Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Evolutionary Void

A couple of days ago, I finished up the latest book by Peter F. Hamilton, The Evolutionary Void.  It is the last entry in the Void Trilogy and the latest in Hamilton's Commonwealth series of science fiction books.  As usual, I loved it.

This series of books is a perfect example of Space Opera.  It is primarily about some great threat facing the galaxy.  There are a lot of interesting characters and stories which all contribute to the over arching storyline.  What make these my favorite books is that they are relatable, since they involve characters who are from today's time.  Science fiction which takes place too far into the future or is totally alien is usually a hard read for me. 

Commonwealth Books in chronological order:

Pandora's Star
Judas Unchained
The Dreaming Void
The Temporal Void
The Evolutionary Void

These books are hefty, the last weighing in at 704 pages.  I'm pretty sure they all are around that length too.  The word epic is thrown around too much these days, but it perfectly describes the scale of these books.  And really, that is what I want out of my sci-fi.

I tried to like Stargate Universe, but it involved too much personal drama for me.  I don't care about their petty (in the scheme of things) problems.  Give me a big bad enemy, intrigue and thought provoking ideas.

If you are a fan of science fiction and have not read these, I highly recommend them.  They are all available for the Kindle.  Sadly, Hamilton's current project does not take place in the Commonwealth Universe, but I hope he returns to it soon.