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The Dreaming Void (Void #1)

by Peter F. Hamilton

4.09 · rating details · 2,517 ratings · 180 reviews

Reviewers exhaust superlatives when it comes to the science fiction of Peter F. Hamilton. His complex and engaging novels, which span thousands of years–and light-years–are as intellectually stimulating as they are emotionally fulfilling. Now, with The Dreaming Void, the eagerly awaited first volume in a new trilogy set in the same far-future as his acclaimed Commonwealth ...moreReviewers exhaust superlatives when it comes to the science fiction of Peter F. Hamilton. His complex and engaging novels, which span thousands of years–and light-years–are as intellectually stimulating as they are emotionally fulfilling. Now, with The Dreaming Void, the eagerly awaited first volume in a new trilogy set in the same far-future as his acclaimed Commonwealth saga, Hamilton has created his most ambitious and gripping space epic yet.

The year is 3589, fifteen hundred years after Commonwealth forces barely staved off human extinction in a war against the alien Prime. Now an even greater danger has surfaced: a threat to the existence of the universe itself.
At the very heart of the galaxy is the Void, a self-contained microuniverse that cannot be breached, cannot be destroyed, and cannot be stopped as it steadily expands in all directions, consuming everything in its path: planets, stars, civilizations. The Void has existed for untold millions of years. Even the oldest and most technologically advanced of the galaxy’s sentient races, the Raiel, do not know its origin, its makers, or its purpose.

But then Inigo, an astrophysicist studying the Void, begins dreaming of human beings who live within it. Inigo’s dreams reveal a world in which thoughts become actions and dreams become reality. Inside the Void, Inigo sees paradise. Thanks to the gaiafield, a neural entanglement wired into most humans, Inigo’s dreams are shared by hundreds of millions–and a religion, the Living Dream, is born, with Inigo as its prophet. But then he vanishes.

Suddenly there is a new wave of dreams. Dreams broadcast by an unknown Second Dreamer serve as the inspiration for a massive Pilgrimage into the Void. But there is a chance that by attempting to enter the Void, the pilgrims will trigger a catastrophic expansion, an accelerated devourment phase that will swallow up thousands of worlds.

And thus begins a desperate race to find Inigo and the mysterious Second Dreamer. Some seek to prevent the Pilgrimage; others to speed its progress–while within the Void, a supreme entity has turned its gaze, for the first time, outward. . . .

From the Hardcover edition.(less)

Hardcover, 608 pages

Published March 25th 2008 by Del Rey (first published March 8th 2007)

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Feb 27, 2009

Mark rated it

· review of another edition

Peter’s new book, the first of the proposed Void Trilogy, is set around the year 3580, 1500 years into the future of the events of Pandora’s Star/Judas Unchained. The Intersolar Commonwealth, seen in its early stages in Pandora’s Star/Judas Unchained, has evolved and has expanded into a fairly stable state over a thousand galaxies. After the events of the previous two books, there is, after a fair degree of rebuilding, a stable space fleet once more. The InterSolar dynasties of Sheldon and Halga...more

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Jan 18, 2012

Lee Penney rated it

Hamilton is an author I have read regularly and generally been pleased with his epic storylines and interesting views on how he sees humanity in the future. The Void trilogy, of which this is the first book, takes place more than a thousand years after the events of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, although some of the characters from the previous two books return (age has long been conquered for most people in a number of ways), and they are generally welcome.

The unusual thing is t...more

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Oct 20, 2011

Andrew rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This is the first part of another of Hamilton’s massive space-opera series. I think it will be a trilogy although there is no mention of this on the cover and only two are out as I write this. I have a bit of a soft spot for space-opera, and after the excellent Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained I was excited to be see it out.

Like a lot of new space opera, there is a Big Dumb Object, and in this case it is the tituler Void, which is an artificially created inpenetrable mini-universe i...moreThis is the first part of another of Hamilton’s massive space-opera series. I think it will be a trilogy although there is no mention of this on the cover and only two are out as I write this. I have a bit of a soft spot for space-opera, and after the excellent Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained I was excited to be see it out.

Like a lot of new space opera, there is a Big Dumb Object, and in this case it is the tituler Void, which is an artificially created inpenetrable mini-universe in the centre of the galaxy. The book alternates between stories on the inside and the outside of the Void, both with human protoganists. ‘Inside’ is a coming-of-age story set in a quasi-medieval scenario which could be mistaken for high fantasy. This is unexpectedly good actually, normally ‘coming-of-age’ and ‘high fantasy’ would have me running a mile, but I couldn’t wait for the next chapter to arrive. The ‘outside’ story is set in a high-technology culture called the Commonwealth which has just become aware of the Void’s nature. Various factions within the Commonwealth are competing to either enter, use, or protect the Void. This section left me feeling slightly deflated. Hamilton seems to be coasting here, he is reusing the same universe from the aforementioned books and he hasn’t really introduced any big new ideas. Having said that he seems to have got the pace and characters spot-on this time, and it feels like he has really improved his writing technique so it is enjoyable to read.

The book seems to be aimed more at teenage boys than the last few of his I’ve read, with even more action, less politics, and (for the moment at least) less complicated characters. The female characters are generally designed to appeal to the less sophisticated male reader although to be fair Hamilton has toned down the sex kittens in this one; he was in danger of becoming a bit sleazy. None of these changes particularly appeal to me, but they don’t jar either. I would have liked to see more exploration of the Living Dream religion too, as it seems to be the main motivator behind some key characters but it never really explained that well. I may be jumping the gun here though, there are two more books to come!

I would suggest reading Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained first – they are not necessary for enjoying this book, but this book does contain some big spoilers for those two.(less)

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Sep 15, 2011

Sandi rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, audiobooks, sci-fi

I'm so glad I stuck with Peter F. Hamilton. I think he's now one of my favorite SF authors. And, in this audiobook, John Lee has redeemed himself as a narrator. I was totally annoyed by his narration of Pandora's Star, but was totally engrossed in his narration of The Dreaming Void. In fact, I downloaded The Temporal Void from Audible while I was listening to the last half hour of this book.

I'm not going to bother telling what this book was about because the synopsis sums it up p...more

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Jul 27, 2011

Dave Sag rated it

I've not read any Peter F Hamilton (what's with the middle initial anyway?) before and felt this boos started a little slowly. But as it picked up pace and I started to make more sense of the universe this book covers, Hamilton's imagination, and his attention to detail really impressed me. I raced through the second half of the book. My disappointment at having now finished it is tempered by the fact there are two more in the series. I may have to go back and read some of the previous books ...more

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May 27, 2011

Forrest rated it

Shelves: cbriii

While all science fiction is, by definition, somewhat optimistic about the future of humanity, it is rare to see us uplifted to the level that Peter F. Hamilton has. The Commonwealth of 3589 is an essentially post-sustenance society where humans are well on their way to transcending mortality entirely. Even the cloak and dagger political maneuverings of the various factions in The Dreaming Void are basically pro-humanity, even if they all have different ideas of what that means.

At it...moreWhile all science fiction is, by definition, somewhat optimistic about the future of humanity, it is rare to see us uplifted to the level that Peter F. Hamilton has. The Commonwealth of 3589 is an essentially post-sustenance society where humans are well on their way to transcending mortality entirely. Even the cloak and dagger political maneuverings of the various factions in The Dreaming Void are basically pro-humanity, even if they all have different ideas of what that means.

At its core, The Dreaming Void is a Ludlum-esque chase novel set in a fabulous vision of the future. Half the cast is hunting for Inigo, the First Dreamer, hoping to either gain his blessing for the upcoming Living Dream pilgrimage, or his support in shutting the pilgrimage down. Another group of people are hunting for the Second Dreamer who appears to be experiencing the point of view of one of the gods of the Void. Everyone else is chasing the first two groups, while trying to figure out who is pulling all the strings.

There are a lot of characters, but I found they never really got confusing. There are references to the earlier novels of Hamilton’s Commonwealth timeline, (Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained) but even a first time reader won’t have a problem, as the author goes to great (sometimes excessive) lengths to explain the history. Despite 1200 years of intervening time, some of the major players of the previous books are still alive and kicking. Paula Myo, in particular, is very active in this book and the book is all the more awesome for it.

Spliced into the rest of the novel is a text record of Inigo’s dreams of the Void. It’s a very interesting first person perspective on the mythology of a scientifically based religion. The protagonist, Edeard, provides us a view of a different sort of human future, where we have become psychic masters of reality itself. His story is what spawned the Living Dream religion, although it doesn’t become obvious as to why until the last segment of his story close to the end of the book. The power of science is often seen as the antithesis of religion, but the closer you get to that unified field theory, the less the differences seem to matter. That key theme underliesHamilton’s entire story.

The main plot and the dreams don’t exactly complement each other, and there is a sense that more things could have happened if the dream sequence hadn’t been there. It is a minor complaint, but the pacing gets a little wonkified by the cuts back and forth. And by the jumps between the various scenes and protagonists for that matter. There are at least seven ‘main’ characters and several of them spend the entire book planet hopping. Sometimes the narrative feels like it was cobbled together by a coffee addict with the jitters.

The real beauty ofHamilton’s novel is the setting. Humans have entered a wonderful phase of post-humanity where we are still fundamentally human, but freed from everything that defines our lives today. No more poverty. No more disease or death. Humans in the outer systems still ascribe to systems of wealth and money, but at no point is homelessness mentioned as a problem. Capitalism has become a playground for the ambitious while it supports the less fortunate. And in this future we have become empathic thanks to the gaiafield.

Isaac Asimov said it best, “Science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the critics and philosophers, but the core of science fiction, its essence, the concept around which it revolves, has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.” It is these optimistic visions of a future where we have overcome our vices that will inspire the innovators and leaders of today to lead us into tomorrow. It may sound like saccharine crap, but I firmly believe that good SF is a cornerstone of our ability to evolve, not as a species, but as a culture. (less)

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Mar 27, 2011

Andreas rated it

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 hi...moreA 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.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=80 (less)

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Feb 01, 2011

Elliott Walsh rated it

Actually, I'm only WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE of finishing this interesting book, which was a gift from one of my daughters more than a year ago.

While worthy and as I said interesting in many ways, it was not for me a compelling read. Hamilton is gifted but seems to write without any discipline with regard to outlining his story arcs in advance of writing, or if he DOES so, it is not set out for the reader in any clearly discernible way.

His gifts and strengths do lie in his ...more

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Nov 20, 2010

Naithin rated it

Shelves: epic, scifi, fantasy, hero-s-journey

This review covers the first two books of the Void trilogy (this one, and The Temporal Void: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34373...).

If I could give these books a 4.5 I would. They weren't quite perfect, but portions had be sitting up in bed raptly turning page after page.

Then I'd hit a portion not about the water walker and back out in the 'real' world and I'd sigh, my complaint the same as it typically is with Peter Hamilton's books: Bloat. Although I WILL say, it is m...more

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Aug 08, 2010

Paul rated it

The 36th century is a good time to be a human.

No, really. Wormhole technology and rapid technological advancement has made humans a pretty big player on the galactic stage. Sure, there are post-singularity beings floating about here and there, and a few species which do things that we humans don't understand, and some pugnacious species as well. Still, its been 1200 years since a threat capable of taking on the whole of the human race has emerged.

But when a retired and...moreThe 36th century is a good time to be a human.

No, really. Wormhole technology and rapid technological advancement has made humans a pretty big player on the galactic stage. Sure, there are post-singularity beings floating about here and there, and a few species which do things that we humans don't understand, and some pugnacious species as well. Still, its been 1200 years since a threat capable of taking on the whole of the human race has emerged.

But when a retired and missing dream-fueled religious prophet's followers decide to conduct a pilgrimage toward the mysterious center of the galaxy, where one of those powerful alien races have been keeping a vigil over a threat capable of devouring everything and everyone, the quiet peace that the human race is bound to end. Just what IS the Void in the center of the Galaxy, and what do the dreams suggesting that it is inhabited--by humans, mean? And what does it mean that an uncrowned successor to that prophet is now broadcasting more dreams of that strange realm? And with new fractures and fissures in the increasing divergent branches of humanity, how can the Commonwealth possibly coordinate a response this time?

It looks like Interesting Times are in store for the Human Race once more...

The Dreaming Void is set 1200 years after Peter F Hamilton's Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Set in a universe where anti-aging technology, combined with wormhole technology has led to a Commonwealth of worlds and cultures, Hamilton has extrapolated the already amazing universe depicted in those previous two novels and brought new and extended concepts, ideas and characters to his rich tapestry.

Even better, Hamilton has improved as a writer. Readers who have read the Pandora's Star duology, or the Reality Dysfunction trilogy knows that he writes sprawling, brawling large scale novels with lots of characters and word counts that push 1000 pages. The Dreaming Void clocked in just under 600 pages.

We meet plenty of new characters, as well as some old favorites who have survived all this time. Even in a conservative society such as the Commonwealth does not allow people to remain static over such time scales and Hamilton's increasingly deft characterization makes the evolution of the characters over that time believable.

It's Edeard's story, though, that is the real innovation in Hamilton's writing. An intensely personal story that could be considered magic (or at least psionics) in a quasi-medieval setting inside the Void, his story is intriguing and interesting--and very unlike anything I have read in a Hamilton novel before. I was pleasantly surprised.

That said, the standard virtues of a Hamilton novel are in full force here. Aside from Edeard's story, back in the main universe readers will encounter amazing technology, strange aliens, a variety of characters and settings, a wide scale view of an entire culture as the narrative proceeds apace. Hamilton writes some of the best Space Opera in the business and those talents are in full force in this book.

Hamilton has significantly and visibly improved as a writer with this series, and I look forward to picking up and reading the Temporal Void, the next book in this trilogy.

A final note: Do you need to have read Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained to read this book? I think, actually, that they provide value-added goodness but are not strictly necessary. I think a practiced SF reader can start here and be perfectly happy and follow what is happening and why with minimum problems.
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Jan 07, 2010

John Christensen rated it

If there is anything Peter Hamilton excels at, its envisioning a far-future world and where and what humanity might be doing. And, even better, envisioning the conflict between what humanity could become and what they are. With this book, the first in a new trilogy, Hamilton presents the compelling world of the Commonwealth. It is incredibly interesting and engaging to read his vision of a future divided between people who have committed themselves to a collective, virtual intelligence, those th...more

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Jul 01, 2009

Clay rated it

I’ve seen Peter Hamilton’s hefty tomes in bookstores, and way back when, I read one of them but was not that dazzled. But the first of his new series plopped into my mailbox, and I thought it’s only fair I should give such a long-running author another shot – and it worked out just fine.

Now, ‘The Dreaming Void’ (Del Rey, $26.95, 640 pages) doesn’t signal a revolution in science fiction, nor is it the latest post-cyberpunk, blood-drenched noir tribute to Dashiel Hammett. It’s just a f...more

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Apr 15, 2009

Rickg rated it

I'm about 100 pages in and probably will not finish. Others have summarized the book well, but for me the sticking point isn't the wholesale tossing of science just because Hamilton wants to have a new toy.

It's that people in this fantastic world where they live for centuries and have access to all kinds of amazing technologies want to move to a Void where the world is like medieval Europe, complete with bandits. Perhaps it's explained later, but it's simply not plausible that peopl...more

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Sep 22, 2011

Lee rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Another year, another attempt to bolster my page count by reading one of Peter F. Hamilton's series. This year I'm going through his Void trilogy, a sequel of sorts to his Commonwealth Saga that I read last year.

Opening this book up on Monday night I discovered I was the proud owner of a signed copy of The Dreaming Void. I've no idea why my copy is signed. Fortunately I thoroughly enjoyed the book, it'd be kind of awkward if the only signed book I owned turned out to be awe-inspirin...more

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Nov 10, 2011

Cv Rick rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

What is humanity going to be like in 500 years, or in 1000 years? Will we fear death? Will we fear disease? Will we fear boredom?

Peter F. Hamilton tackles the amazing possibilities of far future humanity and he does it creatively, with realism, and originality. Humanity has figured out how to preserve consciousness and effectively create immortality. What happens when you combine cloning and immortal mental preservation with a populace that essentially has met all of its basic needs? Y...moreWhat is humanity going to be like in 500 years, or in 1000 years? Will we fear death? Will we fear disease? Will we fear boredom?

Peter F. Hamilton tackles the amazing possibilities of far future humanity and he does it creatively, with realism, and originality. Humanity has figured out how to preserve consciousness and effectively create immortality. What happens when you combine cloning and immortal mental preservation with a populace that essentially has met all of its basic needs? You get customized bodies, multiple bodies, and wild sexual orgies.

Yes, The Dreaming Void picks up hundreds of years after the Commonwealth saga and uses some of the same characters and situations because humanity has conquered death. In this series however, instead of a galactic war the central conflict revolves around the black hole at the center of the Milky Way which isn't a black hole at all but rather a construct assembled by a post-physical civilization.

Now here's where things get strange. In the galaxy you have the original dreamer, a prophet named Inigo. It was his dreams that first brought the void and its potential to humanity because his dreams revealed what was inside. And then he been. But now the dreams of starting up again and it's because there is a second dreamer and this triggers a migration event where upon all of the galaxy may be consumed by the void.

There's another story which at first blush appears to be a fantasy set in a land of magic, without technology. In this story Edeard, a young boy with fantastic telepathic abilities sets out on a quest. His villages destroyed his mentor is killed and he couldn't save them. But these two stories are really because the fantasy is the living dream of the dreamer, and it is into this idyllic life that the cult wishes to migrate.

What I like about the space opera is it so well realized, and there are many twists and turns that I didn't expect, but I couldn't predict, that takes me by surprise. Hamilton has a way with impossible scenarios and with workable far future vision that you keep me engaged for book after book. That is why as long as he keeps writing them, I'll keep reading them.(less)

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Aug 30, 2010

Joshtafari rated it

Recommends it for: people with beards

Shelves: tbb-2010

If I was going to unfairly characterize British 'New Space Opera' writers Al Reynolds and Peter Hamilton, I would say that Reynolds will take a piece of technology and figure out ways it could horribly kill you, while Hamilton will try to figure out ways to get his rocks off. Case in point: I liked the character Araminta, in that I think her character was one of the few truly human perspectives we're able to get in Hamilton's near-singularity universe. My main criticism of the book is that Arami...more

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Apr 14, 2011

Mark McKenna rated it

"The Dreaming Void" is the first book of a trilogy, but I felt as though I'd come in halfway through the movie. There is a truly baffling array of worlds, planets, people and crises here; it took most of the book to begin to sort them out. Also, I found the dialog to be tinny, often making voices sound interchangeable.

So what makes Hamilton the best selling sci-fi author in the UK?

Simply this: He's got the greatest imagination of anyone I've ever read. Every pla...more

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Sep 07, 2011

Ed rated it

Shelves: sf

This was a holiday read that I only picked up because I fancied a chunky SF epic and this was the only one on my parents' bookshelf. Having been mildly diverted by the Night's Dawn trilogy around a decade ago, I was curious to see how Hamilton justified his tag as "Britain's Number One Science Fiction Author". Not very well as it turns out.

This was a largely risible effort, confirming the often-levelled accusation that far from being the genre of ideas, SF, at least in its ...moreThis was a holiday read that I only picked up because I fancied a chunky SF epic and this was the only one on my parents' bookshelf. Having been mildly diverted by the Night's Dawn trilogy around a decade ago, I was curious to see how Hamilton justified his tag as "Britain's Number One Science Fiction Author". Not very well as it turns out.

This was a largely risible effort, confirming the often-levelled accusation that far from being the genre of ideas, SF, at least in its mainstream space opera form, is quite the opposite, a refuge for cosy, conservative escapist fantasies. Despite what others have said, I can promise you that the "ideas" in this novel - psionics, posthumans, Matrix-esque virtual realities, enigmatic aliens, gestalt humans, stupidly powerful spaceships, blah blah blah - have been done to death a million times before and in far more interesting and entertaining ways. The contemporary touchstone for this sort of thing is the Culture series of novels and even though Iain Banks has drifted into fan service with the last couple in the series, nevertheless he can still craft an entertaining story and think through the implications of some of the more out-there speculative elements. This book on the other hand is just a bunch of lukewarm "ideas" tossed together in the hope that something will stick. Any one of the plot elements that are thrown in are enough to profoundly shape the book's universe and act as the crux of a decent narrative. Combined together as they are it is just not convincing as a work of speculation.

The characters are for most part posthumans with incredible abilities that would wholly reshape their society and cultures and yet their thought processes and actions don't reflect that at all. They are just superheroic versions of you or I, reacting to arbitrary plot shifts. There is no meaningful character development. There is no convincing attempt to explain their motivations. Even though the galaxy is on the brink of total destruction no-one seems in the least bit concerned. Instead dozens of pages are spent describing depressing posthuman gangbangs. Any challenges are overcome almost instantly in a kind of tedious videogame parade of awesomeness. Setbacks are never more than temporary. The dialogue is largely woeful. Every emotion is conveyed by describing the characters as either grinning or smirking at each other like imbeciles. One character allegedly has amnesia so severe that he can only remember his own name and yet this barely shapes his character or behaviour at all.

The plotting is no better. I have a very strong suspicion that actually the author had two different novels, one SF and one Fantasy, and then for whatever reason just decided to try and fuse them together. The SF novel revolves around various scheming posthumans and aliens living in a Culture-ish universe; the Fantasy novel is about some other characters with "psionic" (i.e. magic) abilities (the rules of quantum physics work differently in their universe or something) who live in a tedious almost-but-not-quite-medieval society. What links the two is that the Fantasy world is nested in the centre of the SF universe in something called the Void and the people in the SF world can dream what is going on in the Fantasy world. Apparently some people in the SF world are so taken with these "dreams" that they want to emigrate there. The catch is if they do that they might (or might not) trigger the destruction of the the entire galaxy.

Fine as it goes. The glaring problem is that there is no convincing reason why anyone in the SF world, where people have literally transcended death, can do pretty much whatever they please, and seem to spend most of their time having endless amounts of sex, would ever want to emigrate to a medieval feudal society full of well-meaning fascists, particularly when doing so will in all likelihood destroy the universe.

It is just baffling and I have to confess that this is a question that so bugs me that I've been compelled to read the next doorstop in the series just to see if there is going to be any sort of explanation. Unfortunately, if anything it gets worse. Please for your own sanity, steer well clear.(less)

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Apr 17, 2009

Zigforas rated it

Recommended to Zigforas by: UCL Sci-Fi Book Club

Shelves: sci-fi, fiction, scifi-bookclub

We selected this book as the month's read for our sci-fi book club. Hamilton raises interesting questions about what it means (or could mean) to be human, particularly in regards to manipulating human bodies and consciousness and the possibility of human evolution taking multiple trajectories, rather than a single one, but he fails to explore these possibilities in more than a surface way and is preoccupied with the physical and technological aspects of human existence. The majority of his char...moreWe selected this book as the month's read for our sci-fi book club. Hamilton raises interesting questions about what it means (or could mean) to be human, particularly in regards to manipulating human bodies and consciousness and the possibility of human evolution taking multiple trajectories, rather than a single one, but he fails to explore these possibilities in more than a surface way and is preoccupied with the physical and technological aspects of human existence. The majority of his characters live for superhuman lengths of time, thanks to bionics, but are no more wise or mature as a result of their years. On the contrary, even the human characters who have "downloaded" to non-physical states of being simply manufacture recreated ideal physical environments for their simulated pleasure and uniformly demonstrate a fixation on uncreative (and often masturbatory, regardless of whether or not it involves another person) forms of sexual expression. (Just because you can do it doesn't make it at all interesting. Especially if you do it over and over.) Furthermore, in an age of life-extension through cloning, the question of the individual 'soul'--is the cloned individual the same as the original? Can death really be cheated?--is not considered even once. Hamilton creates a very full universe, and the parallel dimension of human life in the Void accessed through dreams is somewhat compelling (perhaps deliberately so, in contrast to and critique of the kind of lives sketched out in the primary universe). I also like his use of the idea of multiple human "cultures" to explain how human evolution has flowered out, facilitated by different attitudes toward technology, as it is here developed. The ideas here had a lot of potential. But his character exploration is disappointing, and while the writing is competent it is unremarkable. This book is quite readable and even enjoyable at times, but most of what it achieves is mind-candy and some relatively minor techie thrills. I doubt I'll read the next book or any other books in this series by Peter Hamilton. (less)

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Jul 19, 2010

Don rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, scalzi-recommended

As with Pandora Star, The Dreaming Void takes some time to get into. Hamilton likes to explain things in his own good time (e.g., gaiamotes were finally explained 3/4 through the book) but I was expecting it, so it wasn't a big deal. You could probably read this one without having read Pandora Star and Judas Unchained, but I wouldn't recommend it. You'd lose a lot of the details and a lot of the character background and development from those books. Many familiar faces reappear (the benefits of ...more

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Aug 28, 2007

Ubu Walker rated it

Shelves: sciencefiction

Good read...even though this book was a page turner, and I was often at the edge of my seat, I was sort of disappointed in the book...the Prime threat from "Judas Unchained" wasn't really concluded and I found that I was often confused about where stuff was occurring...and some of the sci fi concepts were a bit confusing, but overall a great read.

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May 03, 2009

Wil rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

I liked the Night's Dawn trilogy quite a bit, and I've been meaning to pick up more Peter Hamilton for a while, now. I'm glad I did.

There is a decent amount of action in the book, all of it fairly dense with sci-fi gadgetry. Humanity is edging towards postphysicality, but is still recognizably human. (That's something that I also appreciated about Cordwainer Smith's future human race.)

There is a secondary narrative in the book, which details the dreams for which the vo...more

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Oct 23, 2011

Scott Promish rated it

Shelves: science-fiction

Maybe I would have appreciated this more if I'd read the earlier books set in this "universe" (this is the first of a trilogy, so I didn't realize there were others.) It wasn't exactly boring, but it didn't call to me either. The chapters are very long and every other one is a dream sequence (really a separate linear storyline that doesn't seem to have anything to do with the main story until the last couple pages.) Much of the technology depicted is so far advanced that it verges on u...more

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Mar 04, 2011

Eliana Yi rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

This is one of the more extreme sci-fi books I have read. I can't say that it was terrible, yet at the same time, there are some things that can be improved. Like the "bad" chapeters (Cassidy would know what I'm talking about) and the annoying characters. Hamilton focused more on the technology and concept of far future than the characters themselves. I couldn't really perceive where the plot was going and was confused 10% of the time. I only liked the parts when the character Ede...more

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Jan 20, 2011

Steven Grimm rated it

Shelves: sci-fi

Another engaging bit of space opera from Peter F. Hamilton. This is probably best read immediately after "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" since it's very much a sequel to the story in those two books, and will probably make much less sense to people who aren't familiar with the earlier series. It's a solid read for existing fans of Peter F. Hamilton but I wouldn't dream of recommending it as an introduction to him for a new reader.

The biggest complaint I hav...more

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Feb 16, 2011

Alex Nath rated it

Shelves: fiction, science-fiction

I stopped myself short of classifying this as another great Peter F. Hamilton book just because its only the first part of a three part story. But it is very good. For those who have read Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained, Dreaming Void, the first book of the Void Trilogy, takes place a millennium after the conclusion of the two “Commonwealth” books. The universe is recognizable but also very unfamiliar. Some characters from the previous two books reappear but obviously over a thousand year...moreI stopped myself short of classifying this as another great Peter F. Hamilton book just because its only the first part of a three part story. But it is very good. For those who have read Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained, Dreaming Void, the first book of the Void Trilogy, takes place a millennium after the conclusion of the two “Commonwealth” books. The universe is recognizable but also very unfamiliar. Some characters from the previous two books reappear but obviously over a thousand years, have changed. The post singularity society has evolved into a post physical one for most long lived humans including some of the characters highlighted in Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained.

The threat of The Prime is replaced by a looming Void presumed by some evangelists as mankind’s paradise by others it means the end of the galaxy. The religious undertones was one of the two things I didn’t like in the book. The other was the inclusion of some more fantastical elements that weren’t in the first. My favorite thing about the two Commonwealth books were their inclination towards hard science. With the addition of some new evolutionary elements in Dreaming Void like telepathic abilities and shared dreams as well as more advanced body alterations it seems Hamilton is trying to convey the passage of time between the original Commonwealth books and this series. It is commonly said that modern technology would seem like magic to a less advanced culture or species therefore the future technology and evolutionary steps forward in Dreaming Void’s culture can come off more like magic to a reader of our time.

Despite my objections to the religiosity and the jarring fantastical elements, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. The best news is that there is more to come. Two more books comprise the complete story, Temporal Void and The Evolutionary Void, both of which I’ve already got in my collection and can’t wait to read.

Like many of the books I consume theses days I listened to Dreaming Void on Audible. Narrated like all Hamilton books on Audible, by the great John Lee. Mr. Lee brings the universe and characters alive with his varying voices, rhythms, and tones. He is nearly unmatched in his story telling. (less)

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Jan 18, 2011

Blue rated it

· review of another edition

I usually can follow science fiction pretty well...This one plays its concepts a little too close to the vest. Even after finishing, I am still unsure about some of the characters powers, where they live, or even if the stories are meant to take place at the same time in the same universe.

This book doesn't really explain the rules of its universe...it just throws you in. There is a fine line between suspense and frustration.

I made it through the whole thing, even though it ...more

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Dec 18, 2011

Christopher Bashforth rated it

It took me quite a while to get into this book and I was ready to give up but then the Edeard segment started and then I was hooked. Liked the premise of the void swallowing up the universe. Even the technological writing was subdued so that even I could understand it. However, the best line of the book, was comparing society in the future where people can live healthy fulfilling lives to the past (now) where people worked like slaves for a short number of years in order to keep a few very rich ...more

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Jan 02, 2011

Simon rated it

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

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Mar 06, 2011

Ed Tinkertoy rated it

I absolutely hated this book. It was difficult to read as it had 3 or 4 stories going on at the same time with little information to connect them. The changes in the stories were not marked by chapters or breaks so you knew which story you were going to. Very poorly organized and lots of extraneous stuff added that was not germain to the story. Then the book ends abruptly and you must pick up in book two. Unfortunately I did by book two so I will begrudgingly read it but I refuse to buy bo...more

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About Peter F. Hamilton

Peter 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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Books by Peter F. Hamilton

The Reality Dysfunction (Night's Dawn, #1)

The Neutronium Alchemist (Night's Dawn, #2)

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