The Evolutionary Void [Hardcover]

Here it is, the book I've been waiting nearly two years for: The Evolutionary Void. The conclusion to the Void Trilogy, started with The Dreaming Void and followed up by The Temporal Void, is by far my most anticipated book of the year and the series is making very strong noises to be my favourite finished series ever. So, with expectations that simply couldn't get any higher, does The Evolutionary Void meet these? Simple answer: Hell yeah!

The Evolutionary Void picks up immediately where The Temporal Void left off with no break in pacing, continuing the story in an effective, confident fashion. The many plot threads that have been built up over the first two novels are now dealt with convincingly, some with immediate effect while others come to the fore in preparation for the grand finale. It's very difficult, in fact nigh on impossible, to find any fault with this aspect of The Evolutionary Void. It is clear from many references and clues laid down in Dreaming and Temporal that the Void trilogy has been intricately plotted and even has details that go all the way back to the Commonwealth Saga. This is rather unsurprising when you consider that many of the characters present here have their origins in the duology.

Some of the story lines that I was most anticipating delivered the goods. The Deterrence Fleet is hinted at many times and the revelation of what it is and the capabilities it has still manages to surprise. This can be said of many of the plot points in Evolutionary. For example, Araminta is the descendant of two Silfen friends and this is used during Temporal to show how she is able to share her dreams of the Skylord (albeit unknowingly) with the Living Dream movement. This heritage plays a fairly big role in Evolutionary and leads to some aspects that I just didn't see coming, despite how obvious they are when looking back.

The format of Evolutionary Void also follows a similar path to that of the previous books, with the Commonwealth elements mixed with Inigo's dreams of life in the Void. While The Dreaming Void was roughly a 60/40 split in favour of the Commonwealth sections and The Temporal Void was roughly 70/30 in favour of the Void sections, The Evolutionary Void switches right back to focus more on the issues in the Commonwealth and the Void aspects taking a back seat, leading to the split being in the region of 80/20 in favour of the Commonwealth. This really does work in its favour and allows Peter to do what he does best: epic space opera. To say that Peter is ambitious in his plotting would be an understatement, but past good form is present here in every way possible, from bringing together plot threads to concluding the story in a fantastic way.

Peter has developed all his characters throughout this series, with familiar faces from the Commonwealth Saga continually being developed nicely and new faces to the Void trilogy satisfying all aspects I could hope for. Each development that forms the story is conveyed convincingly through the characters, from Araminita taking the bull by the horns to the eventual discovery of Aaron's identity and past. Edeard's progress is perhaps the most controversial and seeing him change during his sections left me somewhat non-plussed. However, Peter does do an exceptional job at showing how extreme power can affect all while still managing to portray Edeard's life in a most realistic way. The eventual outcome is all the more satisfying for this exploration of his character and serves the story very well.

One of the main aspects I loved about Dreaming and Temporal was Edeard's story, a story that is both gripping and emotional. I mentioned briefly above about his character in Evolutionary so I won't go into more detail here, but what did surprise me is that the format of consecutive Dreams is not followed here. It turns out Inigo had a lot of Dreams of Edeard's life and all that is covered in the first two novels is only a small aspect of it. Instead of sticking to the known, Peter goes outside this pattern and does not tell us everything, but rather select and important times of his life that have the greatest effect on the plot and story. Yes, I would have liked to read them all, but quantity does not always mean quality, and it is the quality and overall story that makes this approach powerful and meaningful to The Evolutionary Void.

There were two particular questions that I had before starting The Evolutionary Void, one relating to Inigo's Last Dream and the other relating to just how effectively Peter could conclude this trilogy. While I wanted them to hit the right notes I was just that little bit sceptical that they may miss the mark, just not being able to convince myself to ignore those doubts, unfounded as they were.

Inigo's Last Dream is one of the most beautifully written and poetic pieces of writing I have ever read. Seeing it coming from Peter was one of the biggest surprises and most pleasant finds in Evolutionary. While fairly short, it conveys so much emotion and feeling that I had to put the book down after reading it simply to absorb what I had read. Stunning is one way to describe it, awe inspiring would be another, but without a doubt it is the highlight of the novel.

The conclusion of the trilogy was something I hoped would be a fitting end and able to silence previous critics of Peters work. Not only does it do this, it manages to bring aspects laid down throughout the trilogy together in an ending that is grand in scale and perfectly suited to what has been laid out in the trilogy as a whole.

If I had to put forward one quibble it would not be about this book, but rather the fact that the Commonwealth Saga, which consists of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained and is set 1200 years prior to the Void Trilogy, really needs to be read to gain a full appreciation of this epic story. While both are fairly separate, the story they form as a whole makes the experience much more fulfilling. There are aspects present in the Void trilogy, particularly Evolutionary Void, that hark back to this previous saga. While I wouldn't say it's a compulsory read, you will get the most enjoyment if you take the time to get around to them first.

So, I think you can probably tell from the above that I really did love this book, thought the trilogy has been exceptional and would recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat. It's intricately plotted and you'd be hard pressed to find another author who can pull off such a vision. For grand scale, epic space opera on a huge canvas it doesn't get much better than this. Highly, highly recommended.

Like other reviewers I was looking forward to this book. Unlike other reviewers I'm not so sure I enjoyed it as much as I had hoped to. On the positive side:

+ It's imaginative, cleverly-plotted, and well written;
+ A complex galaxy-spanning 5-book story finishes in an appropriately dramatic way;
+ All the plot threads are tied off;
+ Older/major characters are very well developed.

On the not-so-positive side:

- Newer/supporting characters are not so well developed. Three of them in particular (Aaron, Cat, and the 'Lady') play major parts, but these roles seem to be based on events which take place between the previous series and this trilogy. And some rather interesting characters seem to pop out of nowhere - I even checked back as far as Misspent Youth for one of them (Paul Cramley), but couldn't find a mention. I've enjoyed piecing together the puzzles in previous PH books - some of them (e.g. Fallen Dragon) are very clever, but I felt a bit cheated this time.

- Consistency. All the plot threads weave together to make a nice pattern, but at several stages throughout the book the story became a bit implausible. I can't accuse PH of introducing a deus-ex-machina plot device because it was central to the previous series, but how come the Raiel can't penetrate an anti-everything shield they themselves developed? (But they can pot moons around like the universe is a giant snooker table.)

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was well paced and exciting. However, towards the end I began to find it all a bit convoluted. In particular during some of the space battles the characters are phasing in and out of space-time, blowing up suns and simultaneously having a conversation with people who are split across the universe. Since they're fully capable of using all sorts of 'technology' to manipulate time and gravity I found it hard to believe that they were grappling with what ought to be a very parochial problem for a 36th century civilisation.

It was a good ending to the series, but I think I prefer my sci-fi to be a little less fantastical and more character-focused (e.g. Night's Dawn or even good old Greg Mandel).

I have been a big fan of Hamilton's earlier work (having read all his work and some of it twice). There are many reasons I like his books: the multitude of converging story lines, the way the futuristic technology is introduced, the weaponry and the action scenes in which it is deployed, the plot itself, etc. Obviously, these exact characteristics also become recognizable - and less novel - after reading sufficient books of the same author. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed re-reading Fallen Dragon after having read every book Hamilton has published up to the Temporal Void.

Unfortunately, my first (and most likely only) read of the Evolutionary Void was not such a fulfilling experience. For one, the actual content (plot) feels rather limited for a book this size. I think he could easily have made a "trilogy" of 2 books instead of 3. Next to this, the Void (Eduard) sections were very repetitive (no pun intended) and perhaps a little boring. Some of the Common Wealth sections were better, but I missed the clever plot twists, hi-tech warfare, etc.

In conclusion, a disappointing conclusion to the previous 2 volumes (that I liked a lot). The story is just too thin to warrant a book this size.