How to Read a Peter F. Hamilton Book

There’s a new PFH book, Salvation, I’d like to get to reading. Before that, I have a tsundoku in iBooks. So now’s the time to read the Dreaming Void trilogy; these are sequels of sorts to Pandora’s Star (excellent book about a really horrible alien, read long ago), and Judas Unchained (remember less than nothing about it; did I even read it? Maybe I was drinking a lot).

But there comes the rub: You can’t just read a PFH doorstop. No, you need to study it, and take notes like a college class, because the concept of focusing on one protagonist and telling a linear story isn’t his thing. If it was hard to write, it should be hard to read, is his philosophy.

At 17% through The Dreaming Void, I have the following notes (in Apple Notes so I can edit them anywhere); probably SPOILER, but a good example of my process. For dead tree books I made longer notes on everyone, with page refs, but since you can search iBooks there’s no need anymore.

Dreaming Void

Places, Reality

Centurion Station: Near the Void
Ellezelin: Living Dream planet, Makkathran2 city.
Arevalo: Central Commonwealth planet, Higher. Daroca city.
Far Away: Base of the Starflyer
Lytham: Central world far from Earth
Oronsay: External world 100LY from Central
Fandola:

Places, Void

Querencia: Void planet
Makkathran: Main city
Ashwell: Smaller city

Species

Human: Higher, Advancer, Natural
Prime, Starflyer: Mind-controlling aliens
Anomine: Trapped the Prime
Golant: Humanoid
Ticoth: Predators, herds of prey
Suline: Aquatic
Ethox: ?
Forleene: ?
Kandra: ?
Jadradesh: ?
Raiel: Ancient, discovered the Void
Ocisen: BEM. Opposed to Pilgrimage
Hancher: Protected by Humans, enemies of Ocisen

Groups

Commonwealth:
ANA: "Advanced Neural Activity", mind pool of dead Highers
Free Market:
External:

People, Reality

Ozzie & Nigel: wormhole inventors
Inigo: First Dreamer
LionWalker Eyre: director of Centurion Station
Aaron: Blank on Makkathran2
Ethan: Conservator of Living Dream
Lady, Bad News: ?
Chief Cleric Phelim: Ethan's secretary
Corrie-Lyn: Inigo's former lover
Marius: ANA representative
Troblum: Starflyer fanboy, Higher
Mykala: 
Eoin: 
Yehudi: 
Kazimir Burnelli: First Admiral
Delivery Man:
Justine Burnelli: ANA representative
Gore Burnelli: ANA, old boss
Nelson Sheldon: ANA, security, Gore's co-conspirator
Araminta: Waitress, Niks, Colwyn City

People, Void

Waterwalker: Entered the Void
Skylord: ?
Akeem: Eggshaper
Edeard: Eggshaper apprentice
Salrana: Priestess

2 thoughts on “How to Read a Peter F. Hamilton Book”

  1. mdhughes says:

    @devilgate No editor, or if so the editor shares PFH’s giant-conspiracy-wall-of-notes organization method. The stories are generally worth reading, he’s one of the best space opera writers, but they take twice as much effort as any other author.

  2. devilgate says:

    @mdhughes OM god! I have the first Dreaming Void book on my shelves. But if it takes that much effort, you’ve put me off. I read the Night’s Dawn trilogy a few years ago, and I enjoyed it, but it took me an age, and I thought he really, really needed an editor. It sounds like he has not yet obtained one.

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