# The Abyss Beyond Dreams

![Book cover of The Abyss Beyond Dreams](/books/covers/the_abyss_beyond_dreams.jpg)

by [Peter F. Hamilton](/books/authors/peter_f_hamilton/)
Book 1 of [The Chronicle of the Fallers](/books/series/the_chronicle_of_the_fallers/)
Awards: [2023 Favorites](/blog/favorite-books-of-2023/)
★★★☆☆

## Review

_The Abyss Beyond Dreams_ starts off _The Chronicle of the Fallers_, another series in Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth universe. Though billed as space opera, it often reads more as
urban fantasy since most of the story occurs on the planet Bienvenido inside
the Void where steam engines are their most advanced technology.

The story of _The Abyss Beyond Dreams_ feels derivative at first because it parallels
Edeard's from [_The Void Trilogy_](/books/series/the_void_trilogy/). Young psychic Slvasta joins the army, leaves his
rural home for the capital, realizes the seemingly benevolent rulers are
corrupt, and decides to overthrow them.

The core difference lies with the Fallers---an alien terraforming weapon that
consumes and replaces any person it touches.

There are two interwoven storylines:

1. A violent, working-class revolution against Bienvenido's authoritarian
   government ruled by a monarch who is descended from the captain of the
   crashed ship. Slvasta and friends challenge them first through politics and
   then armed uprising.

2. An _"Outside Context Problem"_[^excession] created by Nigel Sheldon, who
   has infiltrated the Void and came prepared with advanced biotechnology
   designed to work in the physics-bending pocket universe. He uses his
   advanced technology and knowledge to initiate and steer the revolution so
   that he can steal advanced weapons from the king's palace to fight the
   Fallers.

The revolution sections are tense, but still drag. I could not wait to get
back to the Sheldon sections.

Surprisingly, the book contains a complete story arc, whereas Hamilton normally splits the story across the entire series.
But this did make the story feel a little too quick. Several challenges that I
expected would build to climatic confrontations were resolved in under a page.

But these complaints are minor. The writing is great and the pacing kept me on
the edge of my seat. A book I could not put down!

[^excession]: Coined by [Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/) in [_Excession_](/books/excession/):

    > An Outside Context Problem was the sort of thing most civilizations
    > encountered just once, and which they tended to encounter rather in the
    > same way a sentence encountered a full stop. The usual example given to
    > illustrate an Outside Context Problem was imagining you were a tribe on
    > a largish, fertile island; you'd tamed the land, invented the wheel or
    > writing or whatever, the neighbors were cooperative or enslaved but at
    > any rate peaceful and you were busy raising temples to yourself with all
    > the excess productive capacity you had, you were in a position of
    > near-absolute power and control which your hallowed ancestors could
    > hardly have dreamed of and the whole situation was just running along
    > nicely like a canoe on wet grass... when suddenly this bristling lump of
    > iron appears sailless and trailing steam in the bay and these guys
    > carrying long funny-looking sticks come ashore and announce you've just
    > been discovered, you're all subjects of the Emperor now, he's keen on
    > presents called tax and these bright-eyed holy men would like a word
    > with your priests.

## Reviews that mention _The Abyss Beyond Dreams_
- [_Excession_](/books/excession/)
- [_Night Without Stars_](/books/night_without_stars/)
- [_Starquake_](/books/starquake/)†

† _Mentioned via a link to the series._

## Related Books
- [_Night Without Stars_](/books/night_without_stars/) by [Peter F. Hamilton](/books/authors/peter_f_hamilton/) --- ★★★☆☆: Night Without Stars is the second book in The Chronicle of the Fallers. It is action packed, with great pacing, and complex characters. It is my new favorite Peter F. Hamilton book.
- [_The Evolutionary Void_](/books/the_evolutionary_void/) by [Peter F. Hamilton](/books/authors/peter_f_hamilton/) --- ★★☆☆☆: The final book in Hamilton’s The Void Trilogy, The Evolutionary Void, wraps up the series well, but a little too quickly. All the characters and storylines arrive where they’re needed and then the story is over.
- [_The Temporal Void_](/books/the_temporal_void/) by [Peter F. Hamilton](/books/authors/peter_f_hamilton/) --- ★★☆☆☆: The second book in Hamilton’s The Void Trilogy, The Temporal Void, continues to advance the story, but like many middle books in a trilogy, it does so slowly. Much of this slowness is due to multiple, massive, 200-page chapters following Edeard in the Void.