Nnedi Okorafor: The Binti Trilogy Illustrated Edition Announcement

 

 

Nnedi Okorafor is a rock star of the science fiction literary genre. Now, the Folio Society is giving her stories the deluxe treatment they deserve. 

Here's all the info:

 

 

The Folio Society To Publish The First Ever Illustrated Edition of

Nnedi Okorafor’s Multi-Award-Winning THE BINTI TRILOGY,

Featuring Illustrations by Fine Artist David Palumbo

“There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work

than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics”

—Ursula K. Le Guin

Winner of both a Hugo and a Nebula award, The Binti Trilogy is a groundbreaking space opera by award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor that centres a young Himba woman on her travels in outer space as she leaves planet Earth to attend a prestigious intergalactic university. Now the Folio Society, independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, will publish the first ever illustrated edition of THE BINTI TRILOGY, created in collaboration with fine artist David Palumbo. This highly illustrated edition filled with vivid paintings of galaxies, spaceships and alien species will collect all three acclaimed novellas in the Binti series, as well as a short story by Okorafor.

The lavishly illustrated 360-page omnibus edition of THE BINTI TRILOGY includes seven full-page colour artworks in a palette of rich blues, purples and reds—featuring a cast of characters including our heroine Binti, the jellyfish-like Meduse, and the living spaceship Third Fish—as well as black and white illustrated part-title pages and dark blue metallic endpapers. The cloth-bound cover features an illustration of heroine Binti surrounded by a jellyfish-like alien species, with silver foil blocking for added dimension, while the slipcase is decorated with nebulas, planets and stars printed on a metallic paper for a shimmering finish. 

'I am Binti Ekeopara Zuzu Dambu Kaipka of Namib.' So begins this groundbreaking tale of a young Himba woman as she leaves Planet Earth to attend a prestigious intergalactic university. Despite her family's concerns, Binti's talent for mathematics and her aptitude with astrolabes make her a prime candidate to undertake this interstellar journey. But everything changes when the jellyfish-like Medusae attack Binti's spaceship, leaving her the only survivor. Now, Binti must fend for herself, alone on a ship full of the beings who murdered her crew and classmates, with five days until she reaches her destination. But there is more to the history of the Meduse—and their war with the Khoush—than first meets the eye. If Binti is to survive this voyage and save the inhabitants of the unsuspecting planet that houses Oomza Uni, it will take all of her knowledge and talents to broker the peace. A vibrant space opera slash bildungsroman, THE BINTI TRILOGY traces the pains of coming of age against the very real threats of deep-rooted interspecies tensions. But this is also a story of rich human—and alien—experience: friendship, family, first love, and the quest for identity. 

“With its fierce and imaginative blend of space opera and Africanfuturism—a term coined by Nnedi Okorafor herself, which aims to centre African culture and perspectives—the multi-award-winning BINTI TRILOGY is unique from any of the science fiction books that Folio Society has published in the past,” said Folio Society Editor Sophia Schoepfer. “Coupled with the mesmerising art by David Palumbo and vibrant design throughout, this Folio edition will be a stunning celebration of identity, exploration and connection across the stars. It’s a must-have for fans of Nnedi Okorafor and lovers of intergalactic science fiction.”

The Folio Society edition of THE BINTI TRILOGY will be available for £85.00 / US $120 from 4pm UK time (11am EST, 8am PT) on October 21, 2025 exclusively from https://www.foliosociety.com/uk/autumn-reveal. For more information, follow the Folio Society on social media:

Instagram: @foliosociety 

Twitter: @foliosociety 

Facebook: @thefoliosociety 

TikTok: @foliosociety 

YouTube: @TheFolioSociety 

LinkedIn: The Folio Society Ltd 

Hashtag: #foliosociety 

 

ABOUT NNEDI OKORAFOR

Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to two Igbo (Nigerian) immigrant parents. She holds a PhD in English and was a professor of creative writing at Chicago State University. She has been the winner of many awards for her short stories and young adult books, and won a World Fantasy Award for Who Fears Death. Nnedi's books are inspired by her Nigerian heritage and her many trips to Africa.

ABOUT ARTIST

David Palumbo is an American illustrator renowned for his dynamic, atmospheric artwork across science fiction and fantasy. With a background in fine art and a flair for dramatic composition, his work appears in everything from Magic: The Gathering to Marvel Comics. For Folio’s edition of The Binti Trilogy, Palumbo brings Nnedi Okorafor’s interstellar landscapes and vivid character transformations to life with striking, otherworldly detail. His painterly style and deep understanding of light and form make him a perfect match for this genre-blending, boundary-breaking story. Palumbo lives and works in Philadelphia.

 

ABOUT THE FOLIO SOCIETY

The Folio Society, based in London, publishes beautifully produced, illustrated hardback books. From a single purchase to a lifetime of collecting, book lovers around the world can buy these exquisite editions exclusively from their website, foliosociety.com. Proudly independent for its 75-year history, in 2021 under the leadership of its CEO, Joanna Reynolds, The Folio Society became an Employee Ownership Trust. The Folio Society is committed to a progressive sharing of power and profit in publishing, and this is reflected in their new status. 

The Folio Society publishes some of the best names in publishing past and present, across the globe in high specification, collector editions. Notable publications include Frank Herbert’s Dune, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Andrew Chaikin’s A Man on the Moon and Alice Walker’s The Color Purple among many other contemporary and classic titles including a publishing partnership with Marvel delivering the world-recognized, iconic brand’s luxury editions. 

 

Thanks to Superfan Promotions and the Folio Society for sharing this announcement with us. 

 

Mike Shepherd Moscoe: Expert Tracker, Caring Guide

Cold Raked Launa's bare skin, but it was the fear clutching her heart that made her shiver. Beside her in the darkness, Star nickered and yanked on his primitive halter. When Launa asked what would happen if one of the animals bolted from the energy capsule, the scientists shrugged. They had built the time transport, but that didn't mean they understood it.

So begins First Dawn, the introductory novel of Mike Moscoe's Lost Millennium trilogy, and the first novel he published. It concerns Jack and Launa, two people from a contemporary Earth ravaged by a designer plague. A time machine has been developed, but returning is not in Jack and Launa's plans. Instead, these two people are sent by the United States government with one mission: to prevent a peaceful society that lived six thousand years ago from being slaughtered. 

Beautiful artwork (sadly uncredited)
adorns all three volumes of
Mike Moscoe's Lost Millennium trilogy.

It's a radical solution, one that allows no hope for those currently suffering or dying from the plague. But the hope is that Jack and Launa, by preserving this ancient society, can divert the evolution of the Human race onto a more peaceful track. Instead of nation fighting against nation, and terrorists plotting to destroy any aspect of society they disagree with, might it be possible to engineer a modern utopia in this manner? Well, there's always hope, right?

While preparing to attend a science fiction convention, I noticed that Mike Moscoe, a newly published author, would be attended. I attended a panel on which he participated, and afterward approached him with a few questions about his publishing experience. He told me that these were complex questions, and motioned me out of the room. To my surprise, he found us a comfortable and quiet area in which to sit, and proceeded to answer all my questions in the most exacting detail. 

For, believe it or not, one entire hour!

Never in the years since has a published author opened up to me like that, and explained the nuts and bolts of his or her publishing experience in such minute detail. Later, I realized that I wasn't ready to be published yet, but the guiding light Mike shone down the publication path gave me hope. In the meantime, I would go on to enjoy all three installments in his first trilogy, three space operas, and several installments of the Kris Longknife saga (published as Mike Shepherd). And as I read each one, I derived pleasure not only from Mike's prose, but from the memory of the time he lavished upon me. 

Someday, I hope to read more novels about Jack and Launa. Beyond that, I hope to have my own books published. Should the latter event occur, it will in no small way be due to people like Mike Moscoe, who took the time to sit down with an unformed, naive writer, and guide him along, for a few steps, down the narrow, difficult-to-follow deer track through the writing wilderness, that may eventually lead toward the primitive wood-and-thatch hut of publication. You know, the one you could walk around through the forest forever, passing by it time and again, but never spot it through the trees.

Happy Birthday, and eternal thanks, Mike (Shepherd) Moscoe. 

Dragon Dave

Happy Birthday Gregory Benford

It's interesting to occasionally look back at what you've done. For a long time, I blogged extensively on author Gregory Benford. I read most of the novels he published during the first decade or so of his literary career, and mused deeply on three of them: Jupiter Project, The Stars in Shroud, and If the Stars are Gods, the latter of which he wrote with Gordon Eklund. I've always meant to go back, and make more posts on those other novels, but I never have, even though I read Against Infinity, the sequel to Jupiter Project, twice.


Against Infinity is one of my favorite novels, completely different in subject matter and style than its predecessor, yet it continues the story of protagonist Matt Bowles on Jupiter's moon Ganymede. Highly recommended. Anyway, if you missed any of those early posts on Gregory Benford, or would like to reread them, here's an easy guide to them. And if you're not inclined to read them, why not read a Benford novel in honor of the author's birthday. He turns 74 today, and he's written so many Science Fiction novels, each uniquely different in style, tone, and subject matter, that you're sure to find one you'll enjoy. 

Happy Birthday Gregory Benford! May you write many more great Science Fiction stories!

Dragon Dave

Gregory Benford                  
Posts on the novel Jupiter Project

JABOL: A Space Odyssey
Jupiter Project: Life on JABOL
Matt Bowles: Renaissance Man
Jupiter Project: A Final Word 

On his novel The Stars in Shroud
Our Need for Interdependence 
Defined By Fear 
Ling’s Courage 
Those Detestable Ofkaipan 
A Completely Different World
Those Most Precious to Us 
Sensing “The Other” 
Embracing The Different 
Religion as Social Glue
Ling’s Faith and Persistence
A New Guru
Doctor Who, Ling, & the No-Win Situation
Your Personal Altar: Part 1
Your Personal Altar: Part 2
Your Personal Altar: Part 3

Gregory Benford & Gordon Eklund
Posts on their novel If the Stars are Gods

A Beautiful Mystery
The Invisible Enemy
Dilemmas in the Darkness
A Fictional Role Model
A Defining Moment
That Which Divides
The Man in the Box
What Drives Us
If the Stars are Gods: A Final Word

Happy Birthday Allen Steele

Three years ago, I attended a Science Fiction convention in which Allen Steele served as the Author Guest of Honor. I enjoyed hearing his input on panel discussions, as well as his views on contemporary society. He seemed eminently approachable, without pretension, and a real down-to-earth guy.

He told us an interesting story about meeting his writing hero Robert Heinlein. As a young man, he snuck into a private party at a Science Fiction convention. When Robert Heinlein arrived, he approached the great author only to find himself tongue-tied, and unable to tell Heinlein how much he admired his stories.

While Allen Steele signed my books, I told him about meeting SFWA Grand Master Robert Silverberg. How I had gotten tongue-tied, and felt embarrassed afterward. Thankfully, I was able to speak clearly and concisely with Allen, and told him about sections of two of his novels that had really spoken to me. He thanked me for my input, and shared with me what had motivated him to write those particular scenes. 

As I walked away, I heard something rip behind me. Somehow, my shoe had gotten wrapped in the fabric draping the signing table, and I had just torn half of the fabric away from the table. Hurriedly, I reattached it, and left the signing room. 

So much for meeting my literary heroes without (in any way) embarrassing myself.

Happy Birthday, Allen Steele! Thanks for being so approachable, for sharing with your fans, and for writing your fantastic novels!

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links
Allen Steele's website

Kim Stanley Robinson: Growing Up During The Ice Age

In the first section of his novel Shaman, Kim Stanley Robinson introduces us to Loon, a boy growing up during the Ice Age. After his parents' death, Loon was taken in by Thorn, the local shaman.  One cold, rainy night, Thorn takes Loon up a hill, strips him of his clothes, tools, and everything the pack has given him, and pushes Loon off into the darkness.  

Loon's most pressing need is to make fire.  He searches for the necessities, such as duff, punk, and the right kinds of wood.  While he has built many fires, tonight no one stands by to guide or correct him. He is cold and wet…and he fails. So he huddles under trees, dances and shouts to keep warm, and in this way passes the first night of his trial of manhood.

The next morning, he builds a trap in a nearby stream. He gets a fire going. He uses a sharp rock to cut long, thin strips of wood. The latter he weaves together, cuts the crosshatched wood into shapes, and fashions garments for himself. Then he returns to the river, tosses the fish in his trap onto the bank, and cooks them over the fire he has carefully tended while making his own clothes.

Loon's trial of manhood will last two weeks.  His mandate is not merely exist, but to return and regale the pack with his adventures. His next goal is to hunt for animals, so he can strengthen himself with meat, use its bones to forge tools, and turn its hide into warmer, more durable garments.  But he is not the only hunter in this area. He must beware predatory animals and other tribesmen while hunting, skinning prey, traveling by day, and sleeping at night.  An open area under trees, with a fire that can be seen miles away, and with nothing to stop the wind from carrying his scent, can serve as but a temporary home. 

As always, Kim Stanley Robinson writes with beauty and style. While he weaves action with memory and dreams, we learn about this boy who must prove himself a man. Loon's Ice Age adventures remind me how ignorant I am of the necessities of survival. Yet, as a modern man, Loon's challenge is also my own.  To use my knowledge, experience, and the tools at my disposal to not just survive, but to thrive.  

To have adventures.

Dragon Dave

The Madness of Peter F. Hamilton

When I first saw the paperback for The Reality Dysfunction: Part 1 in the bookstore, I was intrigued by the front cover, and soon found myself captivated the idea of the story.  Recommendations from such noted authors as Dr. Gregory Benford, whom I’ve mentioned many times in this blog, no doubt secured my interest.  I read the six-hundred page paperback, and found it so satisfying that I picked up Part 2.  Little did I realize that Peter F. Hamilton's story, entitled The Night's Dawn trilogy, would extend over two more novels (and four more paperbacks).

Like its predecessor, The Neutronium Alchemist was released the following year in two paperback volumes.  Each was slightly longer than the two halves of The Reality Dysfunction.  Counting the pages of those first four paperbacks yields a total of around 2500 pages.  When you consider that a normal paperback runs 300 to 400 pages, the scope of Hamilton’s story, and the greatness of his vision, become clear.  Yet, while reading the two halves of The Neutronium Alchemist, a curious fatigue set in.  I loved Hamilton's story, but I also yearned to immerse myself in the fiction of other authors. 

Peter F. Hamilton had published several novels before, but such a grand idea as the return of the dead, intermixed with the big ideas of Space Opera, landed him on the Science Fiction radar in the United States.  His publisher here responded by releasing the final novel in the trilogy, The Naked God, in hardcover.  This gave me the perfect excuse to take a break from his story, and read other authors.  But in the additional year I waited for the final two paperbacks to arrive, my recollection of the events, characters, and worlds in his story faded.  When I finally picked up The Naked God: Part 1, I struggled to immerse myself once more in Hamilton's story.  I utterly failed to summon up sufficient enthusiasm to read Part 2. 

When asked why he wrote such a long story, Peter F. Hamilton admits that he didn’t carefully plot out the story in advance.  An idea occurred to him, and struck him so powerfully that he simply had to develop it.  At roughly 4,000 pages (when counting all six paperbacks), we hardly need for Hamilton to tell us that he didn’t plan on the books being so long, or taking him six-and-a-half years to write.  But they capture our imaginations, and summon up a galactic spectacle he likens to The Battle of Britain.  As he lives in England, one can imagine how he was inspired by the terrible trials and tragedies Hitler visited upon the British during World War II.  But still, Hamilton: 4,000 pages?  That’s the equivalent of ten stand-alone novels!

Many readers might have given up on Hamilton after a few years, and cleared space on their bookshelves for other authors' books.  But every time I saw those six books on the shelf, I remembered how much I enjoyed The Reality Dysfunction, and how much I wanted to know the way his grand saga ended.  So in June 2010, I reread both halves of The Reality Dysfunction.  In September 2010, I reread both halves of The Neutronium Alchemist.  After a longer interval, in July 2011, I finished The Naked God: Part 1.  It took even longer to begin Part 2, but I finally started it a couple months ago.  Naturally, I had trouble re-immersing myself in Hamilton's story, and for various reasons took several breaks from the book to read other novels.  In the latter third of the book, I experienced an entirely different problem.  Every evening, I had to limit myself to twenty or thirty pages of Hamilton's book, and then read something else, or I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.  Imagine the riveting climax of a grand saga that lasts for several hundred pages!  That’s what you get with a 4,000 page story.  But I finally finished The Night's Dawn trilogy this month.  Hooray!

It seems rather strange that Peter F. Hamilton should have created such an insane work of fiction.  To all outward appearances, he seems like an imminently sensible writer.  He lives in Rutland, one of the smallest and least populated areas in England, and the county in which he was born.  Despite the fame and fortune his novels have brought him, he hasn’t moved to a busier place, or adopted an extravagant lifestyle.  He lives in a 350 year-old cottage, and during the winter months feeds his log-burning stove and worries about getting snowed in.  He has a strong work ethic: according to his son Felix, he “works all day every day.”  In fact, he’s so devoted to his craft that, on at least one occasion, Felix has complained to the staff of his U.K. publishing house that “He’s soooo boring.”  Hamilton still writes long novels, but he’s also begun to expand his horizons, and try his hand at new markets.  Like Roald Dahl, who first perfected his craft by writing adult fiction, he has recently tried his hand at a children’s novel.  The soon-to-be released novel is entitled The Queen of Dreams.  He based the primary characters for the story on his children (including his son Felix) and their two friends.  So, there are many reasons to admire the man.

I can’t tell you how many times I have wished that Hamilton had planned out The Night’s Dawn trilogy ahead of time, and reduced the number of characters, settings, ideas and pages to a more conventional story length.  But had he structured his novels differently, there’s every chance that he wouldn’t have captured my interest so strongly.  Had his novels been less powerful, I might not have thought of them so fondly and frequently throughout the past fifteen years.  I enjoyed rereading the first five paperbacks, and finally learning how he wrapped up everything in the sixth volume. So perhaps there was reason to Peter F. Hamilton’s madness, and I should be grateful he wrote it in the form, and at the length, that he did.

Now, the only question facing me is whether or not to keep all six paperbacks, so that one day, perhaps another ten or fifteen years from now, I can embark on the saga once again.  But then, I suffer from my own particular form of madness.

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

Why Hamilton wrote The Night’s Dawn trilogy

Cover Art for The Queen of Dreams

Peter F. Hamilton on Life, Death, & Purgatory

As an example of the kind of people you’ll meet in Peter F. Hamilton’s novel The Reality Dysfunction, allow me to introduce you to Joshua Calvert.  He’s a typical Adamist in the twenty-sixth century, only he’s more fortunate than most.  He has a knack for finding things of value, which proves useful as he spends his days scavenging for Laymil artifacts in the Ruin Ring that surrounds the gas giant Mirchusko.  His geneered physique has adapted him to life in space, and with retinal implants and neural nanonics, he can study objects a great distance away, save what he sees, and datavise his spaceplane to compare the images in his brain to those in the onboard computer. 

One day he makes the discovery of a lifetime: a module stack of Laymil circuitry that contains five times more memory crystals than all those scavenged from the Ruin Ring in the century-and-a-half since its discovery.  He takes his find back to Tranquility, a custom-grown habitat that orbits Mirchusko, where the proceeds from the auction sale make him rich.  Rather than spend his life in luxury, he invests the funds in refurbishing his father’s old spaceship, the Lady Macbeth.  He envisions a life of discovery and interstellar trading.  Little does he suspect that he will soon be leading his vessel and crew into the war with the possessed souls invading our universe.

Now that you've met Joshua Calvert, allow me to introduce you to Ione Sandana.  She is the Lord of Ruin, the sovereign ruler of Tranquility.  Generations previously, the Kulu Kingdom excommunicated her family for integrating the Edenists’ bitek into their bodies.  Along with the Adamists' implants such as Joshua’s, she has an affinity gene, which bonds her to Tranquility’s consciousness.  She is not an Edenist—she isn’t in constant mental contact with the other inhabitants of Tranquility, nor can she benefit from communing with the habitat's previous residents.  But she is mind-mated to the sixty-five kilometer-long habitat, which means that, no matter how close she grows to any human, that relationship could never compare to the closeness she feels with Tranquility.  This poses a problem for Ione, as when she buys the Laymil artifact so that her researchers can discover why seventy thousand alien habitats suffered near-simultaneous destruction, she unexpectedly finds herself in a relationship with Joshua that transcends ordinary friendship.

In The Reality Dysfunction, Peter F. Hamilton explores human belief systems, and how embracing them differentiates us from others.  Adamists, such as Joshua and the Kulus, are defenders of the Christian Faith.  Edenists, who are linked with each other and their habitats, deny such concepts as Salvation, Divine Entities, and Human Souls.  They transfer their thoughts and personalities into the habitat consciousness when they die, and can exist as individuals in the multiplicity for as long as they wish, sharing thoughts and feelings with the living and the dead.  But regardless of one's conception of life after death, and the different ways they all live, everyone takes note when millions of souls pour into our universe and possess the bodies of the living.  An answer to the realities of the afterlife must be found.  For not only do the living wish to banish spirits of the deceased, but no one wants to end up in Purgatory.

I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to Joshua and Ione, Adamism and Edenism, and Life, Death and Purgatory in the twenty-sixth century.  For Peter F. Hamilton’s story doesn’t end with The Reality Dysfunction, but continues in the accompanying volumes The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God.  Should you decide to take this voyage of discovery with Hamilton, know that you have opted for a long journey.  Pack adequate provisions, and plan your future carefully. Then sit back, and prepare to not just be entertained, but also to be required to think about what you read. 

Ultimately, that is what we seek from all great stories, is it not?  Surprise, delight, and enlightenment as to whom we are, how we live, and our place in the grand scheme of things. 

Dragon Dave

Related Internet Links

More on the Kulu Kingdom

Peter F. Hamilton: The Reality Dysfunction

Warning:
Prepare yourself for The Reality Disfunction.

Given my love of “Star Wars,” it seemed only natural that I would also fall in love with Peter F. Hamilton’s novel The Reality Dysfunction.  It embodies the finest traditions of Space Opera, and features interstellar conflicts involving not only humanity, but all the alien races they have come in contact with.  And it comes with a unique ingredient that I’ll get into later.  But the story begins, fittingly enough, with a space battle.

With the discovery of 387 Dorados, both Garissa and Omuta rush to claim them.  Each planet intends to exploit the large asteroids’ high metal content for their industries.  Instead of deciding the matter in a courtroom, the disagreement spills over into space.  So-called accidents evolve into skirmishes, and then into downright attacks.  Then Omuta deployed an antimatter bomb against a Garissan asteroid settlement.  The explosion killed 56,000 Garissans, and left the 18,000 survivors in intensive care.  Suddenly, it became clear to the Garissan government: the next attack would be planetary bombardment.  So they set out to end the threat to their homeworld by building a superweapon.

In the first chapter, Dr. Alkad Mzu travels aboard the Beezling.  The attack cruiser is loaded with her very own creation: the Alchemist, a device that can destroy Omuta’s sun.  But before they can deploy it, the Omutan Navy sends several Blackhawks (sentient space creatures that humans can utilize like spaceships) that damage the Beezling and destroy her support ships.   Six months later, Omutan ships drop fifteen planet-buster bombs on the Garissan homeworld, destroying the planet’s ecosystem, and killing most of its 95 million inhabitants.  

But there’s more to The Reality Dysfunction than the battle between the Beezling and the voidhawks, just as there's much more at stake in "Star Wars" than the capture of the Rebel Blockade Runner by the Imperial Star Destroyer at the beginning of the film.  Consider, for example, the planet Lalonde, which the Confederation has recently opened up for settlement.  People move there for a variety of reasons.  Global Warming has destroyed Earth’s climate, and the humans can only survive on their home planet inside crowded domes.  Some of Earth's billions yearn for a simpler life, a small town existence.  Some wish to plant crops and raise animals.  Still others want to get away from an ever-pervasive technology and culture, and teach the next generation the values they hold most dear.  Criminals may choose to travel there as indentured servants, and work off their debt to society by helping the settlers build their communities. And then there are those who aren’t supposed to be there: rebels and outcasts who also travel to worlds like Lalonde because the frontier offers them innumerable places to hide, to regroup, and forge new beginnings.

Warning:
This is also The Reality Dysfunction.

This may sound like the typical dramas, wars, and societal differences, both human and alien, that underpin your typical Space Opera, but Hamilton does more in the novel than merely contrast philosophical and cultural outlooks.  To this rich mix of characters, plots, and themes, he adds one additional element: the destiny of the human soul.  An alien species called the Ly-cilph inhabits a moon orbiting a super gas giant, a planet many times larger than Jupiter.  As the species mutates and changes, something happens which translates it into another dimension.  Unlike the wormholes created by spaceships and Blackhawks, which allow them to travel vast interstellar distances, this event causes a rip in the fabric of the universe.  This allows departed human souls to flood back into our realm, where they take over the bodies of the living.  The possessed enjoy fantastic powers to transform matter, such as the shape and appearance of their bodies.  They also wield energistic power that can overwhelm most conventional weaponry.  Killing the possessed presents a perplexing dilemma.  For every one you kill, you free two souls to possess more of the living.

In The Reality Dysfunction, Peter F. Hamilton introduces us to a large cast of heroes and villains, some of whom are living, and others who possess the bodies of others.  In the worlds of the Confederation, he suggests the infinite and varied ways in which human society may evolve and mature.  He offers up interstellar and planetary wars that would reduce George Lucas, the director and creator of “Star Wars,” to tears.  And he presents us with conundrums that lie at the heart of human existence. 

Ask yourself these questions.  What if destroying the body proved insufficient to halt the actions of our most hardened criminals?  What if armed conflict proved incapable of resolving the thorniest conflicts that fester within and between societies?  Those factors being the case, what might we do to preserve our values, our cherished way of life?  And what kind of people would we have to become?

Yeah, you're right.  Such questions boggle the mind, don't they?  No wonder they call it Space Opera.

Dragon Dave