|
The Naked God, Part 2: Faith | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter F. Hamilton
Publisher: Aspect
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $1.98
You Save: $5.01 (72%)
New (31) Used (58) from $1.98
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 33324
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Pages: 778
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2
ISBN: 0446605182
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780446605182
ASIN: 0446605182
Publication Date: December 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, best prices.
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
On Earth, satanist Quinn Dexter possesses a new army of the damned, using them to initiate The Night's Dawn, the entropic annihilation of all Creation. At the same time Joshua Calvert, master of the Lady Macbeth, seeks a miracle in a haystack: the truth behind a legend that 15,000 years ago the alien Tyrathca intercepted a single message from unexplored space beyond Orion: "IT SEES THE UNIVERSE. IT CONTROLS EVERYTHING. OUR ARRIVAL WOKE IT." Could a God be sleeping somewhere between the stars? And can Joshua possibly find this unknown Deity before The Night's Dawn devours the cosmos?
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 Poor ending to a fascinating series... September 2, 2008
Robert Gamble (Falmouth, MA United States)
Please note, there will be spoilers here... The short, spoiler free review is immediately below. Following the line - SPOILERS - will be the longer review.
I started reading this series close to a year ago and finished it this weekend. I've documented my problems with Hamilton's writing style in my other reviews of books in this series, so I'll just say that they're still present. At the same time, the things that I liked: good descriptions of action sequences, very good and realistic characterization, etc; are also all present. However, this book comes to a very unsatisfying, contrived ending. Part of the problem may be in the story Hamilton chose to tell, as I can't think of a way to end it satisfactorily. The overall concept chosen to be explored is fascinating and shocking, but the problems it creates can't be solved by humanity by themselves. You basically see the ending coming in the last book, but it takes over 700 more pages to get there, and when the ending finally happens it comes too quickly.
SPOILERS
I have one major problem with this series in general after having finished it. While his natural universe (physics, cultures, etc) appears quite well detailed and holds together nicely, the supernatural element he introduces appears to be anything but consistent. Some groups of 'possessed' have physical problems after a time, others don't. Some groups of possessed start to lose control of their bodies to their original hosts, some don't. One possessed learns how to become a ghost, none of the others do and you get the sense that the reason this possessed gains the ability is because Hamilton had written himself into a corner and needed to give the character a new special ability to do what he wanted to. I'm sure some people will say "Well, it's supernatural.. it doesn't have to follow any rules." Lemme give you an example. "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" throws all kinds of varied supernatural things at the viewer over the course of many episodes, along with the vampires. However, at the very outset the show establishes a "Hellmouth" which draws all these things there. Without this, the show has no internal consistency. With it, one can suspend their disbelief. However, I have a harder time in early seasons with Buffy having superhuman strength when necessary and at other times getting knocked out by a blow to the head by a normal person. That's the kind of inconsistency that appears in Hamilton's series. If he needs the possessed to go somewhere that they can't with their current abilities, he makes up a new one. If he needs a new plot device he creates a weakness that only some groups of possessed seem to have.
I REALLY didn't like his explanation of what the creatures were that Quinn Dexter was attempting to 'call up'. This led to a very 'you gotta be kidding me moment' near the end when two groups of characters were brought together. Plus, after all the build up to that moment, the resolution was too quick and painless.
Simply put, I got the sense that Hamilton ended up in over his head with his own story. He had some great ideas, but couldn't figure out how to wrap them up without resorting to a kludgy method. While I'm glad I read the books, I simply can't recommend the series to anyone unless you don't mind a very contrived ending.
Finale to the series: "Deus ex Machina" December 19, 2007
K. Sozaeva (Athens, GA USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The back cover of the book (book 6 or 3b, at any respects, the series finale) has in big letters "Deus ex Machina" and that about sums it up.
Things are building to a frightening level all around the Confederation. More planets are withdrawing from the Universe. The Liberation of Mortonbridge seems to be creating more problems than it has solved, as the newly freed victims of possession are emaciated and riddled with cancerous tumors. Earth is being taken over by the possessed thanks to Quinn Dexter and there seems to be no way of stopping him short of destroying the arcologies thus infested. Keira, in the Mindori (the hellhawk possessed by Etchells) has followed Joseph across the galaxy and is close to destroying all chances of getting the information necessary for finding the Sleeping God, the last hope of resolving this peacefully. The Core planets of the Confederation (read: the wealthy ones) want to basically secede from the Confederation and form their own, "core" Confederation, abandoning the newer (read: poorer) planets to the possessed, so they can save themselves and (supposedly) focus on the problem.
Meanwhile, in other dimensions, Valisk is losing its battles with the Orgathe and entropy. Ketton, taken away on just a few kilometers of dirt, is quickly losing its air supply and food. And on Norton, the people are realizing the terrible price their bodies are paying for their vanity.
What WILL the answer be? As I got closer and closer to the end of the book, I started sneaking glances to see just how many more pages were left, thinking "how on earth can they wrap this up in so few pages?"
Deus ex Machina.
I don't wish to spoil it for those who haven't read it, so that's all I'll say.
About the series: Overall, I enjoyed the series. Like all of Hamilton's work, it is intricately plotted and filled with characters who have full histories and lives. Even the possessors whom we meet are given a bit of history so that we can relate to them. Hamilton has a unique way of characterization that brings his characters to life with a minimum of exposition, allowing the story to continue unfolding. I do not regret purchasing or reading this series; it was time well-spent. However, those who might wish for a more ... person-related solution to the problems presented in the story might be disappointed by the ending; since humanity as a whole couldn't come up with a solution to the problem (and, in fact, were close to imploding), it was up to "one man, one noble man" to make the decisions that affected all of humanity. I'm not saying that is bad, I'm just saying that will bother some people.
Most of these books I've given 4 or 5 stars to; I'd give the series a solid 4 stars overall. For those who enjoy a good, strong story, this is definitely a must-read.
What does this guy do for an encore? December 2, 2007
Sean O'Reilly (Washington Metro Area)
How do you go beyond a vast saga that involves the resurrection of the dead, battles between the possessed and high technology, and contacting an alien deity first discovered 15,000 years ago on the other side of the Orion Nebula? Hamilton's feverish imagination reaches new heights in this piece of metaphysical science fiction. Message: very similar to the one that Abraham-Hicks delivers. The universe gives you what you really want, so be careful for what you want.
The only reason I didn't give this book a five star rating is that Hamilton is capable of crafting his stories with greater care than is evidenced here. His book Judas Unchained shows him at the height of his craft in terms of story line, presentation and fast paced action.
Well worth the read though.
 Just Finished Reading Night's Dawn a 2nd Time! August 19, 2007
D. Colon (Elizabeth, New Jersey USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had read this trilogy way back in 2001. Back then I kind of felt the same way as others in regards to how the story concludes.
But after reading the entire trilogy a 2nd time, I have a new appreciation towards the author.
There are hints to how the story would conclude throughout the entire trilogy. I didn't realize that the first time reading it because I had read the books years apart. I read Reality Dysfunction in '97, Neutronium Alchemist in '99 and Naked God in '01. This time I read all three parts consecutively...it was a much more enjoyable read the second time around.
This is one of the most "complete" trilogies that I've ever read...except for the existence of the Dark Continuum. I wanted more of an explanation about that particular dimension and how the xenocs ended up there.
Other than that, I'm very satisfied with this author's work.
I plan on reading Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained very soon.
Take it easy...
 Some great moments, but ultimately disappointing August 16, 2007
Lee Adama
--- There's some minor spoilers in this review so be warned. ---
There are some great moments in this massive trilogy, but unfortunately it has a very disappointing ending, major plot holes and mostly two dimensional characters. At the end Joshua Calvert is made out to be some kind of messiah (hint - he has the same initials as Jesus Christ) and waves a convenient magic wand to save the entire human race. This is the same guy who shags his future mother-in-law!
The other very annoying aspect of this trilogy is the compressed timeline. Since Louise is pregnant for most of the time, this means that the whole posession crisis, the near collapse of the Confederation, the Mortonridge Liberation, and everything else must happen in less than 9 months! Or maybe it's weeks, because the way Louise behaves and is treated by other characters it seems she is still in her first trimester. Given the massive scale of this epic, I would have found the story to be much more believable if it happened over the course of several years or even decades.
Although Hamilton's descriptions of Confederation technology is mostly believable, he makes space travel across the entire galaxy seem too easy, given that they were supposedly going into uncharted parts of the galaxy where no human has gone before. The voyage around the Nebula to the Tyrathca homeworld seemed like they were making a trip down to the local supermarket. I realise Joshua had anti-matter, but the voidhawk and hellhawks made the same trip without the help of anti-matter. You would think if it was that easy, and this form of space travel had been around for centuries, then humans would have explored more of the galaxy and made contact with more aliens (or xenocs as they're called here).
But probably the most infuriating part of the book comes when Quinn Dexter is taking control of London. You would think Charlie (ruler of Western Europe) would take this crisis a bit more seriously and treat it with some urgency. But no, he invites Louise over to his little bachelor pad (an 8 hour return drive) for a dinner party and a threesome. Only the next morning after they've recovered from their hangovers do they get around to talking about the problem at hand and come up with the brilliant idea of asking Fletcher for help (gee do you think?!).
|
|
|
Can't find the right gift? Try a Gift Certificate
| |
