The Void (edition 2012)

Pretty standard sci-fi and definitely did not deliver on the element of horror I was expecting. Might be better as a short story. Was hoping for a more deeply philosophical element as well so, for me, wasn't as sophisticated as it should be despite the essential premise. ( )

When it comes to horror books, I have nerves of steel. I can read a horror book alone at night in a dark, empty house with a rain storm outside accompanied by howling wind, still fall asleep without a problem and have lovely dreams. It's my talent. It's my gift.

Then, I read The Void. While I didn't lose any sleep, I had to take breaks while reading because I was scared. I think the most disturbing thing were the description of everyone's dreams. There was no better way to understand the characters than to delve into their psyche through their dreams. All of them had different ones with a common element...the darkness. The darkness was an entity all to itself. It represented the unknown and it was this element that made the book absolutely terrifying.

The novel is extremely atmospheric and Talley is gifted at imposing a sense of dread and foreboding. There's incredibly vivid imagery and it played out in my imagination almost like a movie. The end answered all my questions in an extremely satisfying manner though I was confused as to whether to find it hopeful or bleak.

Talley creates a creepy story that has the potential to leave you afraid of the dark. I immensely enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from him. ( )

It’s no exaggeration to say that THE VOID is one of the best horror novels I read in 2012 (yes, I’m a bit late in writing this review in February 2013). I had previously read Brett Talley’s previous novel, THAT WHICH SHOULD NOT BE, a fun contribution to the Cthulhu Mythos that ties a few other horror tropes to Lovecraft’s world in interesting ways, but it in no way prepared me for what I could expect from his latest. THE VOID is, in my experience, a rare beast: a science fiction novel that successfully blends the genre with strong horror elements.

Mild plot spoilers follow.

In the mid-twenty-second century, humanity has discovered the secret of faster-than-light travel (FTL) and has begun to colonize worlds across the galaxy. There is just one limitation to FTL travel: humans must be asleep during the voyage, and, while asleep, each traveler dreams. The dream is different for each traveler, but recurs every time that person travels through space. No one talks about their personal dreams, unsurprisingly since the dreams are closer to nightmares, and deeply resonant for each individual. Every now and then – not too often, but just often enough – the dreams drive someone mad. And sometimes people who go to sleep never wake up.

THE VOID centers on one starship voyage in which six people on a seemingly routine voyage happen upon another ship that had disappeared in the depths of space a decade previously. The crew and passengers awake prematurely during their trip, seemingly trapped in a field of black holes making navigation and escape almost impossible, and having few options but to investigate the derelict ship. Unsurprisingly, each of the travelers is more than they appear, with secrets in their pasts and hidden agendas, all of which surface on this trip. A few of the characters are more hastily sketched than others, but the characters and their pasts are interestingly interlocked, and one of THE VOID’s strengths. I won’t reveal the nature of the dreams or what the travelers find on the missing ship, lest I ruin key elements of the plot. Suffice it to say that the mysteries revealed were well done and genuinely scary.

Comparisons between THE VOID and films like Event Horizon and Solaris are probably inevitable, but also a little misleading, as THE VOID avoids the gore of Event Horizon but is less introspective and more action-oriented than Solaris. I sometimes find that stories involving dream sequences and flashbacks hard to follow or too confusing to be worth the effort, but Talley demonstrates his mastery of writing here, doing a good job of keeping the story moving forward coherently despite the eerie dreamscapes the characters experience.

THE VOID is haunting and thought-provoking. The characters, plot, and premise have all stuck with me since reading it and I can certainly see myself rereading it. Sure, parts of the plot are a little predictable, but then again, we know that this is essentially a Lovecraftian haunted house story set in space, so certain tropes and plot elements are almost expected. Highly recommended for those who like their science fiction mixed with horror.

Review copyright © 2013 J. Andrew Byers ( )

I have not received this book so that I could review it. I was supposed to receive it as a part of Library Thing's Early Reviewers group.

Originally reviewed in June, 2012 at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10550014-scott-dossett. I'll repeat it below.

A solid and interesting book that merges the genres of science fiction and horror. Think along the lines of Alien and Event Horizon (in terms of film) or Rendezvous with Rama with the element of Horror (in terms of books). Despite some small imperfections, the books is remarkably well written: restrained, tight, a bit on the melodramatic side at times; but if you're reading sci-fi, you're probably not looking for Hemingway. The book reads like a movie. Overall: Engaging, suspenseful and keeps the story center focus. ( )

What a wild read! Such an interesting concept. I really, really enjoyed this book. It was tightly written - even though it got off to a bit of a slow start - and had an interesting plot. Creepy too. My only beef is with two minor things: one, there were point of view shifts that sometimes weren't separated clearly ... as in, they happened from one paragraph to the next; two, I kind of lost track of the 'science' behind what was going on ... and therefore had no clue as to what had really happened to one of the characters in the end. Still, none of this detracted from my enjoyment of this sci-fi/horror novel. Recommended for any fans of the genre. ( )

An Early Reviewers book, which initially seemed to have potential. Although the premise felt familiar, I quite enjoyed the setup. I’m partial to a story that involves terror that is partly psychological. So I was looking forward to reading a book based on the idea that humanity had attained the ability to travel through space only at the cost of the terrifying dreams associated with such travel, and the idea that these nightmares were different for each individual, manifestations of their underlying fears. Those who seek careers involving space travel are screened for their psychological suitability to tolerate the dreams, but nevertheless, every now and then people succumb to insanity.

The way the story unfolded felt predictable, and I was disappointed in the resolution. But the ideas were interesting - and I would have enjoyed further exploring some of the elements of the set-up and world-building (e.g., the way in which people did or didn’t discuss these dreams, and the way in which people were selected, trained and monitored for positions involving interstellar travel in these circumstances). ( )

While I enjoyed The Void I couldn't help but be reminded of the movie Event Horizon in some regards. The writting was good and the mystery was satisfyingly concluded and not easily guessed. My only major problem with the characters was that the author didn't really show the motivations of each even though they were all supposedly drawn together for a specific reason. Even the "dreams" each had didn't seem to really push the characters into new demensions and reveal anything major about the charaters. ( )

I kept thinking that it was very formulaic at the beginning, and then by the end it felt like all the surprises were telegraphed at least once, sometimes more than once, before they actually happened. The word choices started changing tone for no apparent reason, which was jarring.
I didn't care about the characters. I didn't feel any great sadness when they died. I liked the dark theme of everything.
There were a lot of stories, especially around the dreams, that seemed very disjointed...and I didn't think they all tied together well. ( )

I didn't really know what to expect with this story except that it was sci-fi. And that it was on the horror side of sci-fi. My initial thought (before even opening the eBook) was that it might be along the lines of "Event Horizon". Given that I did not like that movie, I didn't really expect to like the story... so I'm not really sure why I requested the review copy of it. But I did, and I decided to read until it became too much for me, and then stop.

It never actually became too much for me. I think this is because, while it is definitely horror, it's more a mental style of horror than the gory kind. It's all about the imagination - both the reader's and the characters'.

This book had a well developed plot, and was a story that I didn't want to stop reading even when it got to the most creepy bits. I am glad I read it during the day, though, as I am guaranteed nightmares if I read this kind of story too close to bedtime.

My biggest complaint was that, even at the end, it's hard to tell what is real and what actually happened, vs. what was imagined. Where do the Dreams end and reality begin? Even the characters didn't know. My second biggest complaint was that the characters were mostly (to one degree or another) hard to connect with. Some were just too fractured by what they'd seen or done for them to resonate with me, so I had trouble sympathizing with them.

(Disclaimer - eBook received as a review copy from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's program.) ( )

As a literature student, I read for very different reasons than most people. Literary analysis is a very different animal than reading for pleasure and it’s tough. When Deconstructionism, Post-structuralism, Formalism, and Post-Colonialism get too much, I want to sit down to a great pleasure read. Sadly, Brett Talley’s The Void was anything but. This is one of only a handful of books I just could not finish. Halfway through, the narrative had wandered so far afield I wasn’t sure what book I was actually reading. There was essentially one character with multiple names and keeping anything sorted throughout became a bit futile. Awkward writing, clunky and confusing narrative, jarring juxtapositions… there’s nothing to recommend this one at all. ( )

Horror genre in a science fiction setting makes for an engaging mindfuck story where you don't always know what's real, not real, or even if your narrator is reliable! There is definitely a Cthulhu-mythos feel with regard to dreams, sanity, and of course outright horror. Characters have hidden agendas, sometimes even hidden from themselves, and it was hard to tell what was decided by chance or if there was some sort of alien manipulation going on on bringing these certain people together.

A couple of weaknesses kept this from being higher rated: It was hard to muster sympathy for the characters. They were usually remote, or lost in their own nightmares, I suppose. The one character I was most intrigued by was the captain, and I wish I could learn more about her. The other weakness was in the reveal of the Big Bad. There was a lot of build up with regard to why people have these recurring nightmares when traveling in warp, why some people snap so completely into derangement (think the Reavers in Whedon's Firefly mythology), that to be met with the Big Bad who still mostly stayed behind the curtain manipulating people, I never got to understand what was really so horrifying about them. Well, aside from them driving humanity insane, I suppose.

The story did leave me thinking, which I always value in a book. In Stephen King's short story, "The Jaunt," people had to be asleep when traveling through space, for if they were awake, their mind could not handle what they saw and would go insane. This book is perhaps a good what-if for the other side of that cautionary tale: if you sleep (and you have no choice but to sleep), you could still go crazy. ( )

I had heard a lot of buzz about author Brett Talley, so I was looking forward to reading The Void, his second novel, and Talley not only met but exceeded my expectations . The book is part sci-fi, part horror, and all together creepy. Set in deep space in the near future when distant space travel is possible, there is one caveat to the ability to travel long distances in space. When the travelers go through a warp drive, they are put to sleep where they have dreams that border on nightmares. The dreams are always the same, and sometimes they drive the person to madness. One thing I really enjoyed about the novel is the richness of the world of the dreams. They remind me quite a bit of the dream sequences from the movie Inception. As I mentioned, normally the dreams are all the same, except in this voyage, their are slight differences in each person's dream. Talley does a good job of giving the reader the sense that the world he created is about to fracture in a big way. Aidan Connor, the story's protagonist, has recently been in a shuttle that was destroyed, leaving him the soul survivor. Meanwhile, a couple of the passengers of the shuttle have their own agenda, unbeknownst to the rest of the crew. All of these things build a sense of inevitable doom that permeates the novel.

When the crew reaches their destination, the dreams start to blend into reality, as they discover a ship that was part of a scientific experiment. That's the point in the story where things really start to unravel for the crew. Talley does a masterful job of creating chills throughout the novel as well as building up tension. As a fellow writer, I appreciate his craftsmanship and ability to manipulate language with great skill. The Void is well worth reading and I would highly recommend it for your reading pleasure.
Carl Alves - author of Two For Eternity ( )

This book showed the experiences of people and what they would find when they travel out into the space beyond our universe into the void. ( )

I received this book from Early reviewers. I would give it higher rating if I was a horror fan. I thought I was getting a regular sci fi book but found myself in a dark, dark place. I am recommending this book to my partner who is a huge H.P. Lovecraft fan. Though I don't like horror, it was an easy read. However freaked out I got, I had to finish the book! And not just to review it but because I was invested in the story. I won't reread it but that's only because I'm a scaredy cat! ;) ( )

I found this sci-fi thriller an interesting read. I was intrigued by the whole warp travel concept was kept on board by my curiosity. Although I enjoy the odd Star Trek episode, I am not really a follower. However I enjoyed this book and would read another similar one.

The book combined elements of horror and science fiction quite well; two genres that I enjoy very much. The story was an easy read, and although the names were a little hard for me to keep up with at times, the author still led me on an interesting journey. I am an avid Star Trek fan which made much of the vocabulary very familiar for me.

The whole concept of stasis needed for warp travel and its effects on the mind was very intriguing, but the extreme detail of the actual dreams was a little much. Also, it was never made quite clear what the life forms were that the crew encounters. They are always described as shadows and the presence of a shadow wall is constantly described. But, what are these entities? Aliens, perhaps. The word demon was utilized a few times, but it was never quite clear to me if the beings were all a part of their imaginations only or were actual creatures struggling for survival.

The ending was not too great, but all in all The Void is an interesting read for science fiction and horror story lovers. ( )

This book developed totally different from what I thought it would, but that's Ok. I would describe it more as a sci-fi gothic than horror.

There are hints as to what is coming, but like in any well-forshadowed story they are not apparent until the book is finished. The story took a turn I didnt expect, with the aliens, but it worked.

I think more would have been less when it comes to the dreams. Having people react to what they see would be better than narrating exactly what happened (except when needed, of course)

The aliment concept left me conflicted; I thought it was fairly original (I just read another book with a similar kind of alien) but not close, yet I wasn't totally sold on them. Perhaps if they had been developed more from the start, I'd find them more 'believable"

THe story developed fairly logically and the conclusion was very effective. The only real issue I had was the religiousness of characters. It didn't seem likely that such as advanced society would still have beliefs. That's just my opinion, though.

overall I enjoyed the book. It's not the best, but certainly not the worst book, I've read. A satisfying read. ( )

Not bad as far as hard scifi goes, but a little difficult to stay with. The "aliens" in the book could have been better defined, It was a little ponderous at times, but that was probably more the dark horror side of the book. Both scifi and horror genres would fit here.

The dreams plague space travelers as they warp between points in the void, always the same dream unique to each person. Some don't ever come back from their dreams either, driven to incurable madness by them, but are they truly mad, or just locked into their own form of madness and dream? A navigator who's survived two ships being destroyed is the key character, and he unwittingly goes in search of a spaceship lost to the void with five others.

Overall, not bad. Probably won't reread it, but a fair book. ( )

The Void is a horror novel for fans of science fiction and it will definitly make fans of both genres happy. The year is 2169 and Aiden Conner has just woken up on a space ship he is not familiar with and he doesn’t remember how he got there. Aiden was working on a transport ship that had a mysterious accident while traveling at warp speed.

In the future, man has mastered space travel, but when their ship goes to warp all crew members have to go into a sleep chamber and sleep until the ship comes out of warp. The downside of this is while sleeping the crew dreams and for some people on a ship the dreams are enough to drive them insane. While sleeping through warp, the crew sees the same dream every time. Some dreams tell of the future, some of the past, some are terrifying and a few people actually enjoy their dreams.

After the accident Aiden finds he can’t get a job on any other ship. That is until Captain Caroline Gravely comes along and hires him to work upon her ship, The Chronos. Caroline has waited a long time to command her own ship and she has assembled a six person crew with very diverse backgrounds. She also has her own problems with the dream state during warp drive. The rest of the crew also has their own issues and none of them are looking forward to what will happen when they enter warp. To make matters worse when they drop out of warp they are surrounded by black holes and find a long lost abandoned ship.

I loved the concept for The Void. This is a good horror story with a science fiction background. Brett J. Talley does a great job giving a scientific explanation to how the space ships travel, how gravity is created for a ship and what is happening when a ship travels at warp speed. I also liked how all the crew member’s dreams were described and how there was a little mystery to what all of their dreams mean and how the dreams effect each person. It was a nice touch how all the dreams we’re very different and despite the fact that everyone fears the dream state not all of the dreams were bad.

I found myself thinking The Void would make a great movie that could satisfy both horror and science fiction fans. Brett J. Talley has done an excellent job bridging two genres. ( )

I enjoyed Brett Talley’s debut novel. It was a good action story based on Lovecraft’s famous short story “The Call of Cthulhu.” When I saw he had his second novel coming out, I was looking forward to the read. The Void is hands down one of the most disappointing follow up novels I’ve read in a long time.

That Which Should Not Be had great monsters, good and evil, and all the other dark, sinister elements Lovecraft was famous for in his day. The Void has none of that. A crew traveling through space comes upon an abandoned ship. In order to travel through space, the crew must be in a deep sleep that induces vivid, horrific dreams. When the team stumbled on this abandoned ship, the dreams somehow become reality. I say somehow because this book doesn’t hold together in any cohesive way. There are time shifts mid-chapter that left me confused as to what was happening in the narrative. The writing tone shifts from Gothic to modern sci-fi that creates an utter clash in atmosphere. Are we supposed to be woven into the dark, Lovecraftian early 1900s or are we in the fast-paced, clipped world of sci-fi? The tone felt schizophrenic and disjointed. The characters all felt the same. There was little to distinguish one from the other and in the end, I just didn’t care about any of them. There was no suspense, fear, or intensity here whatsoever.

Quite frankly, I was stunned at how poor this novel was. Lines like “Jack put his faith in the cold, hard truths of the world,” made me cringe. Of course he does, because there is always a character in a sci-fi/ horror novel with an attitude like that. It was predictable when you could follow the narrative. The writing repeatedly stumbled over awkward phrases, poorly written sentences, and clunky word choices. A stunning failure after a good debut. ( )

Overall I'd say that I did enjoy this book; it kept me engaged and wanting to know how it would all end. As said by others, it's more of a horror/ghost story than a fully-fledged Sci Fi. However, by complete coincidence, the day after finishing the book I happened to watch a DVD of the 1997 film 'Event Horizon'. I might have been watching a screen adaptation of 'The Void', the storyline was SO similar. Now I don't know which proceeded which, but if this book is only just published, it honestly felt as if the plot had been lifted straight from the film, with dark dreams/imaginings, blinded zombies, black holes leading to hell, tethered spacecrafts, a double-crossing passenger, and even the same shape 'lost' spaceship. Actually spoilt the film for me, as I felt as if I already knew the story. Coincidence or not? ( )

I really liked this book. At first, it had the feeling and familiarity of a Star Trek novel, of which I have read quite a few. All the talk about space travel and warping was easily understood because of Star Trek. However, the lack of familiar ST characters and the great story makes this book stand out as unique and inventive. The characters are real, whether fallible, heroic, misguided or evil. You come to know them all intimately through the "dreams." Although the ending is sad, it delivers hope. I would recommend this book even to non-sci-fi readers.

This book reminded me very much of the 1997 film Event Horizon. While the film apparently did not receive stellar reviews, this book was a real page turner and was well worth the read. Great horror and science fiction combo. ( )

As space travel grows and the distances expand so humans find that the only way to get to the end of the universe is to sleep through the journey. But with the sleep come the dreams and they are not nice dreams.......

They stay with you and haunt you when you awake. They make you crazy and the ultimate way to end the dreams is to take your own life. But there is no alternative to the sleep...or is there?

As the crew of the Chronos leave on their maiden mission they do not know that they will come across a ship that is being searched for by the government. Does this ship hold the future of space travel? Or is it the gateway of the dreams people suffer. As every crew member live through their nightmares though it is known that not both ships can survive.........

It is a horror story set in space - it may sound an odd mix but one that works very well. I have only just finished reading H.P. Lovecraft and reading the blurb on this book he was mentioned multiple times. And as you read the book you can see where the Talley has used those ideas of Lovecraft and moved them onto a new level. A great book and one that had me turning the electronic pages right to the end! ( )