The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1)
by Peter F. Hamilton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Peter F. HamiltonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-25
ISBN: 0345496531
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Del Rey
Book Reviews of The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1)
Book Review: Humans Within the Void?
Summary: 5 Stars
The Dreaming Void (2007) is the first SF novel in the Void trilogy. It is set about 1500 years after the Commonwealth duology in a galaxy filled with many sapient species. At least one alien species -- the Raiel -- has been active in galactic affairs for more than a million years and others preceded them.
Humanity has separated into three different cultures: Higher, Advancer and Original. They have developed genetic and implanted technologies that allow them to emulate psionic talents. And the ANA -- Advanced Neural Activity -- facility provides a perceptual reality environment for those who wish to become postphysical.
The center of the galaxy is occupied by the Void. What was thought to be a black hole in the twentieth century is actually a giant artifact with an event horizon. Humanity has joined a Void study effort at the invitation of the Raiel.
Inigo came to Centurion Station to study the Void. He attended the handover party to celebrate the departure of one set of researchers and the arrival of their replacements. After the party, he had the first dream of the Void. It wasn't his. Afterward, Inigo instituted the Living Dream organization that has grown into a political power within the Greater Commonwealth.
In this novel, the Cleric Council of the Living Dream has not been very innovative under the past few Cleric Conservators. Then Ethan is selected by the Conclave as the next Conservator. He immediately declares that Living Dream will take the Pilgrimage into the Void as soon as possible.
Aaron is in Golden Park when Ethan announces the Pilgrimage. He is on Ellezelin to find Inigo. He does not remember why he has to perform this mission -- if fact, he doesn't remember much of anything -- but every now and then he suddenly remembers just what he needs to know. Aaron has been equipped with some heavy duty biononic weapons to facilitate the task.
Corrie-Lyn had been very close to Inigo. He had appointed her to the Cleric Council, but Ethan bumped her from that position shortly after being selected as Conservator. Aaron locates Corrie-Lyn in a bar and walks out with her when she leaves. Then he defends her against a Living Dream assassination team.
Marius is an agent of the Accelerator faction of ANA. He offers to provide ultradrive engines for the Pilgrimage ships. Ethan agrees, but still orders the design crew to furnish standard hyperdrive engines for the ships just in case.
The Delivery Man is an agent of the Conservative faction of ANA. He delivers an ultradrive to Ellezelin shortly after Marius confers with Ethan. The Delivery Man carefully avoids Marius at the spaceport and soon returns to his family.
Araminta is a divorcee living in Colwyn City on Viotia. She had married Laril despite her families disapproval of the much older man. Since the divorce, she has been working as a waitress at Niks. Then her cousin -- and attorney -- Cressida tells her that Laril has left the planet, leaving her 83,000 pounds as a divorce settlement.
Troblum is a physicist and a Starflyer collector. He works for the Commonwealth Navy as a consultant and has just delivered an evaluation of the Dyson Pair. He also works secretly for the Accelerator faction as a spacedrive designer and has another project related to the Dyson Pair.
In this story, various human elements and alien societies are very opposed to the Pilgrimage. The alien Ocisen Empire threatens to put a stop to the whole idea and sends a fleet toward Ellezelin. Even the Raiel are concerned.
According to the Raiel, they had previously sent a fleet into the Void to reconnoiter in force. None of that fleet had returned, but the Void had generated disruptions and expanded to incorporate more of the galaxy into itself. Many fear that the Pilgrimage will lead to an even greater set of disruptions resulting in the entire galaxy sliding into the Void.
Meanwhile, the Living Dream organization is still monitoring dreams about life within the Void, featuring Edeard and his friends and the Skylords. Lately they have noticed a Second Dreamer stirring up the gaiafield. Living Dream believes that this new Dreamer is located on Viotia.
This tale is an epic science fiction story. The sheer size of the action and cast rivals classical space operas. Yet the approach is hard SF. There are reasonable explanations for the technology, but naturally much of it is very speculative. What else would you expect for such advanced technology?
Longevity is a major element in this story. The natural lifespan is lengthened and several forms of rejuvenation are available. ANA allows minds to continue without their bodies. People can be suspended in stasis, reincarnated from ANA, and even brought back from death itself.
The very nature of the culture changes because of these various methods of life extension. Some social viewpoints become perpetual factors, especially within ANA. Yet some individuals rise above their original mindset and genes through sheer perseverance.
Anyone who has not read the Commonwealth duology probably will be greatly confused by this storyline. Some of the characters and plot elements featured prominently in the previous series. Yet many aspects have arisen over the past fifteen centuries. Since the backstory -- newer advances as well as ancient history -- only appears bit by bit throughout the book, the reader will be inundated with data.
This work is shorter than the volumes in the previous two series, but it is still over 600 pages. Moreover, the stories are interleaved and the Void dreams are presented among the Commonwealth segments. The novel is interesting, but frequent rest breaks may be necessary to digest the contents. Enjoy!
Highly recommended for Hamilton fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of the mid-future, human enhancements, and a large cast.
-Arthur W. Jordin
Summary of The Dreaming Void (The Void Trilogy, Book 1)
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 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 first time, outward. . . .
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