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Mark Chitty: ...The Temporal Void is space opera supreme and builds even more convincingly on the foundations set in the first book. I enjoyed this one so much I've already read it four times!

 

 

 

THE

 

 

TEMPORAL

 

 

 

 

VOID

 

 

 

 

 

PETER F. HAMILTON

 

 

Peter F. Hamilton, whose dazzling epic novels offer startling perspectives on tomorrow's technological and cultural trends, returns to the universe of his acclaimed Commonwealth saga with The Temporal Void, the second volume in the trilogy that began with The Dreaming Void.

The Intersolar Commonwealth is in turmoil as the Living Dream's deadline for launching its Pilgrimage into the Void draws closer. Not only is the Ocisen Empire fleet fast approaching on a mission of genocide, but also an internecine war has broken out between the post-human factions over the destiny of humanity.

Countering the various and increasingly desperate agents and factions is Paula Myo, a ruthlessly single-minded investigator, beset by foes from her distant past and colleagues of dubious allegiance...but she is fast losing a race against time.

At the heart of all this is Edeard the Waterwalker, who once lived a long time ago deep inside the Void. He is the messiah of Living Dream, and visions of his life are shared by, and inspire billions of humans. It is his glorious, captivating story that is the driving force behind Living Dream's Pilgrimage, a force that is too strong to be thwarted. As Edeard nears his final victory the true nature of the Void is finally revealed.

 

Reviews:

"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.)

—Publishers Weekly

 

"As a starship of cultists travels toward the Void at the heart of the universe, the Intersolar Commonwealth faces both the danger represented by this voyage and the threat of genocide by aliens. Continuing the sf epic tale begun in The Dreaming Void, Hamilton ties together many plot threads as he solidifies his believable characters and crafts a page-turner sf thriller on a grand scale. Reminiscent of Robert Heinlein's best space operas; for most libraries."

—Jackie Cassada, Library Journal

 

"Second entry in Hamilton's latest doorstopper far-future science-fiction trilogy, following The Dreaming Void (2008). Readers-at least, those with prodigious memories-will recall that the black-hole-like Void now threatens to engulf the galaxy, its dramatically accelerated expansion caused by the heightened psychic activities of Edeard, the Waterwalker, as he battles gangsters and private armies inside the Void. Billions of humans, followers of the Living Dream cult, hope to join him in the Void, where everybody has psychic powers. But the alien Raiel are blockading the Void with huge warships; worse, the alien Ocisen have sent a battle fleet to threaten Earth. Various factions within ANA, the cyberspace composed of billions of uploaded minds that now runs Earth, are fighting openly. Elsewhere, since the Dreamers are key to penetrating the Void, the enigmatic cyborg Aaron has captured Inigo, the First Dreamer, though even Aaron himself doesn't know why; Araminta, the Second Dreamer, somehow eludes numerous pursuers; and near the end we learn there's a Third Dreamer. Fortunately the characters, always a Hamilton strength, remain as distinctive as ever, as what seems like dozens of other subplots-involving mysterious agents, treacherous plotters, superpowered psychotics, autistic physicists, holdovers from yarns prior to the current trilogy and what-all-chug merrily along without resolving anything. Huge and, particularly in the case of Edeard's saga, much flabbier than its predecessor, but still addictive enough that fans will stick around for the conclusion. "

—Kirkus Reviews

 

About the Author:

Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland, England in 1960. He began writing in 1987, and sold his first short story to "Fear" magazine in 1988. He has also been published in "Interzone" and the In Dreams and New Worlds anthologies, and several small press publications. His first novel was Mindstar Rising, published in 1993, and he has been steadily productive since then. Peter lives near Rutland Water with his wife and two children.