Scan barcode
tashkant's review
2.0
It's amazing how annoying I found the constant switching between a fantasy novel I didn't care much for and a science fiction novel I didn't care much for.
fishky's review
3.0
Oh my God so many words. Will leave notes to self in case I'm masochistic enough to read the second book. Do not attempt to audiobook this because there are approximately 90 made up science words per sentence and the names are ridiculous.
Premise: there's a black hole, except its not a black hole! It's a Void, made by some unknown force, and there's like another universe inside of it where they can do magic and also it is expanding to devour the galaxy. The book is divided into chapters or sections following a bunch of different characters in different places around the galaxy that presumably in book 2 meet up and hang out or something.
A guy named Inigo is dreaming of the people in the void, and we get that story for some of the chapters. Here's the thing: there's a whole cult of people who want to live in the void (Void) because they can share these dreams, but it honestly seems like it sucks ass to live in the Void. They can do magic but not a lot and there's a big emphasis on Pillaging Rural Villages.
The various stories are of people that either want the cult to shoot themselves into the void, people that think the cult going into the void will kill everyone, and people who really don't care, which is where I landed on the whole situation.
Points of View/Main Characters
The Living Dream Cult
featuring
- 5 billion people, a political entity, can basically take over planets by migrating to them and then having majority votes. They see Inigo's dreams of Querencia which is a medieval planet in the Void where people are psychics but life still sucks. They want to move there because they think it seems fun.
- Inigo, some guy dreaming of the void, people think he's hot (?) and he was in hiding digging up bodies from a planet that got nuked (???) for a long time
- Ethan, the cult leader (now that Inigo is in hiding) who decides they all need to zoom right into the Void, which pisses everyone off. Except for the cult. They're into it.
- Corrie-Lyn, a hot alcoholic, Inigo's ex girlfriend, fired from cult leadership when Ethan took over, honestly insufferable.
The Void People
Mostly who cares
- Edeard is an orphan who can shape....creatures...in eggs....using his psychic abilities and then....mind control them. Like monkeys that are just human toddler servants, cats that are just big muscles that can be used to pump water, monster wolves, and eagles. Everyone in Querencia has a figurative third hand and can share their thoughts with each other, but he's super good at using his third hand and can pick up very big things and say hi to people very far away. His town gets destroyed, he saves the hot girl/future nun, they escape to Makkathran where he decides to become a cop and runs on water to catch some bandits near the end of the book, gaining the title Waterwalker which is what the cult people call him outside of the void.
Political Factions/Main Players
I wanted to Die
- Accelerators: Support the pilgrimage to the Void, agree to give Ethan Ultra Drive Super Ships to get into the Void, destroy Aaron's starship marooning him, Corrie Lyn, and Inigo on that super shitty planet.
-Marius: Some kind of evil Accelerator political god
- Troblum A creepy physicist
- Conservatives:
-the Delivery Man, just bops around doing shit, like destroying Troblum's super tech that would...make ships go fast? Or something
- Aaron, a secret agent of some kind who has no memories, just things that trigger him into action, who kidnaps Corrie-Lyn to help him find Inigo, which sucks for him because Corrie-Lyn sucks.
- The ANA , I guess like a big virtual reality that people live in but also somehow their brains are amalgamated. It exists in the molecules in the (Quantum???) around Earth. A guy named Gore was one of the leaders and is rumored to lead the Conservative faction. Other factions in this hive mind include the accelerators, the darwinists, the moderates, the separatists. I don't really get it. There are "Advancers" who use DNA mods, "Highers" who use "Bionics" instead of DNA to evolve themselves and eventually move into the ANA.
Random Other Shit
This book was impossible
- Kuhmo - Inigo's homeworld
- Hanko - a world where everyone died so people are scooping through ashes to find fragments of them so they can get them out of hell, which is where people in this galaxy go when you die
- Paula Myo, ANA security chief but also a detective? Tracking Aaron?
- Oscar Monroe - a pilot who was a dick but Paula wants him to help do....something
- The Cat - I guess she's evil and kills lots of people, including some lady named Tiger Pansy who was dating a Raiel. Working for Accelerators
- The Raiel - a super evolved alien species but idk what's so great about them. A bunch live on the High Angel which is a sentient ship (???)
- Gore Burnelli - ANA Governance guy, helped create the ANA, his kid Justine is an ambassador and her son Kazimir is in charge of the Navy (?)
- Araminta, a hot divorcee who is dating a guy with 30 bodies and who is just flipping houses trying to get rich and is for some reason a main character
- The Gaiafield - I think elves for real gave some guy named Ozzie magic that lets people feel each other's emotions and people can get Gaiamotes to use it. Araminta might be one of Ozzie's descendants.
Premise: there's a black hole, except its not a black hole! It's a Void, made by some unknown force, and there's like another universe inside of it where they can do magic and also it is expanding to devour the galaxy. The book is divided into chapters or sections following a bunch of different characters in different places around the galaxy that presumably in book 2 meet up and hang out or something.
A guy named Inigo is dreaming of the people in the void, and we get that story for some of the chapters. Here's the thing: there's a whole cult of people who want to live in the void (Void) because they can share these dreams, but it honestly seems like it sucks ass to live in the Void. They can do magic but not a lot and there's a big emphasis on Pillaging Rural Villages.
The various stories are of people that either want the cult to shoot themselves into the void, people that think the cult going into the void will kill everyone, and people who really don't care, which is where I landed on the whole situation.
Spoiler
Points of View/Main Characters
The Living Dream Cult
featuring
- 5 billion people, a political entity, can basically take over planets by migrating to them and then having majority votes. They see Inigo's dreams of Querencia which is a medieval planet in the Void where people are psychics but life still sucks. They want to move there because they think it seems fun.
- Inigo, some guy dreaming of the void, people think he's hot (?) and he was in hiding digging up bodies from a planet that got nuked (???) for a long time
- Ethan, the cult leader (now that Inigo is in hiding) who decides they all need to zoom right into the Void, which pisses everyone off. Except for the cult. They're into it.
- Corrie-Lyn, a hot alcoholic, Inigo's ex girlfriend, fired from cult leadership when Ethan took over, honestly insufferable.
The Void People
Mostly who cares
- Edeard is an orphan who can shape....creatures...in eggs....using his psychic abilities and then....mind control them. Like monkeys that are just human toddler servants, cats that are just big muscles that can be used to pump water, monster wolves, and eagles. Everyone in Querencia has a figurative third hand and can share their thoughts with each other, but he's super good at using his third hand and can pick up very big things and say hi to people very far away. His town gets destroyed, he saves the hot girl/future nun, they escape to Makkathran where he decides to become a cop and runs on water to catch some bandits near the end of the book, gaining the title Waterwalker which is what the cult people call him outside of the void.
Political Factions/Main Players
I wanted to Die
- Accelerators: Support the pilgrimage to the Void, agree to give Ethan Ultra Drive Super Ships to get into the Void, destroy Aaron's starship marooning him, Corrie Lyn, and Inigo on that super shitty planet.
-Marius: Some kind of evil Accelerator political god
- Troblum A creepy physicist
- Conservatives:
-the Delivery Man, just bops around doing shit, like destroying Troblum's super tech that would...make ships go fast? Or something
- Aaron, a secret agent of some kind who has no memories, just things that trigger him into action, who kidnaps Corrie-Lyn to help him find Inigo, which sucks for him because Corrie-Lyn sucks.
- The ANA , I guess like a big virtual reality that people live in but also somehow their brains are amalgamated. It exists in the molecules in the (Quantum???) around Earth. A guy named Gore was one of the leaders and is rumored to lead the Conservative faction. Other factions in this hive mind include the accelerators, the darwinists, the moderates, the separatists. I don't really get it. There are "Advancers" who use DNA mods, "Highers" who use "Bionics" instead of DNA to evolve themselves and eventually move into the ANA.
Random Other Shit
This book was impossible
- Kuhmo - Inigo's homeworld
- Hanko - a world where everyone died so people are scooping through ashes to find fragments of them so they can get them out of hell, which is where people in this galaxy go when you die
- Paula Myo, ANA security chief but also a detective? Tracking Aaron?
- Oscar Monroe - a pilot who was a dick but Paula wants him to help do....something
- The Cat - I guess she's evil and kills lots of people, including some lady named Tiger Pansy who was dating a Raiel. Working for Accelerators
- The Raiel - a super evolved alien species but idk what's so great about them. A bunch live on the High Angel which is a sentient ship (???)
- Gore Burnelli - ANA Governance guy, helped create the ANA, his kid Justine is an ambassador and her son Kazimir is in charge of the Navy (?)
- Araminta, a hot divorcee who is dating a guy with 30 bodies and who is just flipping houses trying to get rich and is for some reason a main character
- The Gaiafield - I think elves for real gave some guy named Ozzie magic that lets people feel each other's emotions and people can get Gaiamotes to use it. Araminta might be one of Ozzie's descendants.
gmerrall's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
lukeb314's review against another edition
adventurous
4.5
This was epic sci-fi, if that's a genre. A huge cast on disparate adventures across the galaxy gradually linking together, each compelling and in very different worlds. I really enjoyed reading this, though I should probably read it again to follow the complex plot completely.
msalexisshea's review
4.0
I loved this book! It was my first foray into science fiction and it grabbed me immediately. I love the parts with Edeard so much. The rest of the story amazed me with its descriptiveness! Definitely plan on finishing the series this year.
vickerstaylor's review
5.0
Another great entry from Peter F. Hamilton. The way he builds upon the universe he created in the Commonwealth Saga is fantastic. The callbacks and new mysteries kept me engaged, and the usual fantasy adjacent chapters were really great/fun. I look forward to the next one.
jmoses's review
5.0
This was an excellent book. While it essentially tells two separate stories, they're both excellent, and stitched up together nicely.
The story within the Void *strongly* reminds me of the Beka Cooper stories by Pierce, while the story set in the Commonwealth is excellent scifi on its own, and a great continuation (prequel?) of the Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained novels.
I'm looking forward to the other two novels in the trilogy.
The story within the Void *strongly* reminds me of the Beka Cooper stories by Pierce, while the story set in the Commonwealth is excellent scifi on its own, and a great continuation (prequel?) of the Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained novels.
I'm looking forward to the other two novels in the trilogy.
pajjakid's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0