Peter F. Hamilton in the future, after all they say his writing and books only get better after this one.
At first glance it sounded something that was going to be really epic, so many characters (by the dozens), locations (loved some), events right and left, but nothing was really happening plotwise for the first 400 pages.
When the trigger event finally occurred it was touching the fantasy genre, not sci-fi and I was disappointed. That together with some very cliched main characters (and bad guys) killed the book for me.
Overall it was a good book (ignoring the flaws mentioned above) but it's not enough to keep investing more of my time in reading another 2500 pages to reach the end of this trilogy.
However, I will definitely read more Peter F. Hamilton in the future, after all they say his writing and books only get better after this one.
October 21, 2024
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other books in the series. This is the first book by Peter F. Hamilton and will not be the last. A great sweeping Space Epic. The only compliant is that is slow to start. I actually reread the first two chapters after I finished the book to better understand the beginning. Also, it would help to have a list of characters in the front. There are numerous story lines and this old brain can't remember them all. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book.
September 27, 2008
This is space opera on an epic scale, with dozens of characters, hundreds of planets, universe-spanning plots, and settings that range from wooden huts and muddy villages to sentient starships and newborn suns. It's also the first part of a two-volume book that is itself the first book of a series. There's no question that there's a lot going on here (too much to even begin to detail the plot), but Hamilton handles it all with an ease reminiscent of E. E. "Doc" Smith. The best way to describe it: it's big, it's good, and luckily there's plenty more on the way.
Fun read
Fun read
April 16, 2009
I liked it, but... This is not really my favourite kind of sci-fi writing. The book is apparently well constructed, and when I say that I mean we cant really know where the story is going, so no conclusions yet. I couldn't grasp what is the main plot after all, as so little is revealed throughout the book. There are numerous sub-plots going on, and I can see a multitude of characters arising in the next volume(s) of the series. Maybe this lack of informarion is an attempt at keeping the reader hungry for the next book(s) of the series. Anyway, can't say I didn't like it.
April 30, 2012
In general I liked the book. The book is, apparently, half of part 1 of a three part story. This does cause a bit of an issue that most of the Hamilton books I've read had. Characters. Characters are everywhere, it seems new characters are introduced on a constant basis. Reading his books I've often had to flip back a few chapters to check to see if this character is a new one, or an old one that was only introduced for a few paragraphs.
Overall, I like where the story seems to be heading, and after a semi-slow start, I was hooked in the last half of the book.
Overall, I like where the story seems to be heading, and after a semi-slow start, I was hooked in the last half of the book.
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!
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!
July 7, 2019
This was a terrific read. Very long and it took me quite a while. The author provides ample detail for all the planets visited in the story, the descriptions of weapons systems and augmentation of human physiology are marvellous. Characterisations are well written, it all feels believable. I like the slow way that we the reader learn of the foe that humanity is up against, a very interesting twist on the usual bug eyed alien monsters in much of sci-fi...
January 11, 2021
This started great and I was really excited about the winding storylines and how they would all end up together. However, it started to bog down with too much information. There's a lot of invention going on here and I like most of it, however, it feels to me that Hamilton can't stop himself from overdoing it. Then, this Satanism stuff enters the story and things get really dark. That's not really my cup of tea...
February 24, 2017
I have recently retread this book, simply because I kept comparing other science fiction to it. I think I enjoyed it more second time round than I did the first time. Peter Hamilton has constructed a universe that hangs together, that you an believe in, even if every detail may not be entirely scientifically plausible.
March 24, 2017
I decided to revisit this series that I first read about fifteen years ago because sometimes you're just in the mood for a wide-screen space opera epic, and I was curious if this would still hold up.
It does, solid entertainment, and just what I needed to take my mind off the real world for a while.
It does, solid entertainment, and just what I needed to take my mind off the real world for a while.
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