Great SF Saga

[Dean M. Cole]

Just finished reading Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga and the Void Trilogy. It's a series of science fiction novels based on the British science fiction writer's previous novel, Misspent Youth.

While it takes some of the ideas forwarded in the earlier work a couple of hundred years into the future, the series stands on its own. Having not read Misspent Youth did not detract from my enjoyment of this very insightful and entertaining series.

Hamilton's ability to propagate ideas and technologies into the future and envision their ultimate outcome is unmatched in the genre.

It's a great read and a fun ride.

[John M. Dow]

Just finished reading Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga and the Void Trilogy. It's a series of science fiction novels based on the British science fiction writer's previous novel, Misspent Youth.

I've only read The Reality Dysfunction, but really enjoyed it. It's one of those times where there just aren't enough hours in the day to read everything I want to. I did find the first third of RD somewhat confusing, just because of the vast scope of it, but my son (who's read both trilogies) assures me it's because I'm getting old and slow and he's probably right

What did strike me, though, is how utterly believable and *possible* Hamilton's vision of the future is.

John

[Dean M. Cole]

I've only read The Reality Dysfunction, but really enjoyed it.

What did strike me, though, is how utterly believable and *possible* Hamilton's vision of the future is.

Due to some bad reviews I've been reluctant to read his earlier works. However the quality of Pandora's Star and the believability of his future tech has me itching for more. Since you enjoyed Reality Dysfunction I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on another trilogy.

[John M. Dow]

Due to some bad reviews I've been reluctant to read his earlier works. However the quality of Pandora's Star and the believability of his future tech has me itching for more. Since you enjoyed Reality Dysfunction I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on another trilogy.

I have it on good authority that RD is the best of the trilogy and it goes a little downhill from there. Note that this is not my personal experience, having never progressed past RD - it's purely hearsay

John

[Mike Cooley]

I enjoyed the RD books as well. They are pretty epic/Space Opera in scope and he throws a TON
of characters into them so it does get a bit confusing. Cool ideas, very imaginative and detailed.

Overall I think he's a pretty good writer, although there are certain things about his writing I don't like
(leaving out the details because of spoiler potential)

--Mike

[jason10mm]

I am a HUGE Hamilton fan, read all of his stuff (except possibly this Misspent Youth book, I'll have to check). His Greg Mandel cyberpunky/noir series is supposed to get a kindle release soon, those were fun.

I loved the Night's Dawn trilogy (starts with Reality Dysfunction/Neutronium Alchemist, the american book spliting always confuses me). If you can grok the MAJOR plot twist at the end of the first book then the rest of the series is great. If that twist rolls your eyes too far back then stop right there.

Fallen Dragon was a nice stand alone book.

The commonwealth series were cool. While I think he picks interesting technologies and runs with them, I question some of the casual attitudes towards death. Sure, folks have this sort of back-up drive implanted in their skulls plus the hard copy stored elsewhere, but I think there would be less widespread acceptance that this constitutes "life", nor do I think they could really capture as much personality as the devices seem to. Then again, they have personal yacht FTL ships, teleportation, and those ubiquitous telepathic A.I. things that allow you to dispense with 99% of the administration of daily life, so I guess the relife thing shouldn't stick out

The violence and sex are definitely ratcheted up a bit from most SF (Donaldson's Gap series excepted but they are clearly secondary to the big ideas in the books. Hard to think of anyone doing space opera on quite as grand a scale as Hamilton.

[Dean M. Cole]

While I think he picks interesting technologies and runs with them, I question some of the casual attitudes towards death. Sure, folks have this sort of back-up drive implanted in their skulls plus the hard copy stored elsewhere, but I think there would be less widespread acceptance that this constitutes "life", nor do I think they could really capture as much personality as the devices seem to. Then again, they have personal yacht FTL ships, teleportation, and those ubiquitous telepathic A.I. things that allow you to dispense with 99% of the administration of daily life, so I guess the relife thing shouldn't stick out

I'm with you on that. If we ever learn how to download a person's memories into a computer any reanimation that was employed with those memories would only be a copy.

When it comes to 'Relife' is it live, or is it Memorex? In this case, it's Memorex. In Hamilton's defense some of his character's saw it as true death. Guess it comes down to the fact that if two versions could exist at the same time then one is a copy.

Now, Hamilton's 'Multiples' are a whole other ball of wax, lol.

[Joseph Robert Lewis]

Just finished reading Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga and the Void Trilogy. It's a series of science fiction novels based on the British science fiction writer's previous novel, Misspent Youth.

I've been meaning to start reading Hamilton for the longest time. He's one of many authors stacked up like cord wood in my mental To-Read list. Can you recommend the best place to start?

[Dean M. Cole]

Can you recommend the best place to start?

While Hamilton's Common Wealth literary universe starts with Misspent Youth, the Commonwealth Saga starts with Pandora's Star. That's where I jumped in. Most of the reviews I've read seem to agree that Misspent Youth is not required reading and the Saga coupled with the Void Trilogy stand very well on their own.

[jason10mm]

I started with the Night's Dawn trilogy, but Pandora's Star and the Commonwealth Saga is fine as well. The two series share some thematic similarities and technological commonalities, but otherwise reading one won't really prep you for the other. Night's Dawn has a lot more combat, space battles, and stuff. It also has more WTF moments, I think. Fallen Dragon isn't a bad place to start if you just want to see if you will like Hamilton's style and your OCD won't let you drop a series no matter how much you dislike it, 'cause a Hamilton series is EPIC, more along the lines of fantasy than what sci-fi series tend to be. He has a short story collection which isn't bad either. The Greg Mandel series were early on in his career, I think, and are not really representative of what you'll get with the more sci-fi stuff.

Personally I'd start with Night's Dawn (starts with The Reality Dysfunction). You used to be able to score the entire trilogy for $8, but I think that is long gone. The three books were split into 2 (for a total of 6 books) for the american paperback audience which is why I can never remember any book titles. But for the kindle each book is $10 or so. This series is more actiony and direct. If you like it and finish it, then more on to his more cerebral works which have more characters and layered plotting. I think he has grown as a writer, but it helps to grow along with him by reading in published order.

[Straker]

Just finished Pandora's Star, a long, intricate, but never tedious space opera by Peter Hamilton. The bulk of the novel is spent establishing the concept of the Commonwealth and the characters who populate it, with only sporadic bursts of action, but my interest remained piqued throughout. Specific set-pieces, such as the chilling “interrogation” of a pair of hapless astronauts by a ruthless alien or a devastating surprise attack on an unimaginable scale, demonstrate Hamilton’s skill at evoking a powerful emotional reaction from his readers. The book is not without its flaws, however: certain elements seemed a bit derivative (the Commonwealth bears a considerable resemblance to the Hegemony of Dan Simmons' Hyperion novels, the super-assassin is a close relative of the Terminator, and the immotiles reminded me a bit of the Moties from The Mote in God's Eye) and certain characters are not quite convincing (particularly sexpot turned savior Mellanie), but I regard these as minor in work of such scope. Well worth a considerable chunk of your time, but bear in mind that this is only the first half of the story.

[Tara Maya]

I have had my eye on that series, but haven't tried it yet.

[Colin Taber]

I've been meaning to try the Void series, so this thread's been handy to stumble upon and force my hand. Thank you!