Long ago, the astrophysicist Inigo began dreaming scenes from the life of the remarkable Edeard, who lived within the Void, a self-contained microuniverse at the heart of the galaxy. Inigo’s inspirational dreams, shared by hundreds of millions throughout the galaxy, gave birth to a religion: Living Dream. But when the appearance of a Second Dreamer seems to trigger the expansion of the Void—which is devouring everything in its path—the Intersolar Commonwealth is thrown into turmoil.
With time running out, the fate of humanity hinges on a handful of people: Araminta, now awakening to the unwelcome fact that she is the mysterious Second Dreamer; Inigo, whose private dreams hint at a darker truth; and Justine, whose desperate gamble places her within the Void, where the godlike Skylords hold the power to save the universe . . . or destroy it.
The void is expanding, the Living Dream still plans a pilgrimage to the realm of Inigo’s dreams (see The Dreaming Void, 2006, for backstory), and the Ocisen Empire’s 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 Dream’s exodus, remains central to Hamilton’s 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, it’s not that simple. There are more factions in play than there seem to be, and threads from the Starflyer War (see Pandora’s Star, 2004, and Judas Unchained, 2006) keep popping up in the most interesting places. This second book of a trilogy promises a spectacular finish. --Regina Schroeder
Description:
Long ago, the astrophysicist Inigo began dreaming scenes from the life of the remarkable Edeard, who lived within the Void, a self-contained microuniverse at the heart of the galaxy. Inigo’s inspirational dreams, shared by hundreds of millions throughout the galaxy, gave birth to a religion: Living Dream. But when the appearance of a Second Dreamer seems to trigger the expansion of the Void—which is devouring everything in its path—the Intersolar Commonwealth is thrown into turmoil.
With time running out, the fate of humanity hinges on a handful of people: Araminta, now awakening to the unwelcome fact that she is the mysterious Second Dreamer; Inigo, whose private dreams hint at a darker truth; and Justine, whose desperate gamble places her within the Void, where the godlike Skylords hold the power to save the universe . . . or destroy it.
From Publishers Weekly
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. (Mar.)
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From Booklist
The void is expanding, the Living Dream still plans a pilgrimage to the realm of Inigo’s dreams (see The Dreaming Void, 2006, for backstory), and the Ocisen Empire’s 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 Dream’s exodus, remains central to Hamilton’s 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, it’s not that simple. There are more factions in play than there seem to be, and threads from the Starflyer War (see Pandora’s Star, 2004, and Judas Unchained, 2006) keep popping up in the most interesting places. This second book of a trilogy promises a spectacular finish. --Regina Schroeder