The Dreaming Void, by Peter F. Hamilton

Bibliography Peter F. Hamilton

The Greg Mandel Trilogy:
  • Mindstar Rising (1993)
  • A Quantum Murder (1994)
  • The Nano Flower (1995)
The Night's Dawn Trilogy
  • The Reality Dysfunction (1996), U.S.: Emergence and Expansion
  • The Neutronium Alchemist (1997, U.S.:Consolidation and Conflict)
  • The Naked God (1999) U.S.: Flight and Faith
Others in the Confederation Universe
  • A Second Chance at Eden (1998)
  • The Confederation Handbook (2000)
Commonwealth Universe
  • Misspent Youth (2002)
The Commonwealth Saga
The Void Trilogy
  • The Dreaming Void (2007)
  • The Temporal Void (2008)
  • The Evolutionary Void (forthcoming, 2010)
Other novels
  • Fallen Dragon (2001)
In addition, Peter F. Hamilton has written a number of short stories. See also his own website and Wikipedia.
Peter F. Hamilton is a great and productive writer. He is also one of SF's most reliably entertaining authors, and churns out blockbuster epics while telling page-turning, gripping stories.The Dreaming Void, Peter F. Hamilton However, he is a little uneven – sometimes great, sometimes a little confusing. He has been one of my favorite SF writers for a long time. I recently read him again, this time The Dreaming Void, a follow up to two previous books in the Commonwealth Saga: Pandora's Star (2004) and Judas Unchained (2005).

The Dreaming Void is a long book – my paperback version is 602 pages. And it is big in its conceptualization as well. It takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth Saga books, but in AD 3589, 1205 years after the ending of the Starflyer War.

The Commonwealth is a very technologically advanced world spanning hundreds of planets across the galaxy. Humanity consists of three sub-species: normal humans, Highers and Advancers – differing in their use of life-enhancing and strengthening bio-technologies and each with their own ethics. Their galaxy is known as the Greater Commonwealth, one of the most powerful forces in the Galaxy. And allied to the Raiel, an alien race with superior technology which is the most powerful race in the Galaxy.

Much of the dynamics in the book derives from conflicts among political factions and religious fanatics, as well as from a huge external threat to the whole galaxy: The Void. The Void is a kind of black hole that attracts and absorbs whole planets and planetary systems. And periodically it goes through devourment phases where it destroys everything in its path.

Little is known about the Void, and much of what is known stems from dreams of a religious leader named Inigo. His dreams, communicated across the universe fascinate people, and result in the rise of a movement called Living Dream. And although nobody has been able to enter the Void and return, Living Dream now wants to organize a pilgrimage there. Among the powers that be, it is feared that a pilgrimage will bring about a new devourment phase that may destroy the entire galaxy. This, then, is the setting for a grand scale, universe-wide conflict involving multiple factions.

The Dreaming Void is one of Peter F. Hamilton’s very finest novels. If is huge in its conceptualization and thus it takes a while for it all to get started, but it is very fascinating and intriguing all along. If you have read the earlier books, it is easier to read this one, but it is still possible and quite enjoyable to start with this one.

Praise:

“This is thrilling stuff; compulsively readable and abundantly full of ideas. ... Cliff-hangers are tense enough, but this is a planet-hanger!” --The Times

“Peter Hamilton's willingness to shake up an already fascinating creation with this new trilogy is admirable, and the 1500-year gap offers up both new mysteries for him to reveal, and an opportunity for familiar characters to have grown up and changed.” --Starburst

“This is a book that arguably nobody else in Brit SF could even have attempted. Epic, multi-stranded, full of wonders.” –Sfx

Links to Peter F. Hamilton's books: amazon US, amazon UK, and amazon CAN.

The Temporal Void, by Peter F. Hamilton

The sequel to The Dreaming Void continues Hamilton’s epic narrative chronicling humankind's potentially self-destructive search for existential and spiritual fulfillment inside an ever-expanding black hole at the galactic core. The book – and the series – is very interesting in the sense that it mixes science fiction and fantasy. There are two intersecting universes in this book – the Commonwealth The Temporal Void, by Peter F. Hamiltonand the Void - and different physics apply in each. The universe inside the Void leans towards fantasy and mental powers, whereas the outside Commonwealth universe leans towards hard science fiction.

As before, several complex plot lines are weaved together seamlessly. The driver behind all the action is the mass pilgrimage planned by the religious movement Living Dream into the “black hole”-like Void. Some view it as the road to eternal bliss, some view it as a move that will increase the Void's expansion and bring the end of the galaxy.

The actors are many and they have very different and conflicting outlooks and motivations. The key players are the Living Dream, Inigo (the First Dreamer), the Second Dreamer Araminta, the Skylords, Edeard “The Waterwalker”, the government ANA (Advanced Neural Activity system), the Commonwealth military, the Burnelli family, the various Commonwealth factions, the Ocien Empire, the Primes, several key agents of the factions, and many more.

The richness of The Temporal Void is unbelievable. And, to top it off, several intriguing threads from the Starflyer War (see Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained) keep popping as well. We follow struggles for power, political maneuvering, religious ambitions, and military conflicts as well as passion, love, betrayal, trust, and conflicts at personal levels in fascinating technological and physical settings. The Commonwealth is in turmoil and threatened.

The tale of Edeard, whom we met in The Dreaming Void as an egg shaper from Ashwell, who has moved to the crystal city of Makkathran and now seeks to eliminate the city’s criminal gangs, is prominent in this volume. Edeard utilizes incredible telekinetic and telepathic powers, far beyond those of the average Makkathran citizen, and shakes up the city’s political system while learning some hard lessons along the way. And he engages in several romantic adventures as well.

Another character much in focus is Paula Myo. She is out of retirement to find the second dreamer to protect her from being controlled by any of the factions. And finds that she once again is up against the frightening The Cat, a devious, totally ruthless and evil female with impressive skills.

The Temporal Void is an extremely fascinating read. I liked the complex motivations, uncertainties and contradictions that Hamilton’s characters possess a lot. This second book of the trilogy is a thick brick of a book, but as the pages fly by it still feels much too short. Peter F. Hamilton really knows how to tell a tale. I eagerly await the third volume!

To the next Peter Hamilton pageTo the top

Bøker til glede og nytte
www.leserglede.com
 © 2007 leserglede.com