The Reality Dysfunction

Night's Dawn Trilogy, Book 1

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

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 that inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it the Reality Dysfunction. It is the nightmare that has prowled beside us since the beginning of history.

©1996 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Elements of space opera, Straubesque horror and adrenaline-laced action make this a demanding, rewarding read." ( Publishers Weekly)

Finally on Audible!! My favorite Hamilton series!

This book and it's sequels (Neutronion Alchemist, and The Naked God) are simply fantastic. In my opinion, this series is Hamilton's best work. Huge galactic scope, Elizabethan themes, 1940's gangsters, Interstellar travel, a very disturbing take on the Apocalypse, Sentient Cities, bio-engineering ethics (and advantages), telepathy, dystopias and utopias, interesting aliens, the Afterlife, cyborgs, cults, underworld syndicates, horror, etc, etc....

The page to page writing is arguably inferior to Hamilton's later stuff, but the ideas here are so dang grand! This is a Big Story with lots of point of view characters.

Like most of Hamilton's books, the start is a bit slow - with many characters and societies introduced, but once it gets going the momentum is impressive. Stick with it - it's worth it.

****As of writing this review you still need to download in parts, whole book download will not work (hopefully this is fixed soon). ***

Quick tip, I love John Lee as a reader, but I enjoy his reading and performance at 1.25 playback speed even more.

Finally! 1 of the greatest Space Operas out there!

What made the experience of listening to The Reality Dysfunction the most enjoyable?

One of Peter Hamilton's best works & John Lee delivers it wonderfully.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Another John Lee master piece!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Not a thing!

Any additional comments?

Audible, I really hope we see the rest of this trilogy in the coming months!!!

Painful

The narration was plodding and slow. But the tambour off. There were no breaks between scenes, which can be confusing if 100% attention is not paid to the story. Author must have gone through a bout of celibacy while righting. The sex scenes Listen like Tina Belcher's private diaries, if suspended in amber.

My suggestion is to skip this one and head over to Leviathan Wakes and the Expanse Series.

Good, but could use some editing

The story itself is great. And John Lee does a good job narrating. But chapters blend together with no pause. You may find yourself momentarily lost when a new paragraph starts and it takes you a few moments to realize they aren't talking about the same characters anymore. If they had just placed a 5-10 seconds delay at the beginning of a new story, it would be much better.

Raw early work from a master of sci-fi

This version (with John Lee narrating) wasnt available until relatively recently so I read this series after the Void series. The story weaving and imagination are every bit as present here. The only difference is that the author was still a little less refined. This takes nothing away from the book, as it's still an exceptional read and the lack of refinement gives the story an edgey vibe. Highly recommend for any sci-fi lover. And anyone who appreciates PF Hamilton, but hasn't yet tried these, is in for a real treat.

another amazing book and performance

fantastic! don't want to spoil anything, but Hamilton's vision of the future mixed with spirituality is breathtakingly believable.

meh

Love most of Hamilton's work but just can't get behind this. Not interested in space zombie bodysnatchers.

I could listen to John Lee read the phone book...

...and pay to listen to it. That being said I'd say that if this had been such a recording it would have had a better plot than what Hamilton churned out for The Reality Dysfunction; i.e. at least you'd know that the reason Lee is reading through the "Smiths" was because there were Smiths in the phonebook. Too many loose ends. Could use editing, still. Just the same an enjoyable listen if not for Lee's soothing voice alone.

Good world building, bad story

Spends waay too much building insignificant detail. Follows too many characters. As a result, plot is rambling and can be hard to follow. Doesn't help that the main conflict is absurdly fantasy in an otherwise fairly hard sci-fi world. Damn shame, as this author is clearly capable of creating interesting and detailed political and military drama. He instead chooses to focus his plot around an absurd spiritual premise that juxtaposes poorly with his world building.

Story & Narration: Good. Listening: Too Much Work.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

For the story, absolutely. For the ease of listening, no. It shouldn't take this much mental work to follow scene shifts. To the person who produced this audiobook (if you're reading this): You did a poor job, leaving absolutely no pauses in between scenes. The result is disorienting at best, and utterly confusing at times. Basically, it listens like a really long book with no paragraph breaks.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Probably Tranquility, for its wry humor and the calm wisdom it exudes. As for a human character, Syrinx. Her strength and determination, along with the unbreakable link she shares with Oenone make her a wonderful character to follow. The reader constantly hopes that Joshua Calvert is a better person than he seems to be throughout the book, but is never really given evidence of such a character shift. All the more reason to read the next book.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I hope that other recordings of his work are better edited. Lee is a bit daunting for a yank to listen to at first, but one becomes accustomed to his accents and cadence over time. As stated previously, the editing makes this book more work than it should be.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Frustration more than anything. The format simply makes the listener work to keep up with who is who and what's happening. The very bad editing job made that a much more difficult task than it ever should have been.

Any additional comments?

Whoever produced this book did every single listener a disservice by removing the breaks between scenes. There are effectively no pauses between scenes and chapters. The effect is jarring, and I found myself having to replay portions so that I could orient myself to the setting and characters. This didn't just happen once, but dozens of times.