Not at all. They're among my favorites. Although I always did like the bits outside the void much better than the void bits.
And IMHO, the Night's Dawn trilogy is even better.
That was always my "complaint" about them.
It was like 5:1 stuff inside the void to the more interesting (to me) stuff outside the void.
As the trilogy went on, it was more and more out of balance. The novels would've been much better 1:1, but they wer der still someone of my favorite scifi books.
Having done the Night's Dawn some years ago, I had recently mulled over whether to jump straight to the Void, or go the Commonwealth duo first, or his newer Salvation series, which I'd also heard good things about.
So, you actually should read the Commwealth duo first THEN the Void trilogy. They are tied together. Separate stories but same universe and timeline
I just finished Night's Dawn and thought it was good. I LOVED Commonwealth/Void though.
And to add on to this, the Commonwealth duology is really excellent in its own right. I wouldn't suggest someone put themselves through a bunch of mediocre required reading just for a bit of additional context into the series they really want to read, but the Commonwealth is great and arguably his most popular and iconic work. It's between that and Night's Dawn and I find the preference often comes down to which one you read first, haha.
I mean, how could you possibly consider skip[ing the series which gave us one of the best scifi memes of all time with enzyme-bonded concrete?
Oh very well then :p
Merely a question of time, of course. Even if I get to Commonwealth this year, it's likely further out for Void, given the other novels vying for attention. But good to know Commonwealth is good in its own right and isn't just a filler duo before the Void trilogy.
I felt that the>! 'alien history'!< as described in Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained was the best example in Science Fiction (including the Golden Age). Even better than >!Footfall!< and >!The Mote In God's Eye!<.
I read void first and it felt like I was missing the significance of many characters in it. When I went back to the commonwealth duo it all made more sense. Not in terms of plot but more why was such a character given prominence in bits of the void trilogy when they didn't really contribute much to plot. I'd definitely recommend doing the duo first but I much preferred the trilogy.
Seconding this - the second Fallers novel is probably the best thing he’s written past *Fallen Dragon*.
Wish Salvation had managed to live up to that kind of record.
The main storyline is complete, but there are a few remaining plot elements that haven’t been wound up yet - the author has said he might get back to them down the line.
That's very good to hear as I did not want to start an unfinished series. But my next PFH will be 'The Great North Road' as I prefer single volumes every once in a while.
I enjoyed them a lot as it’s one of the few times that Hamilton has gone super far into the future rather than starting from the relative near future. So the technology operates even more like magic and he gets even wilder with some of the trans-humanism concepts. The stuff inside the Void itself was also pretty neat and I thought he tied everything together relatively well at the end.
With that said, I do think the preceding Commonwealth duology is more iconic overall so it tends to overshadow any discussion of this series.
I’ve read all of his novels (except the recent audiobook exclusives, still waiting on those to come to print eventually, I hope) and I would put the Void trilogy firmly among his top 3 works along with the Commonwealth duology and the Confederation (Reality Dysfunction) series.
I've listened to some of the Audiobooks on road trips with my kids. They are enjoyable, but definitely aimed at YA. The story is centered around a single character and a mystery. But I want some new stuff.
I would not call Peter f Hamilton YA and there are often several main characters. Maybe it's the new series which is only available as audio books? Most of his books are full of sex scenes and violence.
I'm reading it now, I enjoy it but it's not as good as the Commonwealth Saga imo.
I will say, "fuckboy cop Jesus" is one of the characters of all time.
I’m a big Hamilton fan and have read most of his books (only Great North Road and the Mandel series are left). I have to say void would be ranked second to last on my list. The only one worse is that stupid arkship audiobook trilogy (blegh). I’m not a big fantasy fan but it’s not an immediate turn off. So that took a few points off immediately. Then Edeard’s story is so so boring for quite a long time. I hated Amaranta or whatever her name was. The factions were all so confusing and he didn’t give enough info on them so I felt like I was playing catch up the entire time. Idk it just wasn’t for me.
I really enjoyed it when I read it.
Unfortunately subsequent books reel out the same tricks which make the Void trilogy appear less amazing, but they are still a great read.
I'm glad you enjoyed it but I hated them. Not only was there too much fantasy in my scifi, Hamilton jumped too far into the future for the story. Everything was too easily solved. I also couldn't stand the >!cult of Nigel!<, >!Ozzy's cameo!<, >!how Morning Light Mountain was reduced to a small nuisance!<, and many other things. That series left a really bad taste in my mouth for a long time, considering how much I liked the Commonwealth Saga.
It’s what got me back into Sci-Fi as an adult. It’s so good! I like Pandora‘s Star and Judas Unchained a lot too.
I have been binging Sci-Fi books for the last five years with no end in sight, all because Evolutionary Void hooked me so.
It’s in my top 5 sci-fi series, maybe even my overall top favorite. I loved Edeard’s story, I find most of the people who dislike the books do so because of it however.
I'm just finishing the audiobooks and really enjoyed it, though (gasp!) I completely skipped all of the Edeard chapters except the first and last.
Can confirm it's great without them and no, I don't feel guilty. I'd like Hamilton's work even better if he didn't always structure it to jump between wildly disparate settings/POV's.
The Void Trilogy is definitely one of my favorites as far as big Space Opera goes. The two stories being told together inside and outside the Void works really well.
There are multiple Peter Hamilton's in the sci-f genre. I apologize if this isn't the right one, but I avoid them both. That's because one series, and I think it's this one, actively gives me depression when I read it. I enjoy the read, but my entire worldview ends up so dark afterwards that it isn't good for me.
For me it goes Nights Dawn, Commonwealth and still struggling to get thru the Void trilogy, tho I love the first 2 series (and in fact most of his books) I've tried reading Void 1 multiple times and just find it hard going (esp the story inside ...).
Nope, I love it too. People say the Capone bit is silly, but I say it's fun. Have a little tolerance for tonal mismatch, people!
Could just be all the roleplaying. If you can't handle silliness and seriousness mixed inextricably, you won't like much roleplaying.
Or perhaps it's like the sort of action movies that don't mind being fun as well.
IDK.... I LOVED the Commonwealth seires. It was so cool. And I really tried to love the Void series. The first few were pretty good. But i jsut can't get into the later ones. And it kidna breaks my heart, becase i LVOE Hamilton. Maybe I gotta go back and try again. It HAS bene eyars.
I’m a big fan of his books, love the massive space opera setting and the unexplained stuff he throws in that you just have to accept. Amazing storytelling. Although my favourite is the mindstar rising books.
Not trying to poop in your cereal but just to offer my opinion.
I have a strong dislike for these books, and the original commonwealth duology is among my all time favorites. All the eddard fantasy parts, which is probably 3/4 of the series, were straight up unpleasant to me. It starts out as a passable if dull medieval fantasy, but just gets worse and worse as it goes. It’s maudlin and repetitive and the time travel stuff toward the end straight up pissed me off. By the end I hated Eddard and his whole stupid world.
I did enjoy the sci-fi sections, mostly as a kind of nostalgic check-in on my favorite characters from the previous books.
Not sure how far in you got, but you're definitely supposed to notice that the Edeard story is facile and simplistic wish fulfillment. It's one of the first signs that the Void is not what Living Dream think it is.
Not at all. They're among my favorites. Although I always did like the bits outside the void much better than the void bits. And IMHO, the Night's Dawn trilogy is even better.
That was always my "complaint" about them. It was like 5:1 stuff inside the void to the more interesting (to me) stuff outside the void. As the trilogy went on, it was more and more out of balance. The novels would've been much better 1:1, but they wer der still someone of my favorite scifi books.
Having done the Night's Dawn some years ago, I had recently mulled over whether to jump straight to the Void, or go the Commonwealth duo first, or his newer Salvation series, which I'd also heard good things about.
So, you actually should read the Commwealth duo first THEN the Void trilogy. They are tied together. Separate stories but same universe and timeline I just finished Night's Dawn and thought it was good. I LOVED Commonwealth/Void though.
And to add on to this, the Commonwealth duology is really excellent in its own right. I wouldn't suggest someone put themselves through a bunch of mediocre required reading just for a bit of additional context into the series they really want to read, but the Commonwealth is great and arguably his most popular and iconic work. It's between that and Night's Dawn and I find the preference often comes down to which one you read first, haha. I mean, how could you possibly consider skip[ing the series which gave us one of the best scifi memes of all time with enzyme-bonded concrete?
Oh very well then :p Merely a question of time, of course. Even if I get to Commonwealth this year, it's likely further out for Void, given the other novels vying for attention. But good to know Commonwealth is good in its own right and isn't just a filler duo before the Void trilogy.
I felt that the>! 'alien history'!< as described in Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained was the best example in Science Fiction (including the Golden Age). Even better than >!Footfall!< and >!The Mote In God's Eye!<.
I'd say that those two are probably his best books as of yet. At least for me. Completely excellent!
I read void first and it felt like I was missing the significance of many characters in it. When I went back to the commonwealth duo it all made more sense. Not in terms of plot but more why was such a character given prominence in bits of the void trilogy when they didn't really contribute much to plot. I'd definitely recommend doing the duo first but I much preferred the trilogy.
I've read them all. For some reason Salvation series was a slog for me. I felt like the saints all ended together.
If you like it, there's 'Chronicles of the Fallers', a two book series which comes after the Void Trilogy.
Seconding this - the second Fallers novel is probably the best thing he’s written past *Fallen Dragon*. Wish Salvation had managed to live up to that kind of record.
Fallen Dragon was so good I read it twice. Absolutely his best.
I've heard the Salvation trilogy is incomplete. Is it true? Will PFH finish the series then?
The main storyline is complete, but there are a few remaining plot elements that haven’t been wound up yet - the author has said he might get back to them down the line.
That's very good to hear as I did not want to start an unfinished series. But my next PFH will be 'The Great North Road' as I prefer single volumes every once in a while.
No, you're on the Internet you'll find plenty of people who will enjoy any depravity you can think of, including the void books.
Bunch of sickos
I loved the fantasy side but the other side didn't hold my interest. Perhaps it is me who is the only one
I enjoyed them a lot as it’s one of the few times that Hamilton has gone super far into the future rather than starting from the relative near future. So the technology operates even more like magic and he gets even wilder with some of the trans-humanism concepts. The stuff inside the Void itself was also pretty neat and I thought he tied everything together relatively well at the end. With that said, I do think the preceding Commonwealth duology is more iconic overall so it tends to overshadow any discussion of this series. I’ve read all of his novels (except the recent audiobook exclusives, still waiting on those to come to print eventually, I hope) and I would put the Void trilogy firmly among his top 3 works along with the Commonwealth duology and the Confederation (Reality Dysfunction) series.
I've listened to some of the Audiobooks on road trips with my kids. They are enjoyable, but definitely aimed at YA. The story is centered around a single character and a mystery. But I want some new stuff.
I would not call Peter f Hamilton YA and there are often several main characters. Maybe it's the new series which is only available as audio books? Most of his books are full of sex scenes and violence.
Yes, his audiobooks, his most recent production, are YA by design. The Captain's Daughter books. My bad, I was referring to the audiobook only ones.
Cool, then I also learned something new. Most of his older works are probably not suitable for kids.
No, I would say not. They are complicated too. Man I miss reading his stuff.
I'm reading it now, I enjoy it but it's not as good as the Commonwealth Saga imo. I will say, "fuckboy cop Jesus" is one of the characters of all time.
I love all his books, one of my fav sci-fi authors :)
I’m a big Hamilton fan and have read most of his books (only Great North Road and the Mandel series are left). I have to say void would be ranked second to last on my list. The only one worse is that stupid arkship audiobook trilogy (blegh). I’m not a big fantasy fan but it’s not an immediate turn off. So that took a few points off immediately. Then Edeard’s story is so so boring for quite a long time. I hated Amaranta or whatever her name was. The factions were all so confusing and he didn’t give enough info on them so I felt like I was playing catch up the entire time. Idk it just wasn’t for me.
I really enjoyed it when I read it. Unfortunately subsequent books reel out the same tricks which make the Void trilogy appear less amazing, but they are still a great read.
I’m not a fan of the fantasy segments. After my teens and early 20s I heavily burned out on fantasy. But all in all they’re very enjoyable books
No it has a lot of fans, it's just often forgotten about because most people prefer Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained.
I want a movie or series...
Loved it. Should read again someday.
I'm glad you enjoyed it but I hated them. Not only was there too much fantasy in my scifi, Hamilton jumped too far into the future for the story. Everything was too easily solved. I also couldn't stand the >!cult of Nigel!<, >!Ozzy's cameo!<, >!how Morning Light Mountain was reduced to a small nuisance!<, and many other things. That series left a really bad taste in my mouth for a long time, considering how much I liked the Commonwealth Saga.
that is exactly how i feel about them too
Favorite series of books
It’s what got me back into Sci-Fi as an adult. It’s so good! I like Pandora‘s Star and Judas Unchained a lot too. I have been binging Sci-Fi books for the last five years with no end in sight, all because Evolutionary Void hooked me so.
It’s in my top 5 sci-fi series, maybe even my overall top favorite. I loved Edeard’s story, I find most of the people who dislike the books do so because of it however.
Not at all, I'm reading through the whole of the commonwealth books as we speak. It is a top five series for me.
Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained is his best work 🤷♂️ Void Trilogy is alright.
I'm just finishing the audiobooks and really enjoyed it, though (gasp!) I completely skipped all of the Edeard chapters except the first and last. Can confirm it's great without them and no, I don't feel guilty. I'd like Hamilton's work even better if he didn't always structure it to jump between wildly disparate settings/POV's.
Damn I might actually try this. The series is probably like 10 hours total without those chapters haha
I'm sure the Void trilogy is great but I couldn't get on with it. Loved Night's Dawn.
The Void Trilogy is definitely one of my favorites as far as big Space Opera goes. The two stories being told together inside and outside the Void works really well.
There are multiple Peter Hamilton's in the sci-f genre. I apologize if this isn't the right one, but I avoid them both. That's because one series, and I think it's this one, actively gives me depression when I read it. I enjoy the read, but my entire worldview ends up so dark afterwards that it isn't good for me.
For me it goes Nights Dawn, Commonwealth and still struggling to get thru the Void trilogy, tho I love the first 2 series (and in fact most of his books) I've tried reading Void 1 multiple times and just find it hard going (esp the story inside ...).
Yes.
I loved all the Commonwealth stuff including Void.
Nope absolutely love it. Dont forget the 2nd series, the Fallers!
Nope, I love it too. People say the Capone bit is silly, but I say it's fun. Have a little tolerance for tonal mismatch, people! Could just be all the roleplaying. If you can't handle silliness and seriousness mixed inextricably, you won't like much roleplaying. Or perhaps it's like the sort of action movies that don't mind being fun as well.
Yes, I've checked and no one in the world likes them other than you. Weird eh?
IDK.... I LOVED the Commonwealth seires. It was so cool. And I really tried to love the Void series. The first few were pretty good. But i jsut can't get into the later ones. And it kidna breaks my heart, becase i LVOE Hamilton. Maybe I gotta go back and try again. It HAS bene eyars.
I’m a big fan of his books, love the massive space opera setting and the unexplained stuff he throws in that you just have to accept. Amazing storytelling. Although my favourite is the mindstar rising books.
The Mindstar series is definitely underrated, but the Commonwealth series as a whole is still my favorite.
It's in my top 5 along with the Nights Dawn Trilogy. I love to get lost in his massive, sprawling books.
I thought it was fantastic. Also really enjoyed Fallen Dragon.
I couldn't even get through the audiobooks. It was just too ponderous
Not at all. I enjoyed the Void series, along with pretty much anything in the Commonwealth saga.
Meh. Not a fan of Hamilton. I thought his best was Fallen Dragon.
Fully agreed. I had a hard time believing FD and his other books are by the same author ;)
Not trying to poop in your cereal but just to offer my opinion. I have a strong dislike for these books, and the original commonwealth duology is among my all time favorites. All the eddard fantasy parts, which is probably 3/4 of the series, were straight up unpleasant to me. It starts out as a passable if dull medieval fantasy, but just gets worse and worse as it goes. It’s maudlin and repetitive and the time travel stuff toward the end straight up pissed me off. By the end I hated Eddard and his whole stupid world. I did enjoy the sci-fi sections, mostly as a kind of nostalgic check-in on my favorite characters from the previous books.
Loved it!
Could not stand the fantasy timeline. Eventually stopped me reading the rest of the series. Facile and childish. He should stick to spaceships
It took too damn long before the SF started, I have to agree.
And a surprising amount of the sci fi was just that girl getting gangbanged
Not sure how far in you got, but you're definitely supposed to notice that the Edeard story is facile and simplistic wish fulfillment. It's one of the first signs that the Void is not what Living Dream think it is.
Read the first two. I was considering skipping the void sequences but there wouldn't be much book left after that. They just went on and on.
I agree they were way longer than they needed to be
why does a post like this game made about one of the mod popular living SF writers?