Before anyone’s head explodes, yes I know Peter F. Hamilton is a noted Science Fiction writer rather than a horror author. Huge body of work there, mainly made up of massive novels that pretty much transcend reviewing, way too much to attach a few words about. Hamilton may be a writer of expansive Space Opera, nothing wrong with that, but this doesn’t mean he isn’t above using horror ideas and themes to drive the narrative in the case of The Night’s Dawn trilogy, which The Reality Dysfunction is the first instalment. In a similar vein to Game of Thrones that hoists zombies on an unsuspecting audience, Hamilton delivers possession on mass to the reader. I’m not saying that Hamilton is going full on “mists on secluded Moors” here, but still there’s enough of the dark stuff to get us interested. On with the review kids.

Human civilisation has expanded through the Universe due to the discovery and utilisation of space warping technology. The Human Confederation is a loose collection of diverse human societies and two alien races. All is going swimming well, if for the moment you have no issues with pastoral societies and monarchies, until a new World being opened for colonisation delivers a shock encounter. On the planet Lalonde Quin Dexter makes contact with an alien species called the Ly-cilph, which opens a pathway for the dead to return and take over the bodies of the living. We are not talking a few souls here, this is a virus that is going to spread fast and threatens to engulf the entire human race. In another part of the Universe the Ruined Ring might hold the secret of what is happening, as it appears another race self-destructed under the assault of their dead.

As mentioned above The Reality Dysfunction is a pretty tough assignment to review as the novel is large, complex, and has a host of characters to keep track of. Surprisingly this proves not to be the onerous task it might first appear. Hamilton may have a huge cast of characters, but he gets their personalities and motivations happening quick enough that the reader is going to be able to discern who is who, without being taken out of the narrative. My advice for the first time reader would be to focus on characters they like, wide choice here, and the rest will pretty much sort itself out. Did I have any issues identifying the characters, none whatsoever, major and even minor characters are drawn in enough detail to be instantly recognisable throughout the novel, regardless of how many pages may have elapsed between character appearances.

The real strength of Hamilton’s novel however is his world building. Normally we would talk about this in depth when discussing Fantasy works rather than Sci-Fi, but the author creates so many differing societies under the human umbrella that the reader will be left absolute stunned by the vision on display here. We have Kingdoms, with autocratic leaders, pastoral societies harking back to some idyllic lost time in the United Kingdom, at least if you are part of the aristocracy that rules with an iron fist, through to communist orientated worlds.

Where Hamilton shines however is showing a divergence in the human sphere between Adamists, your standard human populations where individuals may or may not be augmented by technology, and the bitek societies that have a shared consciousness between themselves, their living constructs, and even their space ships. Both sides of the divide view themselves as superior, yet are intertwined to such an extent that mutual necessity is ensured. But even within the bitek consciousness there are divergences from the norm as demonstrated by Tranquillity, a sort of organic free market society, and the Serpents – individuals who are not constrained by shared consciousness. It’s wonderful stuff and had me rocking to the beat Hamilton is laying down in his multi-tiered space opera.

Hamilton has his pacing happening, from first page to last. The action is kinetic and will have the reader rocking through the pages without taking a pause to take a breath. However, when he does need to describe something, the author takes time to draw his situations and background in broad enough strokes to paint a detailed picture for the reader.

Considering this is the first book in an ambitious trilogy, Hamilton takes his time to introduce the central conflict and start to detail the dangers inherent in that conflict. We almost have a zombie like approach happening, with a small outbreak that expands exponentially as more people become infected till entire societies are at risk with no resolution on offer. No doubt the second novel will expand on this beginning with whole planets falling to the infection. We already have the introduction of means of identifying the infected, for want of a better word, but as yet have no large scale solution to the conflict at hand. I’m approving this approach; can human hubris be overcome for an out of left field solution? Hamilton may not be laying down this theme, but I was kind of getting that idea.

Unfortunately, The Reality Dysfunction is such an expanse read that it is nigh on impossible to have a single antagonist to drive the narrative, Hamilton is in fact going on multiple fronts here though the character who stood out for mine was Quinn Dexter. The dude is a Satan worshipper who twists everything that happens to fit his personal ideology, no matter how strained the logic becomes. I was really hating this character, which is what you need in this sort of read, am I right! Will be interesting to see where Hamilton goes with the character in the next volume in the trilogy.

Which of course sort of segues into our required discussion of the horror aspects of the novel. For starters Peter F. Hamilton isn’t a horror writer, spending his valuable time out in Space Opera territory, hence there really isn’t a chilling atmosphere going down at any stage and let’s not even get into a discussion on tension. Hamilton has a pretty nasty underlying concept happening with the possession, no spoilers folks, but doesn’t present the reader with actual incidents which all happen off page. A horror writer worth his or her salt would have rocked the concept and pushed the reader’s face into it. Would like to have seen how someone like Shaun Hutson or Brett McBean would have approach the novel. So if you are after a “robust” horror read you are in the wrong place.

While we might just be edging into genres that aren’t really horror, I am still going to give The Reality Dysfunction a huge recommendation to the reader. The novel is ambitious, rocks along like a runaway train, and drags the reader into the narrative. Sure the characters are cardboard cut-outs, there is really only one character that can be considered to be in a grey zone, with each either wearing a black or white hat. I devoured this novel and was not taken out of it at any stage as things developed in a considered and a logical fashion. The book might not be out and out horror, but damn Peter F. Hamilton can write himself some prose, get your Space Opera on with this one kids.