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  • The Reality Dysfunction

  • Night's Dawn, Book 1
  • By: Peter F. Hamilton
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 41 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (286 ratings)

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The Reality Dysfunction cover art

The Reality Dysfunction

By: Peter F. Hamilton
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's Summary

The first in the Night's Dawn trilogy, The Reality Dysfunction is a sweeping, intergalactic adventure from the master of space opera, Peter F. Hamilton. For fans of Iain M. Banks and Alastair Reynolds.

An extinct race named this phenomenon 'the Reality Dysfunction'. It is a nightmare that has haunted us since the dawn of time . . .

In AD 2600, the human race is finally realizing its potential. The galaxy’s colonized planets host a multitude of diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has defeated disease and produced extraordinary space-born creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive, living on the wealth created by industrializing entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space, the Confederation Navy keeps the peace.

Then something goes catastrophically wrong. On a primitive colony planet, a renegade criminal encounters an utterly alien entity. And this unintended meeting triggers the release of those that should never see the light – threatening everything we’ve become . . .

The Reality Dysfunction is followed by The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God.

©2016 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2016 Pan Macmillan Publishers Ltd.

Critic Reviews

'Hamilton puts British sci-fi back into interstellar overdrive' – The Times

What listeners say about The Reality Dysfunction

Average Customer Ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

author got his genres mixed

flashes of brilliant scifi imagination ruined by too many characters with not enough characterization to keep them all flowing. also the scifi was ruined by crossing over into the fantasy and horror genre. took 6 hours to get into the story then by the last 4 hours i realize that the next installment of the trilogy will be a demon zombie apocalypse. Sadly what I was hoping would be a great value scifi trilogy,is turning into a demon fantasy, cant stick with it. no space opera. too hard core.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, but...

Great story, but unfortunately John Lee needs to at least take a breath between sections. At the end of one stanza he would lead in to the next with barely a breath and I was constantly wandering why the narrative didn't make sense until I realised that we had moved to a completely different place and people. Chapter transitions good, other transitions a 2 second pause?

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Another Great Peter F story

Technical point, narration left no gap or pause between separate "scenes" which was a bit disorienting.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story!

A great story as always by Hamilton. Performance was great by John Lee, but I really wish they would insert a second or two pause in his narration when the “scene” changes. Currently he reads it like it is in the same paragraph and it gets very confusing, and you have to stop and go “Hang on, that character wasn’t there... oh, change of scene, damn it.”

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

epic

so much vivid detail and advanced ideas for a 1996 book. voice acting was perfect as usual

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Boring

Story quite detailed as expected I suppose but this with john lee reading put me to sleep. Not a good thing while driving.
I won't buy another book with John Lee reading.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

A well-written, but wholly self-indulgent trudge.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was listening to this book while at work, so my time was spent well enough, but I honestly can't recommend this book for most people. However, if you're really into world building, then this title may be right up your alley.

Has The Reality Dysfunction put you off other books in this genre?

The Reality Dysfunction has put me off other books by this author, but not the genre.

Any additional comments?

The Reality Dysfunction is well written, and well narrated. I cannot in good conscience say that it's a bad book, but it's just not for me. A solid eighty percent of the book is exposition, mostly in the form of world building, the majority of which is unnecessary, and at times feels narcissistic, as though the author feels there is no detail in his mind that the reader would not want to hear. This ultimately results in the story being lost amidst pages and pages (and on occasion, entire chapters) of history, and descriptions of unneeded details. This also makes it hard to connect with the characters, as their "screen time" is diluted by the overabundance of scene setting. In fact, I only remember the name of one character in the entire book, which, given the size of the cast, is pretty shocking. I'm sure there are plenty of people who would love to read such a description-heavy book (and again, it's well written, there's just waaaaay too much of it), but ultimately I found it difficult to get through.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

action packed

Loved this gripping story. mesmerising sci-fi concepts and humanity's futuristic progression. magically crafted story line and sequencing

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loving it!

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

Giving voice to the characters, can't imagine this series ever getting made into a movie.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His perfect pronunciation of the quite complex writing style. His narration took time to get used to but now I'm loving it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

Can't wait to listen to the other Hamilton books.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful

One of my favourite books, I’ve read the hard copy but just wanted to listen to it. I wasn’t disappointed, it’s better second time around, looking forward to book 2

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