The Temporal Void

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2008 (my copy is from Pan Books, 2009)
Size: Long (my copy has 746 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: (Edeard and others)
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

First, I should emphasize that you should read the Dreaming Void before the Temporal Void (which I have reviewed before). This book is #2 in a trilogy and was not intended to be read alone. The same applies to this review; it includes some details of the story which I would consider spoilers for someone who did not read book #1. That being said, the Dreaming Void continues to follow the expansion of the void at the center of the galaxy, and its potential effects on the entire universe.

The story starts off at the immediate end of the previous book. The void has just begun expanding, supposedly due to the second dreamer having refused the skylord’s invitation to lead humans into the void. While nobody yet knows the identity of the second dreamer, the Living Dream movement continues doubling its efforts to that end. As Troblum attempts to evade the factions, he is caught up by the Cat, even as Paula continues her pursuit, which ends up with them in a brief but ferocious clash of high-tech weaponry.

Meanwhile, inside the void universe, Edeard “the Waterwalker”, attempts to cope with the great destiny apparently hurled at him. But with great power comes great responsibility, and the burden of wanting to change the world around him. But he will have to excel at much more than raw psychic power, as his action bring in as many foes as it does friends, if not more. Having proven himself as a constable, and seemingly showing the gangs that things are about to become harder for them, he becomes the focus of desire of all the rich family daughters. As he succumbs completely to lust with those girls, he separates further from Saldana, even though she continues to hold a special place in his heart. The reader cannot help but wonder exactly what will he accomplish and who he will become in years to come. Obviously, we already know a bit of the very final outcome, from hints given in the core story (the outside universe), as people think - and talk - about Inigo’s dreams.

Just as the previous novel, I found the Temporal Void to be rich with details, a fast and well-paced storyline in a colossal scale universe. The characters, to which we were introduced in the first book, move along in their tasks and following their individual motivations. The different human factions continue their ancient disputes and different perspectives on how the species should evolve. Some of the characters are very endearing and you end up taking sides and creating biases. I greatly enjoyed this book, in fact as much as the previous one, and cannot wait to read the concluding third part of this great saga.

Related work:

This is book #2 of 3, and follows The Dreaming Void. The last book of the series is The Evolutionary Void. Although this story takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth stories by Hamilton, they are separate enough for those not to be considered prequels.

The Dreaming Void

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2007 (my copy is from Pan Books, 2008)
Size: Long (my copy has 796 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Edeard (and others )
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

The Dreaming Void starts another epic futuristic space opera (currently my favorite sci-fi theme). It actually takes place in the same universe as Hamilton’s Commonwealth saga (Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained), although I have not yet read either of those two books. Similarly to previous novels by Hamilton (e.g. the Night’s Dawn trilogy), there is a huge cast of characters, in an equally large universe, where we actually follow events spanning many light years. The plot switches between key characters at every sub-chapter, sometimes following a particularly important thread for an extended period when warranted. Some people complain terribly about this, whereas I enjoy it and find it prevents boredom. But unlike other novels I read from the same author, it features two major stories in the same book. A core story, which takes place in real time, and a secondary story concerning the events of Inigo’s dreams, which supposedly took place in the far past and inside the void universe.

The basic premise of the core story is the existence of a void in the center of what we would call the “normal” universe. That void is actually a pocket universe, a construct created by a very advanced alien race billions of years ago, for no currently discernible purpose. However, the expansion of the void takes place at the expense of consuming the outside universe, something its current inhabitants are not particularly fond of. Thus, not only humans (which are not exactly the most advanced race in existence), but also alien species study the void expansion and attempt to counter it. The core story takes place around the 35th century, and multiple characters, and reads much like the Night’s Dawn trilogy. There is adventure, mischief, plotting, military strategy, politics, romance, interstellar travel, and – as expected – considerable technological capabilities and human enhancement. The core story delivers as much science fiction as any aficionado would expect. Inside the void, we know only of one inhabited planet, and the story is focused on Edeard, a powerful young apprentice of one particular type of arcane magic, as he deals with terrible events around him. It is a world of mysticism, ancient lore, and psychic prowess. I have always seen Edeard as the main character, only because he is clearly so in the void universe. There are too many main characters in the outside universe to identify a single individual as such.

The link between the two universes is clear from reading only about the first third of the book (or less), and I find quite disturbing that I have seen reviews about this book where people claim there is no understandable relation between them. And if a lot seems to be happening simultaneously, it is only because indeed there are lots of characters doing different things, but all of them are linked in some way. As the plot develops, we keep finding how they relate to each other.

Even if the storyline may not be exceptionally deep to the point of leaving you pondering life as a George Orwell novel would, Hamilton delivers a fast-paced thrilling story, where characters are well developed, do not fit absolute stereotypes (although a couple are very cardboard), and that will keep you reading way past your bed time. Although each chapter is quite large (30-70 pages), you can leisurely take a break at sub-chapters. Despite the plot including about 15 main characters (and over 30 other reasonably important characters), I found it easy to follow (particularly after the 2nd or 3rd follow-up on a character). The narrative is enticing and rich with meaningful details, rather than superficial and useless long descriptions. I found this to be a superb novel and have picked up the sequel straight away.

Related work:
There are two sequels, namely the Temporal Void and the Evolutionary Void. Although this story takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth stories by Hamilton, they are separate enough for those not to be considered prequels.

Dayworld

Philip Jose Farmer
G. P. Putnam, 1985 (my hardcover copy is a first edition)
Size: Medium (my copy has 320 pages)
Theme: Future society
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Jeff Caird
Recommended minimum age: Young adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This story takes places in the future, where overpopulation (a problem we already have today) has led society to two major and interrelated evolutions. The first was technical; the development of a kind of quantum suspended animation that works for both living things and inanimate objects, which is termed (not very fanciful, in my opinion) stoning. The second was societal, namely, each person now lives only 1 day per each 7 real time days. They spend the other 6 stoned, and do not feel any effect of time going by.

Taking place more than 1500 years from now, a new type of crime has appeared: daybreaking (refusing to obey the 1-in-7-days basic societal premise). Other major transgressions include littering, even beyond what a radical environmentalist would expect. And in this universe, a select few live outside the normal rules. Keeping in secret a drug that extends life expectancy substantially, some of them live 7 different lives, one per day. Jeff Caird is one of them, and arguably, the one where the concept of having 7 personalities has taken a greater hold. In the brink of having his secret exposed because of a couple of criminals with a personal grudge towards him, his different personalities will each have to try to act in their own days to save the day.

The novel follows Jeff Caird, in each of his roles, and each chapter of the book is a different day. Although that was surprising in the beginning, and I even had some slight doubts I would enjoy this style, it ends up working very well, as the different plot strands start intertwining and crossing each other as the plot evolves. The characters are well developed, and despite being very radically different for a single mind to have spawned them, an adequate explanation is provided. The fundamental concept itself is very innovative (in fact, I was eager to read the book), and the story is told in a unique way. It has a fast pace, with a lot of action, and reads very nicely from start to end (character development is probably the aspect I felt less happy with). The ending is quite interesting and leaves things sufficiently open for a sequel; which does exist. However, I was a bit put off by the seemingly ordinary world waiting for us in the millennia to come. Technology, aside from the stoning effect, has evolved very little, and even the society changes seem to me shallow in face of the huge time gap.

Aside from the little bit of violence and sex, I would recommend this book only for young adults since it seems to me that meaningful details of the plot, particularly the implications of such a different society on human psyche will be very difficult for someone very young to appreciate. Overall, I enjoyed the book and will likely read the others in this series.

Childhood’s End

Arthur C. Clarke
Del Rey, 1953 (my copy is from Del Rey, 1987)
Size: Short (my copy has 212 pages)
Theme: Alien races
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Stormgren and George Greggson
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Childhood’s End follows a very basic yet interesting concept: what if a powerful alien culture, instead of arriving to Earth to conquer the planet, nor to peaceful establish a cooperation with humans or inviting them to a large federation of planets, instead arrived to demand that the human race starts behaving. Interfering the least possible with small scale decisions, and allowing each individual to follow their own convictions and religion, the aliens dictate some major changes for humanity. Yet, they refuse to show themselves. Thus, for many years, rumors spread and, in some, distrust grows. What motivates the aliens? How far and how long will they drive the fate of humanity, and for what ultimate purpose?

As usual, Clarke delivers a robust story, where scientific details are not ignored. The plot includes a little interstellar travel, multiple alien races at different evolutionary stages (up to near-omniscience), psychic phenomena, and more. There are only a few characters of some importance, but they are well explored and convincing. The novel is short, yet provides a complete story, with sufficient detail to leave the reader satisfied (even if possibly desiring the book was several times longer). The narrative is fluid and essentially focuses on a few major events along its several decades of time span. It is divided into three key stories, and each essentially has its own main characters. Very little is explained of the aliens throughout the entire book, and only one of them is featured prominently.

The moon is a harsh mistress

Robert A. Heinlein
G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1966 (my copy is from Orb, 2007)
Size: Medium (my copy has 382 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space adventure
Narrative: first-person
Main character: Manuel Garcia O’Kelley
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This is one of Heinlein’s most acclaimed works. It won both the Nebula and Hugo awards. It is a tale of revolution and the will to stand against all odds for your beliefs. Not surprisingly, the novel calls upon some well-established references, such as the 4th of July in the United States, as well as earlier revolutions. Although it delivers as much sci-fi as any aficionado will desire, the story spends considerable time describing the sociological and practical implications of a lunar colony. Written in 1966, it explored some very novel concepts for its time. The lunar society, despite being largely comprised of criminals and “volunteers” exported there by Earth’s nations, evolved out of necessity to become organized and extremely self-controlled. Crime is dealt with swiftly and ignorance of common-sense rules is not acceptable.

The story follows Manuel, aka Mannie, a peaceful and generally unknown handyman, with a particular knack for electronics and programming, as he becomes involved with a small group of cohorts who despise the way the lunar colony is seen by Earth and how its inhabitants are treated. After an anti-authority meeting one wrong, right at the start of the novel, Mannie is forced to take action against the tyranny of the Federated Nations. Through his unique link to a sentient computer, who only recently had become self-aware, and who features a peculiar sense of humor, he and his fellow revolutionaries manage to put together a plan to turn the Lunar colony into a self-sustaining, independent, nation.

The novel switches very nicely from family scenes over dinner, through revolutionary planning meetings, to action-packed scenes. Heinlein is able to create a reasonably credible story of a very small nation fighting a tremendously larger opposing force, and patches some interesting means of using science and technology towards those goals; there is an obvious parallelism to the war efforts by the US at the time the novel was written. The main character is a lovable person, and is very well explored, even though a little too smart and competent. The secondary cast is equally interesting, although we always see them through Mannie’s eyes. What is most interesting is the depiction of how the Lunar society operates, and its core motto “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch, TANSTAAFL). I found the pace to be enjoyable and I could not put the book down until I was through with it.

Snow crash

Neal Stephenson
Bantam Spectra, 1992 (my copy is from 2003)
Size: Medium (my copy has 468 pages)
Theme: Cyberpunk
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Hiro Protagonist
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Snow crash is a fast-paced cyber adventure which explores some interesting concepts of the digital world, while delivering a very traditional spy/detective plot. The book has introduced a series of words and basic notions which have become commonplace along the years in computer lingo, such as “avatar”. Despite the fact that several people have said this should not be called science-fiction, but a purely cyberpunk novel, I found that there was a sufficient number of gadgets, weapons, and user consumer products to make me confortable in labeling it as sci-fi.

In a (not very) futuristic scenario, people from all over the world connect to a virtual reality called the Metaverse using special goggles and a computer able to project images on it, and control their avatars in what would be called nowadays a typical digital environment. Stephenson was able to imagine how people would act and interact in the Metaverse in a very similar way to how real 3D virtual worlds have evolved. In fact, I found uncanny similarities between the Metaverse and recent applications such as Second Life. 

The story follows Hiro Protagonist and Y.T. through a series of adventures both in the real world and the Metaverse. Y.T.’s story is almost exclusively one of the real world, where she is a Kourier and becomes involved with the Mafia when she helps Hiro with a delivery. Further on, she will interact with some of the major characters of the story, in a parallel but divergent line to that of Hiro, who is one of the best hackers of the Metaverse and an excellent swordsman in the real world. Hiro stumbles upon a plot by one of the planet’s most powerful individuals to gain even more power, destroying the hacker community in the process. As he unfolds the mystery, and he dives head on to the center of the conspiracy, he will have to push his abilities to the limit, both in reality and the Metaverse.

The plot is quite solid and very well delivered. I found the narrative engrossing and detailed. Hiro is an interesting character and is very well developed along the plot, as is Y.T. Some of the other characters are only superficially handled, but it is not difficult to identify their key motivations. The author does not abuse in the use of computer lingo, nor did he exaggerate in creating too many cybernetic concepts; just enough to remind the reader of what he’s reading. I found this to be a very interesting and worthwhile novel

The Stars My Destination

Alfred Bester
Signet Books, 1957 (my copy is from Vintage Books, 1996)
Size: Short (my copy has 258 pages)
Theme: Interplanetary conflict
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Gully Foyle
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

In the near future, out of pure necessity, a person demonstrated the ability of shifting in space, actually instantly moving from one place to another. This phenomenon was termed jaunting, and after sufficient study and trial-and-error, it was found that almost anyone could learn it to some extent. As expected, this caused major changes in society and habits.

This book narrates the tale of Gully Foyle, who through a quirk of fate, found himself isolated in a half-destroyed spacecraft for months. When his salvation seemed at hand, but he is again abandoned, he vows revenge and starts a galactic quest to find and kill those who refused to rescue him. The story is about pain and anguish, but also about revenge and reckoning. It packs as much action as it does soul searching. It is very well written and provides a self-contained story, even if the key plot is left wide open at the end.

Though the book is quite short, and there was room for considerably more character development, particularly of the secondary cast (who end up participating as very stereotypical characters), the main character is compelling enough to make the book an excellent read. Nevertheless, I would have liked this to be only the first chapter, and at least an equal amount of story be written about what could transpire after the last events told in the book. 

The Naked God – Part II: Faith

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2000 (my copy is from Warner Books, 2000)
Size: Epic (my copy has 778 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This book concludes the Naked God story (the last part of the Night’s Dawn trilogy). It manages to provide a conclusive ending to this great saga, with a definite wrap-up to the complex plot and its cast of characters. Also, Hamilton manages to tie several loose ends that had been opening up throughout the previous books. I found the end itself to be appropriate and sufficiently imaginative to provide a sound reasoning to events. As in previous books, the story is compelling and rich, with well explored and meaningful characters. The Universe of the Night’s Dawn saga is detailed and captivating. A couple major plots and many sub-plots set up the scene for grandiose events that span galaxies. Any sci-fi fan will find this to be a memorable story.

As the organization armies are forced to retreat to New California, more and more planets taken over by possessed start shifting out of the universe. Meanwhile, the B7 group and Louise’s small party continue their efforts to kill Quinn Dexter. Joshua and Syrinx continue their search for the Sleeping God, and start interacting with dominions in the Tyrathca home system, whose inhabitants are not exactly who they expected. The multiple groups involved in the story, including the Kiint and the observers living with them, will be brought into the forefront of the story and their role explained.

Related work:

Note that you should read this book after the previous volume, “Naked God - Part I: Flight”. The Night Dawn’s trilogy starts in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God.

1000 page views

Hey.
Just thought I'd mark the 1000th blog page view.
I plan on keeping this up indefinately! Let us see if it works as planned.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you've found the reviews useful.

Cheers,
-SFB-

The Naked God – Part I: Flight

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 2000 (my copy is from Warner Books, 2000)
Size: Epic (my copy has 778 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

In this third and last novel of the Night’s Dawn trilogy (book 5 of 6 in the two-volumes per novel edition), conflict escalates and the plot starts unraveling toward the final events. For a global description of the universe Hamilton created for this series you should refer to my reviews of previous books, particularly that of the first book of the series (Reality Dysfunction – Part I). The length and depth of the novel is nothing short of exceptional. I find this a very positive aspect of a book when the story is very good; after the initial time overhead in learning the Night’s Dawn universe and getting familiar with the characters and locations, I greatly enjoyed that there was a lot to read about it. Sometimes, short stories are frustrating precisely for the opposite reason. 

The story follows Joshua Calvert, who returns to the Confederation to inform that the Alchemist device has been destroyed, only to be tasked with joining a voidhawk crew in searching after the Tyrathca’s Sleeping God, which might be humanity’s last hope.  Most of this novel (both volumes in fact) will focus on this sub-plot, since this search involves first exploring a Tyrathca asteroid, then travelling across the Galaxy, and finally, trying to interact with the Tyrathca to learn the secrets behind their divinity. Meanwhile, Quinn Dexter manages to get on Earth and starts expanding his army there, setting up bases with satanic sects in multiple locations. We will witness the struggle by the survivors at the Valisk habitat, the Confederation plan to develop a weapon that will nullify all the possessed (and subsequently, all souls trapped in the beyond). Louise starts taking action, as she decides to go after Dexter to kill him.

Related work:

Note that you should read this book after the previous volume, “Neutronium Alchemist - Part II: Conflict”. The Night Dawn’s trilogy starts in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God. 

The Neutronium Alchemist – Part II: Conflict

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 1997 (my copy is from Warner Books, 1998)
Size: Long (my copy has 580 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This book continues the story from “Part I – Consolidation”, number 2 of the 3 novels in the Night’s Dawn trilogy (book 4 of 6 in the two-volumes per novel edition). For a global description of the universe Hamilton created for this series you should refer to my review on the first book of the series (Reality Dysfunction – Part I). As the previous books, this novel is full of action, mystery, adventure and a bit of horror. The plot continues to plow on, relentless, as it pushes the reader forward at every page. I cannot remember ever setting this book down bored or uninterested. The plot itself and the way the narrative is told combine to create an excellent reading experience. To assist the readers who might have read the previous book some time ago, the novel starts with a list of characters as well as a list of ships, habitats, asteroids and planets.

In this book, as Joshua travels through Dorados, he is acquainted with his brother, Liol, who he did not know existed. Liol joins the crew as they argue over their rights to the ship. At the habitat that Rubra controls, the possessed continue to expand their numbers, and even as Dariat decides to join forces with Rubra to stop the collective possessed, the entire habitat is transported to an alternate reality. Joshua’s crew hunt for Mzu continues, as other players reveal themselves, including a strange powerful man called Dick Keaton. Large space and land battles between the confederation and the organization led by Capone continue to ensue. This volume will introduce new technologies (including a nifty one at Tranquility), and we learn more about the powers and motivations of the possessed, such as transporting themselves entirely to alternate pockets of reality when in relatively large groups.

Related work:
Note that you should read this book after the previous volume, “Neutronium Alchemist - Part I: Consolidation”. The Night Dawn’s trilogy starts in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God.

The Neutronium Alchemist – Part I: Consolidation

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 1997 (my copy is from Warner Books, 1998)
Size: Long (my copy has 591 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This novel is number 2 out of 3 in the Night’s Dawn trilogy (book 3 of 6 in the two-volumes per novel edition). For a global description of the universe Hamilton created for this series you should refer to my review on the first book of the series (Reality Dysfunction – Part I). As I read through this novel, I was surprised to find that the story never failed to bring in new aspects and maintain excellent coherence to the previous books. It does help that Hamilton wrote them all in sequence, but it is often underappreciated. If you go through all books as I did, even minor plot holes can hamper the fun.

This novel introduces still some new characters, some which (most) readers will be familiar with, such as Al Capone. Whereas usually novels that resort to characters such as Al Capone end up as complete flukes, this one pulls it off very nicely, and Capone actually becomes one of the major characters throughout the rest of the series, setting up an organization of possessed that will rival the schemes of Dexter, although with completely different ambitions. Here, we learn much more about the possessed, including that not all of them are entirely evil, and more importantly, that other races have encountered this phenomena before in their history, some actually having survived it (the Kiint are one such case). As the possessed grow in number, power, and spread throughout the universe, small pockets of possessed start exhibiting group capabilities. This will give rise to some very interesting sub-plots later on.

Action is not over for Joshua Calvert, who is charged with pursuing Alkad Mzu and stopping her from using the Alchemist ultimate weapon to exert revenge on the Omuta world. Louise Kavanagh and her sister continue fleeing from the possessed, helped by an unexpected character.

Related work:
Note that you should read this book after the previous volume, “Reality Dysfunction - Part II: Expansion”. The Night Dawn’s trilogy starts in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God.

The reality dysfunction – Part II: Expansion

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 1996 (my copy is from Warner Books, 1997)
Size: Long (my copy has 572 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

The second volume of the Reality Dysfunction continues the story of the previous book. The narrative, as expected, follows the same structure and pace. The book is comprised of many very short chapters, each switching focus among the myriad of characters and locations involved in the plot. As such, the story continues to be extremely compelling. There is never a dull moment, nor is the author prone to unnecessary excessive descriptions. Action flows naturally but with a sense of foreboding and several adrenaline-filled scenes.In this volume, we see the (failed) efforts by the outlaw Laton to overcome the possession effect, and his flight from Lalonde. We are introduced to the Rubra personality which controls one of the Edenist habitats and his angry ex-pupil Dariat, who sets up an alliance with the possessed. We also follow Alkad Mzu, one of the creators of the Alchemist, an ultimate weapon with the power to destroy entire planets, and who has been held under guard in one of the habitats for some decades, since the war between two major civilizations from which fallout can still be observed in the confederation. Many other characters and side-plots are brought into play, most of which will continue involved throughout the other books.

As the possessed continue to take over Lalonde, they are now also spreading out throughout the confederation, leading to a ban in most space travel. Nevertheless, this does not seem to stop them, and the confederation army is engaged to destroy this menace. Also, Joshua Calvert is recruited to bring a team of specialized mercenaries to Lalonde to identify the source of the possessed infection and attempt to learn more about it.

Related work:
Note that you should read this book after the previous volume, “Reality Dysfunction - Part I: Emergence”. The Night Dawn’s trilogy starts in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God.

The reality dysfunction – Part I: Emergence

Peter F. Hamilton
MacMillan, 1996 (my copy is from Warner Books, 1997)
Size: Long (my copy has 588 pages)
Theme: Futuristic space opera
Narrative: third-person
Main character: Joshua Calvert
Recommended minimum age: Young Adult
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

This is the first book of what is commonly known as the Night Dawn trilogy from Hamilton dealing with the Reality Dysfunction universe. The story start in The Reality Dysfunction, continues in The Neutronium Alchemist and ends in The Naked God. Each of these three novels has 2 volumes (thus, depending on the edition, the series may be comprised of three or six books). You should be aware that this will likely be one of the most compelling stories, in one of the most detailed universes, you have ever read. In my opinion, it is entirely at par with classics such as Foundation and Dune, with the added advantage of having a few more decades of scientific developments to draw upon. I cannot imagine a sci-fi fan who will not be enticed by this story. After having read the first book, I immediately picked up the second, and continued so until I had finished the entire series.

The depth of the plot is considerable (my copy has 588 pages with a small font size), so you will be entertained for quite some time. This lends a truly epic nature to the universe created by Hamilton. You will likely remember the story and characters for years to come. As could be expected, in a story this broad, there are tens of characters that will come into play at different times, many locations where plot develops, and a plethora of little pieces of information that enrich the story. However, this does not create havoc to the reader, as there are two dozen or so key characters, and a dozen or so key locations, that help you quickly establish a coherent view of the entire plot. The characters are well explored and all major characters are memorable.

Note that there is gore and explicit sex throughout the series, although always deriving from the plot.
In this first book we are introduced to the Confederation and the different races that coexist in the universe (two of which human). Adamists are the traditional human, some of which have undergone physical modifications, such as mercenaries with special warfare implants. Another faction are Edenists and their voidhawks, who live in space habitats, communicate through affinity, and use biotechnology (bitek). There are also the mysterious Kiint, massive non-humanoid creatures who have extremely more advanced technology but share only limited bits with humanity.

The story could be said to revolve around Joshua Calvert, a young, intuitive, and exceptionally lucky ship captain, who is unwittingly involved in the unfolding galactic events. Joshua is one of the many people who scavenge the ruins of the Laymil civilization, a spacefaring race extinct millennia ago due to something they had encountered. Another pivotal element is Quinn Dexter, an evil youngster and a satanic worshiper. As he is placed in a settlement in Lalonde, a recent human colony, he sets up a sect and begins to conduct rituals. However, one of those rituals will rupture the frontiers of reality and force the Confederation to force the most dangerous threat it has ever encountered. In the jungles of Lalonde begins the ultimate trial; will humanity survive it?

The dragon in the sea

Frank Hebert
Tom Doherty Associates, 1956 (my copy is from Tor Books, 2008)
Size: Short (my copy has 268 pages)
Theme: Underwater action thriller
Narrative: third-person
Main character: John Ramsey
Recommended minimum age: Teenager
Would purchase as a gift to any sci-fi reader: YES

Dwindling oil reserves, particularly important during war time, have led countries to exert extreme measures to ensure control of underwater drilling spots. A Western subtug is directed to bring oil from one such spot, directly underneath an enemy base. However, the path is riddled with dangers, both external and from within the subtug crew. The last 20 missions have been unsuccessful, and questions arise as to the cause of their failures.

This novel follows the mission of John Ramsey, a prized psychologist from the BuPsych, who is charged with incorporating the subtug crew who will conduct this dangerous and vital mission. The four-men subtug crews have not only to contend with the extreme ocean environment and lurking enemy subs, but also with the psychological hurdle of deep sea diving. Ramsey is expected to study his three shipmates and identify if there is a spy among them or whether they are likely to crack under the pressure.

The story is packed with action and thrills at every page. The crew has to escape multiple hunters as they infiltrate enemy territory. Along the way, accidents and sabotage make their job harder. They have to improvise and outsmart their opponents if they wish to return home. But equally dangerous is suspicion and the potential loss of total trust among four men who depend entirely on each other to survive. The characters in the plot are diverse and rich, although it would have been nice to learn even more about them. The enemy faction is left entirely faceless throughout the novel, which does not really hamper plot development. The novel would have to be considerably larger in order to tackle that side of the story. Still, the narrative provides an adequate and conclusive ending, unraveling the mysteries and motivations of the crewmen, as well as setting up a likely near future for the main character.