The Dreaming Void

Rating All Ages Genre space opera Publisher Del Rey

Peter F. Hamilton is a science fiction writer in high standing. His past works, especially Pandora's Star (2004) and Judas Unchained (2005), have earned him high acclaim. Now, with The Dreaming Void, the first book in the forthcoming Void Trilogy, Hamilton again proves that he is a modern master of science fiction space opera, the heir to the legacy of Frank Herbert's Dune and Isaac Asimov's Foundation.

The Dreaming Void takes place in the same world as Hamilton's earlier Commonwealth Saga, of which Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained were parts, 1500 years after that Saga concluded. The Dreaming Void primarily deals with an unexplained astral phenomenon, the Void, at the center of the galaxy. In the novel's prologue, a human named Inigo, a new arrival to a scientific station studying the Void, arrives and begins to experience strange dreams. In the first chapter, Inigo's dreams of the world within the Void have become a powerful religion. Now, the newly appointed leader of that religion believes it is time for a great exodus to the Void. He claims he will lead the faithful into the Void and to this seemingly perfect world within. As this plan unfolds, intrigue builds in true sci-fi glory. All the classics of distant future sci-fi are here. Post-physical existence, communication among a populace on a telepathic level, and the always fun, super-advanced aliens. Hamilton's story is large in arch and features many characters. The scope is impressive but does, as one would expect, often make the story a bit difficult to follow.

Hamilton shines most of all when he shows us the world inside the Void, in the form of chapters entitled Inigo's Dreams. In this world we see a primitive but peaceful world, where elements of advanced science are reproduced not with mechanical implements, as they are in our world, but with telepathic powers. People here talk about their "third arms" (telekinesis), and "third eyes" (remote observation). Using subtle telepathic manipulation, these people perform advance genetic engineering, shaping their various beasts of burden to better serve their tasks. It is a world as appealing and seemingly innocent as any described to us by Rudyard Kipling or Mark Twain.

Whether or not you like this novel is really going to come down to whether or not you like space opera. Hamilton's work here exemplifies all the best that genre has to offer, all its strength and all its weaknesses.

Personally, I love space opera. And so I give Hamilton's The Dreaming Void four stars out of four.