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Archimedes Engine #1
Exodus
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.
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.
928 pages, Paperback
First published September 17, 2024
2143 people are currently reading
21562 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
208 books10.2k followersPeter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.
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August 21, 2024
An epic space opera spanning millennia, across multiple star systems and a variety of advanced races, political machinations, and good old-fashioned humans. The skill of the author in building an intricate, inter-connected, believable set of worlds and cultures in which to set this story can’t be overstated. It’s quite an achievement.
The Set Up
The story is set 40,000 years in the future, in an area of space known as the Centauri Cluster. Playing the part of “advanced aliens” are humans that travelled to the Centauri Cluster, 16,000 light years from earth, “early” in the book’s timeline and made massive advances in technology and genetic engineering. They have highly sophisticated technology, and hugely extended lifespans. They are known as “celestials”.
And it’s just as well that they have extended lifespans, because there are no sci-fi tricks to allow anybody to travel or communicate faster than light: no hyperspace, no warp drive, no wormholes, no subspace communication. OK, so there’s one trick: a technology that allows very quick acceleration up to relativistic speeds (and deceleration), but this doesn’t change how relativistic laws still apply - including time dilation, where time passes more slowly for the people travelling than those left behind. And this is used to great effect in the story telling, where decades can pass on the planets while the plot follows some characters that are travelling between star systems.
The celestials originally arrived, as humans, in the Centauri cluster in generation ships - ships that travel at relativistic speeds, but still take millennia to travel between star systems (although it seems like less time to those on board). When they found an abundance of habitable worlds in the Centauri cluster, they sent out a “green worlds” signal to all of the other generation ships that had left earth. These ships then arrived in dribs and drabs over the next millennia, but weren’t especially welcome amongst the advanced (and now heavily populated) worlds of the Centauri cluster.
It is into this context that the latest generation ship arrives - the ‘Diligent’, which had been travelling away from the Centauri cluster when it received the “green worlds” signal, and thus has taken a somewhat circuitous route, to arrive late at the party.
And thus we have everything we need for an epic story of enormous scale. A downtrodden human population, into which new arrivals are injected. Plenty of opportunity for exposition, as the new arrivals have things explained to them about everything from technology, to politics, to celestial history. There are power structures amongst the celestials, with traditions and relationships that have spanned millennia, and are focused on retaining stability. There are secretive strategists, that have extensive information networks amongst their own, and their rivals, populations, and play the Great Game - a long game of strategy and political positioning.
And there is a rogue planet that is destined to enter one of the central star systems of the Centauri cluster, for reasons that nobody fully understands. And it is around consequences of the arrival of this planet that the main plot of the story revolves.
But Is It Good?
This book is… long. Obviously, I knew that when I started reading it. And it has to be reasonably long, given the scale and scope of the world building and the extensive cast of characters. And the length isn’t gratuitous at the paragraph level - there are no rambling descriptive passages that you can skip over. It’s wall-to-wall plot. However, the author does use plot to establish character and back-story, often telling entire sub-stories to flesh out the background of a character, technology, or organisation. The fine details of these sub-stories aren’t always important - but they might add flavour or depth to a particular character or broader sequence of events.
So to really enjoy this book, you need to be engaged and interested enough to want to immerse yourself in the sub-stories, and for those to be satisfying in themselves. This is space opera in its “soap opera” sense - where you want to hear more stories of the characters, places and organisations for their own sake, and where the advancement of the overall plot can sometimes take second place. And this is where I had a problem. I’m going to compare this to Dune and The Lord of the Rings, and not in a good way. Dune, because many of the characters aren’t particularly likeable, and I’m not particularly interested in political manoeuvring and power struggles; and Lord of the Rings, because many of the side quests don’t advance the plot as much as you might hope, and if you don’t care about the culture of dwarves in Middle-Earth (for example), you’re going to find it frustrating.
But Dune and Lord of the Rings are well liked, so perhaps it’s just me.
As I said at the beginning, there is no doubting the achievement of intricate world building that this book represents. If I was rating for that alone, it would get a solid 5 stars. But my personal enjoyment was hampered by my disinterest in the themes around politics and power struggles.
This is the first part of a duology. Will I read the second part when it’s released? I genuinely don’t know.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan Tor for the free review copy of #ExodusTheArchimedesEngine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
The Set Up
The story is set 40,000 years in the future, in an area of space known as the Centauri Cluster. Playing the part of “advanced aliens” are humans that travelled to the Centauri Cluster, 16,000 light years from earth, “early” in the book’s timeline and made massive advances in technology and genetic engineering. They have highly sophisticated technology, and hugely extended lifespans. They are known as “celestials”.
And it’s just as well that they have extended lifespans, because there are no sci-fi tricks to allow anybody to travel or communicate faster than light: no hyperspace, no warp drive, no wormholes, no subspace communication. OK, so there’s one trick: a technology that allows very quick acceleration up to relativistic speeds (and deceleration), but this doesn’t change how relativistic laws still apply - including time dilation, where time passes more slowly for the people travelling than those left behind. And this is used to great effect in the story telling, where decades can pass on the planets while the plot follows some characters that are travelling between star systems.
The celestials originally arrived, as humans, in the Centauri cluster in generation ships - ships that travel at relativistic speeds, but still take millennia to travel between star systems (although it seems like less time to those on board). When they found an abundance of habitable worlds in the Centauri cluster, they sent out a “green worlds” signal to all of the other generation ships that had left earth. These ships then arrived in dribs and drabs over the next millennia, but weren’t especially welcome amongst the advanced (and now heavily populated) worlds of the Centauri cluster.
It is into this context that the latest generation ship arrives - the ‘Diligent’, which had been travelling away from the Centauri cluster when it received the “green worlds” signal, and thus has taken a somewhat circuitous route, to arrive late at the party.
And thus we have everything we need for an epic story of enormous scale. A downtrodden human population, into which new arrivals are injected. Plenty of opportunity for exposition, as the new arrivals have things explained to them about everything from technology, to politics, to celestial history. There are power structures amongst the celestials, with traditions and relationships that have spanned millennia, and are focused on retaining stability. There are secretive strategists, that have extensive information networks amongst their own, and their rivals, populations, and play the Great Game - a long game of strategy and political positioning.
And there is a rogue planet that is destined to enter one of the central star systems of the Centauri cluster, for reasons that nobody fully understands. And it is around consequences of the arrival of this planet that the main plot of the story revolves.
But Is It Good?
This book is… long. Obviously, I knew that when I started reading it. And it has to be reasonably long, given the scale and scope of the world building and the extensive cast of characters. And the length isn’t gratuitous at the paragraph level - there are no rambling descriptive passages that you can skip over. It’s wall-to-wall plot. However, the author does use plot to establish character and back-story, often telling entire sub-stories to flesh out the background of a character, technology, or organisation. The fine details of these sub-stories aren’t always important - but they might add flavour or depth to a particular character or broader sequence of events.
So to really enjoy this book, you need to be engaged and interested enough to want to immerse yourself in the sub-stories, and for those to be satisfying in themselves. This is space opera in its “soap opera” sense - where you want to hear more stories of the characters, places and organisations for their own sake, and where the advancement of the overall plot can sometimes take second place. And this is where I had a problem. I’m going to compare this to Dune and The Lord of the Rings, and not in a good way. Dune, because many of the characters aren’t particularly likeable, and I’m not particularly interested in political manoeuvring and power struggles; and Lord of the Rings, because many of the side quests don’t advance the plot as much as you might hope, and if you don’t care about the culture of dwarves in Middle-Earth (for example), you’re going to find it frustrating.
But Dune and Lord of the Rings are well liked, so perhaps it’s just me.
As I said at the beginning, there is no doubting the achievement of intricate world building that this book represents. If I was rating for that alone, it would get a solid 5 stars. But my personal enjoyment was hampered by my disinterest in the themes around politics and power struggles.
This is the first part of a duology. Will I read the second part when it’s released? I genuinely don’t know.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan Tor for the free review copy of #ExodusTheArchimedesEngine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
March 30, 2025
Epic in scope, characters and far future scientific speculations as always. Nothing short of exceeds expectations. One of the best Hard Sci-Fi reads I've sampled since Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds.
Absolutely superb work in par with his Dreaming Void trilogy, containing within, his unusually vivid and otherworldly alien visualizations represented in an anthropomorphic view; it's got a fast paced plot with expertly drawn three dimensional characters.
In other words, a novel with masterclass plot, pace and writing. I really give this one my highest recommendations for fans of this subgenre.
P.S
A more comprehensive review to follow after a rearrangement of my wild thoughts!
2024 Read
Absolutely superb work in par with his Dreaming Void trilogy, containing within, his unusually vivid and otherworldly alien visualizations represented in an anthropomorphic view; it's got a fast paced plot with expertly drawn three dimensional characters.
In other words, a novel with masterclass plot, pace and writing. I really give this one my highest recommendations for fans of this subgenre.
P.S
A more comprehensive review to follow after a rearrangement of my wild thoughts!
2024 Read
July 17, 2024
Finished Exodus: The Archimedes Engine by P Hamilton and it quite surpassed my high expectations as it brought back the inventiveness, sense of wonder, and great characters that the author first displayed in his Night's Dawn trilogy and which was only partially seen in the rest of his work since.
And this with no ftl, aliens or inteligent ai's but with various kinds of humanity-descended advanced species, the Celestials, regular humans, and uranic humans (the ones that interface between the Celestials and the humans under their dominion) is that a good though the Celestials hand while firm and all-seeing is also quite benevolent in the worlds the action takes place as of now - though of course hints of malevolent Celestials and oppressed humans appear here and there - as the regular humans have high tech civilized societies, though with the usual blemishes, like gangs and drugs, fierce competition that can descend in all-out fights between factions etc).
The Celestials of our story - the Crown Dominion - while seemingly above this, have their forms of intrigue and competition, including powerful fleets that guard their borders against other potential malevolent Celestial races. And of course, the supreme Celestials of all, the mythical Elohim who long ago terraformed the numerous systems of today, are missing in action though their handiwork is still there (they are the only possessors of the Archimedes Engines who can move planets and stars and of the ability to create the interstellar gates through which spaceships move at 99.999 speed of light making the interaction between the numerous worlds of the Centauri cluster possible if still time-consuming for the ones not traveling relativistically).
At the high level, we have Helene-Chione, one of 5 (immortal mindline Helene, Chione being the current body name) Queens of the Crown Dominion Celestials which has seemingly been quite stable and prosperous for millennia, since the 5 Queens and their solar systems ganged up on the 6th which supposedly wanted dominion over all through dark genetic manipulations; but there are rumors of an Archimedes Engine planet hurtling towards them which can destabilize the current arrangement and after all, when 5 ganged on the 6th, 4 can gang up on the 5th on some pretext or another...
While of fairly young body, Helene has numerous consorts and gives birth (well, produces eggs that her consorts carry out to term...) to various children, of which the most promising daughters are groomed as princesses in waiting if something happens to the Chione body or when it ages out after 7-8 decades; but since the mindline can be transferred only at fairly young ages before personality sets in, the process continues as the aged-out princesses become valued members of the court and new such are instated; one is Thyra, single daughter of minor noble Bekket (known derisively as oneshot as usually more eggs are produced by the Queen) but with mysterious abilities of his own; and of course the other 4 of the current in-waiting brood, some true sisters and all from high born fathers, gang up on Thyra at any occasion, but Thyra seems to be a match for any and all of her rivals as she conclusively proves at the First Trial riding a unicorn against powerful modified beasts...
At the (to start) low level we have Finn, uranic son of one of the noble families that rule Gondiar, the human agricultural planet in Queen Helene's system, who is super-bored with his role, associates himself with discontented humans and dreams of flying to the stars with the Traveller families who own spaceships and go exploring and bringing old Remnant tech to the Celestials from dangerous places; to establish enough creed, he flies to the Anoosha the other human planet in the Dominion, an industrial one under a fellow/rival Celestial Queen, gets in over his head in the process and opens the book by being thrown outbound and naked from a high altitude plane... While a drone breaks his fatal fall, he still needs rescuing (as he is thrown naked into a snow-covered area) and we meet human newcomers Ellie of arkship Diligent and Josiah (her many generations ancestors, originally born of Earth 40000 years or so before and recently thawed), now marooned on Anoosha and strangers in a strange land. Finn wants to fly to the stars and would do anything it takes for that...
Also, we have Terence a young and upcoming detective in Santa Rosa, the capital of Gondiar, who accepts an interesting assignment and becomes involved with Celestial and Traveller intrigue which of course can get quite dangerous in itself.
With a layered and complex storyline of which we get successive glimpses only until the powerful finale which leaves the story at a good stopping point (thankfully no planet hopping waterfall ride this time as its sort of analog here is done earlier) the book is an extraordinary achievement in which the author really let fly his imagination.
Best of the year by far and will be hard to top in the promise sequel and duology ending The Helium Sea.
And this with no ftl, aliens or inteligent ai's but with various kinds of humanity-descended advanced species, the Celestials, regular humans, and uranic humans (the ones that interface between the Celestials and the humans under their dominion) is that a good though the Celestials hand while firm and all-seeing is also quite benevolent in the worlds the action takes place as of now - though of course hints of malevolent Celestials and oppressed humans appear here and there - as the regular humans have high tech civilized societies, though with the usual blemishes, like gangs and drugs, fierce competition that can descend in all-out fights between factions etc).
The Celestials of our story - the Crown Dominion - while seemingly above this, have their forms of intrigue and competition, including powerful fleets that guard their borders against other potential malevolent Celestial races. And of course, the supreme Celestials of all, the mythical Elohim who long ago terraformed the numerous systems of today, are missing in action though their handiwork is still there (they are the only possessors of the Archimedes Engines who can move planets and stars and of the ability to create the interstellar gates through which spaceships move at 99.999 speed of light making the interaction between the numerous worlds of the Centauri cluster possible if still time-consuming for the ones not traveling relativistically).
At the high level, we have Helene-Chione, one of 5 (immortal mindline Helene, Chione being the current body name) Queens of the Crown Dominion Celestials which has seemingly been quite stable and prosperous for millennia, since the 5 Queens and their solar systems ganged up on the 6th which supposedly wanted dominion over all through dark genetic manipulations; but there are rumors of an Archimedes Engine planet hurtling towards them which can destabilize the current arrangement and after all, when 5 ganged on the 6th, 4 can gang up on the 5th on some pretext or another...
While of fairly young body, Helene has numerous consorts and gives birth (well, produces eggs that her consorts carry out to term...) to various children, of which the most promising daughters are groomed as princesses in waiting if something happens to the Chione body or when it ages out after 7-8 decades; but since the mindline can be transferred only at fairly young ages before personality sets in, the process continues as the aged-out princesses become valued members of the court and new such are instated; one is Thyra, single daughter of minor noble Bekket (known derisively as oneshot as usually more eggs are produced by the Queen) but with mysterious abilities of his own; and of course the other 4 of the current in-waiting brood, some true sisters and all from high born fathers, gang up on Thyra at any occasion, but Thyra seems to be a match for any and all of her rivals as she conclusively proves at the First Trial riding a unicorn against powerful modified beasts...
At the (to start) low level we have Finn, uranic son of one of the noble families that rule Gondiar, the human agricultural planet in Queen Helene's system, who is super-bored with his role, associates himself with discontented humans and dreams of flying to the stars with the Traveller families who own spaceships and go exploring and bringing old Remnant tech to the Celestials from dangerous places; to establish enough creed, he flies to the Anoosha the other human planet in the Dominion, an industrial one under a fellow/rival Celestial Queen, gets in over his head in the process and opens the book by being thrown outbound and naked from a high altitude plane... While a drone breaks his fatal fall, he still needs rescuing (as he is thrown naked into a snow-covered area) and we meet human newcomers Ellie of arkship Diligent and Josiah (her many generations ancestors, originally born of Earth 40000 years or so before and recently thawed), now marooned on Anoosha and strangers in a strange land. Finn wants to fly to the stars and would do anything it takes for that...
Also, we have Terence a young and upcoming detective in Santa Rosa, the capital of Gondiar, who accepts an interesting assignment and becomes involved with Celestial and Traveller intrigue which of course can get quite dangerous in itself.
With a layered and complex storyline of which we get successive glimpses only until the powerful finale which leaves the story at a good stopping point (thankfully no planet hopping waterfall ride this time as its sort of analog here is done earlier) the book is an extraordinary achievement in which the author really let fly his imagination.
Best of the year by far and will be hard to top in the promise sequel and duology ending The Helium Sea.
July 12, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton has long been one of my favorite science-fiction writers. From my earliest days of reviewing when I worked at Borders Books, he was one of the first authors I got into after pulling a copy of The Reality Dysfunction off the shelf and totally becoming immersed in Hamilton's prodigious imagination. After that I was hooked and I couldn't get my hands on the rest of his books fast enough. Hamilton writes space opera that can also be heavy on the hard sf, but does it in such a way that even a newbie to the genre can grasp the plot without getting lost. It's a tough thing to pull off as a lot of hard sf elements can provide a good deal of intimidating moments for those who aren't used to reading it. EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is Hamilton's latest effort and I have much to say about it after venturing through its 900+ pages.
The first thing I will say is that immediately upon reading the back cover description this seemed like a book that was right up my alley. Generation ships fleeing Earth, setting up colonies and then seeing how that evolves tens of thousands of years later on said colonies? Yeah I guess you could say I was eager to read this story based on the tantalizing summary.
This is a huge book in pretty much every way. Huge in length, huge in galactic scope, with a huge cast of multi-dimensional characters. The main thrust of the plot is a very interesting one as the already established Celestials are now having to deal with a brand new group of colonists and see them as inferior just by virtue of the fact that they are new. Never mind that these Celestials were once exactly the same as the newly arrived colonists 40,000 years previously. I couldn't help but think that this was an intentional aspect of the storyline that kind of mirrors a lot of things that have happened in our real world history. And as the book progresses we get to see the same prejudices and stereotypes that have stained much of our past and present.
Understandably there is a good deal of setup in the first 200 pages or so of EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE. We get introduced to the timeline of events leading up to present day and then each major player and their particular factions and home worlds. It can be tough to wade through but thankfully there is a handy glossary to help keep everyone straight. After I was able to grasp who was who the story really took hold and I couldn't stop reading, often consuming this goliath of a novel in hefty chunks. And once Hamilton sucks you in, you really have to cancel all plans for a while because he doesn't do anything in a half-hearted way, its mostly pedal to the floor with mind-blowing scene after mind-blowing scene.
EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is a brilliant first book in what will be a duology, so there won't be very long to wait for the ending of this story. Please do not be put off by the size of it because there aren't very many lulls and I found myself breezing through it in fairly short order. I am constantly in awe of Peter F. Hamilton's incredible vision and ability to project that vision onto the written page. If you are looking for space opera that has a lot of meat on the bone, then you should jump on this right away. It's just another masterpiece in a long string of successes from one of the best in the biz. I can't wait for the final chapter of the duology because the cliffhanger to this one left me truly flabbergasted.
The first thing I will say is that immediately upon reading the back cover description this seemed like a book that was right up my alley. Generation ships fleeing Earth, setting up colonies and then seeing how that evolves tens of thousands of years later on said colonies? Yeah I guess you could say I was eager to read this story based on the tantalizing summary.
This is a huge book in pretty much every way. Huge in length, huge in galactic scope, with a huge cast of multi-dimensional characters. The main thrust of the plot is a very interesting one as the already established Celestials are now having to deal with a brand new group of colonists and see them as inferior just by virtue of the fact that they are new. Never mind that these Celestials were once exactly the same as the newly arrived colonists 40,000 years previously. I couldn't help but think that this was an intentional aspect of the storyline that kind of mirrors a lot of things that have happened in our real world history. And as the book progresses we get to see the same prejudices and stereotypes that have stained much of our past and present.
Understandably there is a good deal of setup in the first 200 pages or so of EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE. We get introduced to the timeline of events leading up to present day and then each major player and their particular factions and home worlds. It can be tough to wade through but thankfully there is a handy glossary to help keep everyone straight. After I was able to grasp who was who the story really took hold and I couldn't stop reading, often consuming this goliath of a novel in hefty chunks. And once Hamilton sucks you in, you really have to cancel all plans for a while because he doesn't do anything in a half-hearted way, its mostly pedal to the floor with mind-blowing scene after mind-blowing scene.
EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is a brilliant first book in what will be a duology, so there won't be very long to wait for the ending of this story. Please do not be put off by the size of it because there aren't very many lulls and I found myself breezing through it in fairly short order. I am constantly in awe of Peter F. Hamilton's incredible vision and ability to project that vision onto the written page. If you are looking for space opera that has a lot of meat on the bone, then you should jump on this right away. It's just another masterpiece in a long string of successes from one of the best in the biz. I can't wait for the final chapter of the duology because the cliffhanger to this one left me truly flabbergasted.
April 11, 2025
"the universe is stranger than imagination"
Indeed; however no one beats PFH's imagination. No matter that I've read all his books, every time I start a new one I'm blown away by the scale of it: the civilizations, the species, the planets, the habitats, the infrastructure, the technology, the whole worldbuilding is beyond amazing. Add to this already overwhelming setup a political scheming whose size and implications exceeds every expectation, and you'll get yourself just a glimpse on how this book is.
The idea of it started with an offer from Archetype Entertainment to help them build the world of Exodus, a video game, and write a book in this universe. Thus started one of the most jaw dropping adventures ever, and the result is astonishing; I guess the game will be the same.
I love this kind of joint-ventures. I only know of one other, between Moonspell and José Luís Peixoto, the latter writing a small book with short stories based on the lyrics from the band's album, Antidote.
More behind the scenes of Exodus in the following post, from the author's FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16Pv...
And this is the timeline for both the game and book, but the main characters and action are different:
https://exodus-game.fandom.com/wiki/E...
What more can I say? I was one hell of a ride, and I can't wait for the sequel, The Helium Sea, to be published. Yes, it is finished, and over 220k words (before editing), and I am eagerly waiting to read it!
>>> ARC received thanks to Pan Macmillan | Tor via NetGalley <<<
Bonus:
Indeed; however no one beats PFH's imagination. No matter that I've read all his books, every time I start a new one I'm blown away by the scale of it: the civilizations, the species, the planets, the habitats, the infrastructure, the technology, the whole worldbuilding is beyond amazing. Add to this already overwhelming setup a political scheming whose size and implications exceeds every expectation, and you'll get yourself just a glimpse on how this book is.
The idea of it started with an offer from Archetype Entertainment to help them build the world of Exodus, a video game, and write a book in this universe. Thus started one of the most jaw dropping adventures ever, and the result is astonishing; I guess the game will be the same.
I love this kind of joint-ventures. I only know of one other, between Moonspell and José Luís Peixoto, the latter writing a small book with short stories based on the lyrics from the band's album, Antidote.
More behind the scenes of Exodus in the following post, from the author's FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16Pv...
And this is the timeline for both the game and book, but the main characters and action are different:
https://exodus-game.fandom.com/wiki/E...
What more can I say? I was one hell of a ride, and I can't wait for the sequel, The Helium Sea, to be published. Yes, it is finished, and over 220k words (before editing), and I am eagerly waiting to read it!
>>> ARC received thanks to Pan Macmillan | Tor via NetGalley <<<
Bonus:
September 13, 2024
There was a time in my life when I thought I would never stop reading Science Fiction. The real, hard stuff, full of physics, other worlds, aliens and especially full of new ideas. Somehow I drifted away from the genre when all I saw published were books in the Fantasy genre, a genre that doesn’t appeal to me as strongly as SF does.
But every now and then, ever since I changed my focus to (true)crime and thrillers and the like, I feel strongly that I need some SF. I’ve just finished a heavy tome by Peter Hamilton, it’s almost 1000 pages, and it completely fulfilled my wishes!
The Archimedes Engine is not the first book I’ve read by this excellent master but every time I’m astonished again about all the ideas, the humans, the aliens and not to forget the worlds. And at the same time, there are a lot of things that are recognizable, still. Even 40.000 years in the future, even now humanity has evolved to almost another form of life, there are quarrels and fights, and love and hope – with a very human touch. This makes reading The Archimedes Engine so great: you can still relate to the characters. Not all, of course, and not all characters are very honest or likable, but still. In between the sometimes rather difficult to read explanations about how the different starships work, there is a lot to explore (no pun intended) in this book.
A book by Hamilton is not the kind of book you read in short sittings. You really need to take the time to sit (or lay in bed, or on the beach) and dive in. You will be rewarded with a great experience. And even you’ve never read SF, or never any books by Hamilton, it’s good to give this one a try. I’m already looking forward to the second part in this story.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this review copy.
But every now and then, ever since I changed my focus to (true)crime and thrillers and the like, I feel strongly that I need some SF. I’ve just finished a heavy tome by Peter Hamilton, it’s almost 1000 pages, and it completely fulfilled my wishes!
The Archimedes Engine is not the first book I’ve read by this excellent master but every time I’m astonished again about all the ideas, the humans, the aliens and not to forget the worlds. And at the same time, there are a lot of things that are recognizable, still. Even 40.000 years in the future, even now humanity has evolved to almost another form of life, there are quarrels and fights, and love and hope – with a very human touch. This makes reading The Archimedes Engine so great: you can still relate to the characters. Not all, of course, and not all characters are very honest or likable, but still. In between the sometimes rather difficult to read explanations about how the different starships work, there is a lot to explore (no pun intended) in this book.
A book by Hamilton is not the kind of book you read in short sittings. You really need to take the time to sit (or lay in bed, or on the beach) and dive in. You will be rewarded with a great experience. And even you’ve never read SF, or never any books by Hamilton, it’s good to give this one a try. I’m already looking forward to the second part in this story.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this review copy.
January 4, 2025
Really enjoyed this. Hamilton went wild with the worldbuilding here creating all kinds of new races and technology. If you have read other Hamilton books and realized his books tend to share some similar worldbuilding elements this will be a nice change of pace as it is quite different than his other books. What isn't different is his reliance on a big cast so there are a lot of names for you to learn and remember here. Especially when you consider this book has really good politics and scheming knowing those names is fairly important and one of the more challenging aspects. I often found myself trying to remember who X was and what side they might be representing. But once you get past that the scheming and betrayals and such are excellent. I'll be thinking about this book for a while and will definitely reread before book 2 comes out. I'm reserving one star to see how book 2 goes. If it pays off a lot of things here it will make book 1 retroactively better.
Update: I lied. I bumped this to 5 stars because I kept thinking about it and how incredibly unique it is.
Update: I lied. I bumped this to 5 stars because I kept thinking about it and how incredibly unique it is.
July 5, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is an epic science-fiction novel sitting at just shy of 1,000 pages. The first book, in what is set to be a duology, is phenomenal and ended in such a way that will leave readers clamoring for the conclusion to this story. My only complaint with this novel is a factor of the sheer size which left me constantly referring back to the dramatis personae to remind myself who a character was after they weren't mentioned for several hundred pages, as well as referring back to the "Timeline of The Centauri Cluster" found at the beginning of the book to remind myself of key events and the years in which they took place.
Hamilton's worldbuilding is superb, setting the stage for a mass exodus as humans flee a dying Earth for the Centauri cluster and its vast array of potentially habitable planets. Upon arrival, humanity finds many worlds suitable for habitation, and sends the "Green World Signal" back to Earth to encourage the rest of humanity to make the journey. Due to time dilation (I would recommend a quick Google review of the concept), once the rest of humanity has followed the Green World Signal and arrived in the Centauri system, over 40,000 years have passed since the original human pioneers arrived... and humanity has evolved. Now calling themselves Celestials, these incredibly advanced civilizations view humans as a primitive, archaic species and exile them to war-torn, remnant worlds to live under the rule of the Celestial dominions.
This book is an epic, space opera unlike anything I have had the pleasure of reading. This book is a commitment, and one that I will make again in a heartbeat when book two releases, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, Book Two: The Helium Sea.
Hamilton's worldbuilding is superb, setting the stage for a mass exodus as humans flee a dying Earth for the Centauri cluster and its vast array of potentially habitable planets. Upon arrival, humanity finds many worlds suitable for habitation, and sends the "Green World Signal" back to Earth to encourage the rest of humanity to make the journey. Due to time dilation (I would recommend a quick Google review of the concept), once the rest of humanity has followed the Green World Signal and arrived in the Centauri system, over 40,000 years have passed since the original human pioneers arrived... and humanity has evolved. Now calling themselves Celestials, these incredibly advanced civilizations view humans as a primitive, archaic species and exile them to war-torn, remnant worlds to live under the rule of the Celestial dominions.
This book is an epic, space opera unlike anything I have had the pleasure of reading. This book is a commitment, and one that I will make again in a heartbeat when book two releases, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, Book Two: The Helium Sea.
October 24, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton has done it again. Once more, he succeeds with a space opera featuring a captivating storyline (or rather, storylines), with a constant dose of sense of wonder. Of course, like any of his other novels, it has some flaws, but I believe each of his books is a feast for science fiction fans.
We'll have to wait and see if the sequel lives up to this one (it ends on a cliffhanger). For now, I give it four stars, but I highly recommend it.
PS: Regarding the game that is planned to be published, as far as I know, nothing until 2026.
We'll have to wait and see if the sequel lives up to this one (it ends on a cliffhanger). For now, I give it four stars, but I highly recommend it.
PS: Regarding the game that is planned to be published, as far as I know, nothing until 2026.
August 8, 2024
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest opinion.
I am a big Peter F. Hamilton fan and this totally lived up to my expectations. It was epic in scope, story and imagination! It's a slow burn and it took me a while to get to grips with the world-building and the politics but the battle scenes were intense and the ending was edge of the seat stuff. I can't wait until book 2.
I am a big Peter F. Hamilton fan and this totally lived up to my expectations. It was epic in scope, story and imagination! It's a slow burn and it took me a while to get to grips with the world-building and the politics but the battle scenes were intense and the ending was edge of the seat stuff. I can't wait until book 2.
September 16, 2024
This is a decent book. Great at times. Frustrating at times. Possibly the perfect example of the strengths and flaws of both Peter Hamilton in specific and the “tie-in novel” in a more general term. Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No.
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is the first of two tie-in books by Peter F. Hamilton to the upcoming game, Exodus. It is set in the far far future in another space, the Centauri Cluster, to which mankind has fled, 40,000 years before. Here
Let’s start by talking about both Hamilton. I am unquestionably a Peter F. Hamilton fan. I’ve read the Commonwealth duology three times and I’m halfway on a fourth. I’ve read Night’s Dawn once and am considering a re-read. Warts and all, I very much enjoyed the Void trilogy (and was thrilled that Hamilton was brave enough for it to be both a sequel to the Commonwealth duology and very much not so). While the Salvation novels weren’t exactly my favorites, I didn’t hate them. I know what I’m going to get with Hamilton:
it will be a doorstop
it will feature fantastic worldbuilding with bizarre worlds as far from our conception as possible
it will have a sprawling cast of characters that you will struggle to keep straight
it will often (but not always) have some sort of wormhole technology – often with trains
it will be…how to put it…sexually liberated (usually)
it will have fantastic set piece combat/action
it will feature some sort of “twist” around 60% of the way through the book where the “true antagonist” gets revealed
The one featured all of those. Sorta. It is definitely a doorstop. I got approved for this book very late in the pub process and had to finish it rather quickly after getting sick in the beginning of September which sidelined my reading. The worldbuilding is exceptional – quite literally WORLD building, since my favorites were the descriptions of the various places visited by the cast of characters. It features no true FTL, but rather uses the gates to play with relativistic speed and time dilation – actually enjoyed that aspect more than I thought. Great combat. Honestly…a little more chaste than his other novels (I wonder if that’s the tie-in aspect). It features a “twist” but it was one I’d seen coming for quite awhile and I think was telegraphed early on.
I actually think that his cast of characters is somewhat restrained compared to some of the other series he’s written. That’s good and bad. Good in that I’m not struggling to keep pace with the plot, understanding who’s who and remembering things. Bad in that you really notice the lack of real character development for most of them. They’re not “bad” mind…they’re just kinda “there.” Ellie would seem to be a fascinating character to explore the world but we don’t get that much from her POV and when we do, it is mostly to react to events. There is no Ozzie in this book, though. There is no Joshua Calvert. There are some interesting characters, but none of them really stand out.
And then there is the tie-in aspect. I have a long history with reading “tie-in” novels – either novelizations of movies, adapted expanded universes, etc. I’m not opposed to them at all. And this one is definitely that. It is clearly tied to the Exodus video game.
But how much of this book is the game and how much is just Hamilton – that I don’t know (and couldn’t unless I asked). I get the feeling that a large portion of the ships, weapons, etc. are invented by him. But clearly the Celestials, Travelers, Ghosts, etc. are game things. And there’s a bit of the novel where midway I started to wonder how much of this was just exploring the universe vs. an original plot (since Hamilton has said up-front that this is set in a different corner of the Exodus universe than the game).
The goal of a book like this should, typically, be to interest you in buying and playing the game. Did it do that? Maybe? I’m not sure. And this is where we have to talk about how much of the universe is something Hamilton created and how much the game designers did. Specifically, the Celestials.
The Celestials are easily the most problematic part of the plot. For all of how I felt Finn’s story was interesting but very “videogamey,” and for all I enjoyed the informant/police plot…I didn’t care for the Celestial plot at all. Thyra was easily my least favorite character and her reveal was both unsurprising (I don’t know that it was supposed to be) and did not change my opinion. The Celestials are boring. They’re also all universally “racist” (excused away by having evolved) to various extents and encouraging a society that is utterly uninterested in change. I didn’t want to root for any of them.
I get the impression that they were a game creation and that Hamilton wouldn’t have necessarily done them they way they’re done. Or maybe he assisted. It is hard to say. But I would have been fine if the Celestials just didn’t exist. Or were “gone” now, having moved on. And having done a little research…that may be exactly what’s happening as the press stuff on Exodus seems to indicate that it is set a further 40,000 years into the future beyond the novels. Again – none of that is explicit in the novel.
None of this is to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. It is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. Some of the sections are amazing. But at times, it all felt very “videogamey” – particularly Finn’s story. He’s got to get this thing. And then he has to get this thing to get that thing to do a third thing and enact a fourth. I didn’t hate it. But it seemed very un-Hamilton.
Will I play the game? Maybe. I don’t know. Will I read the second book when it comes out? Yeah. Probably. YMMV, but even mediocre Hamilton is still better space opera than just about anything else out there.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read an ARC of this prior to release in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
You can pre-order here.
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is the first of two tie-in books by Peter F. Hamilton to the upcoming game, Exodus. It is set in the far far future in another space, the Centauri Cluster, to which mankind has fled, 40,000 years before. Here
Let’s start by talking about both Hamilton. I am unquestionably a Peter F. Hamilton fan. I’ve read the Commonwealth duology three times and I’m halfway on a fourth. I’ve read Night’s Dawn once and am considering a re-read. Warts and all, I very much enjoyed the Void trilogy (and was thrilled that Hamilton was brave enough for it to be both a sequel to the Commonwealth duology and very much not so). While the Salvation novels weren’t exactly my favorites, I didn’t hate them. I know what I’m going to get with Hamilton:
it will be a doorstop
it will feature fantastic worldbuilding with bizarre worlds as far from our conception as possible
it will have a sprawling cast of characters that you will struggle to keep straight
it will often (but not always) have some sort of wormhole technology – often with trains
it will be…how to put it…sexually liberated (usually)
it will have fantastic set piece combat/action
it will feature some sort of “twist” around 60% of the way through the book where the “true antagonist” gets revealed
The one featured all of those. Sorta. It is definitely a doorstop. I got approved for this book very late in the pub process and had to finish it rather quickly after getting sick in the beginning of September which sidelined my reading. The worldbuilding is exceptional – quite literally WORLD building, since my favorites were the descriptions of the various places visited by the cast of characters. It features no true FTL, but rather uses the gates to play with relativistic speed and time dilation – actually enjoyed that aspect more than I thought. Great combat. Honestly…a little more chaste than his other novels (I wonder if that’s the tie-in aspect). It features a “twist” but it was one I’d seen coming for quite awhile and I think was telegraphed early on.
I actually think that his cast of characters is somewhat restrained compared to some of the other series he’s written. That’s good and bad. Good in that I’m not struggling to keep pace with the plot, understanding who’s who and remembering things. Bad in that you really notice the lack of real character development for most of them. They’re not “bad” mind…they’re just kinda “there.” Ellie would seem to be a fascinating character to explore the world but we don’t get that much from her POV and when we do, it is mostly to react to events. There is no Ozzie in this book, though. There is no Joshua Calvert. There are some interesting characters, but none of them really stand out.
And then there is the tie-in aspect. I have a long history with reading “tie-in” novels – either novelizations of movies, adapted expanded universes, etc. I’m not opposed to them at all. And this one is definitely that. It is clearly tied to the Exodus video game.
But how much of this book is the game and how much is just Hamilton – that I don’t know (and couldn’t unless I asked). I get the feeling that a large portion of the ships, weapons, etc. are invented by him. But clearly the Celestials, Travelers, Ghosts, etc. are game things. And there’s a bit of the novel where midway I started to wonder how much of this was just exploring the universe vs. an original plot (since Hamilton has said up-front that this is set in a different corner of the Exodus universe than the game).
The goal of a book like this should, typically, be to interest you in buying and playing the game. Did it do that? Maybe? I’m not sure. And this is where we have to talk about how much of the universe is something Hamilton created and how much the game designers did. Specifically, the Celestials.
The Celestials are easily the most problematic part of the plot. For all of how I felt Finn’s story was interesting but very “videogamey,” and for all I enjoyed the informant/police plot…I didn’t care for the Celestial plot at all. Thyra was easily my least favorite character and her reveal was both unsurprising (I don’t know that it was supposed to be) and did not change my opinion. The Celestials are boring. They’re also all universally “racist” (excused away by having evolved) to various extents and encouraging a society that is utterly uninterested in change. I didn’t want to root for any of them.
I get the impression that they were a game creation and that Hamilton wouldn’t have necessarily done them they way they’re done. Or maybe he assisted. It is hard to say. But I would have been fine if the Celestials just didn’t exist. Or were “gone” now, having moved on. And having done a little research…that may be exactly what’s happening as the press stuff on Exodus seems to indicate that it is set a further 40,000 years into the future beyond the novels. Again – none of that is explicit in the novel.
None of this is to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. It is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. Some of the sections are amazing. But at times, it all felt very “videogamey” – particularly Finn’s story. He’s got to get this thing. And then he has to get this thing to get that thing to do a third thing and enact a fourth. I didn’t hate it. But it seemed very un-Hamilton.
Will I play the game? Maybe. I don’t know. Will I read the second book when it comes out? Yeah. Probably. YMMV, but even mediocre Hamilton is still better space opera than just about anything else out there.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read an ARC of this prior to release in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
You can pre-order here.
November 3, 2024
3.5 Stars
I am not at all familiar with the RPG games but instead I picked up this one because of the author. It starts with the bang and is an easy read despite its length. I liked this one but it wasn't quite as memorable as I hoped it would be.
I am not at all familiar with the RPG games but instead I picked up this one because of the author. It starts with the bang and is an easy read despite its length. I liked this one but it wasn't quite as memorable as I hoped it would be.
October 13, 2024
This may be Hamilton’s most accomplished novel to date.
September 23, 2024
For the past year I’ve slowly been going through Hamilton backlog so I was super excited to see he was releasing a new book this year.
As always Hamilton manages to combine exciting science, imaginative world building and interesting characters. Overall I enjoyed the first book in the new duology and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Received from NetGalley
As always Hamilton manages to combine exciting science, imaginative world building and interesting characters. Overall I enjoyed the first book in the new duology and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Received from NetGalley
June 29, 2025
This was a great return for Peter F. Hamilton. I thought that it had the depth, diversity, and character development that I enjoyed in his previous duologies, The Commonwealth Saga and The Chronicle of the Fallers. I think it was a big improvement over the Salvation Sequence which I felt squandered a good plot. Here we have some great tech, a wide range of interesting personalities and some alien tech - all the ingredients for truly entertaining sci-fi and it has me impatient for book 2!
December 15, 2024
As a newbie to Peter F Hamilton, I found one of my new favorite authors!
Exodus was filled with nonstop cool ideas executed beautifully. I was constantly engaged with the setting and characters, always wondering what would happen next. The book is massive in scope, involving time dilation as a front-and-center element of the plot. Finn's journey to becoming a traveler is never straightforward, and watching him grow as a character along with the rest of the cast was awesome.
This being a tie-in to a new game is not to be ignored, although this book never "feels" like one because that game (as of the time I wrote this) has yet to show actual gameplay. I almost feel like the game is second to this great book. But regardless, I am very excited to see how that game develops. As a Mass Effect fan and a reader of many classic sci-fi, this is setting up to be a home run for me. (Heck, I even managed to snag an early copy of the TTRPG book coming out in March.)
Disclaimer: the book does leave off on a cliffhanger. I stepped into this knowing it might, so it didn't disappoint me, but I know that can be a hang-up for some people, especially (again, as of the time of writing) since the sequel isn't out yet. I will be eagerly awaiting to read what happens next to Finn and crew.
I highly recommend it, and I hope the game is even half as good as this book!
Exodus was filled with nonstop cool ideas executed beautifully. I was constantly engaged with the setting and characters, always wondering what would happen next. The book is massive in scope, involving time dilation as a front-and-center element of the plot. Finn's journey to becoming a traveler is never straightforward, and watching him grow as a character along with the rest of the cast was awesome.
This being a tie-in to a new game is not to be ignored, although this book never "feels" like one because that game (as of the time I wrote this) has yet to show actual gameplay. I almost feel like the game is second to this great book. But regardless, I am very excited to see how that game develops. As a Mass Effect fan and a reader of many classic sci-fi, this is setting up to be a home run for me. (Heck, I even managed to snag an early copy of the TTRPG book coming out in March.)
Disclaimer: the book does leave off on a cliffhanger. I stepped into this knowing it might, so it didn't disappoint me, but I know that can be a hang-up for some people, especially (again, as of the time of writing) since the sequel isn't out yet. I will be eagerly awaiting to read what happens next to Finn and crew.
I highly recommend it, and I hope the game is even half as good as this book!
November 20, 2025
Wanted to write a nice review praising this great book , but instead of that ,i.m gonna just say SWEET F...ING ASTERIA ARSE !!!! What a beautiful ride of reading experience i just had :)
November 7, 2024
Great worldbuilding, poor story
It was entertaining until all the far-fetched plot points reached critical mass and I said to myself "I cannot suspend my disbelief anymore".
It was entertaining until all the far-fetched plot points reached critical mass and I said to myself "I cannot suspend my disbelief anymore".
November 2, 2024
I remember very well buying my first book by Peter F Hamilton, it was in one of the Charring cross bookshops, and I was on a business trip somewhere, in 1997. I was persuaded by the shop assistant when I asked for new SF, he said it was very popular, it was The Reality Dysfunction, and it must have been just out, I was surprised to find it was signed, I was very lucky. After that it became a tradition to buy a new Hamilton every time I was flying. That first one was an amazing read, and Hamilton just kept delivering, the only one I didn’t like was Misspent Youth, but on the other hand that one led to his best works, in my opinion, Pandora’s star and Judas unchained, then came The Void series, and for me that’s when it stared cracking a bit, the hard SF parts were great, but I never really liked the more fantasy parts with Edeard, then he tried to keep the series going for too long with The fallers. The next series was the Salvation sequence which was never very good. So I was a bit worried when I got this book, reading Hamilton is quite an investment of time, but I was intrigued when the first reviews signaled that he’s got his mojo working again. And that was certainly true.
I enjoyed every minute of this one, even though it’s a slow read, it’s so complicated and often difficult to understand, you just can’t read it fast. I’ve been reading a couple of non-fictions at the same time, and that worked rather well, Exodus has always pulled me back. It’s difficult to explain why Hamilton is so good, something about the timing, he does all sorts of scene swapping and cliff-hangers which I don’t like, but when Hamilton does it, I don’t notice. It’s well-written space-opera adventure, a combination where many authors fail, Hamilton sails through. And there are lots of spaceships:-)
/Neil
PS. And time dilation!
I enjoyed every minute of this one, even though it’s a slow read, it’s so complicated and often difficult to understand, you just can’t read it fast. I’ve been reading a couple of non-fictions at the same time, and that worked rather well, Exodus has always pulled me back. It’s difficult to explain why Hamilton is so good, something about the timing, he does all sorts of scene swapping and cliff-hangers which I don’t like, but when Hamilton does it, I don’t notice. It’s well-written space-opera adventure, a combination where many authors fail, Hamilton sails through. And there are lots of spaceships:-)
/Neil
PS. And time dilation!
January 4, 2025
The cover of Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine (Become the Traveler) by Edwin A. Vazquez drew me in. I was expecting something like Dune, The Expanse or Red Rising. Exodus takes place millennia after arkships began to flee dying Earth, and still arrive in the Centauri Cluster, in the 41,000 - 42,000's AD. Various advanced transhuman species, the Imperial Celestials, oppress humans by not giving them a voice in how they live. There are powerful family houses (like in Dune), an arkship/starship, the Diligent (like the Rocinante) and a sort-of hero Finn (unfortunately not like Darrow).
While I persevered to the end, I often felt like not finishing the novel. Except maybe Terence Wilson-Fletcher, the detective, and Ellie Oponi, from Old Earth, the characters were disappointing . Unending versions of “Asteria” are used for profanities, along with mostly current (YA?) language and idioms (“what the hell”, “crap”, “you are kidding me”, “damned if I do damned if I don't”). A couple of minor SSA characters are added in because, apparently, that's what's done these days. It's too long, overly descriptive and not very original.
Warning: This hardcover is about 900 pages so is quite heavy and awkward to hold for any length of time.
While I persevered to the end, I often felt like not finishing the novel. Except maybe Terence Wilson-Fletcher, the detective, and Ellie Oponi, from Old Earth, the characters were disappointing . Unending versions of “Asteria” are used for profanities, along with mostly current (YA?) language and idioms (“what the hell”, “crap”, “you are kidding me”, “damned if I do damned if I don't”). A couple of minor SSA characters are added in because, apparently, that's what's done these days. It's too long, overly descriptive and not very original.
Warning: This hardcover is about 900 pages so is quite heavy and awkward to hold for any length of time.
August 30, 2024
This was extremely long to read and also so complicated for me to visualize everything but ooooh I do not regret it.
The timeline is so weird I love it; it's definitely something that can be considered as humanly impossible but the way the world is built around it makes it humanly believable.
There are so many good characters and so many races/species. Surprisingly it didn't take me that long to differentiate everything (just needed a bit more concentration than usual) and when I got the hang of it, it made the universe even more enjoyable.
I wasn't sure if I would have wanted a 2nd book with all that information but uhm yes please? Give me 1000 more pages
The timeline is so weird I love it; it's definitely something that can be considered as humanly impossible but the way the world is built around it makes it humanly believable.
There are so many good characters and so many races/species. Surprisingly it didn't take me that long to differentiate everything (just needed a bit more concentration than usual) and when I got the hang of it, it made the universe even more enjoyable.
I wasn't sure if I would have wanted a 2nd book with all that information but uhm yes please? Give me 1000 more pages
dnf
July 4, 2025DNF@50% The premise is super cool — arkships leave Earth for a promising star system, but the first ones to leave are the last ones to arrive, like 20,000 years after others have already developed into a super-advanced, multiple star system civilization, barely even recognizable as human.
But wow there was too much going on and very little for me to actually grab on to or care about. So yeah, 500 pages was enough!
But wow there was too much going on and very little for me to actually grab on to or care about. So yeah, 500 pages was enough!
July 4, 2024
Peter F Hamilton is back with another mind-blowing hard sci-fi. This time the worlds are 40,000 years apart.
Set 42,000 years in the future when humanity has spread across the stars and is presumably not human anymore. It is a story of humans' place in the universe where they are relics of the past. Through genetics, humanity has splintered into multiple species and is ruled by the powerful crown dominion. Tension starts to build up when another one of the old arkship arrives and provides Finn, our protagonist, a chance to leave his elite but mundane lifestyle and explore the stars. It is also the story of Ellie, a human of the old arkship for whom this world is unknown, Fletcher, an excellent character with high morals, Helena-chione, now and forever queen of Wynid, and a lot more characters.
The first one-third of the book is slightly slow-paced where we explore the world of crown dominion, and celestials and are introduced to a plethora of characters. Like always, PFH world-building is beautiful. But considering the number of worlds and characters involved it becomes difficult to follow the plot. If you wade through the same, then the plot starts to make sense, characters become relatable, action starts to build up and anticipation is exciting. The ending is amazing though it leaves us wanting for more.
I would be eagerly waiting for the second part of the duology and the Finn story to conclude.
Thanks Netgalley and Pan Mcmillan for the ARC.
Set 42,000 years in the future when humanity has spread across the stars and is presumably not human anymore. It is a story of humans' place in the universe where they are relics of the past. Through genetics, humanity has splintered into multiple species and is ruled by the powerful crown dominion. Tension starts to build up when another one of the old arkship arrives and provides Finn, our protagonist, a chance to leave his elite but mundane lifestyle and explore the stars. It is also the story of Ellie, a human of the old arkship for whom this world is unknown, Fletcher, an excellent character with high morals, Helena-chione, now and forever queen of Wynid, and a lot more characters.
The first one-third of the book is slightly slow-paced where we explore the world of crown dominion, and celestials and are introduced to a plethora of characters. Like always, PFH world-building is beautiful. But considering the number of worlds and characters involved it becomes difficult to follow the plot. If you wade through the same, then the plot starts to make sense, characters become relatable, action starts to build up and anticipation is exciting. The ending is amazing though it leaves us wanting for more.
I would be eagerly waiting for the second part of the duology and the Finn story to conclude.
Thanks Netgalley and Pan Mcmillan for the ARC.
August 26, 2025
Really loved this book. Definitely going to be reading way more by Hamilton and the sequel of this. Very fun world building with different levels of human evolution all interacting and playing into one another. The split perspectives also works quite well and I was always engaged by each narrative and character. Definitely quite lengthy at 900 pages, but I think that length is earned by a genuinely deep mystery and adventure that needed to hit many many beats before it could come to anywhere near a conclusion.
Finn and Terence are definitely my favorite characters, which works out since they are some of the most important ones. There are pieces in time where characters came across very annoying, but that felt justified by legitimate character growth shortly afterwards. There were many points where I struggled to keep track of everything happening in this story, but it eventually all clicked into place and wasn't that big of an impediment. Overall really great and I loved it.
Finn and Terence are definitely my favorite characters, which works out since they are some of the most important ones. There are pieces in time where characters came across very annoying, but that felt justified by legitimate character growth shortly afterwards. There were many points where I struggled to keep track of everything happening in this story, but it eventually all clicked into place and wasn't that big of an impediment. Overall really great and I loved it.
December 15, 2025
3.5/5 stars.
Exodus is based on a game, which shows and not in a good way. Hamilton's customary genius has a lot of trouble shining through because of it. The setting js just unconvincing, the characters flat, and the plotholes growing in frequency. It's still Hamilton so it's still good, just not good-good.
Exodus is based on a game, which shows and not in a good way. Hamilton's customary genius has a lot of trouble shining through because of it. The setting js just unconvincing, the characters flat, and the plotholes growing in frequency. It's still Hamilton so it's still good, just not good-good.
December 18, 2025
This book isn’t one for me. To justify my low rating:
The characters I found to be a subpar and the dialogue very unrealistic/ only there to serve the books main purpose of world building. The plot was pretty straight forward but imo was very bloated. For me, this book is far too long for what it is and the level of detail provided every step of the way was off putting.
If you happen to love worldbuilding, massive complex worlds and an author who takes A LOT of time mulling over the intricacies of said world then you may enjoy it.
There’s clearly been a lot of time taken to establish this world and there’ll be plenty who appreciate it for what it is. Unfortunately that person isn’t me.
The characters I found to be a subpar and the dialogue very unrealistic/ only there to serve the books main purpose of world building. The plot was pretty straight forward but imo was very bloated. For me, this book is far too long for what it is and the level of detail provided every step of the way was off putting.
If you happen to love worldbuilding, massive complex worlds and an author who takes A LOT of time mulling over the intricacies of said world then you may enjoy it.
There’s clearly been a lot of time taken to establish this world and there’ll be plenty who appreciate it for what it is. Unfortunately that person isn’t me.
January 31, 2025
I really wanted to like this book more. Hamilton is a great sci fi writer, in that he knows how to build good plotlines and interesting characters, knows how to dish out exposition and pace out a long winding story. The problem is, and i never thought I'd ever say this, too much worldbuilding. The Exodus setting is chunky, there's a lot to encounter and encounter we do. Hamilton paces out some of the exposition, we tie it to mature concepts of inequality and the like but it all seems so damn much and the parallel plotlines do not help such a big book. It feels at time like reading Game of thrones or other thicc, rambling parallel plotline books but you also have to internalize a weird setting with multiple human offshoots and technologies. Will follow up with the series (and the game, likely) but, yeah, it's not an easy read. Pretty good one though.
January 23, 2025
Too Many Plot-holes
This book, the first in a series, started out with a lot of promise. However, it quickly devolved into plot-hole universe. First, we’re to believe that this empire is tens of thousands of years old…yet they haven’t figured out AI, yet. REALLY??? Also, the span of years is just too much…the author put too many years in between events. Then, an errant Ark Ship stumbles into one of the empires domains…and it doesn’t get picked up on any monitoring systems??? The author already established the empire is full of untrustworthy races. You’d think they’d have monitoring systems…especially since there are Ark Ships arriving from time to time. The dialogue is weak and the story and plot are sophomoric at best. I can’t continue this book.
This book, the first in a series, started out with a lot of promise. However, it quickly devolved into plot-hole universe. First, we’re to believe that this empire is tens of thousands of years old…yet they haven’t figured out AI, yet. REALLY??? Also, the span of years is just too much…the author put too many years in between events. Then, an errant Ark Ship stumbles into one of the empires domains…and it doesn’t get picked up on any monitoring systems??? The author already established the empire is full of untrustworthy races. You’d think they’d have monitoring systems…especially since there are Ark Ships arriving from time to time. The dialogue is weak and the story and plot are sophomoric at best. I can’t continue this book.
September 28, 2024
This did not need to be almost 1000 pages. And for it to also not end the story. This could’ve been 2-4 books within itself and could’ve just made this a series. Things didn’t even really pick up until halfway through but by then you’re debating if you should just DNF. If this book was cut in half and shaved off irrelevant information this could’ve been a 3-4 star for me. However this book is incredibly imaginative. Just how much background information given for all the races and political jargon and planets is wild. That’s about the most fun I had despite hating reading all the world building.
September 18, 2024
Oh God, that was painfully long😅😅😅
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