Peter F. Hamilton is a great and productive writer. He is also one of SF’s most reliably entertaining authors, and churns out blockbuster epics while telling page-turning, gripping stories.
The Dreaming Void is a long book – my paperback version is 602 pages. And it is big in its conceptualization as well. It takes place in the same universe as the earlier Commonwealth Saga books, but in AD 3589, 1205 years after the ending of the Starflyer War.
The Commonwealth is a very technologically advanced world spanning hundreds of planets across the galaxy. Humanity consists of three sub-species: normal humans, Highers and Advancers – differing in their use of life-enhancing and strengthening bio-technologies and each with their own ethics. Their galaxy is known as the Greater Commonwealth, one of the most powerful forces in the Galaxy. And allied to the Raiel, an alien race with superior technology which is the most powerful race in the Galaxy.
Much of the dynamics in the book derives from conflicts among political factions and religious fanatics, as well as from a huge external threat to the whole galaxy: The Void. The Void is a kind of black hole that attracts and absorbs whole planets and planetary systems. And periodically it goes through devourment phases where it destroys everything in its path.
Little is known about the Void, and much of what is known stems from dreams of a religious leader named Inigo. His dreams, communicated across the universe fascinate people, and result in the rise of a movement called Living Dream. And although nobody has been able to enter the Void and return, Living Dream now wants to organize a pilgrimage there. Among the powers that be, it is feared that a pilgrimage will bring about a new devourment phase that may destroy the entire galaxy. This, then, is the setting for a grand scale, universe-wide conflict involving multiple factions.
The Dreaming Void is one of Peter F. Hamilton’s very finest novels. If is huge in its conceptualization and thus it takes a while for it all to get started, but it is very fascinating and intriguing all along. If you have read the earlier books, it is easier to read this one, but it is still possible and quite enjoyable to start with this one.
Praise:
“This is thrilling stuff; compulsively readable and abundantly full of ideas. … Cliff-hangers are tense enough, but this is a planet-hanger!” –The Times
“Peter Hamilton’s willingness to shake up an already fascinating creation with this new trilogy is admirable, and the 1500-year gap offers up both new mysteries for him to reveal, and an opportunity for familiar characters to have grown up and changed.” –Starburst
“This is a book that arguably nobody else in Brit SF could even have attempted. Epic, multi-stranded, full of wonders.” –Sfx
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