Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
266th out of 2,946 books
—
12,387 voters
The Neutronium Alchemist (Night's Dawn #2)
VOLUME TWO IN THE BESTSELLING 'NIGHT'S DAWN' TRILOGY
Not every fallen angel comes from heaven...
The ancient menace has finally escaped from Lalonde, shattering the Confederation's peaceful existence. Those who succumbed to it have acquired godlike powers, but now follow a far from divine gospel as they advance inexorably from world to world.
On planets and asteroids, individ...more
Not every fallen angel comes from heaven...
The ancient menace has finally escaped from Lalonde, shattering the Confederation's peaceful existence. Those who succumbed to it have acquired godlike powers, but now follow a far from divine gospel as they advance inexorably from world to world.
On planets and asteroids, individ...more
Paperback, 1273 pages
Published
October 9th 1998
by Pan Books
(first published October 20th 1997)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
The Night’s Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton
Having just finished this, the first word that springs to mind is “Phew!” – partly as I finally reached the end of this 1.2 million-word (3000+ pages) trilogy and partly in (quasi) admiration at the manner in which Hamilton eventually wrapped up everything. The three words which then sprang to mind were “Deux ex machina”.
The Reality Dysfunction (1996), The Neutronium Alchemist (1997) and The Naked God (1999) are not – in any way – separate books: this...more
Having just finished this, the first word that springs to mind is “Phew!” – partly as I finally reached the end of this 1.2 million-word (3000+ pages) trilogy and partly in (quasi) admiration at the manner in which Hamilton eventually wrapped up everything. The three words which then sprang to mind were “Deux ex machina”.
The Reality Dysfunction (1996), The Neutronium Alchemist (1997) and The Naked God (1999) are not – in any way – separate books: this...more
Lämnar Hamilton på s 508/1259. Det är en ganska skön läsning men det mesta är ändå lite ”trash-känsla”, den är inte lika bra som The Reality Dysfunction (faktiskt så var det ju bara första delen av den boken som var verkligt underhållande). Kanske för mycket tonårslitteratur (den är tydligt riktad till tonåringar, de flesta huvudpersonerna är mellan 19 och 25). Det jag gillade med Hamilton var hans fräscha approach till sci-fi genren som jag inte upplevt tidigare, och de vetenskapliga prylarna -...more
Really and truly awed. I've read authors with wild imaginations before but Peter F. Hamilton is on another level. He's to science fiction what Ken Follett (another favorite of mine) is to historical fiction/period pieces.
This book is so sprawling that I almost don't know how to review it! The novel's central plot is focused on Alkhad Mzu, which if you've read the Reality Dysfuntion you should recognize. Where she seemed to play a minor type roll in the first novel, her involvement in the story h...more
This book is so sprawling that I almost don't know how to review it! The novel's central plot is focused on Alkhad Mzu, which if you've read the Reality Dysfuntion you should recognize. Where she seemed to play a minor type roll in the first novel, her involvement in the story h...more
The second epic part of Hamilton's epic-length epic about an epic war in an epic science fiction future. Did I mention that it's epic? Because it is pretty epic. Perhaps too much so. Hamilton's space opera is filled with larger than life characters, dramatic escapes, technicolor explosions, super-future tech -- described in plenty of loving technobabble -- and plots within plots within plots.
(Spoilers follow)
Among the multiple plotlines, the central story is the rise of various factions of the...more
(Spoilers follow)
Among the multiple plotlines, the central story is the rise of various factions of the...more
The second part of the Nights Dawn Trilogy sets off at break-neck speed, starting straight after the events of the Reality Dysfunction. Peter F Hamilton introduces a whole new cast of interesting characters, including some quite funny historical figures, whilst developing the best characters from the first book! The number of characters in this book seems more manageable than in the first, making it much easier to keep track with who's doing what.
The writing is short and snappy, keeping the read...more
The writing is short and snappy, keeping the read...more
The trilogy itself consists of:
* The Reality Dysfunction
* The Neutronium Alchemist
* The Naked God
There are also two ancillary volumes:
* A Second Chance at Eden – short story collection
* The Confederation Handbook – reference volume
In the USA, each volume of the trilogy was published in two parts, as evidenced by the thumbnails.
The Night’s Dawn trilogy is a huge story spanning over 4000 pages, in truth one massive multi-volume novel. It tells of a great evil that befalls the otherwise mostly...more
* The Reality Dysfunction
* The Neutronium Alchemist
* The Naked God
There are also two ancillary volumes:
* A Second Chance at Eden – short story collection
* The Confederation Handbook – reference volume
In the USA, each volume of the trilogy was published in two parts, as evidenced by the thumbnails.
The Night’s Dawn trilogy is a huge story spanning over 4000 pages, in truth one massive multi-volume novel. It tells of a great evil that befalls the otherwise mostly...more
‘The Neutronium Alchemist’ demonstrates many things; drama, action, wit, intelligence but most of all it boasts staying power. I read and enjoyed ‘The Reality Dysfunction’ although I commented on how bloated it felt; incorporating many plot threads that went nowhere or weren’t developed upon. It’s a description I stand by, the first book in this trilogy could have been a much tighter more condense read, however those extra chapters weren’t just fat. Slowly but surely Peter F. Hamilton has been p...more
I really wanted to like this after the fantastic first book, equal parts horror and sci-fi. Yet, this 2nd part was pretty ridiculous. Al Capone coming back from the dead was quite a stupid idea I thought, and the bulk of the book was "run away from possessed, reach new planet, possessed catch up, run away from possessed" etc etc...
And yet, the pure terror of the threat that you felt in the first book is completely nullified in this book, as the humans enter negotiations with the possessed, as so...more
And yet, the pure terror of the threat that you felt in the first book is completely nullified in this book, as the humans enter negotiations with the possessed, as so...more
The only book I have finished between the Canada marathon and now is The Neutronium Alchemist, the sequel to The Reality Dysfunction. The main reason I kept reading is that the price/time ratio of these books can’t be beat--they cost the same as a mass market paperback and each one kept me busy for weeks. That said, the entertainment value is debatable. The second volume of the series had all the problems of the first, but it lacked the novelty of introducing new worlds and technologies. Some of...more
I think I'm going to have to do a more thorough review later. At this point, I'm just going to focus on mechanics.
I like this book. And this series. Honestly, I do. However, I'm at the point where I really think that the whole Night's Dawn series was actually written as one big tome of an epic, and the publishers decided to break it into three (or six, as you decided to buy them) novels just for the sake of the spine. And geez, what a doorstopper a 3500 page book would be anyway. There are just...more
I like this book. And this series. Honestly, I do. However, I'm at the point where I really think that the whole Night's Dawn series was actually written as one big tome of an epic, and the publishers decided to break it into three (or six, as you decided to buy them) novels just for the sake of the spine. And geez, what a doorstopper a 3500 page book would be anyway. There are just...more
I started out loving The Night's Dawn Trilogy, lots of sex and violence, but as the hundreds of pages slogged by, I became more and more frustrated with the pacing of the whole series and the story lines that had nothing to do with the main plot. There are SO many characters that a hundred pages could go by without coming back to a particular character's story line (and in the meantime you've forgotten what happened to him/her). There were also far too many plot points that were only thrown in t...more
See my review of The Reality Dysfunction; what I said there stands for this volume as well. It gets two stars instead of TRD's three because it suffers from the usual middle-of-the-series blues: dozens of plot lines carried through from the earlier book and on into the next, which means no beginnings or endings in this volume. Hamilton's weaknesses as a descriptive writer combine with the excess of almost-identical chase stories being told at once to make everything a bit of a blur. I probably w...more
Jan 12, 2011
Avid
is currently reading it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mar 13, 2011
Peter
added it
Brilliant: I just want to apologise to the lovely people at Amazon. This book was so good that I had to get the final book in the trilogy, The Sleeping God from a high street book shop. This book was so good, and left me wanting to find out what happened next so much that even the prospect of waiting for a first class post delivery was too much!
In fact, if you have even a slight enjoyment of Science Fiction and like a good meaty story, just buy all three books of the Nights Dawn Trilogy at the s
...more
Sep 17, 2011
Unwisely
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
science-fiction
This series continues to be fascinating and well-written and generally amazing. However, I now understand why it was broken into six books for the American market - this thing was a *monster* to haul around (as a result I didn't). And it's not a good book to pick up in snatches, which is how I've been reading lately. It's more suited to long stretches of time. (It would be brilliant for a long trip, I think.)
Am looking forward to the conclusion of the series - there are several plot lines whose...more
Am looking forward to the conclusion of the series - there are several plot lines whose...more
Jun 22, 2012
Rowena
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sci-fi-fantasy,
unbelievablereads
Brilliant. A stellar continuation of the Night's Dawn Saga - perhaps a bit too outlandishly action-packed, but it makes sense. The first book lays out the plot and the impending evil, the second is essentially the portrayal of the shitstorm that follows, and the third, i imagine, will be an exploration into what in our human nature we've neglected which subsequently got us into this mess.
I sound cavalier but the book deals with really incredibly grand-scope issues: death, afterlife, retribution,...more
I sound cavalier but the book deals with really incredibly grand-scope issues: death, afterlife, retribution,...more
An epic space opera about the here and the hereafter and what happens when souls from the hereafter (called the beyond in the book) come back and possess the bodies of the living.
The Kavanagh sisters, Louise and Genevieve, know they have to leave Norfolk after they narrowly miss being possessed like the rest of their family. With the help of Fletcher Christian (of Mutiny on the Bounty infamy) they do eventually get off the planet.
In New California most of the 40 million inhabitants are possessed...more
The Kavanagh sisters, Louise and Genevieve, know they have to leave Norfolk after they narrowly miss being possessed like the rest of their family. With the help of Fletcher Christian (of Mutiny on the Bounty infamy) they do eventually get off the planet.
In New California most of the 40 million inhabitants are possessed...more
A big step forward from the first book of the trilogy. Unlike the first book, there is much more exploration of the central premise (not given here to avoid spoilers) --- both philosophically and logistically. If I had seen more of this material in the first book, I wouldn't have waited a year to read the second book. Also, this volume ends on some great cliffhangers.
However, I still have problems following the extremely large cast. Often, names drift by while I'm reading and I hope I remember w...more
However, I still have problems following the extremely large cast. Often, names drift by while I'm reading and I hope I remember w...more
The Night's Dawn Trilogy is my second experience with Hamilton's writing. A couple of years ago, I read Pandora's Star, and immediately decided to own that book. Now, understand that as an employee of a public library, book purchases don't happen frequently, so. . . but I digress.
The Reality Dysfunction was my least favorite of the three. It takes a while to get into the actual meat of the story, and a lot of it is honestly kind of smutty. By the end of the book though, I was completely hooked....more
The Reality Dysfunction was my least favorite of the three. It takes a while to get into the actual meat of the story, and a lot of it is honestly kind of smutty. By the end of the book though, I was completely hooked....more
Good sequel, and unbearable cliffhanger making book #3 mandatory reading. The action scenes are arguably more epic and less gory than in the first book, and Peter Hamilton appears to have calmed down on the gratuitous sex as well. The metaphysical/religious subtext is still there, still evolving, striking a fine balance between scientific discourse and theological debate without quite ever choosing a side. I'm hoping it doesn't turn all cheesy in the last book.
Not as good as the first... that'd be 3,5 stars. I really think that the whole trilogy could have fitted just fine in two books. We'll see how it all ends on the third volume.
I can't avoid comparing this trilogy to the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora and Judas) which, IMHO, was more focused on the plot, the characters were far better defined and all in all it was much more enjoyable. Let me eat my words when I finish the Night's Dawn Trilogy.
Next, The Naked God.
I can't avoid comparing this trilogy to the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora and Judas) which, IMHO, was more focused on the plot, the characters were far better defined and all in all it was much more enjoyable. Let me eat my words when I finish the Night's Dawn Trilogy.
Next, The Naked God.
MAN THAT WAS A QUICK READ. I guess I must really be into it because I read this book WAY too fast. I read some reviews that said "blah blah.. nothing happened" but I quite enjoyed the expansion of characters and side ventures which add depth and investment.
Either way I have already bought the third book and will be starting quite soon. I don't know if these are the greatest books but they're definitely satisfying my sci-fi crave.
Either way I have already bought the third book and will be starting quite soon. I don't know if these are the greatest books but they're definitely satisfying my sci-fi crave.
What you have to realize about this middle "novel" of a "trilogy" by Peter F. Hamilton is that it really isn't a novel at all; it's the entire "trilogy" that is the novel, and Hamilton plotted it as such (a huge, huge, 3000 page monstrosity of a novel...). And fittingly, this book is completely awesome, non-stop action (even though it is so long it's tiring to read). Hamilton writes a hell of a thriller, and one with plenty of scientific and technological extrapolation, which puts it heads and s...more
I inadvertently read this book first thinking it came first in the series (whoops). Needless to say, I found it very confusing to follow in the beginning. I may go back to read The Reality Dysfunction sometime in the future. I'm not sure if the sheer number of characters was a little confusing because I hadn't read the first book though.
Mr. Hamilton tends to come up with (relative to his genre) unique concepts and ideas, which is why I generally enjoy his work. This series has been a fun read, but the main premise and characters are approximately as subtle and dimensioned as an impressionist sledgehammer. Heroes are larger than life, the women are (powerful) sex objects, the men either get all the girls or act like steroid-hyped broadway actors, and the aliens are anthropomorphized beyond usability. It reminds me of Stephen Kin...more
i loved the reality dysfunction, this is better. it doesnt have any sex. the story careers along from multiple viewpoints, imparting vast amounts of information. it is constantly enthralling, displaying a ferocious imagination on a mind blowing scale. now onto the naked god. expectations could not be higher
First off, this series is truly a space opera. If you look at the reviews from people who didn't like this book, they all complain about this fact. There are tons of characters, settings, and plot lines. It's a lot to keep track of. You either enjoying reading science fiction this deep or you don't. Personally, I love it.
This book is the second in the series, and, as such, was much easier to get into than the first just because you understand Hamilton's world and terminology now. Naturally, som...more
This book is the second in the series, and, as such, was much easier to get into than the first just because you understand Hamilton's world and terminology now. Naturally, som...more
Wow. Amazing book, great series. I can't believe I am going to say this, but honestly they seem to go a bit long. I've never complained about length before, but these books are just obscene. Some of the subplots are difficult to care about honestly. Really looking forward to starting the next book.. today!
this book is the second book in the series. I'm finding the world that the author built to be fascinating and exciting. this book isn't quite as good as the first in the series, it follows too many main characters and is constantly jumping about. it makes it slightly difficult to keep track of where you are and what's going on. I found myself having to backtrack several times. that being said, its still an excellent story and worth the time.
my review of peter hamiltons sci fi shall be very brief...
(to preserve future readers delight, i make no mention of plot at all)
Epic Space Opera that outstrips any written before,
embracing vast scales of space, time and diverse other cultures...
if you have not read any then you have a treat in store,
if you have read any, then i need say no more.
(to preserve future readers delight, i make no mention of plot at all)
Epic Space Opera that outstrips any written before,
embracing vast scales of space, time and diverse other cultures...
if you have not read any then you have a treat in store,
if you have read any, then i need say no more.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Peter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.
More about Peter F. Hamilton...
May 25, 2012 01:14pm