[Sir Thursday]

So I just finished The Temporal Void this afternoon, and I have to say I absolutely loved it. While Judas Unchained wasn't as good as Pandora's Star and The Dreaming Void seemed like primarily a set up, this one feels like a return to form. That was primarily because of the Makkathran portions, which were utterly compelling and page turning all the way to the end. Hamilton should consider turning his hand to fantasy given the promise he showed here - while in the previous book I felt that all the fuss caused by Inigo's dreams seemed a little excessive, the way the Waterwalker's saga unfolds here makes it a lot clearer why the Living Dream movement exists. Edeard is a great character, and the way his personality changes over the course of the novel is very well handled. Was slightly perturbed that

Spoiler

the EVERYONE DIES! bit got undone so easily

, but otherwise very little to complain about.

The fantasy sections made the sci-fi parts seem pedestrian in comparison, but the storylines were still strong in those bits too - especially now Araminta has given up on the interior decorating and is actually doing something now. The labyrinthine politics of ANA are interesting to try and unravel, and Paula Myo is her usual intrepid and interesting self. Aaron's section on Hanko was badass, and things are nicely set up for the final installment, The Evolutionary Void.

So in conclusion, if you've read The Dreaming Void and haven't picked up The Temporal Void yet, you're missing out on an amazing read. Go and get it as soon as possible!


Sir Thursday

This post has been edited by Cougar: 05 November 2008 - 08:44 AM

[frookenhauer]

funnily enough, dreaming void is on my list of things to read, it was at No.5, but now its shot straight to number 2, I've just started Cooks Shadows linger. Cheers dude!

[caladanbrood]

I think I'm going to have to wait a while to get this. Probably until paperback I've been really really looking forward to it for years, but have so much other good stuff to read at the moment that I, significantly, already own...

[Cougar]

I'v got them both but I've decided not to read them until the last one comes out, I can't be bothered getting into something and not being able to finish it till next summer.

[Morgoth]

I rad this about a month ago. I originally planned to make a thread about it with the sub-text; "If I had wanted to read bad fantasy, I would've bought Salvatore's newest".. Almost half the book takes place following the Waterwalker and it gets way too much for my taste. In small tibits the fantasy setting was a nice contrast to the heavy sci-fi elements, but in tTV there's just too much of it. The fantasy story just isn't very good. It's like Hamilton decided to make as stereotypical fantasy story as humanly possible, and then added some Sci fi elements to the frame.

The Sci Fi part of the book was very interesting, but the fantasy elements just siphoned out the joy in my opinion

[Sir Thursday]

Morgoth, on Nov 4 2008, 10:16 AM, said:

I rad this about a month ago. I originally planned to make a thread about it with the sub-text; "If I had wanted to read bad fantasy, I would've bought Salvatore's newest".. Almost half the book takes place following the Waterwalker and it gets way too much for my taste. In small tibits the fantasy setting was a nice contrast to the heavy sci-fi elements, but in tTV there's just too much of it. The fantasy story just isn't very good. It's like Hamilton decided to make as stereotypical fantasy story as humanly possible, and then added some Sci fi elements to the frame.

The Sci Fi part of the book was very interesting, but the fantasy elements just siphoned out the joy in my opinion

As you may be able to tell, I loved the Fantasy section, so I'll try and give a non-spoilerish defence of why.

There are plenty of cliches in Inigo's dreams, it is true, primarily the 'farmboy becomes important'. But what Hamilton managed to do with Edeard was subtly introduce some flaws into his PoV. His is the only viewpoint we get in the Makkathran sections, which disguises somewhat the fact that over the course of the book the Waterwalker stops being such a nice person anymore - we see the rationale behind his actions, but that rationale is subtly undermined over the course of the novel to the point at which what he starts to have to do as a result of his crusade becomes less and less just and more and more revengeful. I thought that was brilliant, and is set against the utopia the Void supposedly represents very well.


In any case, the way that so many hints about what was to come in the dreams were dropped in the Sci-fi sequences mean that there shouldn't be all that much of the Makkathran sections in the next novel, at least not as we know them from the first two. Personally I think that'll be a bit of a shame, but I guess you'll like that Morgy .


Sir Thursday

[lfex]

I also didn't like Makkathran sequence very much. It did read like a cliched farmboy fantasy story, and besides I didn't like Edeard and wanted him to fail - because it is clear that his success is the source of the whole trouble.

[chitman13]

I think that the Void sections were the best part of the book, pretty much for the reasons that Sir Thursday mentioned. Although I loved them, I did miss the lack of movement in the Commonwealth parts, and the movement we did have threw up a load of questions that need to be resolved in Evolutionary Void. It'll certainly be very interesting to see where the Void sections go - I'm sure we'll see Edeard again, but the situation he'll be in will be very interesting and give plenty of opportunities to explore his character more.

I actually run a fan site for Peter's work and there is plenty of discussion on the forum there that may be of interest to the fans over here - feel free to have a look

This post has been edited by chitman13: 08 November 2008 - 11:00 AM

[Cougar]

Hey dude, I've been on the unisphere loads of times, although that link doesn't appear to be working for me.

I just wish Hamilton wrote more, I love the Nights Dawn and the Commonwealth series, Fallen Dragon was pretty good but the Greg Mandell books were not great.

I also though Softlight Sins was a great short

This post has been edited by Cougar: 07 November 2008 - 01:56 PM

[chitman13]

Ah, my bad with the link, seemed to have misspelt the link :s Glad to hear you visit though

I must admit that I quite like the Greg Mandel books, they're not as widescreen as Peter's later stuff, but decent enough near future sf!

[frookenhauer]

Just finished dreaming void, and was very impressed. Its not as good as pandoras star, but is leagues better than Judas unchained. I will be reading the Temporal void as soon as I read through night of knives, awesome! Cheers for the good call Sir T "Respect"

[Werthead]

chitman13, on Nov 8 2008, 11:03 AM, said:

Ah, my bad with the link, seemed to have misspelt the link :s Glad to hear you visit though

I must admit that I quite like the Greg Mandel books, they're not as widescreen as Peter's later stuff, but decent enough near future sf!

I know people who consider the Greg Mandel books far, far more outlandish, weird and fantastical than the rest of Hamilton's books put together.

Why? Because it is possible that one day we will see giant sentient space habitats, we will gain proper telepathic powers, we will be able to teleport via wormholes across the galaxy in a blink of an eye, and it may even be possible that Al Capone will rise from the dead and enslave us all.

But there is absolutely no way in a trillion years Peterborough will ever become the biggest city and capital of the UK

[Use Of Weapons]

I love the Mindstar books. The plotting is tighter, the characterisation more effective, and the sense of place firmer (helps that it's on Earth, in that last, of course). They are a different sub-genre, though, and comparing them to TRD or PS is difficult.

[Illuyankas]

Gore is my favourite character in the Commonwealth universe, and I enjoyed his appearances and roles in this book - especially at the end.