The Abyss Beyond Dreams

I do not disagree entirely with the negative reviews on here, and thus why it loses two stars. However these reviews seem to ignore what makes Hamilton enjoyable, even if it can be can an annoying slog at time - that is....he eventually gets around to finishing up all those lose ends, all the odd stories, characters that seem to vanish - it all just ends up tying up, eventually. And, it ends up doing so in an interesting way that in the end develops a good overall, and occasionally a bit complex, story. But it takes a long long verbose time to do it. This is fine if you're used to longer than average books, but if 800 pages makes you hesitate, than you really shouldn't be reading Hamilton, as the patience required won't come with a reward that'll leave you satisfied. But if you're used to 800+ page books, the story ends up being quite enjoyable. And, of course, I have to read the sequel, the decent story needs its ending

Executive Summary: This one started slow but ended strong and them just kind of stops. It really feels more like half of a book than the first in a Duology.Audiobook: John Lee does his usual excellent job. For me he's a bit synonymous with Sci-Fi, and certainly with the Commonwealth. He doesn't really do a lot of voices, but his main reading voice gives the story a sort of gravitas that makes these always in audio.Full ReviewI really liked the first dulogy of the commonwealth. There were some lulls, and [b:Pandora's Star 45252 Pandora's Star Peter F. Hamilton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440699949s/45252.jpg 987015] kind of abruptly ends, but it was really enjoyable. The void trilogy on the other hand wasn't quite as good. This book was probably closer to the Void trilogy for me than the original duology.I'd probably say it took me nearly a third of the book before I warmed up to it. I was confused and at times bored for the early going. I didn't connect to any of the characters or what was happening to them.Once Nigel Sheldon finally shows up, things start to pick up. However, I'd say this book is maybe less about Nigel than the blurb would have you believe. It's primarily focused on two characters. The first is a soldier named Sylvasta who is dedicated to eradicating an invading alien race called the fallers.The other young woman named Cassandra, who finds herself suddenly swept up into the world of the Commonwealth. I found Cassandra's story far more interesting (at least after some of the early parts where it didn't feel like she had much agency in her own story).Sylvasta's story however was interesting at times and slow at others. I never really connected to him that much.Much like [b:Pandora's Star 45252 Pandora's Star Peter F. Hamilton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440699949s/45252.jpg 987015] just as things are starting to get good, they stop. Thankfully I sat on this one for a few years so [b:Night Without Stars 31282861 Night Without Stars (Commonwealth Chronicle of the Fallers, #2) Peter F. Hamilton https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469707991s/31282861.jpg 44722327] is already waiting for me to pick it up.