The temporal void (original 2008; edition 2009)

The Temporal Void is not as strong as its predecessor, [b:The Dreaming Void|866136|The Dreaming Void (Void, #1)|Peter F. Hamilton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320491232s/866136.jpg|851537], but it's still a strong book, if more of a 3.5 than a 4. The book continues the story, but this time the SF side is stronger than the fantasy. Both have weaknesses. On the SF side, key character Araminta experiments with different romantic/sexual relations. Unfortunately, it comes across less as exploration of future social models than as an exercise in wish fulfillment. It's distracting, but not really intrusive. The other complexities of the SF world work better than in the first book - partly because of greater familiarity, partly because they focus more on individual relationships.

On the fantasy side, the story remains interesting, if a bit political. However, it weakens substantially at the end. I can't decide whether Hamilton got bored with aspects of the Edeard-Salrana relationship, or just made unusual choices. Either way, I disliked the effect, and liked Edeard substantially less as a result - this is problematic, since he's at the center of the entire story, and it's important that we admire him. Even when he takes advantage of "fix-it" magic, he doesn't go far enough.

Overall, a worthy successor to The Dreaming Void,, though I wish Hamilton had paid more attention to the ending and wrap-up. ( )

It was great and I'm starting the final book of the series now! ( )

The second volume of Hamilton’s Void trilogy. Most of it is taken up with the continuing story of Edeard, i.e. the Fantasy-ish narrative strand, and it is just as bad as in the first volume, only worse because it takes up so much more space while remaining deeply cliché-ridden and profoundly unoriginal. The SFnal part is okay, but only consists of a third or maybe even a quarter of the whole novel and in no way can make up for the utter dross of the rest. Oh, and big surprise – Edeard is “the Chosen One.” Ugh.

This is the second novel in the Void trilogy which follows up on the author’s Commonwealth Saga, set 1,200 years after the conclusion of the final book in that series, Judas Unchained. While it is not strictly necessary to have read the two books in the Commonwealth Saga, since immortality essentially exists in this future, the books contain many common characters and story threads despite the passage of many centuries. It is, however, necessary to have read the first book in the Void trilogy, The Dreaming Void, as this is a direct continuation of that work.

In this Hamilton epic, the Commonwealth has expanded and evolved, circumnavigating the galaxy, discovering many new sentient species AND a phenomenon referred to as The Void, a micro-universe, protected by an event horizon. One human has managed to pass into The Void and return, setting off a religious awakening called The Living Dream. The adherents of this religion wish to undertake a mass pilgrimage into the Void, potentially setting off a chain of events which could lead to destruction of the known universe. Mayhem predictably ensues as different human and alien factions position themselves in an attempt at self-preservation and in some cases evolution.

In this continuation of the action introduced by The Dreaming Void, the author does a good job of advancing the story through numerous interrelated threads, not the least of which are frequent dream sequences derived from historical events from within the Void. Previous Hamilton works, in my experience, have tended to lose steam and bog down around 2/3 of the way through the story, but this work has maintained my interest level through roughly 1250 pages. Inasmuch as this installment is more heavily weighted toward the dream sequence, which accounts for roughly 40% of the book, and I find that thread to be the least satisfying and actually quite poorly written, I have rated this book slightly below the first. ( )

Very good middle book in the trilogy and definitely easier to get into than the first one. Both sides of the story are equally interesting this time around. This could have been a good ending for the Edeard arc in my mind, but we'll have to see what the final book has in store for him. ( )