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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN num: 9780345496539
ISBN number: 0345496531
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 640
Printing Date: March 25, 2008
Publishing house: Del Rey
Release Date: March 25, 2008
Sale Popularity Level: 40523
Studio: Del Rey
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Product Description:
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 eagerly awaited very first volume in a new 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 very first time, outward. . . .
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
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I am a big fan of SF and have read books from a large range of authors. Peter F Hamilton has easily become one of my favorites and one that I won't wait for the paper back version to purchase a new book from. You get your moneys worth when you buy one of his books. With The Dreaming Void there is a lot going on with multiple plot lines developing through out the book. You definitely will have a hard time putting it down as the change in location and story line keeps you turning the pages. Some people might find it hard to keep track of the large universe of characters, at times complex technical descriptions and the numerous story lines. It is not a book you can speed read through casually. The subsequent book in The Void Trilogy is called the The Temporal Void. I have preordered it and look forward to reading it. My only disappointment is that it has already been released in the UK but has a significantly delayed release in the US.
Rated by buyers 
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Peter Hamilton is one of those authors whose new books I always look forward to as he is always extremely inventive in his world building and plots.
By the standards of most SF, this would be brilliant. By his standards, it is adequate. The world is interesting, but not quite as novel as his Confederation Space series or the indeed its predecessor, the trains-based Commonwealth. I guess the problem is that 3500 AD is somewhat difficult to describe both in terms that we can relate to and in terms that evoke wonder. In this case, I related to it more than I wondered at it. Some descriptions seem eerily similar to Pandora's Star/Judas, like that of a heavily armed cyborg intruder raiding a temple. The setting for the low-tech world-in-Void is actually the more inventive and engaging of the pair by far and shows the author at his best.
Once again, we get multiple threads unfolding at the same time. But it is more difficult to stay interested, because there is no overriding menace/change happening at this point in the plot. Indeed it is hard to understand exactly why everyone cares so much about the Void. And, once again, Mr. Hamilton drags out his somewhat-besides-the-point sex scenes.
But the main problem is how slowly everything unfolds. Sure, it is interesting, but taking up 700 pages to basically set the foundation for books 2 and 3? Keeping in mind that Mr. Hamilton occasionally shows weakness in concluding his stories (ex: The Naked God), we are looking at a 2000 page run with an uncertain payoff.
My advice if you are not feeling completely compelled to start on this series: wait till the conclusion of the trilogy, or at least the second book, and check what readers think of it.
Rated by buyers -
Peter Hamilton is nothing if not extremely creative. Some of his previous work, including the Night's Dawn trilogy, was astonishing in its portrayal of aliens, living spacecraft, genetic engineering, space habitats and the evolution of the human species.
Hamilton's exhalted reputation for creativity is preserved in The Dreaming Void, though the book also contains examples of Hamilton's other renowned habit which is including a level of story detail where the reader's pace is periodically slowed. The detail often feels tangential while you experience it, but you finish the book with the feeling that you know the characters very well. Overall, Hamilton pulls it off in a reasonably successful way. Hamilton fans will know the experience well and his work tends to strike the right balance.
The story arc is understandable, but falls short of giving readers an emotional connection with the forces that are driving the characters, especially the Knights and to some degree the Living Dream movement. For me, one of the most compelling concepts was that of ANA - the amalgamation of personalities and memories into which humans uploaded themselves when they became bored of their extremely long physical lives. In particular, that this collective sought post-physical, god-like existence is fascinating and definitely forms a compelling justification for their seeking contact with the Void. The fact that ANA is composed of ideologically compartmentalized factions that are constantly engaged in shifting alliances and conflicts is reminiscent of the gods on Olympus, though their motivations are a little flat and could use some of Hamilton's attention to detail. Hamilton's description of space battles and combat between the augmented humans is unparalleled in the SF genre.
Hamilton does a good job of engaging the reader without knowledge of the Commonwealth series of books, but the background is very useful in proving richer context for The Dreaming Void and is a very exciting read itself. In total, I would rate "The Dreaming Void" almost on par with those thrilling books and well short of the very first book of the Night's Dawn trilogy.
Rated by buyers -
The Dreaming Void is the unabridged audiobook rendition of the very first volume in a new science fiction trilogy set in the same universe as the widely appreciated Commonwealth saga. Within the core of the galaxy is the Void, a self-contained microuniverse that is steadily expanding and absorbing all in its path, including planets, stars, and civilizations. One astrophysicist studying the Void starts to dream of humans living within it, and through the neural network that keeps humans connected, his dreams spread into the foundation of a new religion. When the prophet that sparked the religion vanishes mysteriously, an unknown Second Dreamer steps up to take his place. Followers embark on a great pilgrimage into the Void, but there is a terrible risk that by attempting to enter they could trigger the catastrophic destruction of thousands of worlds! Meanwhile, within the Void, a cosmic entity has shifted its attention outward. It's a race against time to find Inigo and the Second Dreamer, in this epic saga of galactic proportions. 18 CDs, 22.5 hours.
Rated by buyers -
The trend from the very first Commonwealth duology continues, here, in this trilogy. The opening is ponderous and slow, and doesn't really get going much until later in the book. Not coincidentally, when Paula Myo makes an appearance. The very first 100 pages or so seems a bit sloppily written, too.
The other problem is that the Second Dreamer thing, and the 'religious nuts might destroy the galaxy' has none of the urgency of the paranoid conspiracy story that built in Pandora's Star, or any of the gripping horror of the Night's Dawn Trilogy. Thefore you are left with a book that is rather bland, and bland is not really a good thing for space opera to be.
Jumping a thousand years or so in the future, there are faster ships, better communications technology, bunches more aliens in the background, and a lot of people live as uploaded personalities. Ozzie and Nigel have also racked off for parts elsewhere.
Multiple character threads again, amnesiac mystery agent Aaron, Justine, Paula along with a teenaged divorcee named Araminta.
I did enjoy the latter part of the book, even despite the local village boy becomes chosen one garden variety fantasy trilogy subplot in the story of Edeard.
Balancing out some of the callow youth is the introduction of a character from the earlier duology, when Myo decides she needs a hand.
There's a brief timeline of the intervening missing period of this future history at the end of the book, detailing major developments.
I'll call this almost a 3.25, but not quite.
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