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Void #2
The Temporal Void
The Intersolar Commonwealth is in turmoil as the Living Dream's deadline for launching its Pilgrimage into the Void draws closer. Not only is the Ocisen Empire fleet fast approaching on a mission of genocide, but also an internecine war has broken out between the post-human factions over the destiny of humanity.
Countering the various and increasingly desperate agents and factions is Paula Myo, a ruthlessly single-minded investigator, beset by foes from her distant past and colleagues of dubious allegiance...but she is fast losing a race against time.
At the heart of all this is Edeard the Waterwalker, who once lived a long time ago deep inside the Void. He is the messiah of Living Dream, and visions of his life are shared by, and inspire billions of humans. It is his glorious, captivating story that is the driving force behind Living Dream's Pilgrimage, a force that is too strong to be thwarted. As Edeard nears his final victory the true nature of the Void is finally revealed.
Countering the various and increasingly desperate agents and factions is Paula Myo, a ruthlessly single-minded investigator, beset by foes from her distant past and colleagues of dubious allegiance...but she is fast losing a race against time.
At the heart of all this is Edeard the Waterwalker, who once lived a long time ago deep inside the Void. He is the messiah of Living Dream, and visions of his life are shared by, and inspire billions of humans. It is his glorious, captivating story that is the driving force behind Living Dream's Pilgrimage, a force that is too strong to be thwarted. As Edeard nears his final victory the true nature of the Void is finally revealed.
746 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2008
569 people are currently reading
5831 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
205 books10.3k 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 600 reviews
August 8, 2021
By linking 2 parallel, different universes, dimensions, realities; co dependent in potential mutually assured destruction, Hamilton unleashes an amazing plot dynamic.
Dreams enabling a connection to parallel, or separated, or other, dimensions, are used as a central visionary element to accelerate the development towards typical reactions, depending on the technological and sociocultural stage of the population. And guess what, advanced tech doesn´t mean better brains, technological singularity comes many millennia before higher brain functions and logic dominate over instinct ridden, animalistic tribe behavior.
There is a deep irony in the fact that the ever so sophisticated 4th millennia humans are still so prone to occult faith sect group think madnesses, no matter how ultimately destructive the consequences of their fringe enlightenment might be. Cool allegory, by the way, humans who could have everything to find a fulfilling life prefer endangering not just themselves, but many others, because their intuitive idiocy told them so.
A list of physics and astrophysics tropes can, not just for experts who can visualize and imagine the forces while colorful numbers are popping up in their amazing brains, be a fascinating tool to define the laws and mechanisms of sci-fi series, establishing new senses of wonders, making suspension of disbelief easier, and finding completely new combinations of beloved genre archetypes. Hamilton does this a lot, while other authors are more focusing on the well known action plots, he takes underappreciated and never executed ideas and makes them big, driving forces of his ingenious masterpieces.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This wise, just joking, advice is added to all reviews of Hamiltons´series.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Hamilton´s future vision is to see the technology and society developing in very detail over long periods of time, making a return to his universe something always stunning and inspiring. It also makes me wonder why he is the only author I know of who did this. One, who is new, lucky you, by the way, ought consider reading it in chronological order, although the series set closest to now, Salvation lost, is still unfinished, so better read before in the following order:
Salvation year 2200
Commonwealth year 2400
The Night´s Dawn trilogy year 2700
The Chronicle of the Fallers year 3400
Void trilogy year 3600
You can of course do as you wish, it´s just how I arrange my rereading to get the most out of it and slowly move further and further away from the boring present.
Dreams enabling a connection to parallel, or separated, or other, dimensions, are used as a central visionary element to accelerate the development towards typical reactions, depending on the technological and sociocultural stage of the population. And guess what, advanced tech doesn´t mean better brains, technological singularity comes many millennia before higher brain functions and logic dominate over instinct ridden, animalistic tribe behavior.
There is a deep irony in the fact that the ever so sophisticated 4th millennia humans are still so prone to occult faith sect group think madnesses, no matter how ultimately destructive the consequences of their fringe enlightenment might be. Cool allegory, by the way, humans who could have everything to find a fulfilling life prefer endangering not just themselves, but many others, because their intuitive idiocy told them so.
A list of physics and astrophysics tropes can, not just for experts who can visualize and imagine the forces while colorful numbers are popping up in their amazing brains, be a fascinating tool to define the laws and mechanisms of sci-fi series, establishing new senses of wonders, making suspension of disbelief easier, and finding completely new combinations of beloved genre archetypes. Hamilton does this a lot, while other authors are more focusing on the well known action plots, he takes underappreciated and never executed ideas and makes them big, driving forces of his ingenious masterpieces.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...
This wise, just joking, advice is added to all reviews of Hamiltons´series.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Hamilton´s future vision is to see the technology and society developing in very detail over long periods of time, making a return to his universe something always stunning and inspiring. It also makes me wonder why he is the only author I know of who did this. One, who is new, lucky you, by the way, ought consider reading it in chronological order, although the series set closest to now, Salvation lost, is still unfinished, so better read before in the following order:
Salvation year 2200
Commonwealth year 2400
The Night´s Dawn trilogy year 2700
The Chronicle of the Fallers year 3400
Void trilogy year 3600
You can of course do as you wish, it´s just how I arrange my rereading to get the most out of it and slowly move further and further away from the boring present.
December 2, 2018
I'm frankly getting rather awed by Peter F. Hamilton.
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book seems to be bigger than a mountain, more sprawling than wide plains, and filled with meandering and sometimes inconsequential passages. They could be tightened up with more focus on the core stories and threads. Easily.
BUT.
When it comes to the sheer scope in time and space for all his books, each of which is interconnected with common events, histories, and characters who live for an awfully long time thanks to the heavy SF factors of re-life and alternate methods like multi-life, dream paradise, AI, or even some much stranger methods... everyone eventually comes back to play in this awesomely developed universe.
It only keeps getting larger and stranger with every new book. Some characters don't get interesting until after their lives get turned upside down, others are fantastic from the get-go. But when it comes to every core story met with truly awesome convergences between all these threads, Hamilton just can't be beaten.
His imagination is truly phenomenal.
Okay, this kinda sounds like an apology for his work, but don't be confused. I love this. It has a few faults, but damn, when I compare this to practically any other SF author on the grounds of glorious worldbuilding and scope of characters, Hamilton basically wins by default.
Epic SF, folks. Just think of the most sprawling fantasy you most love and multiply it by two, give it everything from bionics, massive dreaming collectives, a total space-opera atmosphere with multiple alien forces, and then shake it up by having an intelligent UNIVERSE threaten to grow and eat our own. Epic stakes. Epic scope. And through it all, thousands of years of novels and history pulling forward to this late historical date.
I'm frankly amazed. And it's getting better with every book I read.
The last time I was this bowled over was the first time I read through the WoT series. Both have their faults. But for the patient reader, both are freaking awesome. :)
Any single book doesn't quite DO his stories justice, which is kind of weird because each book seems to be bigger than a mountain, more sprawling than wide plains, and filled with meandering and sometimes inconsequential passages. They could be tightened up with more focus on the core stories and threads. Easily.
BUT.
When it comes to the sheer scope in time and space for all his books, each of which is interconnected with common events, histories, and characters who live for an awfully long time thanks to the heavy SF factors of re-life and alternate methods like multi-life, dream paradise, AI, or even some much stranger methods... everyone eventually comes back to play in this awesomely developed universe.
It only keeps getting larger and stranger with every new book. Some characters don't get interesting until after their lives get turned upside down, others are fantastic from the get-go. But when it comes to every core story met with truly awesome convergences between all these threads, Hamilton just can't be beaten.
His imagination is truly phenomenal.
Okay, this kinda sounds like an apology for his work, but don't be confused. I love this. It has a few faults, but damn, when I compare this to practically any other SF author on the grounds of glorious worldbuilding and scope of characters, Hamilton basically wins by default.
Epic SF, folks. Just think of the most sprawling fantasy you most love and multiply it by two, give it everything from bionics, massive dreaming collectives, a total space-opera atmosphere with multiple alien forces, and then shake it up by having an intelligent UNIVERSE threaten to grow and eat our own. Epic stakes. Epic scope. And through it all, thousands of years of novels and history pulling forward to this late historical date.
I'm frankly amazed. And it's getting better with every book I read.
The last time I was this bowled over was the first time I read through the WoT series. Both have their faults. But for the patient reader, both are freaking awesome. :)
January 10, 2013
This is a tale of two books. I think the Inigo's dream chapters
dragged this book down a notch from the previous installment of the Void trilogy. Hamilton seems to have spent alot more time with Edeard than in the universe outside the void, which I thought was much more compelling. There was one particularly cringe worthy sequence that went on and on for pages describing Edeard's romantic retreat with his bride-to-be. Then there were awful wedding pages, ceremonies, and generally women flinging themselves at Edeard from all over the place, along with the obligatory sex scenes which were cheesy. I don't really need to know that the servants in the other room heard your "cries of joy". Not what I read sci-fi for.
The one compelling thing in these dream chapters besides the incredible evolution of Edeard's powers was the mystery of the roving outlaws. Where are they from and what is their motivation? Besides that, I felt myself skimming through alot of those chapters, which is
problematic because I think over half of The Temporal Void consists of them. I still think its ambitious that Hamilton is blending a hard sci-fi/space opera with more fantastic tropes, but maybe the novelty was just wearing a little thin for me, especially with the aforementioned bloatedness of those chapters. In my opinion, the book should've been about a hundred pages shorter.
The universe outside the Void is where the book really shines for me. For some reason, I never really cared much for Myo or Burnelli in the Commonwealth Saga, but I really enjoy those character's moments in this book. I"d get a little sad when their section would end,
and I'd realize that I'd probably have to read over a hundred pages more until I got back to them. Hamilton weaves and intricate and very intriguing plot that makes you want to keep reading to see where all of this is going to connect. Especially enjoyed the whole Ocisen/Accelerator/Prime conspiracy. What are all those crazy kids up to? The ending was very immpressive- I needed to read that entire section again to soak it in as soon as I finished it.
So although it suffers a bit from being the middle book of a trilogy and from a bit of Hamilton's gas-baggery, I think it sets the stage beautifully for what will hopefully be a thrilling conclusion to the trilogy.
dragged this book down a notch from the previous installment of the Void trilogy. Hamilton seems to have spent alot more time with Edeard than in the universe outside the void, which I thought was much more compelling. There was one particularly cringe worthy sequence that went on and on for pages describing Edeard's romantic retreat with his bride-to-be. Then there were awful wedding pages, ceremonies, and generally women flinging themselves at Edeard from all over the place, along with the obligatory sex scenes which were cheesy. I don't really need to know that the servants in the other room heard your "cries of joy". Not what I read sci-fi for.
The one compelling thing in these dream chapters besides the incredible evolution of Edeard's powers was the mystery of the roving outlaws. Where are they from and what is their motivation? Besides that, I felt myself skimming through alot of those chapters, which is
problematic because I think over half of The Temporal Void consists of them. I still think its ambitious that Hamilton is blending a hard sci-fi/space opera with more fantastic tropes, but maybe the novelty was just wearing a little thin for me, especially with the aforementioned bloatedness of those chapters. In my opinion, the book should've been about a hundred pages shorter.
The universe outside the Void is where the book really shines for me. For some reason, I never really cared much for Myo or Burnelli in the Commonwealth Saga, but I really enjoy those character's moments in this book. I"d get a little sad when their section would end,
and I'd realize that I'd probably have to read over a hundred pages more until I got back to them. Hamilton weaves and intricate and very intriguing plot that makes you want to keep reading to see where all of this is going to connect. Especially enjoyed the whole Ocisen/Accelerator/Prime conspiracy. What are all those crazy kids up to? The ending was very immpressive- I needed to read that entire section again to soak it in as soon as I finished it.
So although it suffers a bit from being the middle book of a trilogy and from a bit of Hamilton's gas-baggery, I think it sets the stage beautifully for what will hopefully be a thrilling conclusion to the trilogy.
March 4, 2022
The void boundary continued to expand, its surface rippling and distending to engulf the star clusters already falling in toward it. That voraciousness was cited by many as having a purpose, which came back squarely to the Second Dreamer and the Skylord.
Readers of speculative-fiction, of both the fantastical and scientific flavours, have become accustomed to epic plot devices that promise cataclysmic, world-shattering events if a small band of adventurers fail to stop the plans of the ‘Evil Mastermind’ from coming to fruition. Since this series by Peter F Hamilton tries to have one foot in each speculative camp (The Commonwealth for science and Querencia for fantasy), the author has solved this central issue of the plot by imagining a sentient black hole at the center of our galaxy, one that goes through unpredictable expansion phases that threaten to destroy the very fabric of the universe.
In the first volume of the series, the event horizon that separates the outside of the Void from the inside is impenetrable, and monitored closely by all the sentient species of the galaxy for impending signs of doom. By the end of “The Dreaming Void” human actions have triggered a new expansion phase, mostly by interacting with the Void through the dreams of ‘chosen’ people like the First Dreamer Inigo and Second Dreamer Araminta. Inigo’s dreams have created a new cult on human inhabited worlds, the church of the Living Dream, whose millions of adherents plan to go on a Pilgrimage inside the Void, regardless of the collateral victims of the triggered expansion phase[ probably the whole galaxy]. The refusal of the Second Dreamer to fall in with the church policy has angered the alien beings that are apparently responsible for guarding the event horizon of the Void, causing the current expansion phase. It also triggered the invasion of her home world by the Living Dream paramilitary forces in an effort to capture and control her.
It was big – mountain-size. That was just the core. It was surrounded by weird sheets of gossamer matter that fluctuated like a gas.
A Skylord with its vacuum wings fully extended.
The various factions inside the Commonwealth are struggling to control the crisis through secret agents with bionic super-powers, while other sentient species in the galaxy are sending invasion fleets to stop the Pilgrimage [the Ocisen, the Raiel and more]. The fate of the known universe hangs in the balance.
>>><<<>>><<<
As expected, the second volume of the trilogy treads water and expands on the themes of the opening book, answering a few of the mysteries before us but also raising new ones to keep the readership glued to the page, all this while rising the stakes as high as the premise would allow. But most of the juicy stuff is delayed for the final volume.
I had a much better track record with the second instalment, in part because I am now familiar with the world-building and with the factions, but mostly because the multiple point of view narrative is skewed heavily towards the Makkathran events. The classic fantasy setting on Querencia, seen from the perspective of the Waterwalker Edeard, was my favourite so far and now it covers more than half of the real estate in the economy of the second novel. This is not gratuitous entertainment, and the most important revelation of this middle book answers my questions about the appeal of the Void to the Church of Living Dream. I couldn’t understand in the beginning what reason these religious fanatics had for going on Pilgrimage on a backward, hard to access world. OK, so Edeard has some nifty superpowers with his telepathy and his telekinesis but he is an isolated case, unique among his contemporaries. What gives?
Willpower, she thought. That’s the governing force in this universe. The power of mind over matter. Thoughts can affect reality.
[...] That’s what sold it to them, all the sheep bleating to be taken on the Pilgrimage fleet.
The solution found by the author is quite elegant, and it compensates in part for some over-the-top action scenes and for comic book superhero characterization. Peter F Hamilton is truly a gifted storyteller, whose main talents are his ability to keep a lot of balls [plot-lines] in the air simultaneously and his entertaining delivery.
Speaking of simultaneous and intersecting storylines, something was off in this second volume, with events inside the Void on Querencia spread over a couple of years while outside in the Commonwealth some characters have only days [Araminta] or hours [Aaron] for their story arcs. The author has an answer for this also, something that I saw as a plot hole that he turned into a feature:
“I didn’t realize time was so fast inside the Void.”
While my problems with the characters and the references to the events from the original Commonwealth Saga continue (Paula Myo, the Cat, etc.] I look forward to starting the third book in the series and to the way mr. Hamilton will tie up all the loose ends.
One of the questions that will most probably get a late answer is the presence of Querencia-style superpowers outside the Void and the reason this future universe still needs elves at the bottom end of the garden.
The elflike hominoid was clad in a thick cobalt-blue coat embroidered with a fabulous stipple of jewels that sparkled in the wavering pastels of starlight. His black hat was tall and pointed, with a simple gold ribbon fluttering from the tip. A gloved hand gripped a long phosphorescent spear that he held aloft, as if in salute.
February 3, 2015
Executive Summary: I found this to be an improvement over The Dreaming Void, although I think that will heavily depend on how much you like Edeard's story.
Audio book: I continue to enjoy John Lee's narration, especially for the Commonwealth series.
Full Review
I liked The Dreaming Void, but had some complaints. In particular the number of characters and the ridiculous sex scenes. This book felt more focused and less sexual wish fulfillment.
As a middle book, I thought it did a nice job setting the stage for the final act, while not suffering from middle book syndrome. Things finally start to converge.
This book largely focused on Edeard's story, which is really just a chosen one fantasy story embedded in this space opera. However while in the first book I had no idea what it was doing here, in this book Mr. Hamilton does an excellent job in revealing its relevance to the overall plot.
We also get a lot of Paula, whose always been one of my favorites. As most space opera's are largely character driven, I think how much you enjoy this book will rely heavily on how much you like Edeard and Paula.
Overall this was a very different book from the first, and certainly not like most space opera I've read. Maybe its my preference towards fantasy and ability to read infinite variations of the chosen one story, but I thought it to be a fun book, and am greatly looking forward to finishing the trilogy.
Audio book: I continue to enjoy John Lee's narration, especially for the Commonwealth series.
Full Review
I liked The Dreaming Void, but had some complaints. In particular the number of characters and the ridiculous sex scenes. This book felt more focused and less sexual wish fulfillment.
As a middle book, I thought it did a nice job setting the stage for the final act, while not suffering from middle book syndrome. Things finally start to converge.
This book largely focused on Edeard's story, which is really just a chosen one fantasy story embedded in this space opera. However while in the first book I had no idea what it was doing here, in this book Mr. Hamilton does an excellent job in revealing its relevance to the overall plot.
We also get a lot of Paula, whose always been one of my favorites. As most space opera's are largely character driven, I think how much you enjoy this book will rely heavily on how much you like Edeard and Paula.
Overall this was a very different book from the first, and certainly not like most space opera I've read. Maybe its my preference towards fantasy and ability to read infinite variations of the chosen one story, but I thought it to be a fun book, and am greatly looking forward to finishing the trilogy.
August 7, 2024
As with the first entry in the Void trilogy, enjoyment of this novel is directly related to how much buy-in there is with the dream sequences.
Let me put it this way. This novel doesn’t read like a 700-odd page Science Fiction novel. It reads like a 300+ page Fantasy novel and a 300+ page Science Fiction novel rolled into one. Everything is connected, of course.
The author does something surprising in this entry: there are some significant revelations about the nature of the void in the closing chapters. Very rewarding, but the kind of thing I would have expected in the final entry, or as part of the endgame. This really, really piqued my interest, to see where Hamilton is taking this, since there is obviously a lot of story left, and no doubt a few surprises.
As for the dream sequences. I think I found them a bit more enjoyable this time around. The Waterwalker is coming into a great amount of power here, in a setting reminiscent of the Renaissance or early/pre-industrial Europe (at a guess, Hamilton only reveals so much about Querencia). On the other hand, it did feel like there was more of this than in the first book (I didn’t count the pages so I can’t be sure, but it felt like the SF bits were taking a bit of a back seat). Having said that, this is still high concept Space Opera of the first order, and the way it sets up the final book, makes me believe there will still be whole lot of Sci-Fi in The Evolutionary Void.
Let me put it this way. This novel doesn’t read like a 700-odd page Science Fiction novel. It reads like a 300+ page Fantasy novel and a 300+ page Science Fiction novel rolled into one. Everything is connected, of course.
The author does something surprising in this entry: there are some significant revelations about the nature of the void in the closing chapters. Very rewarding, but the kind of thing I would have expected in the final entry, or as part of the endgame. This really, really piqued my interest, to see where Hamilton is taking this, since there is obviously a lot of story left, and no doubt a few surprises.
As for the dream sequences. I think I found them a bit more enjoyable this time around. The Waterwalker is coming into a great amount of power here, in a setting reminiscent of the Renaissance or early/pre-industrial Europe (at a guess, Hamilton only reveals so much about Querencia). On the other hand, it did feel like there was more of this than in the first book (I didn’t count the pages so I can’t be sure, but it felt like the SF bits were taking a bit of a back seat). Having said that, this is still high concept Space Opera of the first order, and the way it sets up the final book, makes me believe there will still be whole lot of Sci-Fi in The Evolutionary Void.
October 5, 2013
In this middle book of the series the motivations and goals of various factions starts to emerge - the most notable revelation to me being what the Accelerator Faction is up to. There are still questions left but their involvement in the story is starting to unfold. The fantasy story arc also continues to evolve as we see Edeard's powers develop and increase with new abilities emerging. We also get some answers as to who is behind the attacks outside the city in the provinces.And we get some major revelations about the nature of the Void and why it keeps expanding like it does. There is a semi pseudo scientific explanation given which invokes the Conservation of Mass - but to say more than that would be spoilery.
I had a harder time getting into this than the last book. I still enjoyed it but the pace slowed right down and I had to push myself to keep going during each reading session. It felt like a middle book. But at least I had a handle on who was who so it was less confusing. I would have liked a bit more pew pew in the scifi arcs. We get a little bit but it wasn't as fleshed out as last book and I didn't hear any ACDC hammering in the background to the unleashing of technological Armageddon. For example, there is a part of the story where one of the characters boards and takes down a navy ship - never saw the firefight - just read about him going in and the next thing he's in control. Boo.
Still, I am now fully invested in the story so I'm looking forward to the grand finale in the next book. I'm expecting lots of fireworks, lots of genetically and technologically advanced humans and aliens unloading heaps of ordnance - and please Hamilton, bring the rock'n'roll.
3 stars
I had a harder time getting into this than the last book. I still enjoyed it but the pace slowed right down and I had to push myself to keep going during each reading session. It felt like a middle book. But at least I had a handle on who was who so it was less confusing. I would have liked a bit more pew pew in the scifi arcs. We get a little bit but it wasn't as fleshed out as last book and I didn't hear any ACDC hammering in the background to the unleashing of technological Armageddon. For example, there is a part of the story where one of the characters boards and takes down a navy ship - never saw the firefight - just read about him going in and the next thing he's in control. Boo.
Still, I am now fully invested in the story so I'm looking forward to the grand finale in the next book. I'm expecting lots of fireworks, lots of genetically and technologically advanced humans and aliens unloading heaps of ordnance - and please Hamilton, bring the rock'n'roll.
3 stars
December 29, 2008
I started out by giving this book a 5 star rating, but I've dropped it to a 4 for reasons I shall explain.
One of the best things about Peter F. Hamilton's writing has been his ability to write lots of different plots at the same time, and at the very end bring them together in a powerful and entertaining way. Its not quite like Max Barry (author) or Guy Richie (director), as his books are much longer than theirs. But the idea is still the same, having many characters and plots going at the same time, sometimes so far removed from eachother its hard to anticipate how they relate to one another, and pulling it off with a bang right at the end.
Hamilton's Void trilogy looks like it will pull off the same effect once again, perhaps in an even more impressive way than Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained did even. This time around though, he seems to be making one critical mistake that was magnified in The Temporal Void. He's been focusing too much on one plot line, and only giving us brief updates into the others. And its making it somewhat difficult to keep track of whats going on elsewhere in the universe.
I said in my review of The Dreaming Void that I was really enjoying the Edeard story-line, a fantasy setting contained inside a realm of the much more science-fiction universe. The same still holds true, the Edeard story is very a interesting take on the usual farmer-becomes-king fantasy plot. Written by itself as a fantasy book, I'd be happy to buy the book and, while the ending won't reveal itself until The Evolutionary Void next year, enjoy every page of it... that isn't quite what I was looking for with The Dreaming Void. The Delivery Man, Paula Myo, the Ocisen Empire's impending attack, these are all important characters and plots that I want to read about! But instead of reading about them, in the same way I read about them in The Dreaming Void, I got brief updates. Usually something like one small chapter devoted to checking out whats going on with every other plot in the overall story. A few pages with each, then back to Edeard within the Void.
There is an upshot to this, however. The book ends on such an amazing, literally jaw-dropping, out-of-left-field twist, it becomes very obvious that the rarity of information on the outside Universe was an unfortunate casualty of timing. In order to have the Edeard story, and the outside universe's stories, come end where they ended in preparation for The Evolutionary Void, Hamilton had to make sure he didn't let one story outpace the other. Would I have prefered more information regarding those stories? Sure! But because of how the book ends, how it sets up everything for the final book, I can forgive the lack of chapters for now. Only time will tell whether or not The Evolutionary Void pays more attention to the rest of the characters.
One of the best things about Peter F. Hamilton's writing has been his ability to write lots of different plots at the same time, and at the very end bring them together in a powerful and entertaining way. Its not quite like Max Barry (author) or Guy Richie (director), as his books are much longer than theirs. But the idea is still the same, having many characters and plots going at the same time, sometimes so far removed from eachother its hard to anticipate how they relate to one another, and pulling it off with a bang right at the end.
Hamilton's Void trilogy looks like it will pull off the same effect once again, perhaps in an even more impressive way than Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained did even. This time around though, he seems to be making one critical mistake that was magnified in The Temporal Void. He's been focusing too much on one plot line, and only giving us brief updates into the others. And its making it somewhat difficult to keep track of whats going on elsewhere in the universe.
I said in my review of The Dreaming Void that I was really enjoying the Edeard story-line, a fantasy setting contained inside a realm of the much more science-fiction universe. The same still holds true, the Edeard story is very a interesting take on the usual farmer-becomes-king fantasy plot. Written by itself as a fantasy book, I'd be happy to buy the book and, while the ending won't reveal itself until The Evolutionary Void next year, enjoy every page of it... that isn't quite what I was looking for with The Dreaming Void. The Delivery Man, Paula Myo, the Ocisen Empire's impending attack, these are all important characters and plots that I want to read about! But instead of reading about them, in the same way I read about them in The Dreaming Void, I got brief updates. Usually something like one small chapter devoted to checking out whats going on with every other plot in the overall story. A few pages with each, then back to Edeard within the Void.
There is an upshot to this, however. The book ends on such an amazing, literally jaw-dropping, out-of-left-field twist, it becomes very obvious that the rarity of information on the outside Universe was an unfortunate casualty of timing. In order to have the Edeard story, and the outside universe's stories, come end where they ended in preparation for The Evolutionary Void, Hamilton had to make sure he didn't let one story outpace the other. Would I have prefered more information regarding those stories? Sure! But because of how the book ends, how it sets up everything for the final book, I can forgive the lack of chapters for now. Only time will tell whether or not The Evolutionary Void pays more attention to the rest of the characters.
February 5, 2015
The problem with most stories about Superman is that he’s just so damned invincible. It almost becomes comic: the fact that every two-bit hood in Metropolis has access to Kryptonite – which is surely not something available by just strolling down the road to the chemist. Now I really like Superman, but this flaw springs to mind after having read the second volume of Peter Hamilton’s Void trilogy in that so much time is spent with the book’s own superman Edeard. Edeard is a character from inside the void, a legendary figure whose life is played out in shared dreams and inspires those of us who don’t live inside the void. (Just for those of you at the back, the void is a phenomenon in space, and all of us in this universe live outside of it). Edeard is stronger than anyone else, faster, more powerful and that makes him – for most of the book – quite dull. Hamilton is no slack at writing up dramatic and tension filled scenes, but for the large chunks of the book in which he appears the fact that he is so damned invincible means that it’s difficult to really feel nervous for him. Surely he will just use his magic and survive. (I don’t want to give much away, but at one point we are very reminiscent of an irritating moment in Christopher Reeve era Superman), Yes, talk of his arrogance and hubris do drop us the hint that something bad may be coming around the corner, but for the most part we are just reading about a powerful hero being powerfully heroic.
A few weeks’ back, when I wrote my review of the first of these books, I said about the problems of only reviewing the first third. The same holds true when it comes to the second third as well. Characters are shifted into place, the plot is developed, but resolution is still far distant. Hamilton is skilled at painting on a large canvass, and at creating alien worlds and cultures that thrive in the reader’s imagination. But given how all this ends yet, the jury remains out on the whole.
A few weeks’ back, when I wrote my review of the first of these books, I said about the problems of only reviewing the first third. The same holds true when it comes to the second third as well. Characters are shifted into place, the plot is developed, but resolution is still far distant. Hamilton is skilled at painting on a large canvass, and at creating alien worlds and cultures that thrive in the reader’s imagination. But given how all this ends yet, the jury remains out on the whole.
January 2, 2019
The Temporal Void: A Draggy Middle Book that Indulges in Tedium
Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawling epic space opera that involves dozens of characters, plots, advanced technologies, alien races, ancient galactic mysteries, nefarious plots and counterplots, all told in an engaging narrative that doesn't get bogged down in exposition like a lot of other hard SF stories. It's far more entertaining than the more grim future vision of Alastair Reynolds, to which Peter Hamilton is often compared to. The human characters here remain far more human than the cold post-humans of Reynolds, which sometimes strains credulity, as they regularly make contemporary cultural references and seem not so different from us, despite being set in a galactic society set in the 31st century, but that largely lies in how you would imagine future humans will be like.
The story is split into two main storylines, a fantasy-like coming of age story about Edeard, a young man coming into his own powerful telepathic powers in a medieval society, and another far more complex future narrative about the search for a Second Dreamer broadcasting dreams of a utopian world within the Void, a giant black hole that is steadily consuming the galaxy from the center outward.
Unfortunately, this book spends much of its length dallying in the tedious romantic misadventures of of its increasingly powerful psychic Edeard, and really indulges in some self-indulgent and juvenile power fantasies that really takes away from the other storyline. It certainly feels like he had a contract for a trilogy and was treading water and filling pages in order to set the stage for the third book, when he could have cut this out and done better with two big volumes like the Commonwealth Saga.
Much like the Commonwealth Saga,this is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawling epic space opera that involves dozens of characters, plots, advanced technologies, alien races, ancient galactic mysteries, nefarious plots and counterplots, all told in an engaging narrative that doesn't get bogged down in exposition like a lot of other hard SF stories. It's far more entertaining than the more grim future vision of Alastair Reynolds, to which Peter Hamilton is often compared to. The human characters here remain far more human than the cold post-humans of Reynolds, which sometimes strains credulity, as they regularly make contemporary cultural references and seem not so different from us, despite being set in a galactic society set in the 31st century, but that largely lies in how you would imagine future humans will be like.
The story is split into two main storylines, a fantasy-like coming of age story about Edeard, a young man coming into his own powerful telepathic powers in a medieval society, and another far more complex future narrative about the search for a Second Dreamer broadcasting dreams of a utopian world within the Void, a giant black hole that is steadily consuming the galaxy from the center outward.
Unfortunately, this book spends much of its length dallying in the tedious romantic misadventures of of its increasingly powerful psychic Edeard, and really indulges in some self-indulgent and juvenile power fantasies that really takes away from the other storyline. It certainly feels like he had a contract for a trilogy and was treading water and filling pages in order to set the stage for the third book, when he could have cut this out and done better with two big volumes like the Commonwealth Saga.
December 13, 2015
MIND-BLOWING.
For me, at least so far, the Void and Makkathran are the ultimate apex in sci-fi creations.
For me, at least so far, the Void and Makkathran are the ultimate apex in sci-fi creations.
September 4, 2016
The second book in the Void trilogy started slow for me, but kept on building up from the previous book and the last 100-150 pages where we finally get some revelations regarding the nature of the Void was the pay off for me.
The strong points of the book were
1.Edeard's story.
The weak point of the book was
1.Few characters stand out.
2.Story gets too much confusing.
Let me elaborate on the above points now
1.Edeard's story.
This book is all about Edeard and his character really develops in this book along with this his story in Makthran. Hamiltion infuses lot of sci-fi elements in this story which really make it fascinating to read.
Especially during last 100 pages the bandit chase was the edge of seat stuff for me, during which I just couldn't stop reading.
2.Few characters stand out.
Except Edeard there were few characters which I can remember from this book, even Paula Myo's character was a bit of boring read.
3.Story gets too much confusing.
The story really got confusing in the common wealth due to the fact that there were too many factions, and it was just hard to remember who was supporting which faction.
Also I could not wrap my head around the fact of ANA governance, if only Hamilton could have given some info regarding its nature.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
The strong points of the book were
1.Edeard's story.
The weak point of the book was
1.Few characters stand out.
2.Story gets too much confusing.
Let me elaborate on the above points now
1.Edeard's story.
This book is all about Edeard and his character really develops in this book along with this his story in Makthran. Hamiltion infuses lot of sci-fi elements in this story which really make it fascinating to read.
Especially during last 100 pages the bandit chase was the edge of seat stuff for me, during which I just couldn't stop reading.
2.Few characters stand out.
Except Edeard there were few characters which I can remember from this book, even Paula Myo's character was a bit of boring read.
3.Story gets too much confusing.
The story really got confusing in the common wealth due to the fact that there were too many factions, and it was just hard to remember who was supporting which faction.
Also I could not wrap my head around the fact of ANA governance, if only Hamilton could have given some info regarding its nature.
I give this book 3/5 stars.
October 26, 2013
I am already eagerly reading the third book in the Void Trilogy The Evolutionary Void, and so far, the second book "The Temporal Void" is by far the best. It is the most exciting. The stories about Edeard have endeared me to him, and to his world. In the first book, one does not have a concept of how his world is related to our own galaxy--he seemed to live in a world of fantasy. In this second book, the relationship is clearer. And now, instead of the stories about Edeard "getting in the way" of the main story about the Commonwealth, the tables have turned. Now, the "main story" about the Commonwealth has taken a back seat, and seem to obstruct the stories about Edeard.
In this book, Edeard's powers evolve, and he rarely understands their full extent. He learns of some of this abilities just in the nick of time, which seems a bit melodramatic. On the other hand, this tendency does give the story line a more thrilling rush.
While the Void Trilogy does seem to be able to stand on its own, it may be useful before reading it, to first read the two books in the Commonwealth Saga. There is some background that may give a somewhat deeper understanding of some of the characters, notably Paula Myo, Oscar Munroe, and "The Cat".
I listened to this book as an audiobook, read by John Lee. While he has a pleasant British accent, it is not always easy listening. Each chapter is broken into separate parts, and John Lee does not make an effort to pause for a few seconds between parts. As a result, listening to this audiobook can be quite confusing.
In this book, Edeard's powers evolve, and he rarely understands their full extent. He learns of some of this abilities just in the nick of time, which seems a bit melodramatic. On the other hand, this tendency does give the story line a more thrilling rush.
While the Void Trilogy does seem to be able to stand on its own, it may be useful before reading it, to first read the two books in the Commonwealth Saga. There is some background that may give a somewhat deeper understanding of some of the characters, notably Paula Myo, Oscar Munroe, and "The Cat".
I listened to this book as an audiobook, read by John Lee. While he has a pleasant British accent, it is not always easy listening. Each chapter is broken into separate parts, and John Lee does not make an effort to pause for a few seconds between parts. As a result, listening to this audiobook can be quite confusing.
September 5, 2020
“Sometimes you have to do what’s wrong in order to do what’s right”
This trilogy is really just one loooooong book. The Temporal Void is the second of the series and like The Dreaming Void it didn’t really wrap too many things up. Unlike the first book there weren’t a lot of new characters introduced. That was ok by me - I was still trying to get caught up from the multitude of simultaneous plots and numerous characters the first time around. This is only my second Peter F Hamilton book, but from what I’ve researched it seems to be his style to have many characters as well as multiple complex plots. Also, he tends to switch between plot threads pretty rapidly- sometimes after only a few pages and without warning. It keeps you on your toes for sure.
Another major difference from the first book is the time spent in each plot thread. Whereas the first book spread things around pretty evenly, this one spent considerably more time with Edeard and the gang from Querencia. I don’t know what the exact split was, but I would guess roughly 2/3 of this book followed Inigo’s dreams. I didn’t find that a bad thing. I found Edeard’s story one of the easier ones to follow in Dreaming Void. In this set of dreams Edeard - now known as the Waterwalker - continues to develop his unique abilities - to dramatic effect- fights some rather bad elements in the city, runs into the same bandits that destroyed Aswell, dabbles in politics, develops a love interest, and some of the mysteries of Makkathran and the Void are unveiled. There were some pretty dark parts - and some things I definitely didn’t see coming.
With so much time covering Edeard there wasn’t nearly as much time to advance events in the Commonwealth. The second dreamer having been revealed as Araminta is much sought after - and each of the competing factions have a stake in finding her. A THIRD dreamer emerges.... channeling thoughts from the first human to enter the void in recent history. We get to meet a Sky Lord... (ok... that was actually in the Void, but not with Edeard anyway). Paula meets an old friend... well... maybe not friend exactly. Not quite as much page time Aaron as I would have liked, but you learn more about what happens after the planet was hit with the Hawking M-Sink.
Like in the first book there was a fair amount of future tech that was pretty cool. Not a lot of new stuff that wasn’t in the first book, but some cool new weapons. The Raiel do some cool stuff.
As I was saying this series is kind of like one very long book. book 1 is around 600 pages, book 2 is 740 pages, and book 3 closes it out at nearly 700 pages. So to unveil the entire story is like reading a 2000 page whopper of a book - it’s a good one though 😀
Overall I liked The Temporal Void slightly less than the first book, but only slightly. It was an enjoyable read and I’m moving right into the third installment to see how things turn out.... 2000 pages and all.
September 27, 2024
This was an exciting followup to The Dreaming Void where we start to understand what the Void really is and why this is important. We also know the identities of a few more of the more mysterious characters - the Dreamers - and the pace quickens towards The Evolutionary Void. For a second volume of a trilogy, this one delivers on interesting characters and a relatively complex plot which continues on a dual path inside and outside the Void. I can't say that I actually liked any of the characters, certainly not Edeard but maybe Paula Kyo again (despite being sexless because of her age, another of the characteristic misogynist touches of Hamilton) and that took a little of the pleasure away from the reading. However, the buildup to the final book is well-done and this one just flies by despite being well over 600-pages long.
August 19, 2008
A moderate length Peter Hamilton book at only 750 pages, the second Void book is a much better one than the first, though it's a direct continuation and builds on that one. I have no idea how volume 3 will deal with all the plot points juggled in the first two, though I expect Mr. Hamilton to tie them nicely, but Temporal Void gets to the meat of the trilogy and its epic urban fantasy part is excellent, while the back and forth treachery between immortal but mostly physical post human factions acquires momentum though nothing is solved.
I liked Void 1 a lot, but I also found it a second tier P. Hamilton space opera comparable with Judas Unchained and Fallen Dragon - while the first tier and the best modern space opera out there are still the 3 Night's Dawn volumes and Pandora's Star - because on the high tech Commonwealth side in our physical-law Galaxy it was too much introduction, too little fizzle, though the last part finally got into high gear, while on the epic fantasy side in the Void which is a different Universe where humans have magic embedded in its physical laws, the story was the familiar, seen way too often, of the rural boy with super magical powers that goes to the big city to find his Destiny.
In Void 2, the Commonwealth action starts offering some payoff for the buildup, though as mentioned nothing is resolved, but the heart of the novel and where it now succeeds wildly is in the epic fantasy part in the Void.
The weakness of the book and series is in its characters since pretty much all Commonwealth ones have relatively little face time, though finally Edeard is taking over as the main lead.
June 29, 2010
I should admit an immediate prejudice--I view peter f hamilton books as pure-plot, pulpy novels, where the value is in rich characters, interesting events, and good story-telling. I can like reading these books but i find they don't leave me much to think about, which is what i'm looking for.
anyway, i'm not really sure what was the reasoning behind the layout of this book. roughly half is filled with inigo's dreams, which i simply can not enjoy reading. A puerile fantasy where the main character is immeasurably more powerful and more principled than everyone else (even in combination). As the book makes clear, this is the point of the void--it sucks up all this mass to provide the energy for everyone to be a god in their local environment. neat, i guess, but i certainly don't want to read about it. i'm sure some people enjoy this sort of writing, but certainly not me..
i did enjoy reading the futuristic stuff, with all the tricky intrigue and complicated characters. I suppose the bad guys are a little too simplistic; the most well developed characters seem to be paula, troblum, and ozzie (who will show up soon, it seems). Maybe it helps that I got pissed reading the previous trilogy and couldn't finish, which constantly leaves me guessing at the 'historical references'.
anyway, if you want good peter f hamilton, see 'fallen dragon'.
anyway, i'm not really sure what was the reasoning behind the layout of this book. roughly half is filled with inigo's dreams, which i simply can not enjoy reading. A puerile fantasy where the main character is immeasurably more powerful and more principled than everyone else (even in combination). As the book makes clear, this is the point of the void--it sucks up all this mass to provide the energy for everyone to be a god in their local environment. neat, i guess, but i certainly don't want to read about it. i'm sure some people enjoy this sort of writing, but certainly not me..
i did enjoy reading the futuristic stuff, with all the tricky intrigue and complicated characters. I suppose the bad guys are a little too simplistic; the most well developed characters seem to be paula, troblum, and ozzie (who will show up soon, it seems). Maybe it helps that I got pissed reading the previous trilogy and couldn't finish, which constantly leaves me guessing at the 'historical references'.
anyway, if you want good peter f hamilton, see 'fallen dragon'.
August 13, 2013
The Temporal Void takes up directly where The Dreaming Void left off. Where the first book was a huge setup, now the story picks up pace. The focus lies now on Edeard and his live in Makathran. And due to this worlds low tech society it has more the feel of a fantasy novel, with his telekinetic powers as magic.
The relatively small scenes in the Commonwealth universe act more like interludes to advance this storyline and therefore we don't get to see so much character development on that front.
This book definitely benefits from the excellent groundwork the first book laid. The mix of scifi and "fantasy" makes it a really interesting read so far and I'm so anxious to see how everything concludes that I will start The Evolutionary Void right now!
The relatively small scenes in the Commonwealth universe act more like interludes to advance this storyline and therefore we don't get to see so much character development on that front.
This book definitely benefits from the excellent groundwork the first book laid. The mix of scifi and "fantasy" makes it a really interesting read so far and I'm so anxious to see how everything concludes that I will start The Evolutionary Void right now!
July 26, 2019
A very entertaining read, one that is quite long but rarely boring (some bits of Edeard's story were a bit unnecessary). The two views of the galaxy were interesting and showed there is always a bigger picture than what you are aware of.
Edeard's ability became a bit too much supermanish for a while then it was revealed to be necessary to understand the Void and it's expansion. The author's linking of the various story lines makes the long read quite satisfying.
There's plenty of greed, grisly deaths, daring escapes, fight scenes, wildly creative technology and questions on what is good or bad. The meaning of life including the need to believe that life could be better after death is one of the constant themes.
Looking forward to the final part of this epic epic.
Edeard's ability became a bit too much supermanish for a while then it was revealed to be necessary to understand the Void and it's expansion. The author's linking of the various story lines makes the long read quite satisfying.
There's plenty of greed, grisly deaths, daring escapes, fight scenes, wildly creative technology and questions on what is good or bad. The meaning of life including the need to believe that life could be better after death is one of the constant themes.
Looking forward to the final part of this epic epic.
January 1, 2020
O carte excepțională!
O adevărată explozie de imaginație, o intrigă solidă, complexă, susținută de personaje veridice. Conceptele prezentate mi-au împins capacitatea de abstractizare către zone de-a dreptul delicioase. Un adevărat festin, continuarea unei serii ce pornește de la o idee ingenioasă, marca Peter F. Hamilton. Chapeau, maestre, asta e ceea ce-mi doresc eu de la o carte!
Din păcate, traducerea a dovedi carențe deranjante în cunoașterea limbii române. Punctul în care voi cumpăra cărțile în original se apropie (excepție vor face cele traduse de câțiva oameni care chiar știu să-și facă meseria cum trebuie, sau cele din limbile pe care nu le cunosc)
O adevărată explozie de imaginație, o intrigă solidă, complexă, susținută de personaje veridice. Conceptele prezentate mi-au împins capacitatea de abstractizare către zone de-a dreptul delicioase. Un adevărat festin, continuarea unei serii ce pornește de la o idee ingenioasă, marca Peter F. Hamilton. Chapeau, maestre, asta e ceea ce-mi doresc eu de la o carte!
Din păcate, traducerea a dovedi carențe deranjante în cunoașterea limbii române. Punctul în care voi cumpăra cărțile în original se apropie (excepție vor face cele traduse de câțiva oameni care chiar știu să-și facă meseria cum trebuie, sau cele din limbile pe care nu le cunosc)
October 14, 2017
Over the last few years I have become an increasingly keen fan of the works of Peter F Hamilton, and his latest work, The Temporal Void, has done nothing to change that trend. Weighing in at some 700 pages it is not for those with little time to read, especially as it is book two of his new "Void" trilogy which began with "The Dreaming Void" in 2007, which itself is a sequel to his previous "Commonwealth" duo of books (Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained) released in (2004/2005) . Hamilton does his usual job of writing an engrossing, large scale story which follows a range of individuals through the same events against a huge Space Opera backdrop. As in previous series, Hamilton expects his readers to remember who is who and what is happening from the previous book in the trilogy. In this book he goes further; with characters and incidents from the Commonwealth books introduced with minimal explanation. When the final book ("The Evolutionary Void) comes out in 2010, I think I had best read the series again starting from Pandora's Star to make sure I properly follow everything that is going on.
So - definitely worth a read, but reading of the previous books in the series is essential, and you'll have to wait another couple of years to find out how it all ties together. Based on previous experience, I'm sure it will!
So - definitely worth a read, but reading of the previous books in the series is essential, and you'll have to wait another couple of years to find out how it all ties together. Based on previous experience, I'm sure it will!
June 22, 2014
I was so hooked and intrigued by the the first book in the series, The Dreaming Void, and most of this book, The Temporal Void... Until the last Edeard chapter/ Inigo Dream of The Temporal Void. Absolutely ridiculous, completely contrived action - so much so I had to interrupt my reading to take an hour and be extremely pissed. It seems like Hamilton is a freaking 14-year-old boy masquerading as a sci fi author! I was so suspicious of the development of the Edeard chapters, I was really hoping Hamilton wasn't going to cheap out and go for the novice story line. Sadly, he did. Sure, I'll finish this series via my local library, just to know how it all ends, but he is one author whose books I will never purchase- such foolishness should never be rewarded. Thankfully libraries exist so I can check out authors I don't know much about and decide before I invest hundreds into their series and life's work books. Seriously, this book was published in 2009? I could give an allowance if this had been published in the 1980s, but even then, well-crafted sci fi was moving beyond a simplistic teenaged boy super hero dream. What an extreme let down. I can overlook simplistic storytelling, if real characters and a real story line is there, no matter how fantastic.... But this reads like a wet dream.
September 28, 2011
The Temporal Void is so clearly the second book in a trilogy that I’m glad that I didn’t start it until the series was complete. Hamilton’s work just keeps getting better and better. My only complaint about this installment is that it had too much of Edeard’s story, but not enough of anyone else’s. Yes, I know that Edeard was my favorite in The Dreaming Void, but the plotlines following Inigo, Araminta, and Justine were important too. Hamilton left these characters hanging way too soon.
John Lee’s narration was quite good. After listening to Pandora's Star, I really thought that I’d never listen to anything narrated by him again. However, he’s much better in the Void Trilogy than he was in that book. I downloaded The Evolutionary Void so I could start it immediately upon finishing this.
John Lee’s narration was quite good. After listening to Pandora's Star, I really thought that I’d never listen to anything narrated by him again. However, he’s much better in the Void Trilogy than he was in that book. I downloaded The Evolutionary Void so I could start it immediately upon finishing this.
February 5, 2018
While this is the second book of the Void trilogy, it is the fourth book to be set in the Commonwealth Universe. I am surprised by liking this one as much or more as my favorite of the series, Pandora's Star. My first love will always be fantasy, and I loved the melding of sci-fi and fantasy in this story. People who are looking for space opera might be disappointed by the amount of time spent in the fantasy setting, Makkathran, but I loved it. Hamilton’s narratives jump around to different third person perspectives, and the cuts worked perfectly. I always wanted to read more, more, MORE to find out what was going to happen next.
I even cried a little at one point. Usually I take a break in between books in a series but not this time. Moving directly into the next installment.
I even cried a little at one point. Usually I take a break in between books in a series but not this time. Moving directly into the next installment.
January 12, 2023
I continue to be a big fan of Hamilton's Commonwealth Universe as I work my way through the Void trilogy. I have to say I think I enjoyed this one more than The Dreaming Void just because it was easier to slide back into the story already having familiarity with the new characters, political factions, and new world building that had evolved from the Commonwealth Saga. I could focus more on the story, characters, and action without trying to figure everything out. And there are parts of this book that felt every bit as good as the stuff in the original series. There were even a couple of reveals of things that I was not expecting at all that make this even better. Unfortunately, what keeps this from being a 5 star book is the time the book spends in the Void in the "dream" chapters. There is interesting stuff that happens in those chapters and it's important to the overall story, but nothing in there is as compelling for me as the stuff taking place in the Commonwealth with all the tech and starships etc. The dream chapters are mostly just fantasy story, and with one of the chapters being a whopping 118 hardcover pages it just felt too long. That being said I am still really enjoying the series and very much enjoyed the book.
August 12, 2020
Se me hace tan raro que un libro te haga spoiler de lo que vas a leer más adelante...
August 9, 2016
As with the first book of this trilogy, the second one was, for me, an uneven experience:
Again the PoV is constantly shifting. It can be broken down roughly half-and-half into all the PoVs that make up the big sci-fi space opera aspect and the single PoV of Edeard, aka the Waterwalker, which is more fantasy-esque, especially in the bildungsroman style. That is, a farm boy is born with SUPREMELY POWERFUL magic, comes to the big corrupt capital city, and sets about making change despite the protests that “this is just how it is.” You honestly can’t get more cliché than that. The package even comes complete with the Superman syndrome (or the DBZ syndrome: Oh crap this villain has such power!!! But then the protag just goes from Super Saiyan 35 to 36 and bam, he wins) and a very Gary Stu vibe. All the women LOOOOOVEEE Edeard.
Nevertheless, Edeard’s sections WERE fun to read. It is enjoyable to see a good person given the power to topple the mighty corrupt. A critic might sneer and call that ‘escapist.’ I prefer to say it reaffirms a fundamental hope: the possibility of good triumphing over evil. Sometimes it’s nice to see the cards stacked in favor of the good. Or to quote Gandalf: “There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.”
Escapism, optimism, or otherwise, Edeard’s sections dragged on occasionally. There are huge passages spent just describing his going on a sex retreat with his girl and other such fluff. I understood their purpose. I understood the author was building a mountain so he could push us off. But they got pretty tiresome to read.
In fact, the pacing in general was a bit off. With about 200-250 pages to go, I put down my book for a second and thought, “Crap. What has actually even HAPPENED here?” The sci-fi plots advance at a SNAIL’S pace. While the scenes themselves have a nice amount of tension, there’s not much genuine forward movement in them. This because, unfortunately, the author needed to get Edeard’s story to a certain place in order to have it all culminate (I hope) in the final book.
The ending was super dramatic, however, and so I will carry on to the final book, with a hope that the uneven nature of this middle book will pay off in the end.
Again the PoV is constantly shifting. It can be broken down roughly half-and-half into all the PoVs that make up the big sci-fi space opera aspect and the single PoV of Edeard, aka the Waterwalker, which is more fantasy-esque, especially in the bildungsroman style. That is, a farm boy is born with SUPREMELY POWERFUL magic, comes to the big corrupt capital city, and sets about making change despite the protests that “this is just how it is.” You honestly can’t get more cliché than that. The package even comes complete with the Superman syndrome (or the DBZ syndrome: Oh crap this villain has such power!!! But then the protag just goes from Super Saiyan 35 to 36 and bam, he wins) and a very Gary Stu vibe. All the women LOOOOOVEEE Edeard.
Nevertheless, Edeard’s sections WERE fun to read. It is enjoyable to see a good person given the power to topple the mighty corrupt. A critic might sneer and call that ‘escapist.’ I prefer to say it reaffirms a fundamental hope: the possibility of good triumphing over evil. Sometimes it’s nice to see the cards stacked in favor of the good. Or to quote Gandalf: “There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.”
Escapism, optimism, or otherwise, Edeard’s sections dragged on occasionally. There are huge passages spent just describing his going on a sex retreat with his girl and other such fluff. I understood their purpose. I understood the author was building a mountain so he could push us off. But they got pretty tiresome to read.
In fact, the pacing in general was a bit off. With about 200-250 pages to go, I put down my book for a second and thought, “Crap. What has actually even HAPPENED here?” The sci-fi plots advance at a SNAIL’S pace. While the scenes themselves have a nice amount of tension, there’s not much genuine forward movement in them. This because, unfortunately, the author needed to get Edeard’s story to a certain place in order to have it all culminate (I hope) in the final book.
The ending was super dramatic, however, and so I will carry on to the final book, with a hope that the uneven nature of this middle book will pay off in the end.
December 1, 2010
The middle tome of the Void Trilogy is in some ways the best book I've read by Hamilton - there really isn't a dull patch in it and it contains the most emotionally affecting material I've read by him. It is, however, interesting to observe where these passages occur:
There is a story within a story - the dreams about the Waterwalker - which has reached 13 installments by the end of this second volume. This story really came to dominate my interest and emotional connection to the book and here's the thing about it; instead of jumping between the points of view of disparate characters in different locations, it sticks constantly to the point of view of one character, the Waterwalker, and we get to know other characters through him. I care more about what happens to him than about the fate of the galaxy which, outside the dreams, is under threat of destruction, whilst various parties intrigue, politic and generally machinate...
In the really daft film, The Core, someone suggests that saving the world is too much - one should just aim to save those you love...another facet of this is that it really is easier to care about the fate of an individual in a dream than about all those myriad characters who get approximately equal but insufficient time back in the real world. It's easier to write, too. Unfortunately the Waterwalker looks quite familiar; anyone who has read as much Hamilton as I have will have noticed that stock characters keep showing their faces in different books with different names and different circumstances and this is going to become a serious problem if it carries on.
The science-fictional idea central to this trilogy is the Void itself - and it is an interesting one - the most interesting and original one Hamilton has come up with, I think. My feeling is that Hamilton has the potential for more than mere space opera if he can weave together all his strengths in one book and recognise and hence avoid his weaknesses; Hamilton is a writer who has been improving as time goes on, but needs to carry on doing so.
There is a story within a story - the dreams about the Waterwalker - which has reached 13 installments by the end of this second volume. This story really came to dominate my interest and emotional connection to the book and here's the thing about it; instead of jumping between the points of view of disparate characters in different locations, it sticks constantly to the point of view of one character, the Waterwalker, and we get to know other characters through him. I care more about what happens to him than about the fate of the galaxy which, outside the dreams, is under threat of destruction, whilst various parties intrigue, politic and generally machinate...
In the really daft film, The Core, someone suggests that saving the world is too much - one should just aim to save those you love...another facet of this is that it really is easier to care about the fate of an individual in a dream than about all those myriad characters who get approximately equal but insufficient time back in the real world. It's easier to write, too. Unfortunately the Waterwalker looks quite familiar; anyone who has read as much Hamilton as I have will have noticed that stock characters keep showing their faces in different books with different names and different circumstances and this is going to become a serious problem if it carries on.
The science-fictional idea central to this trilogy is the Void itself - and it is an interesting one - the most interesting and original one Hamilton has come up with, I think. My feeling is that Hamilton has the potential for more than mere space opera if he can weave together all his strengths in one book and recognise and hence avoid his weaknesses; Hamilton is a writer who has been improving as time goes on, but needs to carry on doing so.
March 31, 2014
I *really* enjoyed the first two Commonwealth books I read, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. I was hoping to spend more time in that universe with this trilogy...but alas, it was not to be. The deeper I get into the Void Trilogy (this is book 2) the more time I'm forced to spend on the galaxy-sized holodeck called The Void, which is a kind of super-virtual reality running a fantasy MMORPG called Inigo's Dream, starring the Edeard The Waterwalker.
In fact it's not until the very last pages of this book, in a typical Hamiltonian cliffhanger, that we get a HUGE data dump out of the blue explaining everything that's gone on for the last umpteen thousand pages and why it matters. It would have made for riveting reading if it wasn't rammed down my throat with the delicacy of an enhanced interrogator's forced-feeding tube.
One thing I like about Hamilton is his willingness to draw upon the most unexpected sources and cleverly squeeze them into his SF setting (elves and faery, chthulhu, etc.)
On the other hand, Hamilton has a fondness for the literary equivalent of bullet-time. Which he invokes with every. freaking. combat. sequence. I've learned to dread the first hint of a possible biononically-enhanced hand-to-hand fight, or starship battle. Do I *really* care what happens every single nanosecond? Sometimes there's too much information.
I'll read a few books by other writers and think about finishing the third book.
Now, your mileage may vary. Probably will. I've seen lots of rave reviews, and who knows? You might love it just as much. As for me, I want more Commonwealth and less holodeck.
In fact it's not until the very last pages of this book, in a typical Hamiltonian cliffhanger, that we get a HUGE data dump out of the blue explaining everything that's gone on for the last umpteen thousand pages and why it matters. It would have made for riveting reading if it wasn't rammed down my throat with the delicacy of an enhanced interrogator's forced-feeding tube.
One thing I like about Hamilton is his willingness to draw upon the most unexpected sources and cleverly squeeze them into his SF setting (elves and faery, chthulhu, etc.)
On the other hand, Hamilton has a fondness for the literary equivalent of bullet-time. Which he invokes with every. freaking. combat. sequence. I've learned to dread the first hint of a possible biononically-enhanced hand-to-hand fight, or starship battle. Do I *really* care what happens every single nanosecond? Sometimes there's too much information.
I'll read a few books by other writers and think about finishing the third book.
Now, your mileage may vary. Probably will. I've seen lots of rave reviews, and who knows? You might love it just as much. As for me, I want more Commonwealth and less holodeck.
June 5, 2013
I am reviewing the novel The Temporal Void by Peter F Hamilton which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is the 2nd installment in the Void Trilogy. In it we see the Void where the Rael live is still expanding. There is a good twist at the end involving the group who have made a pilgrimage to the Void. Earhead has been promoted first to bodyguard for the President and then because the public opinion starts to sway in his direction, stands for President himself. He has to marry someone of a similiar station, in this case Kristabel. The job of President doesn't go as planned and he is sent in to exile. He stands in the election for President again and does rather well. This is of course on Earth in its capital city which has a population of 50 million. I think the Earth isn't all that crowded because of all the people settling on different planets. This book isn't quite as good as The Dreaming Void and the ending leaves room for a sequel. You might call this book science fiction or space opera although it's done intelligently. I think his best series of book is probably the Commonwealth Saga.
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