Peter F. Hamilton's The Reality Dysfunction
Macmillan Books. Hardback. £16.99

This monstrously big space opera has more story-lines running together in parallel than a series of NYPD Blue - but it doesn't suffer from it. On the contrary, once you're into the novel, the perspective switching just serves to heighten the tension. What it does do, however, is make The Reality Dysfunction hard to review, but here goes anyway.

It's 600 years in the future, and mankind is scattered across the stars in a number of political and evolutionary directions. On the just open for development colony world of Lalonde, an ancient evil is slowly creeping its way across the planet, with bad consequences for a 'priest who's lost his faith' character there, and opportunities for a penal gang looking for a ticket offworld.

Drawn into this conflict is a flash young merchant trader Joshua, and in quick sequence: gene augmented mercenary teams, a mad scientist on the run, the entire confederation navy (read UN of the future), the secret police and special forces units of two neighbouring star systems, dead alien super-races and just about the rest of the galaxy.

The Reality Dysfunction has been criticised by other magazines for being too long and padded out; but Hologram Tales didn't notice this fault ourselves - the length is used well to set up characters, who, admittedly, then get thrown to the wolves, but it beats writing about the equivalent of faceless Trek red-coats who get char-boiled without you ever having given a stuff for them. Try it out.

Back to the top of the book review archive

The latest Peter F Hamilton Books

Seen any good fantasy films? Read any good SF books? Bring pleasure to millions. Email Hologram Tales with your reviews today for inclusion in the next issue at stephenhunt@easynet.co.uk!