The Dreaming Void

Void, Book 1

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: Toby Longworth

Will they find the utopian dream – or a galactic nightmare? From Peter F. Hamilton, The Dreaming Void is the first in an epic space opera trilogy. Set in his expansive Commonwealth universe, it is perfect for fans of Iain M. Banks and Stephen Baxter.

AD 3580. The Commonwealth has spread its civilization throughout the galaxy. Its citizens are privileged and protected by a powerful navy. And at the galaxy’s centre is the Void, a sealed universe created by aliens billions of years ago. Yet the Void isn’t inert. It’s expanding – and now it wants to make contact.

The Void chooses Inigo as its conduit and he channels dreams of a simpler, better life within its bounds. His visions attract followers – determined to seek this utopia. And they’ll cross the Void’s forbidden boundaries to reach it. However, this act could trigger push it to grow beyond all control . . . destroying everything in its path.

'Epic, multi-stranded, full of wonders' – SFX

The Dreaming Void is followed by The Temporal Void in this stunning trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.

©2008 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Macmillan Digital Audio

Critic reviews

As epic and far-ranging as his previous bestsellers. Hamilton is the master of widescreen baroque (Guardian)

This is thrilling stuff . . . compulsively readable and abundantly full of ideas (The Times)

Unmissable (Starburst)

Powerfully addictive . . . and hugely satisfying (FantasyBookReview)

The Dreaming Void has all the things you hope for from a novel by Peter F. Hamilton . . . Hamilton is capable of superb writing, which you shall find in The Dreaming Void . . . [the] execution is simply wonderful. Hamilton is playing to his strengths. (The Agony Column)

Great way to mix old and new

I am rereading all the Commonwealth saga after finishing sky without stars.

the story is great, but I do not like the performance, a bit too forced acting and vocalization for many characters.

Well written and well performed sci-fi

What made the experience of listening to The Dreaming Void the most enjoyable?

To be honest, I don't usually like far future, all over the galaxy and many races kind of sci-fi. However this one is imaginative enough without too many cliches. Story lines start out loose but nicely merge eventually and the world seems well thought through.
If I compare it with Hyperion, I enjoyed this one more.
I'm definitely going for the second book.

Any additional comments?

It would be probably even better if I read the previous books of Hammilton, as he often refers back to the events of the Commonwealth saga. It is not necessary however.
Also some characters are difficult to understand due to their extreme accent, but those are allways minor characters, so it never hurts the story.

Fantastic

Entertaining story, very well narated. Can't wait to start reading the next book. I would be a little dissapointed if there wasn't the next book...

Very good start of a series

To put it simple: the touch of Peter F Hamilton. After I read it 10 years ago… now it’s even better

Great Science Fiction

What made the experience of listening to The Dreaming Void the most enjoyable?

A really good story, very well narrated, interesting characters, excellent plots, came together well, plots believably intertwined.

What other book might you compare The Dreaming Void to and why?

Pandora's Star (Trilogy) same writer and should be listened to in advance of the Dreaming Void. Both the Pandora's Star & Dreaming Void triologies are brilliantly written and delivered.

What about Toby Longworth’s performance did you like?

Wasn't sure at the start as I prefer John Lee, but actually really enjoyed the book/listen overall and would listen to a narration by him again.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Would make me buy more Peter Hamilton.

Any additional comments?

The Dreaming Void starts off slowly for the first hour or two and I nearly turned it off and deleted it. That would have been a really big mistake. It sets the scene, albeit slowly, for the rest of the book, which is a really good and enjoyable listen. By the end of the two trilogies you really miss the characters, and the stories, and want the whole thing to keep going.

Smart combination of scifi & fantasy!

From the beginning this novel requires your attention - no vacuum cleaning or shopping while listening please - as per usual, it seems, with Hamilton's work. The plot takes its time to unfold in all its detail, sauntering unhurriedly forward while you meet all of its well-fleshed out characters. But then: a novelty, a story-within-a-story, a novel-within-a-novel even, and to Hamilton's credit I cannot make up my mind which of the two I liked better. I might love them equally well - although Inigo's dreams, which make up this interwoven second novel, are more action-driven with a higher pacing, so I guess I do prefer that storyline a little.

In my opinion Hamilton has brilliantly succeeded in combining scifi and fantasy in one great tale, without the genres ever actually crossing over. A smart move, and smartly done. The novel hints at the two stories, or at least their worlds, being integrated in one of its sequels, but this first part will have none of that. Loved it!

After The Commonwealth Saga, The Dreaming Void has a new narrator, which comes with its perks and its disadvantages. On the plus side, there are actual sentence breaks in the correct places now, and some clarifying seconds of silence between chapters. What a relief that was, compared to the prequels. My criticism of this change of narrator however slightly outweighs its advantages. For Mr. Longworth pronounces certain names of characters and species differently from what we have become accustomed to in the Commonwealth Saga, which I found slightly annoying and couldn't get used to. Also, his acting voice for the different characters is, naturally, different from John Lee's, which includes inflection of voice, and the way certain sentences are intoned. I found this distracting as well because the effect was that several well-loved characters didn't sound like themselves anymore. So I was glad to notice that John Lee, the original narrator of the Commonwealth Saga, returns to parts 2 and 3 of the Void trilogy.

All in all I liked this first part of the Void trilogy enough to recommend it to anyone who likes the Commonwealth Saga, or simply Peter Hamilton's work.

Complex, fascinating and thrilling

Hammilton does again. Creating a truely manificient Si-Fi future, with a magnitude of ideas and technology I for one have not come across before. The plot unwinds slowly - this book alone is over around a 1000 pages and the story continues in the newly released follow-up. But that does not make Hammilton a slow writer - the story is facinating and captivating all the way through.

Reades migh be confused by the sheer number of characters and parallel plotlines, as well as the little trick of inserting a series of dreams essential to the plot inbetween the normal chapters. But rest assured knowning that Hammilton is the man to bring it all together to create that perfect picture in the end (the eventual end, that is).

It might be recommended that you start with Pandoras Star followed by Judas Unchained, since a few characters reapper (and that series is now completed). Not essential though, as the timeline has progressed 1200 years, and the plot is all new.

Hammilton is a must-read for Si-Fi fans, but be warned: Like me, you might not be able to turn it off. Beam me up.

A big fan

I'm a huge fan already and can't wait for the rest of these great books to be recorded! I'm refraining from reading the next one in the series, so I can listen to it when it's released! No previous knowledge required.

Slow, but enjoyable and different.

somehow different than Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, but continuation of the same universe with big changes. Nice connectioma to the previous books, both in the story and characters, despite happening 1000 years later.

The Void is still mysterious to me, and is pretty fantastic, which is weird for a sci-fi book, but it does work. And similar to previous book a complex story of many factions, aliens, and people is created by following multiple characters.

The story somehow stops abruptly, so next book is a must.

Cool plot. Eager to read the next.

A very nice and enticing plot with a few crumbs for the Pandora readers, but new readers wouldn't feel left out.
The performance was generally ok, but several choices were just bad (especially some nasal female voices or hoarse voices).