1996; 1,094 pages (whew!). New Author? : Yes. Genre : Space Opera; Horror. Overall Rating : 9*/10.
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It's the 27th century. Mankind is exploring the galaxy and colonizing all sorts of inhabitable planets and asteroid systems. Bioengineering means most people live for more than a century; and something called an "affinity gene" can be implanted (to those who want it) which allows a "mind meld" with others with the gene; or even with a spaceship or an entire spaceport.
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But on a backwater, 3rd-rate planet called Lalonde, something has been unleashed. It takes over people's bodies and has incredible (but not infinite) powers. It overruns Lalonde and is now spreading to other planets. The ancients had a name for it : The Reality Dysfunction.
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What's To Like...
With 1100 pages to work with, Peter F. Hamilton gives you a vast, incredibly detailed, complex, and picturesque array of worlds. There is also a timeline at the beginning to cover the major points of the years 2000-2600 AD. That is a big help in getting acclimated to his universe.
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He also has time to develop a bunch of great characters. Even the bad guys are 3-D and a bit "gray". Best of all, a number of the developed characters get killed along the way, which makes it hard to guess whether they will survive a given crisis. I really like that.
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TRD is the first book of a trilogy, and most of it is focused on the good guys investigating the Reality Dysfunction - learning what it is, what its aims are, what its origins are, and (most importantly) how to combat it. The ending reminded me of the first Star Wars movie (Episode 4) - there is a climax of sorts, but on a grander scale, the stage is set for more epic things to come. Neither the Forces of Good nor the Forces of Evil are of one accord, which makes the conflict quite complicated.
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Be forewarned : there is a lot of sex (apparently a requisite for Space Opera), as well as a lot of graphic violence and gore. This is not one for the kiddies or anyone who's sensitive to these kinds of things. It is also not a stand-alone novel.
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Kewlest Word...
Shambolic : disorderly or chaotic (a Britishism).
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Excerpts...
"I wish I could stop you from feeling so much guilt," Peter had said. That was the day they had left the planet, the two of them waiting in the officers' mess of a navy spaceport while their shuttle was prepared.
"Wouldn't you feel guilty?" she asked irritably. She didn't want to talk, but she didn't want to be silent either.
"Yes. But not as much as you. You're taking the blame for the entire conflict. You shouldn't do that. Both of us, all of us, everyone on the planet, we're all being propelled by fate."
"How many despots and warlords have said that down through the centuries? I wonder," she retorted. (pgs. 11-12)
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Like most scavengers, Joshua thought he knew the Laymil well enough to build up a working image. In his mind they weren't so much different from humans. Weird shape, trisymmetric: three arms, three legs, three stumpy serpentlike sensor heads, standing slightly shorter than a man. Strange biochemistry: there were three sexes, one female egg-carrier, two male sperm-carriers. But essentially human in basic motivation; they ate and shitted, and had kids, and built machines, and put together a technological civilization, probably even cursed their boss and went for a drink after work. (pgs. 59-60)
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"I'm a futurologist ... on a one-way ride to eternity. I just get out of my time machine for a look round every now and then." (pg. 239)
You measure a Space Opera by how vibrant and believable its world is. You measure a Horror story by how much you feel the terror, which is no mean feat, considering you're simply sitting there reading the book. By both these criteria, The Reality Dysfunction is a first-rate story. Book 2 ("The Neutronium Alchemist") is on my TBR shelf. I'm sure it won't be long before I tackle it. 9 Stars.
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