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    The Temporal Void
    The Temporal Void
    The Temporal Void
    Audiobook25 hours

    The Temporal Void

    Written by Peter F. Hamilton

    Narrated by John Lee

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Long ago, a human astrophysicist, Inigo, began dreaming scenes from the life of a remarkable human being named Edeard, who lived within the Void, a self-contained microuniverse at the heart of the galaxy. There, under the beneficent gaze of mysterious godlike entities, humans possessed uncanny psychic abilities, and Edeard's were the strongest of all. Equally strong was his determination to bring justice and freedom to a world terrorized by criminal violence and corruption.

    Inigo's inspirational dreams, shared by hundreds of millions throughout the galaxy-spanning gaiafield, gave birth to a religion-Living Dream. But when the appearance of a Second Dreamer seemed to trigger the expansion of the Void-an expansion that is devouring everything in its path-the Intersolar Commonwealth was thrown into turmoil. With the adherents of Living Dream determined to set forth on a dangerous pilgrimage into the Void, interstellar war threatens to erupt.

    With time running out, the fate of humanity hinges on a handful of people. There is Araminta, only now awakening to the unwelcome fact that she is the mysterious Second Dreamer-and to the dire responsibilities that go with it; Inigo, whose private dreams hint at a darker truth behind Edeard's legendary life; Paula Myo, the ruthless field operative of the Commonwealth, whose search for Araminta and Inigo is about to yield a most unpleasant surprise; and Justine, whose desperate gamble places her within the Void, where the godlike Skylords hold the power to save the universe...or destroy it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 4, 2009
    ISBN9781400181834
    The Temporal Void
    Author

    Peter F. Hamilton

    Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960 and still lives nearby. He began writing in 1987, and sold his first short story to Fear magazine in 1988. He has written many bestselling novels, including the Greg Mandel series, the Night's Dawn trilogy, the Commonwealth Saga, the Void trilogy, short-story collections and several standalone novels including Fallen Dragon and Great North Road.

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    Reviews for The Temporal Void

    4.5/5

    51 ratings15 reviews

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    • 4/5
      (Reviewed October 11, 2009)This is definitely an improvement over the first. A quicker pace and several key plot elements finally converging means the parts set in the main universe are much more compelling without being ridiculously confusing or grinding themselves down with too much boring detail as the first book did/was. Several action set-pieces had me gasping for breath, and some of the plot twists are truly brilliant, but that's par for the course with Hamilton.The fantasy-style setting of Inigo's dreams can't quite be so highly praised, however. While it is interesting in the way the strange universe operates, and it packs a rather devastating emotional punch toward the end, it sags terribly around the middle, as we follow the wet, slow-witted and not particularly likeable main character as he blunders his way through scenario after scenario of boring city life. These sections of the book get longer and longer as it progresses, and I found myself pining for an epic space battle or two. This is a space opera after all.I shouldn't complain too much, though, as it is ultimately very rewarding in its complexity and depth (not of character, mind you, no surprises there) and it had me sitting up till all hours of the morning with my nose buried, simply having to know what happens next. Good fun.
    • 4/5
      This is the second novel in the Void trilogy which follows up on the author’s Commonwealth Saga, set 1,200 years after the conclusion of the final book in that series, Judas Unchained. While it is not strictly necessary to have read the two books in the Commonwealth Saga, since immortality essentially exists in this future, the books contain many common characters and story threads despite the passage of many centuries. It is, however, necessary to have read the first book in the Void trilogy, The Dreaming Void, as this is a direct continuation of that work.In this Hamilton epic, the Commonwealth has expanded and evolved, circumnavigating the galaxy, discovering many new sentient species AND a phenomenon referred to as The Void, a micro-universe, protected by an event horizon. One human has managed to pass into The Void and return, setting off a religious awakening called The Living Dream. The adherents of this religion wish to undertake a mass pilgrimage into the Void, potentially setting off a chain of events which could lead to destruction of the known universe. Mayhem predictably ensues as different human and alien factions position themselves in an attempt at self-preservation and in some cases evolution.In this continuation of the action introduced by The Dreaming Void, the author does a good job of advancing the story through numerous interrelated threads, not the least of which are frequent dream sequences derived from historical events from within the Void. Previous Hamilton works, in my experience, have tended to lose steam and bog down around 2/3 of the way through the story, but this work has maintained my interest level through roughly 1250 pages. Inasmuch as this installment is more heavily weighted toward the dream sequence, which accounts for roughly 40% of the book, and I find that thread to be the least satisfying and actually quite poorly written, I have rated this book slightly below the first.
    • 5/5
      Very good middle book in the trilogy and definitely easier to get into than the first one. Both sides of the story are equally interesting this time around. This could have been a good ending for the Edeard arc in my mind, but we'll have to see what the final book has in store for him.
    • 4/5
      An excellent continuation of the Void series. If you enjoy Hamilton's Commonwealth universe, you'll enjoy this book.For years I avoided the Void trilogy as I thought the whole concept wasn't to my liking. A whole void at the center of the galaxy that no one can enter that is gradually expanding, eating the galaxy? Turns out, Hamilton does a great job with it.This is scifi at it's best. Great characters, a great hi-tech civilization and a great threat that is also an excellent plot mechanism. Hamilton does his usual good job of writing fast paced, tech-y prose with characters that drive the action. I really enjoyed this whole series.
    • 5/5
      Don't start this if you're not in the mood for a long sci-fi story with lots of characters and interwoven storylines. This is very typical of Hamilton's writings, so if you have read other books of his, you won't be at all surprised. I normally prefer shorter novels because I have a limited attention span, but... this is very engaging if you have the time to commit. I do have the next in the series on audio and will be listening to it over the long cold winter. There is some swearing and no detailed sex or gore. The narration is terrific... in fact, I think this book in audio is less daunting than it would be reading a 740 page book. All in all, Hamilton has a specific writing style where he intertwines multiple story threads and brings them all to conclusion within the pages of a novel, even if that novel is part of a larger series... if you like any of his work, you should like all of his work.. this one included.
    • 4/5
      This is a big book with a lot going on. Although notionally part of the void trilogy, and largely a clear follow-up to The Dreaming Void, it also relies heavily on events in Pandora's Star, Judas Unchained and I think some of the other books by the same author too.Just for extra fun, there is no "what has gone before" and whilst I picked the bits up fairly quickly I'm pretty sure I missed bits too.Unusually for Hamilton, this book has elements of "middle of a trilogy" syndrome, moving the story along without a lot of things being resolved directly and a fair bit of fore-shadowing of things to come in the third book.Despite all of those things, it is an engaging and good read and I am looking forward to the next book.
    • 4/5
      Well, if you've invested the time to read the 600+ pages of The Dreaming Void - not to mention the earlier almost 2,000 pages of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained - you'll want to continue with this book.Hamilton resurrects - sometimes quite literally - characters and races out of those latter two novels.It's been noted (specifically by Luke Burrage of Science Fiction Book Review Podcast) that the Void series is all about power. The worthy purposes of power, the tactics of its use, and the effects of power on its wielders are the theme here. That ranges from the human factions which seek to steer humanity (in various flavors from the barely altered to the nearly post-human Advancers) in a particular direction to the ever increasing psychic powers of Edeard in his world of medieval technology. An election is even a major plot event in the alien city of Makkathran.In fact, Edeard is the central character here, his adventures take up not only a larger portion of this book than the first Void novel, but they have an an inherent interest and suspense, are no longer, as they sometimes were in the first novel, a story interruption. At novel's end, Edeard faces not only a major challenge to his power but to his moral code. And story's end provides a better understanding of the book's rather enigmatic title.Of course, Hamilton also covers the world outside the Void. Agents of various factions clash with powers seemingly as magical as anything Edeard has. Araminta continues to resist capture and exploitation by the forces of the Living Dream religion. Paula Myo confirms psychopathic Cat has been resurrected. Advancers manipulate - for unknown reasons - the Commonwealth into revealing their ultimate weapon.Obviously not a starting point for the Commonwealth Saga, but a worthy continuation. At times, though, I must admit I found the legalistic nature of the ANA a bit inconsistent. The same held true with the relative sophistication of some Advancer weaponry in relation to their foes. But those are very small nits to pick in a story that weirdly melds high space opera and medieval fantasy in an intriguing way. It's a worthy bridge to a satisfying end I'm confident Hamilton will provide in The Evolutionary Void.
    • 4/5
      Great book, but it doesn't actually end, it just suddenly stops and expects you to continue to the next book. It also felt like this was supposed to be an independent story, but was converted into a commonwealth story that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
    • 5/5
      It was great and I'm starting the final book of the series now!
    • 5/5
      A fantastic book as always Hamilton spins an intricate and compelling tale that still draws you in and is easy to get into a feat that is equalled only by the brilliance of his imagination that shines through throughout the book, combined with the other books of this particular setting, he has produced another set of literary sci-fi masterpieces, thoroughly recommended, an excellent sequel, if your just getting into the series, i do recommend obviously starting at the beginning you won't regret it.
    • 5/5
      The Temporal Void is the middle book in an incredible trilogy, which has, as its background, the previous trilogy that covered events some 700 years earlier.Hamilton's writing style is enthralling, graphic and yet simple at the same time. Readers are assumed to have a good enough memory to remember the background from previous books (and the previous series), yet the prior works are used to augment the tale unfolding rather than rely on them.Hamilton's tales tell a story where the "science" is just... accepted. Poor sci-fi "glorifies" in the technology, but that's not the case with Hamilton's books. Instead, it blends into the tale.What's particularly shocking and fascinating about this story is the way that entire races - and factions within races - are attempting to out-maneuvre each other, and how completely unprepared some of them are, even after planning of centuries.Love it.
    • 4/5
      This is the second boot in a new series from the Commonwealth universe. It reveals more insight into the Void in which the dreams of Edeard and others of the lost city are told. We also learn of the many Commonwealth factions seeking to leverage the encroaching Void towards their own ends. What I like best about this author is the fact there are no clear favorites. Each party in the story have clear definitions and goals. What is right and what is wrong with regards to plans for humanity is open for debate. This sense of openness keeps one riveted to the book. Looking forward to the next!Sean
    • 4/5
      Peter F. Hamilton continues to amaze with his elaborately constructed world-building, and complex imagination. Characters are numerous and deeply drawn and live in a world so different from ours, and yet, still colored by our internal faults, prejudices and hatreds. Still, hope and joy and love are there too, and the desire to strive above what limits us and succeed in changing the universe.
    • 4/5

      This long complex novel is the follow up to The Dreaming Void, another long complex novel which I reviewed a few months ago. It took me several chapters to get back into the story and start remembering the characters. Readers might be advised to revisit book one before tackling book two if they have the time.

      This is a space opera on a big scale. Humans and other aliens occupy most of the galaxy. Technology is highly developed and most people have their memories downloaded somewhere so that if the body gets killed they can re-life with a new one. Some worlds are more advanced than others. Some people, usually government special agents, have biononic technology in their bodies so they can access data systems, use force fields, and so on. There are various factions in human civilization. Some want to go ahead and do away with old fashioned bodies right away and become Artificial Intelligences. Others like bodies and think this will ultimately happen but we should progress towards it slowly.

      There is a big area at the centre of the galaxy called the Void. It is virtually impenetrable but long ago some human colony ships got into it somehow and crashed on a world called Querencia. They couldn't get off again because quantum physics is different inside the Void. Time flows at a different rate than in the Galaxy outside and warp drive doesn't work, but psychic powers do. In the capital city Makkathran a hick country boy called Edeard, now known as the Waterwalker, is rising up the ranks of the police and eliminating crime in the city by virtue of his powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities.

      Some time ago a man called Inigo dreamt of Edeard’s life in the Void and founded Living Dream, a religion. When people die in the Void their souls fly to the Heart at its centre and seem to live happily ever after. This doesn’t happen outside the Void. Living Dream is launching a pilgrimage to take millions of followers into the Void where this version of heaven is achievable. To do this they will need permission from the Skylords, vast intelligences who fly about in space. Once every few generations a Dreamer is born who can communicate with the Skylords. Inigo was the First Dreamer and a young lady called Araminta is the Second Dreamer, which she discovered at the end of volume one, much to her surprise. She doesn't want to be the Second Dreamer. She wants to marry and have kids and lead a nice quiet life.

      When people enter Void it tends to expand and swallow big chunks of the galaxy. Obviously this is a bad thing for those atheists who want to keep living in our Galaxy. The Ocisen Empire is determined to stop the pilgrimage and has launched an invasion fleet at Earth. But some factions in the Commonwealth support the pilgrimage, for their own ends, and are secretly supplying Living Dream with technology to enable it.


      It takes five hundred words just to describe the situation at the start of the novel but that doesn’t mean Hamilton has written a dry, scientific text. Justine Burnelli works for ANA Governance, the AI‘s who run Earth and its allied worlds. She penetrates the Void successfully in her one-woman super ship and is able to communicate with people outside. Her story is full of emotion. The struggles of Edeard and his friends to bring law and order to Makkathran take up more than half of the book and are very exciting. Edeard’s tale still reminds me of a Heinlein juvenile, a sweet innocent lad with a superpower shaking the world up, but it’s a great story. One tiny flaw is the ending but as its possibility is inherent in the very nature of the Void, and given away in the title, I suppose it's inescapable.

      The doings of the various factions out in the great Galaxy outside are also dramatic. ANA Governance had thought that repelling the Ocisen fleet would be fairly easy but those sneaky aliens have a few surprises in store. The fat genius scientist Troblum has gone into hiding after the Cat nearly killed him. Paula Myo, the top ANA investigator, is still hopping around the Galaxy trying to uncover the devilish schemes of the Advancer faction. Inigo, still alive, has been captured by another Faction agent and Araminta, the Second Dreamer, is on the run from the ruthless forces of Ethan, the Cleric Conservator of Living Dream. Confused? Well, this trilogy is a follow up to Hamilton’s Commonwealth Saga and features a lot of the characters and worlds therein. I have not read it but I probably will, soon. The drawback is that the first volume of the Void trilogy was pretty hard going for new readers and frankly the second will be a complete mystery if you haven’t read the first.

      However, doing so is worth the effort because it’s a great, sprawling ripping yarn reminiscent of Golden Age science fiction. The super-powerful ships blasting planets and each other with coruscating energy fields hark back to E.E. (Doc) Smith and the characters hark back to Heinlein. The prose is not fancy. Hamilton does not bother with similes or metaphors and if you like searching for Freudian subtexts you will probably have to search elsewhere. If you like a great story, this is it.



    • 3/5
      It's too bad that Hamilton tries to weave 2 stories together; Indigo's dreams would be a great read without the Greater Commonwealth stuff (and vice versa). Now both stories seem lacking; only when a plotline goes on for a while (or is linked to an other plotline in a clear way) the book gets really interesting. All in all it was a nice read, but I've read better from Hamilton. And only because Edeard kicks ass the rating is a 3 out of 5, else it would've been a 2 out of 5.