Salvation Lost (The Salvation Sequence) Paperback – June 30, 2020

NOBODY does galaxy spanning sci-fi like Hamilton! It's space opera on a vast scale, with a large interlocked cast of characters, technology that pushes the limits of physics (and sometimes transcends them), a jigsaw puzzle of a plot, and a timeline that bounces from the near future to the far future and back again. Throw in a wordsmith at the top of his game and it comes together seamlessly.Now, a little less breathlessly...When I saw "Salvation Lost" was coming out at the end of October, I went back and read "Salvation", the first book in this apparent trilogy. It's something I recommend with Hamilton's serial novels - they take him some time to write, so unless you have an exceptional memory, details will be stale and Hamilton is not really into the repetitive backstory method of giving your neurons a refreshing kick. I appreciate that, and I was especially glad I'd read the first book again because this one starts immediately after, and with much the same cast.So, expect to see Yuri, Ainsley, Callum, Kandara, Jessika, Dellian, Yirella, and the rest plus a host of new characters. The tone is similar to most of Hamilton's stories, with a strong huge-corporation-as-good-guys theme, somewhat inept governments taking a backseat when it hits the fan, capitalism is King, technology as ultimate savior, and a UK-centric vibe that is a nice difference to the majority of US-centric sci-fi that is written.This is a direct extension of Book 1, starting immediately the last one ends, but exposes the true motives of various alien races, fills in the hints we've seen of the future humans on Juloss, and provides various vignettes that thread through the novel to adroitly place characters at the right place and time for the plot to pivot on. That positioning of seemingly incidental cast members who suddenly burst bright for a moment is pure Hamilton, and very few authors do it anywhere as well as he does.I really enjoy that about his stories.Hamilton also sets up for another book, which is terrific, though the wait will be frustrating.There is something missing however, and that's a strong emotional connection with most of the cast. I find that while all characters are well fleshed out, there are just too many to really draw a one-on-one bead with any of them. So stuff happens - good and bad - and it's a bit muted in emotional tone because there's literally something (usually worse) looming that needs to be dealt with, so it's a quick hug of relief, then the action starts again.Not that I am complaining. The Kindle edition price is reasonable for an author of Hamilton's consistency and book length, and he still manages the occasional sideways thrust of surprise that provides some frisson to proceedings. If you've read and enjoyed other Hamilton books you know what to expect (and obviously, you need to buy Book1 before this one). If you've not read Hamilton, I recommend you go back to where it all started and buy the Greg Mandel series. Then work your way up to this one. Either way, "Salvation Lost" is highly recommended, two thumbs up, and please Mister Hamilton, hasten the next book!

I keep reading Hamilton's books. His concepts are just plain exciting and the plots are usually catchy. I felt a certain lack of happiness when I realized by the end of Book 1 that this was a monster story. Most of his books have more going on than that. But it's a very good monster -- an alien race that wants our brains. Young boys rub their hands together with glee! So far these monsters are not terribly well-developed, except that they're incredibly smart and very religious.I am not interested in engineering. Hamilton leaves me way behind in this area, and I confess my eyes glaze over and I skip paragraphs, sometimes pages, sometimes quite a few pages.Many of us read for character. I do too. Hamilton's characters started out as original, quirky, and capable of evolving in many cases. In this series, however, I am recognizing characters from previous novels thinly disguised. The extremely long-lived rich family with epic adventures, lovely houses on bodies of water or in an asteroid, and busy sex lives appears again. I found the gang member refreshing, as another reviewer mentioned. He is a fascinating guy, interestingly warped.Don't get me wrong -- I will definitely finish the series to find out what happens to the human race.

What to say? If you are a Hamilton fan, this series should work for you. I just got done with book 2 and while I am still not ready to put them above my first (and still favorite) Peter Hamilton works, the Night's Dawn Trilogy, I am in no way disappointed with this series. In my eyes it has minimized his few weaknesses, and stayed true to his strengths.When I say weakness, primarily I mean one thing: sex. I am a huge fan of this author, but let's face it--he's always been a little weird about sex. Typically it's like all his characters are obsessed with it--any sex, any time, with any kind of person, with a wink-nudge kind of innuendo that's never sat quite right with me. It often seems like no character can ever meet any other character without, at the very least, internally sizing them up sexually and it's pretty much always a positive assessment. Everyone has sex with everyone and it's *always* the most mind-blowing, kinkiest sex ever. And yet there is very little actual sexual content in the books. It all can come across like a high school virgin who's desperate to make people believe they are having tons of sex despite everyone knowing otherwise.Anyway, as I said, I say this as a huge fan and while it's never been a big enough gripe to mar my love of his works, I am very happy to say that this tendency is much reduced (though not entirely) in these Salvation books. In my mind this really helps elevate them within his bibliography.So what are his main strengths? Fantastic but scientifically workable world-building. Ideas big enough to expand your concept of what's realistic without ever tripping over into fantasy. Enormous casts of characters who are actually given enough breathing room that you're never lost as to who is who. But perhaps above all, more than any other author I know--ridiculously suspenseful, massive-scale, page-turning set pieces. It's rare to describe myself as READING something that has me on the edge of my seat, but Peter Hamilton pulls this off at least once per book if not more often. I will say this second Salvation book does not quite rise to the level of the first one in this particular regard, but it's close enough.Have not started book 3 yet but will soon. I expect one of another of Hamilton's...well, not weakness exactly, but not his highest strength either--a mildly anticlimactic ending. I'm not really criticizing him exactly but in general I've never gotten to the end of a Hamilton series and been 100% blown away by the ending. But to be fair--I've never been able to think of any way to do it better either. It might just be a double-edged side effect of the ride being so incredible that there just may not be any fully satisfactory way to assuage the fact that it's finally over. I think if that's the worst I can say about a creator, then there's really no complaint at all.Finally I see a lot of people here complaining about the pseudo-transgender human offshoot group in these books. Look, I'm not woke. Here in the real world my thoughts on gender and pronouns etc. are actually not PC enough for most people I know (though I maintain I am not '-phobic' as I have often been accused of...). Point is, the Utopial business in these books never bothered me. I really don't think there's an agenda there--just another example of Hamilton exploring possible future evolutions for people (and conveniently enough having it at least somewhat pertain to sex, natch). This should not seem new or unusual for any long-time Hamilton reader. After all, it's not like these people are treated as superior or anything...nor is skepticism/suspicion of them demonized. Some characters admire them, others think they're weird & unnatural, and Hamilton really doesn't present either side as being right or wrong. He's not trying to make you bow down to a transgender agenda, okay? I would be the first to be turned off if it came off that way.In conclusion--if you like this author's books, just read these. But I probably didn't need to tell you that...

I really enjoy this series by this author. It jumps around a lot and can be a little bit confusing sometimes but it eventually becomes apparent to what’s happening in the book. The book is a little too stiff to read and is in good shape.

Still a tough read. Nonlinear story timeline, characters jumping around in time and space. Starting to be bored with the infinitely powerful inscrutable enemy. But I’ll probably read the conclusion.

Ein mehr als würdiges Mittelstück in der Saga. Fantastische Perspektivenwechsel und Aha-Momente inklusive. Hamilton hat hier wirklich etwas Grandioses erschaffen! Vor allem die zeitlichen Verschränkungen und Spannungsbögen fand ich einmalig und noch nie dagewesen!

Beatific, detailed enticing story. The switching between the parallel scenarios do not affect the reading experience. You will hold your breath at nearly every turn of page. One of the best books from Hamilton !

I must have gone through this one in less than a month. The exciting second book in the salvation sequence. It is once again another exceptional Hamilton piece of of sci-fi.The story picks up from the exciting conclusions of salvation. WARNING - SOME SLIGHT SPOILERS BELOW.We get the same back and forth perspectives of humanity’s descendants in the future, adapting to life on the move and preparing for their inevitable face off against a 10 thousand year old enemy. We also flip back to the past to see how things got to where they are in the future. It is very well done, following up with the base of characters established in book one, both in the past and future.A thoroughly enjoyable read with lot of drama, action, suspense and really good humour! Set in a sci-fi universe but brilliantly encompassing all manner of sub-genres. An excellent cast of characters and very well written. In a nutshell: Hamilton once again at his best.I’m off to start book 3 now; The saints of salvation. Can’t wait!

Imaginative ideas leap from the pages imbued with an immediacy, energy, and believability that will sweep you away and make you wish the book never ends. Read it. Live it.

Tient en haleine de bout en bout, suggère des pistes sur les teneurs du N°3... bref Hamilton comme toujours est un bon pêcheur de lecteur.On est 'ferré' ayant avalé l'hameçon et la ligne jusqu'au gosier.