Peter F. Hamilton

The Reality Dysfunction is a modern classic of science fiction from Peter F. Hamilton, an extraordinary feat of storytelling on a truly epic scale. "A space opera that is big, boisterous, and has something for everyone." — Science Fiction Weekly Space is not the only void. . .In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures. Huge fleets of sentient trader starships thrive on the wealth created by the industrialization of entire star systems. And throughout inhabited space the Confederation Navy keeps the peace. A true golden age is within our grasp.But on a primitive colony planet, a renegade criminal's chance encounter with an utterly alien entity unleashes the most primal of humanity’s fears. An extinct race which inhabited the galaxy aeons ago called it "The Reality Dysfunction." It is the nightmare which has prowled beside us since the beginning of history. The Night’s Dawn TrilogyThe Reality DysfunctionThe Neutronium AlchemistThe Naked Go

Deploying invulnerable twenty-fifth-century soldiers called Skins, Zantiu-Braun's corporate starships loot entire planets. But as the Skins invade bucolic Thallspring, Z-B's strategy is about to go awry, all because of: Sgt. Lawrence Newton, a dreamer whose twenty years as a Skin have destroyed his hopes and desires; Denise Ebourn, a schoolteacher and resistance leader whose guerilla tactics rival those of Che Guevara and George Washington; and Simon Roderick, the director who serves Z-B with a dedication that not even he himself can understand. Grimly determined to steal, or protect, a mysterious treasure, the three players emgage in a private war that will explode into unimaginable quests for personal grace...or galactic domination.

The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy. The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare. Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next. Nor are the Prime the only threat. For more than a hundred years, a shadowy cult, the Guardians of Selfhood, has warned that an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist -- the Starflyer -- has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth. Branded as terrorists, the Guardians and their leader, Bradley Johansson, have been hunted by relentless investigator Paula Myo. But now evidence suggests that the Guardians were right all along, and that the Starflyer has placed agents in vital posts throughout the Commonwealth -- agents who are now sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage? Caught between two deadly enemies, one a brutal invader striking from without, the other a remorseless cancer killing from within, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before...

Will they find the utopian dream – or a galactic nightmare? From Peter F. Hamilton, The Dreaming Void is the first in an epic space opera trilogy. Set in his expansive Commonwealth universe, it is perfect for fans of Iain M. Banks and Stephen Baxter.AD 3580. The Commonwealth has spread its civilization throughout the galaxy. Its citizens are privileged and protected by a powerful navy. And at the galaxy’s centre is the Void, a sealed universe created by aliens billions of years ago. Yet the Void isn’t inert. It’s expanding – and now it wants to make contact.The Void chooses Inigo as its conduit and he channels dreams of a simpler, better life within its bounds. His visions attract followers – determined to seek this utopia. And they’ll cross the Void’s forbidden boundaries to reach it. However, this act could trigger push it to grow beyond all control . . . destroying everything in its path.The Dreaming Void is followed by The Temporal Void in this stunning trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.

The Intersolar Commonwealth is in turmoil as the Living Dream's deadline for launching its Pilgrimage into the Void draws closer. Not only is the Ocisen Empire fleet fast approaching on a mission of genocide, but also an internecine war has broken out between the post-human factions over the destiny of humanity.Countering the various and increasingly desperate agents and factions is Paula Myo, a ruthlessly single-minded investigator, beset by foes from her distant past and colleagues of dubious allegiance...but she is fast losing a race against time.At the heart of all this is Edeard the Waterwalker, who once lived a long time ago deep inside the Void. He is the messiah of Living Dream, and visions of his life are shared by, and inspire billions of humans. It is his glorious, captivating story that is the driving force behind Living Dream's Pilgrimage, a force that is too strong to be thwarted. As Edeard nears his final victory the true nature of the Void is finally revealed.

Exposed as the Second Dreamer, Araminta has become the target of a galaxywide search by government agent Paula Myo and the psychopath known as the Cat, along with others equally determined to prevent-- or facilitate --the pilgrimage of the Living Dream cult into the heart of the Void. An indestructible microuniverse, the Void may contain paradise, as the cultists believe, but it is also a deadly threat. For the miraculous reality that exists inside its boundaries demands energy--energy drawn from everything outside those boundaries: from planets, stars, galaxies... from everything that lives. Meanwhile, the parallel story of Edeard, the Waterwalker -- as told through a series of addictive dreams communicated to the gaiasphere via Inigo, the First Dreamer -- continues to unfold. But now the inspirational tale of this idealistic young man takes a darker and more troubling turn as he finds himself faced with powerful new enemies -- and temptations more powerful still. With time running out, a repentant Inigo must decide whether to release Edeard's final dream: a dream whose message is scarcely less dangerous than the pilgrimage promises to be. And Araminta must choose whether to run from her unwanted responsibilities or face them down, with no guarantee of success or survival. But all these choices may be for naught if the monomaniacal Ilanthe, leader of the breakaway Accelerator Faction, is able to enter the Void. For it is not paradise she seeks there, but dominion.

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, individuals battle for survival against the strange and brutal forces unleashed upon the universe. Governments teeter on the brink of anarchy, the Conferderation Navy is dangerously over-stretched, and a dark messiah prepares to invoke his own version of the final Night.In such desperate times the last thing the galaxy needs is a new and terrifyingly powerful weapon. Yet Dr Alkad Mzu is determined to retrieve the Alchemist - so she can complete her thirty-year vendetta to slay a star. Which means Joshua Calvert has to find Dr. Mzu and bring her back before the alchemist can be reactivated.But he's not alone in the chase, and there are people on both sides who have their own ideas about how to use the ultimate doomsday device.

The Confederation is starting to collapse politically and economically, allowing the 'possessed' to infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she manages to acquire some strange and powerful allies whose goal doesn't quite match her own. The campaign to liberate Mortonridge from the possessed degenerates into a horrendous land battle, the kind which hasn't been seen by humankind for six hundred years; then some of the protagonists escape in a very unexpected direction. Joshua Calvert and Syrinx fly their starships on a mission to find the Sleeping God - which an alien race believes holds the key to overthrowing the possessed.

A century from now, thanks to a technology allowing instantaneous travel across light-years, humanity has solved its energy shortages, cleaned up the environment, and created far-flung colony worlds. The keys to this empire belong to the powerful North family - composed of successive generations of clones. Yet these clones are not identical. For one thing, genetic errors have crept in with each generation. For another, the original three clone "brothers" have gone their separate ways, and the branches of the family are now friendly rivals more than allies. Or maybe not so friendly. At least that's what the murder of a North clone in the English city of Newcastle suggests to Detective Sidney Hurst. Sid is a solid investigator who'd like nothing better than to hand off this hot potato of a case. The way he figures it, whether he solves the crime or not, he'll make enough enemies to ruin his career. Yet Sid's case is about to take an unexpected turn: Because the circumstances of the murder bear an uncanny resemblance to a killing that took place years ago on the planet St. Libra, where a North clone and his entire household were slaughtered in cold blood.The convicted slayer, Angela Tramelo, has always claimed her innocence. And now it seems she may have been right. Because only the St. Libra killer could have committed the Newcastle crime. Problem is, Angela also claims that the murderer was an alien monster. Now Sid must navigate through a Byzantine minefield of competing interests within the police department and the world's political and economic elite...all the while hunting down a brutal killer poised to strike again. And on St. Libra, Angela, newly released from prison, joins a mission to hunt down the elusive alien, only to learn that the line between hunter and hunted is a thin one.

In 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. A new technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transporation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on earth, every distant planet mankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. And all seems wonderful...until a crashed alien spaceship is found on a newly-located world 89 light years from Earth, harboring seventeen human victims. And of the high-powered team dispatched to investigate the mystery, one is an alien spy...Bursting with tension and big ideas, this standalone series highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game, as the interweaving story lines tell us not only how humanity arrived at this moment, but also the far-future consequences that spin off from it.

The year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void.Once inside, Nigel discovers that humans are not the only life-forms to have been sucked into the Void, where the laws of physics are subtly different and mental powers indistinguishable from magic are commonplace. The humans trapped there are afflicted by an alien species of biological mimics—the Fallers—that are intelligent but merciless killers.Yet these same aliens may hold the key to destroying the threat of the Void forever—if Nigel can uncover their secrets. As the Fallers’ relentless attacks continue, and the fragile human society splinters into civil war, Nigel must uncover the secrets of the Fallers—before he is killed by the very people he has come to save.

The comparative utopia of twenty-third century Earth is about to go dreadfully awry when a seemingly benign alien race is abruptly revealed to be one of the worst threats humanity has ever faced. Driven by an intense religious extremism, the Olyix are determined to bring everyone to their version of god as they see it. But they may have met their match in humanity, who are not about to go gently into that good night or spend the rest of their days cowering in hiding. As human ingenuity and determination rises to the challenge, collective humanity has only one goal--to wipe this apparently undefeatable enemy from the face of creation. Even if it means playing a ridiculously long game indeed.But in a chaotic universe, it is hard to plan for every eventuality, and it is always darkest before the dawn.

Humanity is struggling to hold out against a hostile takeover by an alien race that claims to be on a religious mission to bring all sentient life to its God at the End of Time. But while things may look grim in the immediate aftermath of the attack, mankind is busy playing an even longer game than the aliens may have expected. Will a strategy millennia in the making finally be enough to defeat this seemingly unstoppable enemy? And what secrets are the aliens truly hiding in their most deeply protected stronghold?With his trademark optimism about humanity's tenacity and capacity for greatness, Peter F. Hamilton ends this brilliant saga with a bang--and reveals a few startling surprises along the way.

The planet Bienvenido is in crisis. It has finally escaped the Void, emerging into regular space. But it's millions of light-years from Commonwealth assistance, and humans are battling the Fallers for control of their world. This rapacious adversary, evolved to destroy all sentient life, has infiltrated every level of human society—hijacking unwilling bodies so its citizens fear their leaders, friends, and family.A mysterious figure known as the Warrior Angel leads a desperate resistance. She's helped by forbidden Commonwealth technology, which gives her a crucial edge. But the government obstructs the Angel's efforts at every turn, blinded by prejudice and technophobia. As Fallers also prepare to attack from the skies, she might need to incite rebellion to fight this invasion. But the odds seem impossible.Then astronaut Ry Evine uncovers one last hope. On a mission against the enemy, his spacecraft damages an unidentified vessel. This crash-lands on the planet carrying unexpected cargo: a baby. This extraordinary Commonwealth child possesses knowledge that could save them all. But if the Fallers catch her, the people of Bienvenido will not survive.

Greg Mandel, late of the Mindstar Battalion, has been many things in his life. Commando. Freedom fighter. Assassin. Now he's a freelance operative with a very special telepathy.In the high-tech, hard-edged world of computer crime, zero-gravity smuggling, and artificial intelligence, Greg Mandel is the man to call when things get rough. But when an elusive saboteur plagues a powerful organization known as Event Horizon, Mandel must cut his way through a maze of corporate intrigue and startling new scientific discoveries.And nothing less than the future is at stake.

In the far future, humanity has divided into two diametrically opposed groups. The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with telepathic affinity for their biotechnological homes and ships. The Adamists, effectively the Luddites of the future, are willing to pioneer new worlds, much as their ancestors did hundreds of years ago. The two groups, peopled by fascinating characters, clash on a primitive world called Lalonde, setting in motion a tale of adventure unparalleled in this universe.

Following Mindstar Rising and A Quantum Murder, The Nano Flower is the final book in Peter F. Hamilton's Greg Mandel trilogy – a page-turning science-fictional detective story.For fifteen years she has been the power behind England's economic renaissance. But this won’t help her now. Julia Evans, billionaire owner of Event Horizon, is in trouble. Her husband is missing. Rival companies claim to have acquired an incredible new technology – something impossibly superior to what has come before. So she has no time to notice a single flower, delivered anonymously. But this flower possesses genetic information millions of years in advance of any terrestrial DNA.Is it a cryptic alien message, or a poignant farewell token from her husband? One man is on the case to discover its psi-boosted private detective Greg Mandel. But he won’t be alone in this desperate search. And, as Greg and Julia discover, being first in the race won’t be enough – not when the Nano Flower starts to bloom . . .

Professor Edward Kitchener, a double Nobel laureate researching quantum cosmology for the powerful Event Horizon conglomerate has been savagely murdered. But was he the victim of industrial espionage, personal revenge, or a crime of passion by one of his handpicked team of live-wire students? Event Horizon needs to know and fast, so Greg Mandel, PSI-boosted veteran of the infamous Mindstar Battalion, must embark on an urgent investigation that ultimately leads him to an astounding confrontation with a past, which, according to the dead man's theories, might never have happened.

A collection of short stories set in the Confederation universe, but unrelated to the trilogy.SONNIE'S EDGE. The popular sport of 'beastie-baiting' involves contests to the death between artificial monsters controlled via human affinity bonds. Sonnie's team is particularly successful...but then her monster, 'Khanivore', has one special advantage. A SECOND CHANCE AT EDEN. A bitek habitat which orbits Jupiter, mining the fusion fuel on which Earth is dependent, Eden is a mini-nation of radical politics -- and even more radical technology. Then its creator is murdered in full view of the whole population, but nobody can identify the perpetrator -- or the motive. NEW DAYS OLD TIMES. Settlers came to the planet Nyvan hoping for a lifestyle free of Earthbound hatreds. Alas, though environments may change, human nature does not. CANDY BUDS. The crime-lord Laurus rules Kariwak with an iron fist, jealously guarding control of the bitek trade. But when an astonishing new substance appears on the streets, virtual reality takes on an entirely new dimension. DEATHDAY. On a desolate planet, a man wages an obsessive campaign of retribution against the last survivor of an alien race. But vengeance can cut both ways. THE LIVES AND LOVES OF TIARELLA ROSA. A passion that spans two generations of women...and endures beyond. ESCAPE ROUTE. The starship LADY MACBETH encounters a long-abandoned alien spacecraft, with its escape route still intact -- but leading where? And is the craft as empty as it seems?

In the far future, on a primitive world called Lalonde, two groups of humans clash in an epic confrontation. The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with a telepathic affinity to their homes and ships. The Adamists reject advanced technology, but are willing to pioneer new worlds. Under the watchful eye of mysterious aliens, humanity must confront its most bitter enemy--itself.

Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.

It is forty years in the future and, following decades of research and trillions of euros spent on genetics, Europe is finally in a position to rejuvenate a human being. The first subjest chosen for treatment is Jeff Baker, the father of the datasphere (whihc replaced the Internet) and philanthropist extraordinaire. After 18 months in a German medical facility, the 78-year-old patient returns home looking like a healthy 20-year-old." Misspent Youth" follows the effect his reappearance has on his friends and family - his young ex-model wife Sue, his teenage son Tim, and his long term pals, themselves all pensioners, who are starting to resent what Jeff has become.

The souls of those long dead are entering the universe at an alarming rate. Stealing the bodies of the living, they are grouping together into powerful consortiums led by leaders from history. An increasingly desperate Confederation Navy is struggling to stem the tide as the race for the universe's most powerful weapon begins. But if the dead can return to life, who will be the ultimate victors?

This is a collection of short stories from the master of space opera. Peter Hamilton takes us on a journey from a murder mystery in an alternative Oxford in the 1800s to a story featuring Paula Myo, Deputy Director of the Intersolar Commonwealth's Serious Crimes Directorate.

In Peter F. Hamilton and Gareth L. Powell's action-packed sci-fi adventure Light Chaser, a love powerful enough to transcend death can bring down an entire empire.Amahle is a Light Chaser - one of a number of explorers, who travel the universe alone (except for their onboard AI), trading trinkets for life stories.But when she listens to the stories sent down through the ages she hears the same voice talking directly to her from different times and on different worlds. She comes to understand that something terrible is happening, and only she is in a position to do anything about it.And it will cost everything to put it right.

Humanity is in incredible peril. The minds of those long dead are taking over the bodies of the living, in increasingly alarming numbers. Joshua Calvert is desperately trying to recover a "doomsday weapon", an instrument that might blast the dead back into oblivion--but in the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the human race.

The long-awaited epic finale to "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist" is now here. On Earth, satanist Quinn Dexter possesses a new army of the damned, using them to initiate the annihilation of all Creation. At the same time, Joshua Calvert and Syrinx take their ships in search of an alien god which may hold the solution to the current crisis.

This breathtaking climax to the acclaimed saga of "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist" finds the Confederation on the verge of collapse, as more and more star systems fall to the Possessed. An alien god may hold the solution to the crisis--if Joshua and Syrinx can discover it in time.

Taking place twelve hundred years after the events of Hamilton’s Commonwealth novels. This box set includes The Dreaming Void, The Temporal Void, and The Evolutionary Void.The year is 3589. At the very heart of the galaxy is the Void, a self-contained microuniverse that cannot be stopped as it expands in all directions, consuming everything in its path. Even the oldest and most technologically advanced of the galaxy’s sentient races, the Raiel, do not know its origin or its purpose. Then Inigo, an astrophysicist, begins having vivid dreams. Inside the Void, Inigo sees paradise. Thanks to the gaiafield, a neural entanglement wired into most humans, those dreams are shared by hundreds of millions—and a religion, the Living Dream, is born, with Inigo as its prophet. But then he vanishes. A new wave of dreams broadcast by an unknown Second Dreamer serves as the impetus for a massive Pilgrimage into the Void, which could trigger an accelerated devourment phase that will swallow up thousands of worlds. Thus begins a desperate race to find Inigo and avert catastrophe.