The Dreaming Void

Great start to an amazing trilogy.

I'd rate this a 4.5 stars if I could. 2 stories in 1. A big scifi story and a fantasy story. Both entertaining. Looking forward to the next in the trilogy.

Executive Summary: A decent story in Mr. Hamilton's Commonwealth universe, but not as satisfying as the original Duology.Audio book: I really enjoy John Lee's reading voice. It seems to fit well with the universe. He doesn't really stick out to me as someone who does a lot of voices and accents for the characters, but at the same time I wouldn't want anyone else to read this series.Full ReviewI really enjoyed [b:Pandora's Star 45252 Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1) Peter F. Hamilton https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347952635s/45252.jpg 987015] and [b:Judas Unchained 45244 Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2) Peter F. Hamilton https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316501189s/45244.jpg 44507] when I listened to them last year. I was happy to discover he had a follow-on series. Now that he's got ANOTHER new Commonwealth series coming out this year, I figured I should finally get around to this one.So far this one feels more like a fantasy book than sci-fi in many places, especially Edeard's story. This is set 1200 years after the events of [b:Judas Unchained 45244 Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2) Peter F. Hamilton https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316501189s/45244.jpg 44507], but thanks to technology, we get to revisit some of the characters from that series. That was really awesome for me as the original series had some characters I really liked. Not everyone I was hoping to catch up with show up, but maybe in one of next two books. I did love how some of characters use Ozzie's name all the time as a part of speech.For the most part however, it's a new cast of characters, though some of them are distantly related to characters from the previous series. There seem to be three main story lines, but a bunch of smaller ones.Edeard's started a little slow, but probably was my favorite by the end. “Aaron”'s story was pretty good overall, but there were a few slow parts. Araminta's story on the other hand was more miss than hit. A lot of it felt like self-fulfilling male sexual fantasy that seemed to add little to the overall plot.The book suffers a bit from too many characters/story lines that made it hard to follow at first, especially in audio. Eventually I got my bearings though, but I still was wondering exactly how all the stories are going to tie together.I think maybe if I had read this and could have flipped back to early parts to check names of people/places and confirm some theories, but since I can't I found myself a bit confused at the end to. I expect things to be made more clear in the next book and be spelled out for me, whereas someone more on top of things than I am will have it all figured out already.Overall I thought it was a decent book, and I'll definitely continue on, but I hope he'll focus less on certain aspects from this book in the next one.3.5 Stars rounded down.

This Guy can write and besides is also invent a universe that works over two book series. It is just a joy to read this book.

Generally, I re-read all previous books in a series when I buy the next book. This means I've read The Dreaming Void three times. I like it as much now as I did the first time, but I find it just as complex.

The Dreaming Void takes place millennia after two other books ([b:Pandora's Star|45252|Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1)|Peter F. Hamilton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347952635s/45252.jpg|987015], [b:Judas Unchained|45244|Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2)|Peter F. Hamilton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316501189s/45244.jpg|44507]) that I have not read. That backstory gives the book depth, but also sometimes leaves the reader keenly aware that he is not part of the inner circle. There's nothing technically wrong with Hamilton's ‘historical' references - they're not essential to the story, and he's generally careful to provide what is important in a digestible form. But the sheer number of ‘inside' comments becomes a bit wearing, and makes a substantially complex plot even harder to follow. It's not always clear what is decorative and what is substance, as supposedly historical figures reappear from right and left

I'm sorry to say that even on a third reading, I didn't recall who all the factions were - on every run through the book, there were simply too many to keep track of, and I let them float by as narrative scenery (“complex politics, got it. Next.”). That works pretty well. You don't have to remember the detailed differences between Highers, Advancers, Dreamers, and the ANA in general, because Hamilton does a very good job of keeping the actual foreground actors clear. I found I enjoyed the action even without making much effort to penetrate the presented mystery of who was secretly supporting whom.

The deep background works better with the many alien races presented - they're interesting, and here it's a pleasure to know that there's more to be explored if I choose. I probably will. It seems likely, for example, that the earlier books provide more information about the Sylfen - apparently a race of high-tech elves. As a writer, I'm curious as to whether they triggered Hamilton's desire to mix fantasy and SF.

That's really what this book is about - it presents a hard, high-tech, political science fiction environment interleaved with what's essentially a light steampunk story. The overall narrative is about how the two connect, and it works surprisingly well. I've only previously read Hamilton's SF (as far as I know, that's all he's written), but he has a remarkably deft touch with fantasy. While I liked the whole book, I much preferred the steampunk-y bits to the epic space opera sections. They definitely leavened the heavy SF politics of the main book. In essence, in fact, the fantasy bits had the same effect on me as they do on the characters of the SF universe - they left me wanting more.

Overall, then, a very satisfying read that sent me right out for the next book. If it's a bit complex keeping apart the factions, the Waterwalker, the Skylords, the Starflyer, etc, it's also a lot of fun following some very believable characters meeting interesting challenges.

I enjoyed this book.

WATERWALKER! WATERWALKER!

I find like the other commonwealth saga books, he's a little wordy at times, but overall a great story. I can't wait to read the rest of the books.