Customer Reviews

The Temporal Void

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Another excellent installment of the Commonwealth universe saga. There are really two universes in this book and different physics apply in each. The universe inside the "Void" leans towards fantasy, whereas the outside Commonwealth universe leans towards hard science fiction.

I do not like fantasy, however I did enjoyed the parts of the book that play inside the Void more. The reader knows that ultimately there will be an explanation for the way time and space behave inside the Void, and the fast paced story and well developed characters make it a joy to suspend disbelieve - for another 700 pages.

I read Temporal Void over a few days this Christmas, and have been looking forward to it since finishing Dreaming Void a year ago.

I wanted so much to give this 5 stars, in the end I rated it a 4 since the Commonwealth parts are well written and exciting, but it's barely a 4 and if I weren't such a fan of Hamilton's myriad of Commonwealth characters I'd have given it a 3.

My main issue is that the Void dreams of Edeards adventures are just far too long, as I recall at least two of them are about a hundred pages. I found myself reading the first dozen pages of each dream and counting the pages to the end of the chapter, seriously considering skipping them, I had to force myself the read these, a tragedy for a Hamilton fan. The dreams seem pedestrian compared to events outside the void, and are very slow at building the Waterwalker character in a rather predictable coming of age type of way.

Several things could have been incorporated in to the Commonwealth arcs of the story but seem to have been sacrificed for the dream arc to make this book about the same size as Dreaming Void. For example the greater population of the Commonwealth seem to be strangely unconcerned about an impending alien invasion to stop the Pilgrimage, and I would loved to have read more about how the Commonwealth has evolved since the Prime war.

I really like Hamilton's work, and hope Evolutionary Void is more satisfying then this. Of course, I'll still buy the book whatever.

With the world becoming smaller it amazes me that there are not global release dates for more things. Since this book isn't due out in the US until Spring 09 I ordered from the UK site of Amazon.

If you like other books from Mr. Hamilton then you will love this book. The grand scope of most of his books is continued. The Waterwalker story is by far the most interesting part for me.

Man, I really wanted to like this book, but it's just so-so. The first one was a lot of fun, if you skipped the "dream" chapters. The dream chapters, as many have noted, are garbage. They're boring, long, and frankly cheesy. At best they are cliche fantasy drivel. Why anyone who lived in the modern hyper advanced sci-fi world that Hamilton describes would want leave that and move to the bass-akwards world of the Void, I will never know. I'm a sci-fi reader, why would I ever find some backwoods world fascinating? I suppose you can chalk it up to religious zealots being their usual crazy selves, but even that is a stretch.

The book jacket describes the Void as an idyllic paradise, but it's not even close. If it were, the premise of the book would work beautifully. Everyone would want to go there to escape the pressure of the modern world. But as Hamilton paints it, it's a world that has ancient technology, where petty thugs rule, and violence and social inequality are the norm. It's feudal. Why would anyone want that life you ask? Beats me. I was willing to go with it in the first book. In fact, since the dream sequences were so short, I just started skimming them in a few minutes, reading the first page and the last few pages and eventually not even reading them at all. You know what? The book really moved after that! Because the world outside the world was so fascinating, I was willing to accept the absurd premise that a whole faction of humans wanted to move to the Void, which would trigger a war with a powerful alien race and the Void's expansion, which would slowly ear the galaxy.

Unfortunately, the second book is full of dream sequences that eat up half of the book. Guess what? The suck even worse, but now they're longer and skipping them meant I skipped half the book. I also started to notice something about half way through: I was no longer willing to suspend my disbelief that anyone would want to go to that backwards world and it started to ruin everything. I kept hoping this paradise would show itself, that the Void world would transform from a world of petty rivalries and thugs to something wonderful. It never did. Because I could no longer suspend my disbelief, I started reading it with a much more critical eye and its flaws became more and more apparent. Two problems become immensely clear when you start looking closely.

The first is that there is really not a single new character in the book, if you read the far superior Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, you know most of them. Since I loved those books, I automagically transferred my love of those characters to the new books, but as this second book started to fall apart for me, I realized that the new books really don't really add anything to those characters, or at least not much to them. So basically they are just comfortable and familiar, but they bring nothing new to the table. The second dreamer character and her boyfriend are fascinating, but they're not on stage enough and eventually she jettisons her boyfriend to run from living dream and with that, jettisons most of what made her interesting, which is her near conversion to Multiplism, a surgery that makes a single personality into a group of people. What a fascinating concept! But sadly, it is abandoned in this book and she never makes the conversion to join her multiple boyfriend.

The second problem is that nothing happens in this book. The plot doesn't move forward much. The Living dream movement hunts the second dreamer and the aliens "prepare" to attack for hundreds of pages. Oh and the surprise allies of the hostile aliens are obvious from the jump, so there is no mystery or surprise when they are revealed. Nobody really attacks, which makes me wonder why I shouldn't have just skipped this book and gotten to the action in last one, which will hopefully move the plot along. Oh yeah and Paula "discovers" that the Cat is loose again. So what? We already knew that, since Hamilton shows us a scene with the Cat in the last book. That means Paula spends about 100 pages uncovering a "mystery" that we already know the answer to. Horrible.

At his best Hamilton is a fantastic world builder. He gives us fascinating concepts and big galaxy spanning space opera. Unfortunately, at his worst, his plots just don't work. The Night's Dawn trilogy almost ruined Hamilton for me. It started off fantastic and then the horrible plot of the dead coming back to life comes out. I threw it down in disgust. Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained redeemed him for me. Those books, while slow at times, made me keep coming back and finished with a satisfying crescendo. The Void trilogy, so far, is somewhere in the middle. The first books was great, if you skip the stupid dream sequences, the second one is middling at best, but you'll probably finish it anyway, like I did. Hopefully the last one lifts it back up where it belongs. And here's hoping they just obliterate the stupid Void and all of it's petty little inhabitants with some super secret galaxy buster bomb! Go Raiel! Stop that lame Void! While they're at it they can throw Jar Jar Binks in there first and then blow it all up, single handedly wiping out two series killing abominations in one foul swoop. A man can dream can't he?!? :)

The Temporal Void (2009) is the second SF novel in the Void Trilogy, following The Dreaming Void. In the previous volume, the Accelerator Faction manipulated the Commonwealth to gain their own postphysical dream. Then a Second Dreamer arose and released new dreams of the Void into the gaiafield.

The Second Dreamer was not aware of her identity. Yet the Living Dream organization sought to use her to gain access to the Void. The Ocisen Empire sent a fleet toward the Commonwealth to prevent the Living Dream migration into the Void.

In this novel, Edeard is a constable in the city of Makkathran within the Void. He is known as Waterwalker for his telekinetic ability to support himself on a calm body of water. He is planning on removing the gangs from Makkathran.

Inigo is the Void Dreamer. He is also the founder of Living Dream. He had disappeared seventy years ago.

Ethan is the Cleric Conservator of the Living Dream organization. He has recently gained his post, primarily by declaring that Living Dream will soon migrate to the Void. He sends paramilitary troops to Viota to capture the Second Dreamer.

Aaron is a special operative for an unknown ANA faction. He is charged with finding Inigo and bringing him back. Aaron is only aware of his next options when he completes the previous stage of his task.

Corrie-Lyn was Inigo's lover. Since his disappearance, she served on the Living Dream Cleric Council. Aaron persuaded her to go looking for Inigo.

Paula Myo is an agent for ANA:Governance. Centuries ago she had been an investigator within the Serious Crimes Directorate. The Starflyer War had only made her life more hectic.

Oscar Monroe is the Martyr. He had given his life to defeat the Starflyer. Centuries later he had been relifed. Now he is assisting Paula by finding the Second Dreamer.

Justine is the daughter of Gore Burnelli and mother of Kazimir, the Supreme Commander of the Commonwealth Navy. She is living near the Wall and observing the Void.

Marius is an agent of the Accelerator faction of ANA. He has provided Living Dream with Ultra drives and other services to promote their migration into the Void. He is probably going to ask a favor from them at some point.

The Delivery Man is an agent of the Conservative faction of ANA. Lately he has been doing some extra tasks, mostly checking on the actions of Marius.

Troblum is a physicist and a Starflyer collector. He has also worked secretly for the Accelerator faction. He has decided to vanish from the galaxy, but first he has to move his collection.

Araminta is a divorcee living in Colwyn City on Viotia. She has been refurbishing apartments and selling them to various buyers. She is involved with a multiple person, one mind and about fifty bodies. She is also the Second Dreamer. Araminta's last dream denied the Living Dream migration into the Void.

In this story, Justine is fleeing from Centurion Station as the Void expands. All the species on the planet are doing the same. She gains the Silverbird -- an Ultra drive starship -- just before the station starts to crumble.

As the Silverbird hovers above the planet, Justine decides to enter the Void itself to negotiate some sort of agreement with the Nucleus. She asks her father to announce her intentions and to beg assistance from the Second Dreamer. Gore broadcasts a call on Viota to request aid for his daughter.

Araminta returns to her apartment and hides from the Ellezelin paramilitary troops searching for her. Oscar and a few Knights Guardian team is also onplanet searching for her. The populace of Colwyn City are beginning to fight back against the invading troops.

Araminta observes Gore's plea and works out a way to dream to a Skylord to request their help without alerting Living Dream. She explains the presence of Justine and asks for her admittance into the Void. The Void extrudes a portal and takes Justine within itself.

Troblum visits Stubsy Florac on Sholapur. He calls Paula to tell her where to meet him. Then Cat lets him know that has taken control of the situation.

Paula is already present on Sholapur and arrives at the mansion soon after receiving Troblum's call. She is just is time to force Cat to flee and to allow Troblum to escape. All she is left with is the dead and dying.

Aaron, Inigo and Corrie-Lyn are in a ground crawler fleeing the imminent implosion of Hanko. The surface is breaking up, forming rifts in the ice. Eventually they come to a giant rift. Aaron gets out to examine the fissure and finds it to be a giant cliff. Then Inigo fires on the ledge and drops Aaron down the cliff.

Kazimir sends a River-class starship -- the Yenisey -- to deal with the Ocisen fleet. The ship crew pulls the Ocisen flagship from hyperspace. Then a spherical starship unveils and fires on the Yenisey.

Meanwhile, Edeard is fighting the gangs in Makkathran city. He soon discovers that some ruling families are involved with the gangs. Then he finds a girl that he wants to marry.

This tale features even more of Edeard's story within the Void. In the outside universe, the Living Dream finds themselves even more in debt to the Accelerator faction. ANA:Governance and the less disruptive factions are dismayed at the extent of the Accelerator conspiracy.

This story has the common traits of most meganovels. It has over 700 pages of narrative and a timeline. But it does not have a Dramatis Personae, a serious omission. The principal characters are listed above, but many more play their roles within this tale.

One begins to question the nature of the Void. The story interjects some unusual features inside of the huge singularity. Maybe it is a Firstlife postphysical reality.

Nonetheless, the plot is quite interesting. It twists and turns, with many unexpected events. The final volume of this trilogy is coming in 2010. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interstellar cultures, cultural diversity, and determined heroines.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The second volume (middle third) of a 2041-page novel, The Void Trilogy. The first seven chapters and the first seven `Dreams' were published as The Dreaming Void (DV). Here the chapter numbering starts over, 1-5, but the `Dreams' continue in sequence, 8-12. Both the chapters and the `Dreams' are a bit better than in DV: chapters, 3¼ stars; `Dreams,' 4¼; overall 3¾ rounded to 4.

Before you begin The Temporal Void (TV), I very strongly urge you to read Pandora's Star (PS), Judas Unchained (JU), and DV in that order, because you will be lost in JU if you haven't read PS, lost in DV if you haven't read both PS and JU, and lost in TV if you haven't read PS, JU, and DV; and I doubt not that you will be lost in The Evolutionary Void (EV) if you haven't read all four of the above.

For the most part the story is compelling, albeit it drags occasionally, and some of the `science' seems like an attempt to sound `scientific' by one largely ignorant of science. I would have to classify this as science-fantasy, rather than science-fiction. By comparison, L. E. Modesitt, in his mostly excellent fantasy saga of Recluce*, seems much more conversant with real science! But if you can suspend disbelief, you can enjoy a pretty good tale, with interesting aliens, and two hitherto (as far as I know) unheard-of methods of interstellar travel: Most everyone takes the railroad train thru wormholes, but some walk the Silfen paths (distant cousin, perhaps, of the Egger Route^) between the stars.

Other reviewers have adequately discussed the events of TV, so why repeat here what they wrote, or add spoilers?

Readers would be greatly aided if each book contained a listing of the cast of characters, and a map of the galaxy showing the locations of the action, and local maps of those locations.

watziznayme@gmail.com

* See Magi'i of Cyador (The Saga of Recluce) and 15 sequels.

^ See The Sorceress of Karres

Peter F. Hamilton's The Temporal Void is Book 2 in his Void Trilogy. Hamilton is one of my favorite authors, primarily for his Night's Dawn series and the Commonwealth Saga (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). The first book in the Void Trilogy was The Dreaming Void and was released in the United States in March 2008. This second book was released in March 2009. The third (and final) book, The Evolutionary Void is expected to be released August 31, 2010.

The Void Trilogy is unusual for Hamilton, because it combines elements of fantasy and hard space opera. The setting is fifteen hundred years in the future from the events that are depicted in the Commonwealth Saga books Judas Unchained and Pandora's Star, although some of the major characters from those books are still alive (thanks to rejuvenation technology), like (my personal favorite) Paula Myo, the openly gay Oscar Monroe and Ozzie (who has become so famous his name is a regular outburst).

The Temporal Void continues immediately after the The Dreaming Void and dispenses with the background details that were necessary in that initial outing to acclimatize the reader to Hamilton's intricately detailed universe.

The best features of The Dreaming Void are included in its sequel: the continuing saga of Eldeard Waterwalker, the development of his telekinetic and telepathic powers and his ascension through the society of the medieval city-state of Makkathran.

Additionally, the space opera components of the story are stronger, but as varied as ever.

Happily, more time is spent with old familiar characters like Investigator Paula Myo and Senator Justine Burnelli, and new characters like the memory-wiped assassin Aaron and the fugitive Second Dreamer Araminta begin to intrigue and impress.

The Temporal Void fulfills the promise of the first book and sets up what should be a thrilling conclusion in the final book, The Evolutionary Void. I can't wait!

Hardcover: 736 pages.

Publisher: Del Rey.

Date: March 24, 2009.

PLOT: A+.

IMAGERY: A.

IMPACT: A-.

WRITING: A.

OVERALL GRADE: A.

Well, if you've invested the time to read the 600+ pages of The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy) - not to mention the earlier almost 2,000 pages of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained - you'll want to continue with this book.

Hamilton resurrects - sometimes quite literally - characters and races out of those latter two novels.

It's been noted (specifically by Luke Burrage of Science Fiction Book Review Podcast) that the Void series is all about power. The worthy purposes of power, the tactics of its use, and the effects of power on its wielders are the theme here. That ranges from the human factions which seek to steer humanity (in various flavors from the barely altered to the nearly post-human Advancers) in a particular direction to the ever increasing psychic powers of Edeard in his world of medieval technology. An election is even a major plot event in the alien city of Makkathran.

In fact, Edeard is the central character here, his adventures take up not only a larger portion of this book than the first Void novel, but they have an an inherent interest and suspense, are no longer, as they sometimes were in the first novel, a story interruption. At novel's end, Edeard faces not only a major challenge to his power but to his moral code. And story's end provides a better understanding of the book's rather enigmatic title.

Of course, Hamilton also covers the world outside the Void. Agents of various factions clash with powers seemingly as magical as anything Edeard has. Araminta continues to resist capture and exploitation by the forces of the Living Dream religion. Paula Myo confirms psychopathic Cat has been resurrected. Advancers manipulate - for unknown reasons - the Commonwealth into revealing their ultimate weapon.

Obviously not a starting point for the Commonwealth Saga, but a worthy continuation. At times, though, I must admit I found the legalistic nature of the ANA a bit inconsistent. The same held true with the relative sophistication of some Advancer weaponry in relation to their foes. But those are very small nits to pick in a story that weirdly melds high space opera and medieval fantasy in an intriguing way. It's a worthy bridge to a satisfying end I'm confident Hamilton will provide in The Evolutionary Void.

What a let down from the wonderfully exciting, inventive, diverse and complex first book. Just the relationship of Araminta and the Boveys has more depth than this entire volume. Here her claim to fame is hiding in an appliance, and finding the Silfen paths. And the Dreams, rather than being the tantalizing bait that excites desire for the Pilgrimage, take over and crowd out the context in which they matter, namely the intricate politics of the world outside the Void. Compared to the latter, the Waterwalkers exploits seem naive and adolescent. It feels like Hamilton got bored, is coasting, or simply did not have anywhere near as much creative energy involved this time around. I'm hoping that the third volume will return us to the finely woven multidimensionality of the first, because I really enjoy, and like, the plot and characters when they are given room to breath.

The Centaurion Station, the base of the Void observation for countless millennia, is torn apart as the Raiel machines move to counter the Void's expansion. Justine, who is at the station as it is destroyed, makes a decision that will affect the whole of humanity; to enter the Void in an attempt to negotiate with the Skylord. Will the Second Dreamer be able to get her safe passage, even if it means exposing herself?

After rejecting the Skylord's offer Araminta now comes to the full realisation that she is indeed the Second Dreamer, the one Living Dream say is destined to lead them into the Void and the life they so desperately wish. However, along with this discovery Araminta now knows she is the target of everyone who wishes to use her to their own advantage. But she will not bow to the pressures put on her and is on the run, unsure where or who to turn to.

Paula is continuing her mission to track down Troblum who holds crucial information about the Accelerators and their plans. Desperate to get hard evidence, Paula tracks him down and comes to the very harsh realisation of how far the Accelerators are prepared to go to fulfill their plans. Meanwhile, the Ocisen Empire are on their way to Commonwealth space to enforce the threat they previously issued: cease the pilgrimage or face the consequences.

After his spectacular display of power and unwavering belief of what is right, Edeard now faces increasingly difficult obstacles in his bid to bring peace to Makkathran. With the gangs planning to undermine the Waterwalker he must stand for what he believes, even if it means unwanted political manoeuvring, and the events that take place in Makkathran lead down the path that will reveal the full potential of the Void.

Continuing from The Dreaming Void, The Temporal Void picks up events immediately following the revelations and keeps the sense of wonder and urgency we were left with. This helps in keeping the story going at a strong pace and it feels that all the groundwork laid in Dreaming is really starting to pay off.

The Commonwealth sections are particularly impressive. We still know what we were told in Dreaming - the Void is expanding, the Ocisens are one their way to stop the pilgrimage, the Second Dreamer knows she is communicating with the Skylord and many other things. What we are given is a situation that reached a climax and now the after effects are being felt. Throughout the whole of Temporal, the Commonwealth sections are consistently entertaining with a couple of nice surprises in there. There are also even less detours this time around which means we get a very nicely focused story.

The Void sections are just as enjoyably and Edeard's story continues in glorious fashion. We are now treated to a more confident Edeard and one who has gained both popularity and notoriety within Makkathran. His ideas are not something the council are used to and his stance against the criminals results in some interesting and page turning action. The powers within the Void exhibited by Edeard, both the ones he discovers and the ones he learns of through others, are amazing and go to show why so many Living Dream members want to pilgrimage to the Void.

This comes to the main revelation of the book: the true nature of the Void. Without giving anything away, the Void becomes a very appealing place to go to. It also effectively ties up that main sub plot, although I fully expect to see more of the Void in the last book with some very interesting things left hanging.

The characters carry through from Dreaming, but the Commonwealth ones do suffer a little in this volume, simply due to short time most of them are on the page. Where Dreaming was around a 60/40 split in favour of the Commonwealth, Temporal is 70/30 in favour of the Void. This gives a great follow through for Edeard and builds on what I think was the strongest element in Dreaming, and probably the strongest in Temporal too.

It's already been confirmed by Peter that The Evolutionary Void will return more to the Commonwealth, and with promises of it being larger again than Temporal I can barely wait the 18 months or so until its release. The setting up for Edeard's story done in Dreaming paid off very well in Temporal, but it feels that we're still awaiting that payoff for the Commonwealth and all the dangers now facing it.

There are a couple of bits that I wasn't entirely convinced about, but without giving away spoilers it's very difficult to put them into words. Nevertheless, these are small concerns that didn't affect my overall enjoyment. The format also follows the same principle of Dreaming - we get a chapter in the Commonwealth followed by another of Inigo's dreams of the Void. It works again this time around, although the size of the Void chapters can be huge, one coming to over a hundred pages.

The Temporal Void delivers a lot of what space opera is good for, just not in huge amounts. Who will enjoy it will depend very heavily on what they thought of Edeard's story in Dreaming - if it's something they loved (like me) then Temporal will make them very happy indeed. But if it was the plot they least enjoyed then Temporal may not live up to their expectations. Either way, the stage has been set for an action packed and very promising conclusion. Another highly recommended novel.