Space is not the only void...In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp.
But now something has gone catastrophically wrong. On a primitive colony planet a renegade criminal's chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of all our fears. An extinct race which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it "The Reality Dysfunction." It is the nightmare which has prowled beside us since the beginning of history. The Reality Disfunction is …
Space is not the only void...In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp.
But now something has gone catastrophically wrong. On a primitive colony planet a renegade criminal's chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of all our fears. An extinct race which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it "The Reality Dysfunction." It is the nightmare which has prowled beside us since the beginning of history. The Reality Disfunction is a modern classic of science fiction, an extraordinary feat of storytelling on a truly epic scale.
For sheer world building alone, I have to give this book four stars. I found it just as compelling this time as I did nearly 20 years ago.
It definitely has its issues - pacing problems in places, too much cringey sex, too much graphic violence and questionable use of young, female characters. But the technology and cultures it describes are uniquely detailed and highly compelling.
Review of 'The Reality Dysfunction' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
The old joke from Annie Hall comes to mind. Two old women complaining about a restaurant, one says "The food here is terrible." The other, "...and the portions so small!"
Well at least no one can complain about Hamilton's portion size. There go 1200 pages of some of the worst prose I've had to endure. Just a goddamned waste of my time because the significant story and action (which was interesting) took up less than half that length. The rest was filled with the kind of world building you might care about if you can quickly envision a litany of length by width measurements of various structures in meters. The characters were mostly superficial. Women functioned primarily as objects. There are many MANY sex scenes, which hey I can get into that, but they were soooo cringe inducing mainly due to an immature framework that my eyes hurt from so …
The old joke from Annie Hall comes to mind. Two old women complaining about a restaurant, one says "The food here is terrible." The other, "...and the portions so small!"
Well at least no one can complain about Hamilton's portion size. There go 1200 pages of some of the worst prose I've had to endure. Just a goddamned waste of my time because the significant story and action (which was interesting) took up less than half that length. The rest was filled with the kind of world building you might care about if you can quickly envision a litany of length by width measurements of various structures in meters. The characters were mostly superficial. Women functioned primarily as objects. There are many MANY sex scenes, which hey I can get into that, but they were soooo cringe inducing mainly due to an immature framework that my eyes hurt from so much rolling.
A sample: "...gloating at her wide-eyed incredulity as his semen surged into her in a long exultant consummation."
Good one.
Unfortunately, the final 100 pages or so were exciting and the stopping point of the first novel felt pretty arbitrary. The reader just has to face they've gotten themselves into a 3,800 page book. I have to face this. Oh god. I'm totally going to read the next book in the series.
Review of 'The Reality Dysfunction' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
This book initially reminded me of fan-fiction or erotica in its screenplay-like narrative simplicity, and how every scene pushes toward a specific payoff: the protagonist experiencing success. Business success, sexual success, chance successes, validation of his success by rivals, and his hunches always being right on the money and paying off.
The writing is entirely superficial. No beautiful prose, no thoughtful descriptions, no world that lives on in your mind long after you’ve put away the pages. It’s almost a storyboard for a television miniseries, complete with notes on lighting. Very little of your imagination will be engaged here, except for how much SUCCESS the protagonist is likely to have next.
The male gaze weighs heavily, categorizing every female on the sexiness continuum, and providing a bevy of barely legal girls who “aren’t looking for anything serious” and think middle-age men are extremely attractive. Big subplot conflict: how will protagonist …
This book initially reminded me of fan-fiction or erotica in its screenplay-like narrative simplicity, and how every scene pushes toward a specific payoff: the protagonist experiencing success. Business success, sexual success, chance successes, validation of his success by rivals, and his hunches always being right on the money and paying off.
The writing is entirely superficial. No beautiful prose, no thoughtful descriptions, no world that lives on in your mind long after you’ve put away the pages. It’s almost a storyboard for a television miniseries, complete with notes on lighting. Very little of your imagination will be engaged here, except for how much SUCCESS the protagonist is likely to have next.
The male gaze weighs heavily, categorizing every female on the sexiness continuum, and providing a bevy of barely legal girls who “aren’t looking for anything serious” and think middle-age men are extremely attractive. Big subplot conflict: how will protagonist SUCCEED at resolving his pregnancy of conservative client’s unmarried daughter and maintain SUCCESS of business monopoly? The worldview of the author is that people descended from “European stock” are demonstrably superior to all others, demons are real and are responsible for destroying powerful civilizations, and thus Christianity has the ultimate answer to SUCCESS.
The science fiction isn’t great either. It’s not space opera, because there’s no sense of vastness or improving technology. Everything is categorized in simple taxonomies, and cycles of development have all been seen before; there really isn’t anything unknown to the inhabitants of this universe. Hamilton presents no novel technology or concepts.
Would have added this to my DNF shelf except I wanted to see how Hamilton resolved the obvious contradiction of his heavy-handed “God’s Not Dead” and graphic sexual themes. Answer: the protagonist is just a lovable scoundrel.
Review of 'The Reality Dysfunction' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Top-notch space opera hard-tech sci-fi of mind boggling proportions. Just damn good, ready to read the next volume in this trilogy. The last 300 pages are a tour de force.
Review of 'The Reality Dysfunction' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The first book in the best space opera of the last 20 years. I'll always remember this as the first book I ever bought from the (then small) Amazon.com. It takes a lot to pull off a story about murderous ancient space zombies, but Hamilton imbues his tale with urgency and a grounding verisimilitude. You care about what happens to the (many, many) characters and to human civilization as a whole. This would've been a great 1970s miniseries or anime series, but it would never get made in the US because of all the (admittedly graphic) sex and violence. Some works are meant to be absorbed in print, and this is one of them.
The Edenist/Adamist societies are well-constructed, engaging and fully believable as outgrowths of today's society. Brand names still exist (McBoeing's good for a laugh), but there are structures and entire ways of being that are completely new. …
The first book in the best space opera of the last 20 years. I'll always remember this as the first book I ever bought from the (then small) Amazon.com. It takes a lot to pull off a story about murderous ancient space zombies, but Hamilton imbues his tale with urgency and a grounding verisimilitude. You care about what happens to the (many, many) characters and to human civilization as a whole. This would've been a great 1970s miniseries or anime series, but it would never get made in the US because of all the (admittedly graphic) sex and violence. Some works are meant to be absorbed in print, and this is one of them.
The Edenist/Adamist societies are well-constructed, engaging and fully believable as outgrowths of today's society. Brand names still exist (McBoeing's good for a laugh), but there are structures and entire ways of being that are completely new.
This isn't for the kids, but it's a book you won't regret reading.
