Felis reviewed The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Review of 'The Evolutionary Void' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A great conclusion to a true epic.
Hardcover, 720 pages
Published Aug. 31, 2010 by Del Rey.
The Evolutionary Void
4 stars
(36 reviews)
Exposed as the Second Dreamer, Araminta has become the target of a galaxywide search by government agent Paula Myo and the psychopath known as the Cat, along with others equally determined to prevent-- or facilitate --the pilgrimage of the Living Dream cult into the heart of the Void. An indestructible microuniverse, the Void may contain paradise, as the cultists believe, but it is also a deadly threat. For the miraculous reality that exists inside its boundaries demands energy--energy drawn from everything outside those boundaries: from planets, stars, galaxies... from everything that lives.
Meanwhile, the parallel story of Edeard, the Waterwalker -- as told through a series of addictive dreams communicated to the gaiasphere via Inigo, the First Dreamer -- continues to unfold. But now the inspirational tale of this idealistic young man takes a darker and more troubling turn as he finds himself faced with powerful new enemies -- and …
Exposed as the Second Dreamer, Araminta has become the target of a galaxywide search by government agent Paula Myo and the psychopath known as the Cat, along with others equally determined to prevent-- or facilitate --the pilgrimage of the Living Dream cult into the heart of the Void. An indestructible microuniverse, the Void may contain paradise, as the cultists believe, but it is also a deadly threat. For the miraculous reality that exists inside its boundaries demands energy--energy drawn from everything outside those boundaries: from planets, stars, galaxies... from everything that lives.
Meanwhile, the parallel story of Edeard, the Waterwalker -- as told through a series of addictive dreams communicated to the gaiasphere via Inigo, the First Dreamer -- continues to unfold. But now the inspirational tale of this idealistic young man takes a darker and more troubling turn as he finds himself faced with powerful new enemies -- and temptations more powerful still.
With time running out, a repentant Inigo must decide whether to release Edeard's final dream: a dream whose message is scarcely less dangerous than the pilgrimage promises to be. And Araminta must choose whether to run from her unwanted responsibilities or face them down, with no guarantee of success or survival. But all these choices may be for naught if the monomaniacal Ilanthe, leader of the breakaway Accelerator Faction, is able to enter the Void. For it is not paradise she seeks there, but dominion.
Kibrika reviewed The Evolutionary Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Review of 'The Evolutionary Void' on 'Goodreads'
I've heard it said that writers are a bit like magicians in that they rely on waving cloaks and misdirecting the readers attention to make an impression. I've also heard that magicians shouldn't show the same trick twice, because people will start catching on. This book felt like that repeated magicians trick. Maybe with less conviction than the first time (the Commonwealth books). I said the same about book two, and book three did not improve on it. Just wrapped things up so that my brain doesn't feel like it's missing something.
And now - a rant with spoilers. The last dream was such a let down. And it kept annoying me for all the rest of the book whenever the characters cited the last dream as proof of failure. The last dream supposedly showed that the "want for nothing" humans became lesser beings and the whole striving for utopia …
I've heard it said that writers are a bit like magicians in that they rely on waving cloaks and misdirecting the readers attention to make an impression. I've also heard that magicians shouldn't show the same trick twice, because people will start catching on. This book felt like that repeated magicians trick. Maybe with less conviction than the first time (the Commonwealth books). I said the same about book two, and book three did not improve on it. Just wrapped things up so that my brain doesn't feel like it's missing something.
And now - a rant with spoilers. The last dream was such a let down. And it kept annoying me for all the rest of the book whenever the characters cited the last dream as proof of failure. The last dream supposedly showed that the "want for nothing" humans became lesser beings and the whole striving for utopia was therefore misguided. Well, I was not convinced in the least. First of all, I was confused why are this last generation not interested in things like "how their universe begun" or even star-travel. Where did they lose the human curiosity? And even if they somehow were these super-unmotivated, unchallenged beings, from "the last dream" I gathered they were super happy and content, which I think is a worthy achievement in itself.
It was annoying that the only conflict of these three books was "the void is going to devour us all". That by itself is a bad setup, because it forces everyone to work together to prevent that. And it's not like the void is a very interesting threat, at least not from the outside. Oh, there were a few villains thrown in there, but they were even more boring villains than the void: "Ooh, I'd like to restart the Universe because I suspect I might like the next one better." That's so ambiguous and thought provoking... "I don't care for my supporters either, in case you had any doubt whether I'm bad." Reading this last book was only marginally better than watching American cinema. It's one of those books that leaves me pondering on how much more it could have been if only it had done some things differently.
Subjects
- Science Fiction & Fantasy -- Authors, A-Z -- ( H ) -- Hamilton, Peter F.
- Science Fiction & Fantasy -- Science Fiction -- Adventure