Reviews

The Temporal Void by Peter F. Hamilton

ianl1963's review against another edition

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3.0

Not sure if author wrote for penthouse?

Contempt for audio audience, characters "voices" change so much cannot be a continuity issue.

Listeners a cash cow?

Will have to continue, OCD what!

andreashappe's review against another edition

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4.0

This book focused more on the pocket universe featuring Eduard than the outside world: this might be a disappointment for people more interested into the sci-fi aspects of the story (opposed to the fantasy aspects) but it helped to flesh out characters. On the other hand, you could ask why

Which still go into similar directions: women are mostly there as love or sex interests (with the honorable exception of Paula Myo), the book changed its obsession from group sex to breeding (every female wants to bed the main character, sometimes only to get to his seed.. there might be some projection going on). I thought there was a nice redirection with Salrana going on, sadly.. no.

At least it did not go into typical revenge territory (including female characters built up, raped and discarded and only used for motivation of the protagonist) but the book's way out might turn out problematic in my opinion. Still the story's ending was an easy moral way out for the protagonist, almost a letdown.

Let's see how the final book will read like.

the_jeferee's review against another edition

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4.0

The world constructed in these books is absolutely immense, and it's incredibly satisfying when events that occurred 1200 years ago in the story's timeline affect what's happening now.

wendyh65's review against another edition

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5.0

My review for Kaiwaka Library:

It is 1500 years since the time of the Commonwealth Saga
(Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). Mankind has progressed
a long way - physically and technologically, and inhabiting
over a thousand star systems - since the story of the Starflyer
War told in those books.

When we start, the Living Dream movement are appointing their
next Cleric Conservator to lead the many believers across the
galaxy. Not that it will do much to progress their cause, since the only person who can take them into the Void is Inigo himself,
Dreamer of the dreams of Edeard and life in Makkathran, and he
disappeared long ago.

Non-believers do not want Living Dream to succeed at all - entering the Void will likely destroy the rest of the known galaxy. The Raiel have been blocking access to the Void for thousands of years now, to prevent just that from happening.
But suddenly someone else is Dreaming, and talking to the Skylords
in the Void - could the Second Dreamer lead the movement
to their fulfilment?

For all that this is a huge story (2000+ pages across the three
books) it is fast-paced and gripping, and hard to put down. In my
experience, Peter F Hamilton never disappoints!

Do read the Commonwealth Saga before starting the Void Trilogy,
and read the books in order. My first attempt at The Dreaming
Void took me a week to read 50 pages as I tried to absorb so
much that was new to me (before discovering I needed to read
the Saga first), but having that behind me made my second effort
much easier and more enjoyable, as I had that history in mind.

Great stuff!

All five books mentioned here are on the Fiction shelves in the library.

Review by Wendy.

March 2014

paweljw's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

led's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ausdj2's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

jessekramer's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

peter_xxx's review against another edition

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4.0

this is the second book in Hamilton's void trilogy and it just starts. It took me quite some time to remember who all these characters and their allegiances were. But once I was imersed in the story that was no longer a problem. Like in the previous book 'the dreaming void' there are alternating chapters inside and outside the void. The outside chapters are scifi, the inside chapters lean towards fantasy. The emphasis in this volume is more on Edeard's rise to power inside the void then on the political space opera story outside. And in the middle of the book these edeard chapters seem to drag a bit.

But by the end there are some cool revelations and everybody is in position for the third book. There is not really an end in this book. My guess is that this story will pick up in the next book, right were it stopped here.

I really liked this book, the characters (several of them are characters from the commonwealth saga)and the technology/magic in it. So if you like space opera/fantasy and have the time to read several thick books you might consider this series.

brents's review against another edition

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4.0

I continue to be a big fan of Hamilton's Commonwealth Universe as I work my way through the Void trilogy. I have to say I think I enjoyed this one more than The Dreaming Void just because it was easier to slide back into the story already having familiarity with the new characters, political factions, and new world building that had evolved from the Commonwealth Saga. I could focus more on the story, characters, and action without trying to figure everything out. And there are parts of this book that felt every bit as good as the stuff in the original series. There were even a couple of reveals of things that I was not expecting at all that make this even better. Unfortunately, what keeps this from being a 5 star book is the time the book spends in the Void in the "dream" chapters. There is interesting stuff that happens in those chapters and it's important to the overall story, but nothing in there is as compelling for me as the stuff taking place in the Commonwealth with all the tech and starships etc. The dream chapters are mostly just fantasy story, and with one of the chapters being a whopping 118 hardcover pages it just felt too long. That being said I am still really enjoying the series and very much enjoyed the book.