The Temporal Void (Void Trilogy) [Kindle Edition]

Peter F. Hamilton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The shelf-bending and vastly satisfying sequel to 2008's The Dreaming Void continues the epic narrative chronicling humankind's potentially self-destructive search for existential and spiritual fulfillment inside an ever-expanding black hole at the galactic core. Hamilton seamlessly weaves together numerous unwieldy plot lines: as the millions of followers of the Living Dream plan a mass pilgrimage into the Void, others plot to stop their exodus, which they believe will only increase the Void's expansion and hasten the end of the galaxy. To complicate matters, the alien Ocisen Empire has allied with an old nemesis of humanity, the Primes, and their combined military might stands poised as a tremendous threat. Fusing elements of hard SF with adventure fantasy tropes, Hamilton has singlehandedly raised the bar for grand-scale speculative storytelling. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

The void is expanding, the Living Dream still plans a pilgrimage to the realm of Inigo’s dreams (see The Dreaming Void, 2006, for backstory), and the Ocisen Empire’s fleet is en route to destroy humanity before it attracts too much attention from whatever is inside the void. Second Dreamer Araminta is the most sought-after person on Viotia ever since she told the Skylord no, though not everyone is out to destroy her. Justine Burnelli is going into the void to find something much stranger than what she expected. The Waterwalker Edeard, goal of Living Dream’s exodus, remains central to Hamilton’s long story, still fighting corruption despite great resistance from the criminal underworld and the long-established nobility. It seems he will always triumph, but of course, it’s not that simple. There are more factions in play than there seem to be, and threads from the Starflyer War (see Pandora’s Star, 2004, and Judas Unchained, 2006) keep popping up in the most interesting places. This second book of a trilogy promises a spectacular finish. --Regina Schroeder

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 1152 KB
• Print Length: 737 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345496558
• Publisher: Del Rey (March 24, 2009)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001NLL9FA
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,459 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960, and still lives near Rutland Water. His previous novels are the Greg Mandel series and the bestselling 'Night's Dawn' trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction , The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God. Also published by Macmillan (and Pan) is A Second Chance at Eden, a novella and six short stories, and The Confederation Handbook, a vital guide to the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy. His most recent novels were Fallen Dragon, Misspent Youth, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 700 page book that seems too short, March 31, 2009

By 

A. Mayer (Washington DC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Temporal Void (Void Trilogy) (Hardcover)

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I wanted to love this book, January 5, 2009

By 

J. Kell - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Temporal Void (Paperback)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth ordering from amazon.co.uk, November 12, 2008

By 

A. Geoffrion (Lochbuie, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Temporal Void (Signed, Limited) (Hardcover)

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.