The Naked God (Night's Dawn Trilogy) (Paperback)

The science-fiction I typically read normally comes either under 'hard science-fiction' (such as Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, etc.) or very easy going such as the Aliens and Predator books. The Night's Dawn trilogy (and especially the Naked God) manages to settle very comfortably in the middle. There is enough action, romance and horror to keep the easy reader attached to the book whereas at the same time Peter F. Hamilton manages to make his invented technology sound so real and so natural to the people who use it (while at the same time not so alien that we can't understand it), the typically 'hard sci-fi' reader will find themselves submerged in a believable far future of mankind.

While in my own opinion, no one can come close to Isaac Asimov's ability to portray a 'History of the Future' in so many books, if anyone should try, Peter F. Hamilton should. He has the ending in this brilliant trilogy, he has some short stories in 'A Second Chance At Eden', now he needs to expand on the history of his universe which he has already outlined at the end of each book.

People have compared Peter F. Hamilton's work to that of Iain M. Banks. Banks' Culture novels are superb but have such amazing technologies in them that are thrown around and introduced only when needed, can confuse the book or offer quick ways out of difficult situations (just read about the bike in the non-culture novel 'Against a Dark Background' to see what I mean). Peter F. Hamilton introduces the technology in a similar way to how he introduces people. You get to know and understand the technology/person so when it does something, while unexpected, it is believable (in a sci-fi kind of way).

I have read the entire trilogy twice from beginning to end and still want to read it again. The only thing that is stopping me is I have to sleep sometime, don't I?

I found Hamilton's language style excellent to the point of invention. He uses some extremely futuristic technologies in the books but manages to describe them in a way that is easy to understand and visualise. The finale is stunning, almost 'Saganaesque' in its breadth. I don't wish to spoil it for others, but I'll say that it is one of the better finales I have read of late and the solution is straight out of left field.

As a minor quibble I found that some of the astronomical descriptions within the book were stretching the imagination such as wormholes exapnding faster than the speed of light and the Orion Nebula illuminating its surroundings like a star. On a whole though, Hamilton's understanding of astronomical concepts is very good and makes the story much more believable.

As a parting comment, there are two one liners that have stuck in my mind since I finished reading the novels. The first one is the female possesor from Ketton Island who finds herself returned to this universe in pouring rain in the 2.1m high body of a Tranquility Sergeant -"Oh look, it's positively weeing down!" and the Navy Admiral telling his minion to "get your shabby arse out of my office". Excellent humour and excellent character descriptions - read it.

As for the ending, I thought it was great. I've always been amazed how people seem to expect more from an ending than it's possible to give. All endings are disappointments if you expect them to be that way. Given the state of the universe that Hamilton set up, I fail to see what could have been better about it. But you don't have to believe me! Read the book, judge for yourselves, and enjoy the ride...