The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton
(Chronicle of the Fallers Book 1)
ISBN: 978-0230769465
615 pages
Review by Mark Yon
Peter Hamilton’s latest is a book that shows an experienced writer honing his craft, taking disparate elements that he has touched on before but reforming them into something that is better.
It’s taken me a bit longer to finish the book, not through lack of trying. It’s also been a book that has been so good that I’ve needed time to think about what I wanted to say about it.
My colleague Mark Chitty has, in his great review, summarised the plot enough for me not to have to repeat it in detail.
When I think of why it worked for me, then it becomes a little more complicated. Putting it simply, though, Abyss combines many of Peter’s strengths in writing – complex plot, a range of characters, big ideas – with aspects that have actually been reined in a little. Some readers will be pleased to know that this is shorter (even at 615 pages!), and much tighter than Great North Road. Although the story is big, the number of main characters and the variety of places visited are actually not that many, which gives the tale a surprisingly tight focus. The aliens are brilliantly nasty here too, with parts at the beginning that read as if they were part of the Alien franchise. (And I’m pleased that we’ve not got the ‘Thank Ozzie’ symbolism that grated on me in earlier books too, although – warning! – his influence on events is mentioned briefly here.)
Personally I was pleased that much of the book doesn’t base itself much within the Commonwealth, although there are links to Pandora’s Star, Judas Unchained and the Void Trilogy (The Dreaming Void, The Temporal Void and The Evolutionary Void) should you wish to follow them. There’s also a nice connection to the short stories in A Second Chance in Eden, with the use of gen-animals.
Like The Void series (and as you might expect from such a title), much of the book deals with events in the Void, on a world that lacks the technological marvels that we often expect in our SF future. Whereas The Void had the story of Edeard, told through Inigo’s dreams that echoed Venetian doges in the Renaissance, here we have the story of Slvasta on Bienvenido that echoes the French revolution of the late-1700’s or the Leninist-Trotskyite Revolution of 1917 in Russia. Pushing the analogy further, it’s rather like Les Miserables or Doctor Zhivago but with hidden technology, telekinesis and aliens, which does sound odd, but actually works really well.
Part of this is due to Peter’s world-building, which creates a plausible environment for the characters to live in. I also really liked the use of telekinesis (or teekay) as I did in The Void Trilogy, although this is a prequel. When the technology comes into play, it is appropriate, although having been immersed in such a relatively backward world of steam trains and gas-lights for much of the novel, it can be a little disconcerting.
The characters are also nicely detailed, with a range of new and old, though the ‘guest stars’ in the plot are not overdone. Slvasta especially is a character that has depth, with aspects that I both liked and disliked. I enjoyed his development very much, much as I did Edeard.
Perhaps most important is the fact that this book is a great place to begin reading Peter’s work if you haven’t read them before. Whilst there are links to the previous oeuvre (see above) they’re not important enough to the point where their knowledge is essential to understand and enjoy this book. This one reads well enough on its own without knowing previous tales, although admittedly those who do will find a lot extra to enjoy. And the ending is a great cliff-hanger, even though other readers may know what happens (eventually!)
Abyss contains many aspects that readers of Peter’s other books will love. I would therefore say no more to them than repeat MarkC’s comments in his review – Abyss is the work of an author at the top of his game, you will love it and need no further recommendation from me, as both a place to start reading Peter’s books and one for fans. Personally I can’t wait for the next book!
Mark Yon, August-October 2014.
