The Temporal Void

January 12, 2009
The shelf-bending and vastly satisfying sequel to 2008's The Dreaming Void
continues the epic narrative chronicling humankind's potentially self-destructive search for existential and spiritual fulfillment inside an ever-expanding black hole at the galactic core. Hamilton seamlessly weaves together numerous unwieldy plot lines: as the millions of followers of the Living Dream plan a mass pilgrimage into the Void, others plot to stop their exodus, which they believe will only increase the Void's expansion and hasten the end of the galaxy. To complicate matters, the alien Ocisen Empire has allied with an old nemesis of humanity, the Primes, and their combined military might stands poised as a tremendous threat. Fusing elements of hard SF with adventure fantasy tropes, Hamilton has singlehandedly raised the bar for grand-scale speculative storytelling.

March 15, 2009
As a starship of cultists travels toward the Void at the heart of the universe, the Intersolar Commonwealth faces both the danger represented by this voyage and the threat of genocide by aliens. Continuing the sf epic tale begun in "The Dreaming Void", Hamilton ties together many plot threads as he solidifies his believable characters and crafts a page-turner sf thriller on a grand scale. Reminiscent of Robert Heinlein's best space operas; for most libraries.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2009
The void is expanding, the Living Dream still plans a pilgrimage to the realm of Inigos dreams (see The Dreaming Void, 2006, for backstory), and the Ocisen Empires fleet is en route to destroy humanity before it attracts too much attention from whatever is inside the void. Second Dreamer Araminta is the most sought-after person on Viotia ever since she told the Skylord no, though not everyone is out to destroy her. Justine Burnelli is going into the void to find something much stranger than what she expected. The Waterwalker Edeard, goal of Living Dreams exodus, remains central to Hamiltons long story, still fighting corruption despite great resistance from the criminal underworld and the long-established nobility. It seems he will always triumph, but of course, its not that simple. There are more factions in play than there seem to be, and threads from the Starflyer War (see Pandoras Star, 2004, and Judas Unchained, 2006) keep popping up in the most interesting places. This second book of a trilogy promises a spectacular finish.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)