New Peter F. Hamilton covers

Tor Books have spruced up the covers for Peter F. Hamilton's novels set in his Commonwealth universe. The five novels published in the setting so far (the Commonwealth Saga duology and The Void Trilogy) have had their covers updated to match the cover of the latest book in the series, The Abyss Beyond Dreams. They will be available in the UK next month.

There's also an unusual, slightly retro feel to the spine design (nabbed from here):

All in all, interesting stuff, even if it is just two years since the last big PFH cover redesign. I'll be interested to see if his other books are also given this treatment, or if this is something reserved for just the Commonwealth books for now.

The Abyss Beyond Dreams is the next book in the reading queue once I finish Kameron Hurley's excellent Infidel.

The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton

The Galaxy is in a state of turmoil. Millions of members of the Living Dream movement are preparing to plunge into the enigmatic Void at the heart of the Milky Way, believing it will deliver them to paradise. Others fear it will destroy the Galaxy altogether. The Ocisen Empire has allied with humanity's most remorseless foe to avert this fate, forcing the Commonwealth to unleash its most powerful weapon in response. But this very eventuality appears to have been prepared for by factions within the Commonwealth eager for the Living Dream to succeed...


Within the Void, Edeard has mastered his formidable new powers and sets out to deliver peace and justice to the world of Querencia. But for every problem he solves, more and more appear, and it may be that the Void's greatest gift is also its most horrific curse.

The Evolutionary Void is the conclusion to The Void Trilogy and also wraps up almost all the remaining plot threads from the earlier Commonwealth Saga. It is a generally satisfying finale that answers all the major questions remaining from the previous four books in both series whilst delivering Hamilton's trademark, widescreen space opera spectacle married to some solid, hard science and some interesting themes on growth, evolution (biological and sociological) and change, and the risk of ennui.

Structurally, the book is similar to the previous two, with alternating sequences set in the Commonwealth and in the city of Makkathran in the Void. The Makkathran sections are downplayed this time around, as Edeard's story really climaxed at the end of The Temporal Void. Evolutionary explores the ramifications of his discoveries at the end of the previous volume and adopt an almost Groundhog Day-style aspect, as Edeard's apparently godlike powers are now revealed to be anything but, and all the power in the world does not help if you cannot wield it responsibly.


In the Commonwealth, a large cast (although fairly modest compared to some of Hamilton's previous work) of well-drawn characters works to resolve the threat to the Commonwealth. Along the way they suffer some serious reverses. One brilliant sequence harkens back to Pandora's Star and is extremely impressive in how Hamilton sets up and executes it. Hamilton's ability to deliver good space battle has also not faltered.

The book's finale is epic, impressive and exceedingly clever (although a "Hang on, you didn't work this out ages ago?" line was possibly a little too meta for comfort). As far as his major series goes, this may be Hamilton's best-executed conclusion to date, although it does share some similarities to both The Naked God and Judas Unchained, including some elements that I know people disliked about both. The ending is also a little too neat. Pretty much everything is wrapped up with a nice bow at the end, and, sure enough, the biggest unanswered question will apparently form the basis of a new trilogy which Hamilton will start releasing in about three years.

The Evolutionary Void (****½) has some minor issues but is overall a solid conclusion to the series (both the trilogy and the larger five-volume Commonwealth story). It will be published in the UK on 10 September 2010 and in the USA on 24 August.

Cover and blurb for Peter F. Hamilton's THE EVOLUTIONARY VOID

Courtesy of Walker of Worlds, here's the UK cover art for the third and final volume in Peter F. Hamilton's The Void Trilogy, The Evolutionary Void, due for publication in the UK and USA in September. The new cover art is by Steve Stone, artist for the Malazan books in the UK, taking over from Jim Burns.


Visit Walker of Worlds for the full wraparound cover and the immensely long cover blurb.

Some good Peter F. Hamilton news

Peter F. Hamilton has completed the writing of The Evolutionary Void, the third and final volume in The Void Trilogy. Publication date is currently tentatively scheduled for September 2010, although there are hopes that was just a placeholder date and this early finishing of the novel (a month ahead of schedule) may see the book brought up a few weeks. More news to come.

The book will also introduce a new cover artist, with Steve Stone taking over art duties from Jim Burns.

Hamilton's next project has not yet been announced, but his plan is to write an all-new stand-alone novel set in a new universe, followed by a return to the Commonwealth/Void setting for a new trilogy. Originally planned as a YA series, this new sequence will apparently now be more in line with his previous books and will be set wholly in the Void, but on a different planet to the one featured previously.

New interview with Peter F. Hamilton

The Unisphere website has a new video interview with Peter F. Hamilton here. In the interview PFH talks about how he creates the technology and scientific ideas in his books, where the best place is to start with his many books and the possible publishing date for The Evolutionary Void and what may come after.

The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton

Peter F. Hamilton is one of SF's most reliably entertaining authors, churning out blockbuster epics so huge that the hardcovers can be used as aids to hippopotamus euthanasia, whilst retaining the ability to tell page-turning, gripping stories. His Night's Dawn Trilogy is a classic of the genre, but his more recent duology, The Commonwealth Saga, was a more mixed bag. An excellent and very promising opening installment, Pandora's Star, was followed up by the mildly disappointing Judas Unchained, which ended the story in a rather rushed and somewhat confused manner.



The Dreaming Void, Book 1 of The Void Trilogy, picks up the story in AD 3589, 1,205 years after the conclusion of the Starflyer War. Humanity is now split into three distinct sub-species: normal humans, Highers (who live in roughly equal paradise-like conditions with all their needs provided by their nations) and Advancers (who live essentially inside a vast cyberspace-like reality called ANA and download into biologically-grown bodies when they need to visit the real world). They are spread over a thousand worlds, unified as the Greater Commonwealth, which is now one of the most powerful forces in the Galaxy. Dozens of alien races have been contacted, many mysteries from the first two books have been solved (some of them rather dismissively explained within a few pages of the novel's opening) and mankind is now officially allied to the Raiel, now revealed as the most powerful race in the Galaxy. Life is seemingly good.

However, the black hole at the centre of the Galaxy, dubbed 'The Void' by some, is expanding much quicker than it should, threatening to shorten the lifespan of the Galaxy by possibly several billion years. According to hundreds of thousands of years of constant study by the Raiel, the Void is actually an artificial construction of unknown purpose, feeding on the surrounding stars to survive. One human, Inigo, claims to have made contact with the inhabitants of the Void through his dreams. In these dreams he reveals a beautiful world where humans live as natural telepaths under the protection of the 'Waterwalker' and the 'Skylords' who seemingly rule over the Void. Thanks to the Gaiafield, billions of humans have now shared these dreams and the Living Dream movement is gathering momentum, apparently planning on a mass exodus into the Void. This move is opposed by many who believe it will trigger a dangerous and possibly unstoppable expansion of the Void.

The book follows several key plotlines set in the Commonwealth, as some work for the Pilgrimage to take place and others attempt to stop it. Hamilton gives us several interesting new characters here, such as the purposely amnesiac assassin and secret agent Aaron, but it's the return of several key characters from The Commonwealth Saga, such as Paula Myo, whom fans will probably most welcome. Unfortunately, Hamilton's tendency to have one young, attractive female character who takes part in a number of rather explicit sex scenes resurfaces here. There's nothing too wrong with that save it adds little either to the character or the book overall. It is, however, made up for by the fact that some thought has gone into sex in the far future, with scenes involving gestalt humans, who control many bodies with one mind, generating interesting scenarios.

The Commonwealth storylines are all enjoyable and handled with Hamilton's typical confidence and verve. However, a couple of the stories are not as developed as deeply as might be liked. Whilst the timeline hints at the fates of key central characters from the Commonwealth Saga (the SI, Ozzie and Sheldon most notably) there isn't much about them in the text, which will confuse some readers of the earlier work. The storyline about the alien Ocisens is also dropped rather abruptly halfway through the novel despite being set up as a major force earlier in the book (and provides the cover image). There's also a slight feeling of being sold short: there are simply far fewer plotlines and subplots than in previous Hamilton SF blockbusters. Whilst this will no doubt please critics of his previous complexity, those who enjoyed that complexity may walk away feeling a little under-nourished by this offering. Finally, Hamilton seems to have tried to appeal to both fans of The Commonwealth Saga and the new reader and make the book accessible to both, but has instead fallen between the two stools, neither offering enough information to fully sate fans of the earlier series nor keeping such references limited enough so as not to confuse new readers.

Luckily, the book's weaknesses are pretty much swept away by the book's major subplot. Set inside the Void, this story follows the life of Edeard, a young 'shaper' whose life is changed forever by a cataclysmic event and he finds his way to the great city of Makkatheren where he enters the service of the constables. Almost completely separate from the rest of the novel (though the final revelation can perhaps been seen from several chapters away), this storyline would, by itself, qualify as the best epic fantasy so far released in 2007 (easily blowing away both The Name of the Wind and Red Seas Under Red Skies, as fine as they are) if it wasn't constantly interrupted by the SF plotlines set in the Commonwealth. Hamilton's revelation that the sequel will focus much more on Edeard's odyssey is thus most welcome.

The Dreaming Void (****) is yet another very fine Peter F. Hamilton novel which sees him breaking new ground with a possible stealth move into fantasy whilst retaining the hallmarks that made his previous books so readable. There are some minor flaws, but Hamilton's decision to produce a shorter book (even if only by own standards) has paid off nicely, leaving the reader wanting more rather than feeling a bit bloated as with some of his prior books. The novel is published by MacMillan in the UK and will be released by Del Rey in the United States in February 2008. The second book in the trilogy, The Temporal Void, will follow at the end of next year.