Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Dreaming Void  By  cover art

The Dreaming Void

By: Peter F. Hamilton
Narrated by: Toby Longworth
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.61

Buy for $26.61

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Will they find the utopian dream – or a galactic nightmare? From Peter F. Hamilton, The Dreaming Void is the first in an epic space opera trilogy. Set in his expansive Commonwealth universe, it is perfect for fans of Iain M. Banks and Stephen Baxter.

AD 3580. The Commonwealth has spread its civilization throughout the galaxy. Its citizens are privileged and protected by a powerful navy. And at the galaxy’s centre is the Void, a sealed universe created by aliens billions of years ago. Yet the Void isn’t inert. It’s expanding – and now it wants to make contact.

The Void chooses Inigo as its conduit and he channels dreams of a simpler, better life within its bounds. His visions attract followers – determined to seek this utopia. And they’ll cross the Void’s forbidden boundaries to reach it. However, this act could trigger push it to grow beyond all control . . . destroying everything in its path.

The Dreaming Void is followed by The Temporal Void in this stunning trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.

©2008 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Macmillan Digital Audio

What listeners say about The Dreaming Void

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    265
  • 4 Stars
    135
  • 3 Stars
    31
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    176
  • 4 Stars
    102
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    211
  • 4 Stars
    88
  • 3 Stars
    18
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    2

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

A little confusing to start with.. and then...

OK I found the start of this book a little confusing, the narrative flits around like a butterfly from plotline to plotline without fully explaining who the characters are, but you get the hang of it eventually.
And then... Just when I was really getting into the book, it ended. It didnt really end with a satisfactory conclusion, or even a cliffhanger to have you wanting a sequel, it just stopped. It's as if the author was told by the publisher to hurry up and finish it. Well I for one am hoping there is a sequel. But I can only give it 3 stars because of it's ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Complex, fascinating and thrilling

Hammilton does again. Creating a truely manificient Si-Fi future, with a magnitude of ideas and technology I for one have not come across before. The plot unwinds slowly - this book alone is over around a 1000 pages and the story continues in the newly released follow-up. But that does not make Hammilton a slow writer - the story is facinating and captivating all the way through.

Reades migh be confused by the sheer number of characters and parallel plotlines, as well as the little trick of inserting a series of dreams essential to the plot inbetween the normal chapters. But rest assured knowning that Hammilton is the man to bring it all together to create that perfect picture in the end (the eventual end, that is).

It might be recommended that you start with Pandoras Star followed by Judas Unchained, since a few characters reapper (and that series is now completed). Not essential though, as the timeline has progressed 1200 years, and the plot is all new.

Hammilton is a must-read for Si-Fi fans, but be warned: Like me, you might not be able to turn it off. Beam me up.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great opener / terrible narration

The story is great. Typical Hamilton space opera. But Longworth’s narration is just terrible. His reading voice is good but his character voicing is appalling. It is so bad that it wrecks the story. His characters sound like morons. The Paula / Oscar scene is just so awful that it becomes ridiculous. I wish I could get the John Lee version but it is unavailable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

Someone I don't know all that well was raving about this author, so I thought I would give him ago, especially after reading the other reviews. But although there are some original ideas, it's basically, a fairly predictable science fiction soap opera. Like watching B grade movies on TV if you're bored, it's Ok to listen to if your stuck with nothing else better. I was hoping it might come close to other Sci Fi greats like, the Enders Game series, or some Asimov (the Police Detective guy things), Dune (but not it's sequels), Philip Dick (Do Androids Dream of Electri Sheep) or Rama by Arthur C Clarke. But no unfortunately. This author's hang up about sex, although not getting in the way of the book too much, is pretty weird, as some other review writer said. In fact Sci Fi writers seem pretty messed up in this area except for Orson Scott Card, which is why the Ender's Game series is the best (especially Speaker for the Dead, the second book). The Narration is good but not fantastic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

John Lee or Peter Kenney should have read it

The Commonwealth is going post physical. And it's thousand year old​ scions sound like pirates. Each and every one.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, over acted

Great book. Toby Longworth has a nice "narrators voice" but the voice acting is over the top. Half the male characters and nearly all the females sound like idiots. Even Paula Myo (scandal!). I'll read the rest of the series myself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Superbly voice acted and paced

Toby Longworth's narration places this audiobook at the pinnacle of dozens I've heard from Audible. His pacing and voice acting is effective and diverse, and brings the book to life. The Dreaming Void itself is pure space opera, and really enjoyable. My previous exposure to Hamilton was via the Night's Dawn trilogy, which spun off into left field with its mystical/afterlife/religious overtones. I'm very glad to report that with a mix of post-singularity galactic society and very human politicking this one feels a lot more like Ian M Banks' style, particulary when the measured pacing explodes into the microsecond scale and violent energy of high technology combat. Great space opera, but the clincher for this audiobook is unsurpassed commitment and acting by the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good start of a series

To put it simple: the touch of Peter F Hamilton. After I read it 10 years ago… now it’s even better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I quite enjoyed it

I’ve seen one or two negative reviews on this one but for myself I quite enjoyed it. The Narrator’s female voices notwithstanding he did a good job of it too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Superficial and going nowhere

Please, please don't buy and listen to this audio book.
As other reviewers have indicated already, the author jumps from one character to another which makes it quite difficult to follow. But the problem is worse than that. After reading the full book, it is still a complete mystery as to what the motivations and goals are of most characters. Aaron, one of the first characters you meet in the book, has complete amnesia and has no idea what his past is. That could be a good start for a character has it could try to figure out its past. But Aaron does no such thing. Never in the entire story does Aaron try to find out his own past, consider what his motivations are, or makes any decisions as to what his goals are. He acts like a robot programmed to find the First Dreamer and he does that without question.
This happens for many characters in the story. Many of them are agents for factions of A.N.A., but what their personal motivations are or why they support those factions, no idea.

Also the voice actor does not make things better at all. Most characters get some variation of an extremely husky voice. Especially the dialogue between Troblem and Marius halfway the story, made me realize how incredibly silly those voices are.

So my advise is, stay away from this audio book and find something better.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!