After being sorely disappointed by the middle two books (other reviewers have hinted at a "middle-book syndrome", which _The Neutronium Alchemist_ suffered from), I wasn't quite sure what to expect from _The Naked God_. And... paying for a hardcover was something I hadn't expected to have to do.
As I started to read _The Naked God_, Hamilton seemed to have grabbed hold of what made _The Reality Disfunction_ such a good book (or rather pair of books). He created gripping suspense on several plotlines.
Then, with what wasn't quite literary grace, he began to weave them all together into a comprehensive climax that began to clarify just *what* was going on. New characters emerged. Incredible new scenery was described. New races were defined. New technology was imagined.
I won't hint at the ending. Other reviewers found it a cop-out; I enjoyed it. Science Fiction simply can't cope anymore with the realm of Science Fact that we now know. Sure, it might have been a cop-out, but this is fiction. Temporary Suspension of Disbelief and all.
What I will do, though, is give you an idea of how satisified I was with the resolution of the series. As I read through the book, I began to pick up hints of the same inspiration I felt after reading Carl Sagan's _Contact_. I suppose that's one of the highest compliments you can pay a SF author. But I'll continue:
Hamilton doesn't just end the series. Hamilton leaves the ending both resolved an unresolved. He has created a universe that is ripe for further epics. That's right: this may be a contemporary _Foundation_ (at what? 15 books?). Folks, he is better than C. J. Cherryh. He is better than Herbert. The guy's still young -- give him 20 years and he may *be* that next Asimov.
My only regret after plowing through all 3500 pages of this saga is that the "middle two" books were written. They were superfluous and unnecessary. It would have been much simpler to publish a 2500-page Tolstoyesque epic, and Hamilton would have come off a lot better.
Oh, and one parting comment. I was disgusted by the shoddy quality of the proofreading/editing. It seemed that every other page contained spelling errors, grammatical errors, et cetera. To the degree that some pages had as many as three or four errors. Hamilton will really need to keep an eye on his publisher in the future.
The five stars stands, even with my resignations, because this book is one of the best SF novels I've read.
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