The Evolutionary Void (Void, #3)

Aug 03, 2011 mark monday rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: futuristik

a rousing end to hamilton's most ambitious hard science space opera yet. the author certainly believes in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, as this trilogy (although it is truly more of a quintet) includes EVERTHING: artificial intelligences, sun-diving, galactic religious movements, bionic enhancements, alien species (including a sci-fi explanation for ELVES for chrissakes), a range of modes of space & time travel, mysteries that have lasted a millenia, lots of space battles, de...more a rousing end to hamilton's most ambitious hard science space opera yet. the author certainly believes in the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach, as this trilogy (although it is truly more of a quintet) includes EVERTHING: artificial intelligences, sun-diving, galactic religious movements, bionic enhancements, alien species (including a sci-fi explanation for ELVES for chrissakes), a range of modes of space & time travel, mysteries that have lasted a millenia, lots of space battles, detailed world-building, and an incredibly large & often over-sexed cast of enjoyably cartoonish characters featuring scientists, starship commanders, politicians, everyday joes & janes, immortals, mystics, and my personal favorite, the tormented yet quip-filled super-agent who just wants to get the job done despite having to deal with multiple massacres occurring in both his dreaming and waking hours. my gosh, poor super-agent...what a life!

aside from the page-turning narrative and the wall-to-wall concepts thrown at the reader, the most fascinating thing to me about this pleasantly over-stuffed series is its engagement with another genre: High Fantasy. in hamilton's previous series Night's Dawn, he engaged successfully with the Horror genre in his depiction of souls returning from the dead to destroy the living, centuries upon centuries in the future. In that novel, the horror and the hard science were woven carefully together. in this series, the High Fantasy is kept at more of a remove by the creation of two distinct narratives that often reflect upon each other. the parallel adventures of Edeard in the "magical" city of Makkathran may appear minor-note compared to the expansiveness of the space opera that surrounds his various tales, but Edeard's journey from village outsider to Master of Space & Time is just as compelling and may merit a separate read, outside of the space opera itself. at the very least, the detailed descriptions of the psychic powers of the Edeard & his countrymen are absorbing & thought-provoking; even more interesting to contemplate are the lessons that Edeard learns about the impossibility of attaining perfection in relationships, in human nature, in creating the perfect utopia. surprisingly heady & tragic ideas lurk within the fantasy, although the reader who prefers fast action on a galactic scale may soon grow frustrated with the inward-leaning tales of Edeard.

although the characters and their dialogue are often simplistically two-dimensional (Edeard aside), and the sentimentality is at times a bit much, overall this is a marvellous achievement by hamilton. the author is a man of many ideas!(less)

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Feb 28, 2012 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, 2012-read

Here it is, the book I've been waiting nearly two years for: The Evolutionary Void. The conclusion to the Void Trilogy, started with The Dreaming Void and followed up by The Temporal Void, is by far my most anticipated book of the year and the series is making very strong noises to be my favourite finished series ever. So, with expectations that simply couldn't get any higher, does The Evolutionary Void meet these? Simple answer: Hell yeah!

The Evolutionary Void picks up immediately where The Tem...more Here it is, the book I've been waiting nearly two years for: The Evolutionary Void. The conclusion to the Void Trilogy, started with The Dreaming Void and followed up by The Temporal Void, is by far my most anticipated book of the year and the series is making very strong noises to be my favourite finished series ever. So, with expectations that simply couldn't get any higher, does The Evolutionary Void meet these? Simple answer: Hell yeah!

The Evolutionary Void picks up immediately where The Temporal Void left off with no break in pacing, continuing the story in an effective, confident fashion. The many plot threads that have been built up over the first two novels are now dealt with convincingly, some with immediate effect while others come to the fore in preparation for the grand finale. It's very difficult, in fact nigh on impossible, to find any fault with this aspect of The Evolutionary Void. It is clear from many references and clues laid down in Dreaming and Temporal that the Void trilogy has been intricately plotted and even has details that go all the way back to the Commonwealth Saga. This is rather unsurprising when you consider that many of the characters present here have their origins in the duology.

Some of the story lines that I was most anticipating delivered the goods. The Deterrence Fleet is hinted at many times and the revelation of what it is and the capabilities it has still manages to surprise. This can be said of many of the plot points in Evolutionary. For example, Araminta is the descendant of two Silfen friends and this is used during Temporal to show how she is able to share her dreams of the Skylord (albeit unknowingly) with the Living Dream movement. This heritage plays a fairly big role in Evolutionary and leads to some aspects that I just didn't see coming, despite how obvious they are when looking back.

The format of Evolutionary Void also follows a similar path to that of the previous books, with the Commonwealth elements mixed with Inigo's dreams of life in the Void. While The Dreaming Void was roughly a 60/40 split in favour of the Commonwealth sections and The Temporal Void was roughly 70/30 in favour of the Void sections, The Evolutionary Void switches right back to focus more on the issues in the Commonwealth and the Void aspects taking a back seat, leading to the split being in the region of 80/20 in favour of the Commonwealth. This really does work in its favour and allows Peter to do what he does best: epic space opera. To say that Peter is ambitious in his plotting would be an understatement, but past good form is present here in every way possible, from bringing together plot threads to concluding the story in a fantastic way.

Peter has developed all his characters throughout this series, with familiar faces from the Commonwealth Saga continually being developed nicely and new faces to the Void trilogy satisfying all aspects I could hope for. Each development that forms the story is conveyed convincingly through the characters, from Araminita taking the bull by the horns to the eventual discovery of Aaron's identity and past. Edeard's progress is perhaps the most controversial and seeing him change during his sections left me somewhat non-plussed. However, Peter does do an exceptional job at showing how extreme power can affect all while still managing to portray Edeard's life in a most realistic way. The eventual outcome is all the more satisfying for this exploration of his character and serves the story very well.

One of the main aspects I loved about Dreaming and Temporal was Edeard's story, a story that is both gripping and emotional. I mentioned briefly above about his character in Evolutionary so I won't go into more detail here, but what did surprise me is that the format of consecutive Dreams is not followed here. It turns out Inigo had a lot of Dreams of Edeard's life and all that is covered in the first two novels is only a small aspect of it. Instead of sticking to the known, Peter goes outside this pattern and does not tell us everything, but rather select and important times of his life that have the greatest effect on the plot and story. Yes, I would have liked to read them all, but quantity does not always mean quality, and it is the quality and overall story that makes this approach powerful and meaningful to The Evolutionary Void.

There were two particular questions that I had before starting The Evolutionary Void, one relating to Inigo's Last Dream and the other relating to just how effectively Peter could conclude this trilogy. While I wanted them to hit the right notes I was just that little bit sceptical that they may miss the mark, just not being able to convince myself to ignore those doubts, unfounded as they were.

Inigo's Last Dream is one of the most beautifully written and poetic pieces of writing I have ever read. Seeing it coming from Peter was one of the biggest surprises and most pleasant finds in Evolutionary. While fairly short, it conveys so much emotion and feeling that I had to put the book down after reading it simply to absorb what I had read. Stunning is one way to describe it, awe inspiring would be another, but without a doubt it is the highlight of the novel.

The conclusion of the trilogy was something I hoped would be a fitting end and able to silence previous critics of Peters work. Not only does it do this, it manages to bring aspects laid down throughout the trilogy together in an ending that is grand in scale and perfectly suited to what has been laid out in the trilogy as a whole.

If I had to put forward one quibble it would not be about this book, but rather the fact that the Commonwealth Saga, which consists of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained and is set 1200 years prior to the Void Trilogy, really needs to be read to gain a full appreciation of this epic story. While both are fairly separate, the story they form as a whole makes the experience much more fulfilling. There are aspects present in the Void trilogy, particularly Evolutionary Void, that hark back to this previous saga. While I wouldn't say it's a compulsory read, you will get the most enjoyment if you take the time to get around to them first.

So, I think you can probably tell from the above that I really did love this book, thought the trilogy has been exceptional and would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. It's intricately plotted and you'd be hard pressed to find another author who can pull off such a vision. For grand scale, epic space opera on a huge canvas it doesn't get much better than this. Highly, highly recommended.
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Mar 30, 2012 Robert rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

Having waited what feels like eternity to get a mass market paperback edition of this, the final volume in the Void trilogy, I went back and re-read the first two volumes in order to remind myself what was going on.

Those previous volumes did not withstand a second reading very well; their primary plus points were the new SF ideas and of course, they aren't new second time around. So...1400p to remind myself of the backstory, then onwards!

The final volume suffers problems similar to those of Hami...more Having waited what feels like eternity to get a mass market paperback edition of this, the final volume in the Void trilogy, I went back and re-read the first two volumes in order to remind myself what was going on.

Those previous volumes did not withstand a second reading very well; their primary plus points were the new SF ideas and of course, they aren't new second time around. So...1400p to remind myself of the backstory, then onwards!

The final volume suffers problems similar to those of Hamilton's two previous multi-volume space opera sagas, namely; plot points seen hundreds of pages in advance, too many disparate characters leading me to always be thinking, what's going on with...whomever...and characters that are too similar to characters in other books (even the ones that don't actually appear in earlier books in the timeline.) There is also something of E.E. Doc. Smith threat/technology-inflation.

This series is set hundreds of years after the closure of Judas Unchained in which an inter-stellar scale war is fought with weapons that can destroy stars, create blackholes, turn humans into walking battle tanks etc. But now we're in the future and technology has to have moved on...where? Hamilton strains to make believable advances on people who are immortal except for accident or deliberate violence that can already make stars go nova. The threat, which was last time genocide of all of humanity is this time genocide of the whole galaxy...

All that said, these faults are not as severe as in the previous efforts; I couldn't foresee every major plot point well in advance (although I felt I should have guessed more) and there are some surprises at the denouement. Which leaves the ending(s): Books that bring disparate characters across a galaxy in to play in critical events can't just end. They have to ends multiple times over in order to close all of the characters. This usually detracts even when the denouement was great.

There is a short story at the end of this volume, promoting a forthcoming collection of such by Hamilton. It is less than 20p long and superior to the 2000+p saga preceding it. All of Hamilton's best works have been completely self-contained and the longest of them approximately the size of any one volume in this series. I don't think I'll be reading any more multi-volume space operas by Hamilton but I will pick up that short story collection and any stand-alone novel he might release in the future.

Post scriptum: Reading Dan's review reminded me of some things I forgot to say: This volume appears to have some (not very subtle) sub-text. For instance, Utopia is bad because boring, humans need to struggle in order to have fulfilling lives, cultural imperialism is bad. People need to be allowed to evolve in seperate ways as long as no coercion is involved. This is all positive stuff, in that any sort of subtext seems absent from most of Hamilton's novels. (Fallen Dragon is an exception.) Most of these ideas are in fact SF staples and unfortunately done better elsewhere. In particular, the ideas of humans physically as well as culturally evolving in muliple directions were dealt with much better in Dan Simmons' at least equally gigantic Hyperion Cantos.(less)

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Jun 08, 2013 David Roberts rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am reviewing the novel The Evolutionary Void by Peter F Hamilton which is an excellent science fiction novel which I bought from kindle. This book concludes the Void trilogy and is probably the best of the 3 books. Hamilton does a kind of intelligent space opera which has established him as the number 1 science fiction author in Britain and I think his writing is very commercial. The plot to this book and it might be worth looking at the previous 2 posts to refresh your memory is the Commonwea...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Zaphoddent rated it 1 of 5 stars

I finished this only because I'd already invested so much time in the earlier books. Edeard's story just gets more tiresome and mundane the deeper you get. In fact it becomes positively idiotic. It feels like a complete regression into some archaic world where people have 'evolved' into some medieval culture complete with inane conversations. Worse still, is the fact that there is no character development for anyone except Edeard in the void. They are just a bunch of appendages without any opini...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Andy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Big fan of Mr Hamiltons stuff, loved his style from the start with the Greg Mandell trilogy. His effortless yet detailed and technical style really appeals to the geek in me exploring the technologies of the future in a fearless way that many SciFi writers shy away from. The man has an amazing imagination.

The original commonwealth series was excellent and introduced some interesting characters that you grow to love, the characters are really well drawn and each has a unique personality that rea...more Big fan of Mr Hamiltons stuff, loved his style from the start with the Greg Mandell trilogy. His effortless yet detailed and technical style really appeals to the geek in me exploring the technologies of the future in a fearless way that many SciFi writers shy away from. The man has an amazing imagination.

The original commonwealth series was excellent and introduced some interesting characters that you grow to love, the characters are really well drawn and each has a unique personality that really shines through. Many of the characters of the pervious saga make a come back in the Void Trilogy and are very welcome despite this book being based over a 1000 years further ahead. In the void trilogy Mr Hamilton does and incredible job of seamlessly weaving together two completely different stories, both with twists and turns that really do keep you reading. Bringing the stories together in a climactic ending. There is plenty of action in these books, something that the writer is clearly a fan of; although on occasions it can be difficult to follow being a little chaotic (I guess thats the nature of war/fights)

I have to say though that I was a little disappointed at first as some characters are missing, and one gets the distinct impression that Mr Hamilton is growing tired of the Commonwealth saga as a whole, indeed with these books he seems to drive the whole franchise up a quiet cul-de-sac and park it, carefully disposing of the keys. Its finished its journey, it can go nowhere else. He has taken the technologies and characters as far as they can go by hoping over such a large gap in years. Real shame as I would have liked to hear more of their adventures.

Having read both the original commonwealth saga and the Void trilogy twice now the first four books are well written and carefully crafted, but I have to observe that the final book "The Evolutionary void" seems well... rushed , it just has that feeling about it as if the writer had something else on his mind. I have never read a book that didn't have mistakes but this one has more than its fair share. Particularly around the Ariminta character who's timeline seems littered with inconsistencies and strange "jumps" in development.

Ultimately the ending seems a little well ... soft.

On the whole though a cracking read and genuinely unputdownable , look forward to the next book "Great north road".

Oh and P.S:
Mr Hamilton if you are reading this , Archway is not a slum ! (Nights dawn reference)
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Jul 24, 2012 Laurie rated it 4 of 5 stars

As usual, I loved it.

I had a great time reading this series, the characters are like old friends by the third book. I continue to enjoy the universe of the Commonwealth immensely, if we are lucky we may see a future similar to it. I would truly love to have a go at rejuvenation and a couple of extra centuries to try all the things the universe has to offer. Ahhhhh, well. At least I can dream of it!

Hamilton has a gift for the creation of a believable setting. His actors are real and have believa...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Lee Penney rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’m a long-time reader of Hamilton’s books it’s fair to say I enjoy his works and I’ve followed him through various space operas as well as his stand-alone works. I’ve enjoyed the other books in this trilogy, but I felt they were lacking something compared to his previous series. This being the finale, I was expecting big things, but that’s not what was delivered.

The story, once more split between the world inside the void and the universe outside it, moves very slowly and most of the characters...more I’m a long-time reader of Hamilton’s books it’s fair to say I enjoy his works and I’ve followed him through various space operas as well as his stand-alone works. I’ve enjoyed the other books in this trilogy, but I felt they were lacking something compared to his previous series. This being the finale, I was expecting big things, but that’s not what was delivered.

The story, once more split between the world inside the void and the universe outside it, moves very slowly and most of the characters simply spend the book rushing here and there, spending more time in transit, searching or thinking about things than actually doing anything and there’s little conflict, physical or otherwise. When you get big master strokes such as the barrier around Earth going up, or the Deterrence Fleet being deployed they just seem to be left hanging, with no real purpose in the bigger picture.

The sections with Edeard inside the void didn’t seem to have any purpose either, there was no real character development and when he did meet a strong antagonist, something I was hoping he would be able to get his teeth into, he simply resets the whole thing and the tension is pointlessly dismissed. The battle with the Cat is likewise over before it really begins on the outside with another formidable adversary simply wiped aside.

Worse though, is the ending. It passes by so subtly I had to go back and read it again to check I hadn’t missed anything. After all those pages and all that maneuvering I was expecting fireworks, a real battle for survival with human evolution on one side and the possible destruction of the galaxy on the other. What I got was a damp squib.

As usual the many strands of the story are handled well by Hamilton, though his characters seem to spend a lot of time navel-gazing with little development, some make little more than cameos. Within the whole there are a few interesting stories or moments. Araminta’s running and subsequent rise, Gore making more of an appearance, but not enough to lift the tedium. I spent the entire book waiting for something to happen, believing it was just around the corner, a few more pages, but it never came.

If you’re looking for a grand spectacle with a big finish, you’ll be sadly disappointed.(less)

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Dec 25, 2011 Brendan rated it 5 of 5 stars

After not liking the first two books in the Void trilogy that much, I finally made it to this one. I'm a huge fan of Hamilton, and his work on the Commonwealth Saga, Night's Dawn, and Fallen Dragon is what convinced me to pick up The Dreaming Void in the first place. It was ok, but I felt not quite up to par for him. The second book felt even worse: nothing got resolved, and too many pages spent in the fantasy realm.

But this, this was worth going through those two for. I flew through this book....more

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Oct 26, 2011 Robert Delikat rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While the Void Trilogy is three books, it is only one story. Each of the three could easily have been 2 or even 3 books by themselves. I believe that they were that rich in depth and breadth. I had finished the Commonwealth Saga not too long ago and was blown away by both books. I could not say which I enjoyed more given that again there was a great deal of continuity between the two and I read and reviewed them as one.

Interestingly, the Void Trilogy is set in the same universe 1200 years later...more While the Void Trilogy is three books, it is only one story. Each of the three could easily have been 2 or even 3 books by themselves. I believe that they were that rich in depth and breadth. I had finished the Commonwealth Saga not too long ago and was blown away by both books. I could not say which I enjoyed more given that again there was a great deal of continuity between the two and I read and reviewed them as one.

Interestingly, the Void Trilogy is set in the same universe 1200 years later (AD 3580) and contains many of the same characters. That's good for those of us who elected to read the story from the beginning but not totally unacceptable for those who chose to pickup the story from from the Void. Having a background about or history on the characters helps. When I first ventured into the trilogy with the Dreaming Void I was a bit disappointed. I thought that it was slow and difficult to figure out. However, I stuck with it and with the Temporal Void (#2 of 3) things really picked up in pace and action. In fact, of all three books I think that the second was the most exciting. This was the brilliance of Peter Hamilton that I remembered from the Commonwealth. Incredibly unique landscapes, characters and creatures. But not to be only bowled over by the senses, these books are heady, contemplative and complex. These are not books to listen to while doing something else. They require, they demand, they deserve our full attention or forget it. Read something lighter.

By the time I got into the last in the series, The Evolutionary Void, my biggest concern was how this epic was going to end. These worlds and stories were so gargantuan and magnificent in almost every respect, how could the conclusion possibly do justice to all that came before. But again, somehow Hamilton pulls it off.

However, I would submit that there is still something missing in Hamilton's characters. While there is incredible opportunity for character development just given the lengths of these books, the characters themselves seem to lack something. I have struggled with this wondering if this is a lack of mature writing on the part of the author or just the way beings are 2500 years into the future. I kind of got attached to some of the characters but then not really. Maybe when you live for a thousand years people just become less concerned about you; less caring.

Two, three, let alone five of these books required an investment in time and energy but it was one hell of a ride. The narrator I have listened to in a great number of books. He was not the best part of this one.
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Oct 20, 2011 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

This is the final installment of the Void Trilogy, the previous two of which are The Dreaming Void and The Temporal Void. I have felt that in his previous series the last books were always a bit of a let down after the exciting build up, but thankfully this novel seems to change that. Peter Hamilton seems to be learning how to be a much better writer in terms of pacing at least.

The series is set in the same Commonwealth universe as the Starflyer series, but about 1000 years further ahead in time...more This is the final installment of the Void Trilogy, the previous two of which are The Dreaming Void and The Temporal Void. I have felt that in his previous series the last books were always a bit of a let down after the exciting build up, but thankfully this novel seems to change that. Peter Hamilton seems to be learning how to be a much better writer in terms of pacing at least.

The series is set in the same Commonwealth universe as the Starflyer series, but about 1000 years further ahead in time. The human civilisation that he has created is a high-tech culture spread over several thousand star sytems. The populace can enhance themselves with a lot of artificial ‘improvements’ to their bodies which includes virtual immortality. So far, fairly typical space opera.

Where this differs slightly is the Void of the title. This is an artificial mini-universe in the centre of the galaxy, the expansion of which is threatening to destroy the galaxy. There are two strands to the story, one set in the Commonwealth outside, and one inside where there is another human civilisation, but at a technological level of medieval times with the addition that they have magical powers such as telepathy. The people outside the Void are aware of those inside (through a process too complicated to explain here) but not vice-versa. This book brings together those two strands.

The various factions in the Commonwealth are still here and trying through various ultra-violent methods to get control of the Void. The technology described is so far advanced that it may as well be magic here too, the author blithely writing off the destruction of stars and planets in a couple of sentences during one battle. This is all very well, but as one of the characters remarks while discussing events inside the Void, once you are masters of the Universe the Universe gets a bit boring. There wasn’t quite enough tension here as most of the main agents in the story seem to be able to do just about anything. Inside the Void, the power struggle story involving Edeard also reaches a reasonably satisfying climax, although as he has more-or-less turned into a god in that universe the ending is never really in doubt, a similar problem for the plot. Whereas in the previous two novels I preferred the story inside the Void, here I thought the outside story was more satisfying.

A problem with the story (as opposed to the plot) is actually the aforementioned immortality. Some characters from the Starflyer series made fairly brief cameos in the previous books. Just to please the fans you might think, and I hadn’t really paid them much attention. However in this book they take over the story. It doesn’t really affect the plot itself that much but as it had been many years since I’d read the Starflyer books I couldn’t remember a lot of the back story. So various antagonisms and the odd revalation went a bit over my head. I would have preferred a ‘previously, in the Commonwealth’ introductory chapter so that I could remember who they all were.

Despite my moaning I think that this is his best finale book so far. The ‘magical’ aspect of the Void is explained in terms of science (or at least sciencey-sounding stuff), which I was happy about, and everything is wrapped up nicely. I can’t really see any point in setting any future stories in this Universe further into the future though. Like the rest of this series it is probably for fans only, and I do suggest that you read Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained first!(less)

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Mar 27, 2011 Andreas rated it 4 of 5 stars

A novel in three volumes consisting of:

* The Dreaming Void
* The Temporal Void
* The Evolutionary Void

Like “Night’s Dawn” and the Commonwealth Saga before it, the “Void Trilogy” is not so much a series as one single novel, sprawling over three 1500 page volumes. That’s why it took two months to read. Set over one thousand years after the end of Commonwealth, it reintroduces many of the old familiar characters. While it can be read independently, I would highly recommend that you read Commonweal...more A novel in three volumes consisting of:

* The Dreaming Void
* The Temporal Void
* The Evolutionary Void

Like “Night’s Dawn” and the Commonwealth Saga before it, the “Void Trilogy” is not so much a series as one single novel, sprawling over three 1500 page volumes. That’s why it took two months to read. Set over one thousand years after the end of Commonwealth, it reintroduces many of the old familiar characters. While it can be read independently, I would highly recommend that you read Commonwealth first. The background is invaluable.

In the Commonwealth of the 3500s, humanity has split into many groups. Biggest is the split between Advancers, what one might think of as “old fashioned” humans, and Highers, who see their physical existence as a precursor to upload into the machine intelligence known as ANA. Among the Highers, there are several rival factions, from the Accelerators, who wish to speed up human evolution towards the enigmatic goal of transcendence, to the conservative Conservatives. Into this mix is thrust the religion of the Living Dream, born out of the dreams that its founder Inigo had of events inside the Void, a vast, enigmatic and (mostly) impenetrable region in the center of the galaxy. Inigo has dreamed of the life of a man called Edeard in a mysterious city on a planet in the Void. In fact, Inigo’s dreams of Edeard’s life mark a major subplot in the novel, as we follow Edeard from country boy to refugee to city constable in the city of Makkathran. The goal of Living Dream is to start a pilgrimage into the Void and there reach “fulfillment”. The rest of humanity and most alien races are more or less united against it, believing that such a pilgrimage will lead to an expansion of the Void which will engulf the rest of the galaxy, terminating all life.

As usual with Hamilton, the plot is complex, the characters are many, and the descriptions just lovely. The story is certainly gripping. However I did feel that this time, Mr. Hamilton didn’t quite grip me enough. Perhaps I now have too high expectations from him, but Void felt a bit ponderous, especially in the beginning. By contrast, the interludes with Edeard were quite the story in themselves, almost able to stand on their own as a novel. Weird as it may seem, I felt as if the novel wasn’t quite long enough. Some bits were a bit too sketchy, such as the whole Ocisen attack subplot. Yes, it was just a device used by a faction, but even so the complexities were worth exploring further. There was also a bit of a lack of action for much of the novel. People went hither and thither in their starships but there was often precious little actual plot or character development. So I wanted the novel to be longer, but in parts it was too slow? Exactly! The ending, however, was quite gratifying. Hamilton has by his own admission, often had difficulties actually tying things up. But he did it nicely here.

So what’s the verdict? If you have read Commonwealth and enjoyed it, you can’t go wrong by continuing with Void. It is not as good as Night’s Dawn or Commonwealth, but Hamilton at his worst is better than most authors at their best. It is great space opera, and few can write it like he does.

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Mar 19, 2011 William rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having enjoyed the previous two books in the Void trilogy, I was looking forward to this book a lot and I wasn’t disappointed by it. Hamilton set up a number of intriguing mysteries and plotlines in the previous books but does a good job of explaining most of the mysteries and resolving most of the plotlines. There were a few small plot points that I wasn’t too keen on, but I thought the overall ending was very effective and the Void Trilogy as a whole ranks among Hamilton’s best work. As in the...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Clay rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Peter F. Hamilton is not for the faint of heart -- or the short of memory. His massive books are complexly plotted, and refer back to previous, and equally massive, books without any hint of compassion for a reader who might not have spent the last few years grimly memorizing every detail of his work.

To sum up, "The Evolutionary Void" (Del Rey, $28, 694 pages) concludes the trilogy that began with "The Dreaming Void" (608 pages) and moved through "The Temporal Void" (736 pages) -- and actually b...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Chris LaHatte rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-sf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 25, 2012 Forrest rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: cbr4

Okay, I’m not sure if I wasn’t paying attention to book two, but The Evolutionary Void definitely jumped the tracks a bit and careened off into the nebulous science fantasy genre. Not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with science fantasy, but the effect is sort of like going to a Star Trek convention, passing out on the last day and waking up to the cosplay contest of an anime con. Not unpleasant per se, but definitely disconcerting.

Where book two, The Temporal Void, was mostly about th...more Okay, I’m not sure if I wasn’t paying attention to book two, but The Evolutionary Void definitely jumped the tracks a bit and careened off into the nebulous science fantasy genre. Not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with science fantasy, but the effect is sort of like going to a Star Trek convention, passing out on the last day and waking up to the cosplay contest of an anime con. Not unpleasant per se, but definitely disconcerting.

Where book two, The Temporal Void, was mostly about the events within the Void, and by extension Edeard’s story, book three takes us back outside to resolve the ongoing problem of the Living Dream pilgrimage. The majority of the narrative is spent picking up plot threads from the first book that were left withering to make room for the copious number of dream chapters in book two. I should note that I started Evolutionary Void almost two full years after reading the first two books, and spent a substantial amount of time trying to remember who the hell everyone was with mixed success. Most of the protagonist groups have finally aligned against the forces of the Living Dream or the Accelerator Faction, but haven’t necessarily teamed up. All that aligning means less in the way of Ludlum-esque chases and more pseudo-scientific technobabble along with a fair portion of posthumanist philosophy.

But the end of the book is kind of a foregone conclusion. Hamilton’s transparent anti-utopia stance is never questioned, even by the most strident adherents of the Living Dream, who convert in a mostly symbolic testament to the reasonability of ‘people.’ With the ultimate conclusion somewhat obvious, the only thing left is how the cast will manage to pull it off. The final couple of scenes end up resembling the grand finale of a Broadway musical, as the entire cast is gathered up for a last stand™ and Hamilton turns the special effects dial up to eleven.

My real problem with Evolutionary Void was the introduction of the space elves. Well, not just the space elves, but the complete silliness that accompanied them. I guess the Silfin have been lurking in Hamilton’s Commonwealth setting for a while, but their appearance in Evolutionary is just stupid. They are a supersociety that utilizes dimensional manipulation technology so advanced it appears to be magical, even to the hyper-evolved human Higher civilizations. But in spite of their superior status, they are just as incapable of solving the problem of the Void as anyone else. The whole thing smacks of fantasy quests and the stupidly powerful people who orchestrate them, like they’re just trying to prove a point or something. This kind of storytelling has no place in proper science fiction. It’s just sloppy. And yes, that sentence is going to get me in trouble.

Between the poor handling of the second book, and the fanciful third, there isn’t a lot left to recommend the Void Trilogy. There is the nostalgia aspect of seeing all your favorite characters from the first Commonwealth Saga show up again, although that does raise some questions about individual longevity, not only as a body, but as a discrete psychology over more than a millennium of intervening time. The conclusion is predictable and pedantic, but the final scenes and the wrap-up are handled pretty well. And it isn’t like the books are terribly written. The problems exist almost entirely at the intellectual level and don’t really impinge on the real action or moment to moment storyline. There are still too many characters for the narrative to flow easily, but no one feels too extraneous.

What I’m trying to get at is that the books aren’t actually bad. If all you’re looking for is an enjoyable space opera on a grand scale, the Void Trilogy will definitely scratch that itch. Just be prepared to gloss over some of the structural problems.(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Lee rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

A pretty good end to the Void trilogy, wrapping up both Edeard's personal journey within the Void and the widespread shenanigans going on outside. Alas, the book does seem to stall a little compared to its two antecedents. There are quite a lot of characters just waiting in the wings doing a great deal of nothing during the book; a fact highlighted when the characters we do follow say "This task I'm doing will take three days," and then on the next line they're done, merely flagging the fact tha...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Andy rated it 5 of 5 stars

You know how some authors seem to finish a book properly?

Damn, Hamilton knows how to end a book and a series. I realized this as my anticipation grew as I neared the end of this one. Made me look back across all his titles I have read and remember that they all pack a punch. This one had me on the edge of my seat.

Finishing up the Void series, Hamilton once again reaffirmed my belief that he is in the top of the class of HiTech Sci-Fi. A truly epic story in three parts, each delivers the goods.

Wh...more

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May 16, 2010 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010_release_read, genre-sf, series_read, read_2010, t1_recommended_2010

I finished The Evolutionary Void by PF Hamilton, the highly awaited finale to the Void trilogy and it is *the* sf novel of the year and the best PF Hamilton at least since The Reality Dysfunction - which I still consider the best PFH for its unabashed sense of wonder and larger than life characters - if not ever.

Everything comes together into the grand finale - and here there should be no more complaints about weak endings, deus-ex-machina and all - and there are enough twists and turns to make...more

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Oct 11, 2010 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nov-dec-2010

Reviewers of The Evolutionary Void cited the factors that usually make Hamilton's fiction great: his ability to juggle several different compelling characters, his speculations about future human development, and his ability to balance hard science and riveting space opera. But they were mainly satisfied to read the conclusion of not just the plot arcs of Hamilton's last two books but also a few he initiated in earlier novels set in the same universe. Of particular note is a clever, impressive f...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Guillermo Azuarte rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Once in a while, a book or series of books will come along that just awe me with the amount of work and imagination it must have taken to create. The Void trilogy did just that. To be able to weave high fantasy on one half, with high technology on the other (Clarke's axiom is in full effect here about high technology being indistinguishable from magic), and send them both on a collision course, was amazing to read. The only thing that got in the way from this being a five star book/series for m...more
Once in a while, a book or series of books will come along that just awe me with the amount of work and imagination it must have taken to create. The Void trilogy did just that. To be able to weave high fantasy on one half, with high technology on the other (Clarke's axiom is in full effect here about high technology being indistinguishable from magic), and send them both on a collision course, was amazing to read. The only thing that got in the way from this being a five star book/series for me was that Hamilton tends to be long-winded as I"ve
mentioned ad infinitum in reviews the other Void books.

When he doesn't get bogged down describing buildings and city layouts, the action moves along t breakneck speed, as disparate factions race towards the center of the galaxy to decide nothing less than the fate of 2 universes. The Inigo chapters that were soo problematic for
me in the last installment have been distilled down to a few short chapters (about 30ish pages each). I've read I'm not alone in my complaints about the previous book having too much of these dream chapters that sometimes spanned over 100 pgs, but there is a great payoff here, and Edeard's time in The Evolutionary Void is seriously compelling (although I do admit my eyes were rolling into the back of my head during a section where Edeard and several characters discuss the pernicous ramifications of a new livestock tax. I kid you not).

There are some really interesting themes here about the rejection the notion of a utopia or heaven. "Be careful what you wish for. Utopia at our biological level just doesn't work. Once you've achieved everything, there is nothing left, you take out the core of being human: the striving." I really like this concept, although who says you can't have a utopia without some sort of struggle, like a gladiatorial state or a never ending tennis or chess match? Hmm.
But I get his point. Credit Hamilton for quickly turning a utopia that we would all probably kill to have, with something that seems to me as almost nightmarish.

My favorite line is on the trappings of fulfillment, expoused by the ever so eloquent and dickhead Ozzie: "A dung beetle that gets its turd home is fulfilled." What I took from that was that there's
nothing inherently wrong in seeking fulfillment and obtaining it, but in the cosmic scale of things, it probably is just as meaningful as that dung beetle and his exploits are to the rest of us. Way to break my soul there, Peter.

There were plenty of revelations in that conclusion that I had no inkling were coming.The ending was spectacular and even a bit tender as we say our goodbyes to some of the characters we've spent so much time with not only in the Void trilogy, but in the
Commonwealth duology. Its a bitter sweet feeling as we could only imagine what the future holds for our friends. There's one particular continuing story line (view spoiler)
I would love to see in some sort of short story collection. This is the fifth book by Peter F Hamilton I've read, and it is his best in my opinion, followed closely by the first in this trilogy: The Dreaming Void. Four solid stars for the entire series.

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Oct 08, 2010 Billthebloody rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of epic space opera

Shelves: sci-fi

The Evolutionary Void is the conclusion to Hamilton's Void trilogy which itself is a continuation of the Commonwealth Saga a universe first described in the book Pandora's Star. The Void trilogy deals with the threat of an ever expanding artificial reality (the Void of the title) which lies at the centre of the galaxy, consuming whole star systems to fuel itself. To go any further into the plot would probably end with me writing a novella myself so I won't bother.

As with most of Hamilton's other...more

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Sep 07, 2010 Mark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: britishsci-fi

Couldn't put it down.

When I play computer games, I'm forced to admit that sometimes I go back to an earlier save point when things aren't going perfectly. Peter F. Hamilton seems to have taken this concept to a new level with his Void trilogy.

The idea is that, at the heart of the galaxy, lies this void in which the governing laws are quite different. Humans have psychic abilities, but machines don't work too well. And humans can "reset" back to a previous point at will.

The problem is that this r...more

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Sep 10, 2010 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: space-opera

I wasn't as satisfied with this trilogy as I have been with Hamilton's previous books. Whether that's just changes in my tastes or differences in his writing I don't know (though I lean towards the latter). Even so, this was a page-turner that kept me going.

I have a feeling that I'm going to be dissatisfied by the pretty quick ending (which is a Hamilton favorite going back to the Night's Dawn books), but it was worth a read.

Update: On marination, I don't find this ending to be all that offens...more

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Jan 08, 2013 F.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars

And so Peter Hamilton's space opera comes to an end in – if I’m honest – a not particularly satisfactory fashion. All in all, this is a long tale, over 2100 pages across three volumes and although Hamilton is clearly skilled at marshalling his large cast to where he needs them, the ending still managed to feel incredibly rushed. It's almost as if the author enjoyed hanging out on the alien worlds he created and. loved spending time with his characters, that what would constitute an actual conclu...more And so Peter Hamilton's space opera comes to an end in – if I’m honest – a not particularly satisfactory fashion. All in all, this is a long tale, over 2100 pages across three volumes and although Hamilton is clearly skilled at marshalling his large cast to where he needs them, the ending still managed to feel incredibly rushed. It's almost as if the author enjoyed hanging out on the alien worlds he created and. loved spending time with his characters, that what would constitute an actual conclusion was an after-thought.

Once again we follow various factions who want to enter the void and those who want to stop them and the conflict that ensues. It perhaps lacks the fireworks of the previous two volumes, but there are great futuristic visions and concepts here so it's worth taking time to enjoy.

I mentioned in my previous review something incredibly irritating that happens in the second volume which recalls Christopher Reeve-era Superman. I’m going to guess that if you're reading this third review, you have some notion of what's taken place in the previous two books. If not, the whole of this paragraph is going to be a bit of a spoiler. At the end of that second volume, Edeard – the water-walker, prophet character who dominates these books – discovers the ability to turn back time to save himself and his friends. This – as I read the last page of ‘The Temporal Void’ – seemed incredibly annoying. But, to be fair, it’s taken to its logical extreme in this book with Edeard repeatedly using this ability, grabbing some moment in time and rewriting every event thereafter. Far from merely saving Lois Lane, Hamilton makes this an incredibly depressing talent which doesn’t solve problems and even has the effect of removing newly born loved ones. Rather than a glib power, it becomes a curse.

But then, even though he is more haunted this time around, the character of Edeard is still somewhat pious and falls the wrong side of irritating, and there were points where reading about council debates was a little like watching some particularly admin heavy cut of ‘The Phantom Menace’.

So was this a frustrating experience? After all I have read all these pages and all these words and been disappointed with the result. Surely I'd like my money back (actually I got the books from the library, but you take my point). It's true that I wish the ending was stronger and some of the strands of plot more compulsive, but in the main this was smart and interesting science fiction.(less)

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Feb 17, 2013 William Boyle rated it 5 of 5 stars

An amazing conclusion to Hamilton's “Void” trilogy!
Humans have colonized a large part of our galaxy, and have met other sentient, civilized species. And then, the powerful “Living Dream” political-religious movement has become aware of a quasi-medieval human civilization that exists inside the “Void,” the enormous black hole at the core of our galaxy, in which a form of bio-organic “magic” takes the place of our science -- The “Living Dream” movement has become mesmerized by its "vision" of the...more

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Sep 23, 2012 travelgirlut rated it 3 of 5 stars

So I spent the second book in this trilogy wishing for more of Edeard's story and less of everyone else. This book was the opposite. Every time another of Inigo's dreams came up, I kind of groaned inwardly. There's only so much repeated life a reader can handle! I do like how everything pulled together in the end. Lots of random facts and knowledge that I thought was pointless earlier in the series turned out to be quite purposeful. Though I didn't necessarily like it all handed to me on a golde...more

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Jul 16, 2011 Zivan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well I've finally done it, I've finished the Commonwealth Saga.

While it is very long, It flowed very well and I hardly ever got frustrated with it's length.

The universe is huge and it's history stretches far back giving it depth.
The different factions and the different physics of the Void make for variation that kept my interest.

Even when I got frustrated with the way a character was handling things or acting, the series is so long he had time to learn from his mistakes and/or it turns out that...more

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Nov 18, 2010 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the concluding volume to Hamilton's massive trilogy, which actually also includes 2 "prequel" volumes. At about 700 pages each, I feel like I've spent a great deal of time in his giant, sprawling universe. For those who enjoy "traditional mainstream" sf, these are a great read. Aliens, (with some fantasy thrown in), FTL, teleportation, preventing the end of the universe, etc. And the intricate human plotting never stops. (No matter how advanced they become, people never really change, do...more

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Feb 12, 2011 Randy Reed is currently reading it

Peter F. Hamilton is the master of the sci-fi space opera. His books are vast, complicated, multi-dimensional plots that are rich in characters and details. This is the third in the "Dreaming Void" series and it is wonderful. Occasionally Hamilton's endings have been less satisfying, but this is not the case with this one. The ending follows perfectly from the setup and is executed well. If you like "hard" sci-fi, read this one (after you read volumes 1 & 2). Also you might want to read the...more

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