The Dreaming Void

Peter F. Hamilton

Mar 2008 · Commonwealth: The Void Trilogy Book 1 · Sold by Del Rey

About this ebook

Reviewers exhaust superlatives when it comes to the science fiction of Peter F. Hamilton. His complex and engaging novels, which span thousands of years—and light-years—are as intellectually stimulating as they are emotionally fulfilling. Now, with The Dreaming Void, the first volume in a trilogy set in the same far-future as his acclaimed Commonwealth saga, Hamilton has created his most ambitious and gripping space epic yet.

The year is 3589, fifteen hundred years after Commonwealth forces barely staved off human extinction in a war against the alien Prime. Now an even greater danger has surfaced: a threat to the existence of the universe itself.

At the very heart of the galaxy is the Void, a self-contained microuniverse that cannot be breached, cannot be destroyed, and cannot be stopped as it steadily expands in all directions, consuming everything in its path: planets, stars, civilizations. The Void has existed for untold millions of years. Even the oldest and most technologically advanced of the galaxy’s sentient races, the Raiel, do not know its origin, its makers, or its purpose.

But then Inigo, an astrophysicist studying the Void, begins dreaming of human beings who live within it. Inigo’s dreams reveal a world in which thoughts become actions and dreams become reality. Inside the Void, Inigo sees paradise. Thanks to the gaiafield, a neural entanglement wired into most humans, Inigo’s dreams are shared by hundreds of millions–and a religion, the Living Dream, is born, with Inigo as its prophet. But then he vanishes.

Suddenly there is a new wave of dreams. Dreams broadcast by an unknown Second Dreamer serve as the inspiration for a massive Pilgrimage into the Void. But there is a chance that by attempting to enter the Void, the pilgrims will trigger a catastrophic expansion, an accelerated devourment phase that will swallow up thousands of worlds.

And thus begins a desperate race to find Inigo and the mysterious Second Dreamer. Some seek to prevent the Pilgrimage; others to speed its progress–while within the Void, a supreme entity has turned its gaze, for the first time, outward. . . .

BONUS: This edition includes an excerpt from Peter F. Hamilton's The Temporal Void.

Ratings and reviews

Interesting book, although too much a repetition of the Commonwealth books. Some same characters, some of which pretty unlikable. Same obsession with colors and hues and clothes! After a while, you just want to skip ahead of these sections. Finally, the premise of some cultural / sociological supposed developments ranges from illogical / questionable to just plain dumb. I don't think I will be reading the rest of these books...

The thing I like about Hamilton's Commonwealth series is he describes the future as if it were today. Sure, there are cool gizmos we don't have today, but he talks about it as if we using smartphones in today's setting, instead of faster than light travel in tomorrow's setting. His engaging stories (where even the villains are smart) paint a vivid picture in your brain while downplaying the "whiz bang, golly gee" effects of the technology.

Amazing, every one of his books ends with the perfect sentence so there's no way you're not going to read the next one! I have nothing to say, unbelievable book. The building upon the Commonwealth Universe is unreal

About the author

Peter F. Hamilton is the author of numerous short stories and novels, including Judas Unchained, Pandora’s Star, Fallen Dragon, and the acclaimed epic Night’s Dawn trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God). He lives with his family in England.