Name: Shona Tiger's review of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
Item: Salvation
Rating: 5
Author: Shona Tiger

Peter F. Hamilton

Humanity's complex relationship with technology spirals out of control in this first book of an all-new series from "the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction" (Ken Follett). "How far 'space opera' has come! The Old Masters of sci-fi would admire the scope and sweep of Salvation."--The Wall Street Journal In the year 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. Cutting-edge technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transportation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on Earth, every distant planet humankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. All seems wonderful--until a crashed alien spaceship of unknown origin is found on a newly located world eighty-nine light-years from Earth, carrying a cargo as strange as it is horrifying. To assess the potential of the threat, a high-powered team is dispatched to investigate. But one of them may not be all they seem. . . . Bursting with tension and big ideas, Peter F. Hamilton's Salvation is the first book of an all-new series that highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game. Praise for Salvation "[A] vast, intricate sci-fi showstopper . . . The journey grips just as hard as the reveal."--Daily Mail (U.K.) "Exciting, wildly imaginative and quite possibly Hamilton's best book to date."--SFX "Dynamic, multifaceted characters, strong mind-expanding concepts, and impressive flair for language [make Salvation a] rare celestial event. . . . One of Britain's bestselling sci-fi authors has launched an addictive new book as the initial stage of what is sure to be an intriguing new series called the Salvation Sequence."--SyFyWire "Peter Hamilton just keeps getting better and better with each book, more assured and more craftsmanly adroit, and more inventive. [Salvation is] a bravura performance from start to finish. . . . Hamilton is juggling chainsaws while simultaneously doing needlepoint over a shark tank. It's a virtuoso treat, and I for one can hardly wait for Salvation Lost."--Paul Di Filippo, Locus "Peter F. Hamilton is known as one of the world's greatest sci-fi writers for a reason. . . . Salvation is well worth the effort and a great introduction to some good old-fashioned space opera."--Fantasy Book Review

Salvation

Lucas Dietrich

Shona Tiger

Absolutely my favourite sci-fi author. That is all.

James Paden

Best sci-fi I've read in a couple of years. Highly recommend.

"Humanity's complex relationship with technology spirals out of control in this first book of an all-new trilogy from "the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction" (Ken Follett). In 2204, humanity is expanding into the wider galaxy in leaps and bounds. Cutting-edge technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transportation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on earth, every distant planet humankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. And all seems wonderful--until a crashed alien spaceship of unknown origin is found on a newly-located world eighty-nine light years from Earth, carrying a cargo as strange as it is horrifying. To assess the potential of the threat a high-powered team is dispatched to investigate. But one of them may not be all they seem... Bursting with tension and big ideas, this standalone series highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game, as the interweaving story lines tell us not only how humanity arrived at this moment, but also the far-future consequences that spin off from it"--

Cindy Lieberman

An interesting and layered novel that deals with issues of trust, motive and what it means to be human. As the first in a series, many things are left unresolved, and I am looking forward to seeing how the series develops. As an audiobook listener, I was often confused because I couldn’t go back and easily see the different years of each thread or section and how it relates to the current one, but I managed to get the gist of it.

Bryan Alexander

I was looking for a good space opera and so decided to try Peter Hamilton again. In that vein, Salvation is a good read.

First in a series, Salvation sets up a future world, a pile of characters, and a bunch of plots to get the whole thing roiling. In it humanity has spread into space, thanks in part to widespread, cheap teleportation doors. Folks can stroll from London to Paris to Mars to an asteroid orbiting another star. There are other innovations and changes, but the doors are the big thing.

There are actually several settings. The story's main event occurs during the early 23rd century. There's a historical prelude. And there are chapters taking place in the future's future, some six centuries after an event that isn't specified until the end.

The plot - well. It's really a thin frame built on top of a stack of travelers' tales. That's an old, old device, which you can find in Chaucer as well as Dan Simmons. In Salvation we get an odd mix of mostly high-powered folks being driven across an alien world's surface to find an alien starship. Along the way these folks argue, and then explain themselves by narrating a key event in their past. 

Those stories... are ok. They're mostly crime stories, variations on police procedurals. Hamilton makes them engaging, although I started skimming as I usually do when faced with unremarkable prose, redundant dialog, very few descriptions, and bombastic characters. The details just decreased in interestingness as I plowed on. This experience occupied the majority of my reading time, and had me thinking: hm, three stars.

There's also a kind of military training plot taking place in that future's future, where a bunch of kids learn to fight an unnamed bad alien species. This felt like young adult stuff and wasn't that interesting, even after you realize the Chaucerian/Hyperion storytellers are characters from the YA culture's past.

Then by the end the opening frame story returned, and Hamilton did great work in completing it, integrating the previous tales while adding some adrenaline kicks and revealing new plots. Obviously it sets up a sequel (again, cf Hyperion) but I knew that going in. I don't want to spoil readers starting off, or in mid-stream, so behind spoiler shields I go: (view spoiler)[I was delighted when our frame plot's narrator took an ax to the head in mid-spiel. A fine coup de theatre! Also, given his name - Kayne - i.e., Cain - I thought he'd be doing the killings. Good. This upended things, giving us the benign aliens as evil invaders, then pulling together threads from the Canterbury tales. Now I was engaged and want to see what's next. (hide spoiler)]

One of the pleasures in space opera is the exploration of ideas on a grand background. Another pleasure is seeing old ideas reworked. Salvation is mostly the latter, with teleportation doors, augmented humans, difficult aliens, interstellar commerce, augmented reality devices, etc. being quite familiar. I did find two ideas of note, though, that intrigued me.
1) Using teleportation doors to get rid of junk, including ridding the Earth of industrial-era remains. And naturally the complexities around this. (I think at least one is an open question in the novel, aimed at the next books.)
2) Combining a socialist, post-scarcity utopia with mandatory gender fluidity. The badly named Utopialists insist that each member be modified to occupy an ambiguous space along the gender binary. I've read stories where such modifications were optional and set in a postcapitalist milieu, like Samuel Delany's Trouble on Triton (1976) or Banks' Culture series, but couldn't think of one where they were essential in that setting. This isn't presented as utopian or dystopian; instead, the idea and practice are both celebrated and contested.

What else... there are a few little nods to other space opera stories and writers. An offhand remark mentions one star has been nicknamed "the Eye of God"(276), a clear tip of the hat to The Mote in God's Eye (1974) (still one of my favorite sf novels). Three starships are named the Morgan, the McAuley, and the Asher (483, 539), clearly nodding to Richard Morgan, Paul McAuley, and Neal Asher.

So, if you're looking for a fun space opera, or a gripping science fiction novel, I recommend it... with the reservations about the storytelling majority of it.

PS: here is an official soundtrack for the novel. It's lovely, but not really appropriate. It's dreamy and spacey. In my view it needs to be more energetic and propulsive to address the middle of the novel.

Ian Mason

Know your enemy - or be defeated. AD 2204 An alien shipwreck is discovered on a planet at the very limits of human expansion - so Security Director Feriton Kayne selects a team to investigate. The ship's sinister cargo not only raises bewildering questions, but could also foreshadow humanity's extinction. It will be up to the team to bring back answers, and the consequences of this voyage will change everything. Back on Earth, we can now make deserts bloom and extend lifespans indefinitely, so humanity seems invulnerable. We therefore welcomed the Olyix to Earth when they contacted us. They needed fuel for their pilgrimage across the galaxy - and in exchange they helped us advance our technology. But were the Olyix a blessing or a curse? THE FAR FUTURE Many lightyears from Earth, Dellian and his clan of genetically engineered soldiers are raised with one goal. They must confront and destroy their ancient adversary. The enemy caused mankind to flee across the galaxy and they hunt us still. If they aren't stopped, we will be wiped out - and we're running out of time. Salvation is the first title in a stunning science fiction trilogy, the Salvation Sequence, by Peter F. Hamilton

Mike Cooper

Klaus Eck

Martin Weitzel

Scordatura

All the best in humanity rises to meet a powerful alien threat in the sequel to Salvation--part of an all-new trilogy from "the owner of the most powerful imagination in science fiction" (Ken Follett). The comparative utopia of twenty-third-century Earth is about to go dreadfully awry when a seemingly benign alien race is abruptly revealed to be one of the worst threats humanity has ever faced. Driven by an intense religious extremism, the Olyix are determined to bring everyone to their version of God as they see it. But they may have met their match in humanity, who are not about to go gently into that good night or spend the rest of their days cowering in hiding. As human ingenuity and determination rise to the challenge, collective humanity has only one goal--to wipe this apparently undefeatable enemy from the face of creation. Even if it means playing a ridiculously long game indeed. But in a chaotic universe, it is hard to plan for every eventuality, and it is always darkest before the dawn.

Salvation Lost

Matthew Rasnake

Benjamin Snipes

The Hissing Saint

Alexander Neumann

Humanity rises to meet a powerful alien threat, in this extraordinary sequel to Peter F. Hamilton’s Salvation. This is a high-octane adventure from 'the most powerful imagination in science fiction' (Ken Follett). Fight together - or die alone . . . In the twenty-third century, humanity is enjoying a comparative utopia. Yet life on Earth is about to change, forever. Feriton Kane’s investigative team has discovered the worst threat ever to face mankind – and we’ve almost no time to fight back. The supposedly benign Olyix plan to harvest humanity, in order to carry us to their god at the end of the universe. And as their agents conclude schemes down on earth, vast warships converge above to gather this cargo. Some factions push for humanity to flee, to live in hiding amongst the stars – although only a chosen few would make it out in time. But others refuse to break before the storm. As disaster looms, animosities must be set aside to focus on just one goal: wiping this enemy from the face of creation. Even if it means preparing for a future this generation will never see. Salvation Lost is the second book in the Salvation Sequence by Peter F. Hamilton 'Everything readers of Salvation will have hoped for. A series emerging as a modern classic' Stephen Baxter 'Brilliant and compelling. A masterclass in tension and spectacle' Gareth L. Powell

Lucas Dietrich &
Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

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