Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for The Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton and published by Pan Macmillan

About the Book

Humanity welcomed the Olyix and their utopian technology. But mankind was tricked. Now these visitors are extracting a terrible price. For two years, the Olyix have laid siege to Earth, harvesting its people for their god. One by one, cities are falling to their devastating weaponry. And while millions have fled to seek refuge in space, others continue to fight an apparently unwinnable war. As Earth’s defeat draws near, a team attempts to infiltrate the Salvation of Life – the Olyix’s arkship.

If it succeeds, those chosen will travel to a hidden enclave thousands of light-years away. Once there, they must signal its location to future generations, to bring the battle to the enemy. Maybe allies scattered throughout space and time can join forces. Yet in the far future, humanity are still hunted by their ancient adversary. And as forces battle on in the cold reaches of space, hope seems distant indeed…

About the Author

Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland and now lives near Bristol. He began writing in 1987 has penned many bestselling novels, including the Greg Mandel series, the Night’s Dawn trilogy, the Commonwealth Saga, short-story collections and the Salvation Sequence, set in a new universe.

My Review

Having originally welcomed the Olyix and their technologies, it became apparent that they had tricked mankind. They laid siege to the Earth and began harvesting the people there, cocooning them and shipping them back through their wormholes as offering to their god. They claim it is a mission to present all sentient life to this god at the end of time. Humanity is fighting back though, and they are prepared to play the long game, their plan has been millennia in the making and they are starting to reach the point where the final elements can be put into action.

The final part of this huge trilogy is set in two separate timelines. The main story is of Yirella and Ainsley and their efforts to take the fight to the Olyix. They decide to take a few calculated risks in their preparation to stop the Olyix taking humans and other species to their deity. The second smaller sub-plot is set on Earth; it is not a place as we would recognise. Cities are protected by shields to stop the harvesting of the population by the Olyix. They have laid waste to the world and slowly their agents and are some traitors are ensuring that the shields are coming down so their capturesnakes can capture the people left.

The final battle between humanity and the Olyix is frantically paced and contains all the things that I have come to expect from Hamilton, new concepts like time flowing differently only meters apart, wormholes linking places thousands of light-years apart, star-sized weapons, huge 3-metre tall humans that have evolved down a different path. On top of that, all the technologies feel plausible and utterly alien at the same time.

I really liked this as with the other two books in the trilogy. He has a knack of writing the huge galaxy-wide space operas that still have those intimate stories woven through it. It is very much plot-driven and the various threads that were teased out from the first two books are concluded almost neatly. I say almost, as there are certain suggestions in the book that implies there is much more to come from this universe that he has created here. I really hope that is the case.

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the blog tour

Buy this at your local independent bookshop. If you’re not sure where your nearest is then you can find one here

My thanks to Bethan at ed public relations for the copy of the book to read.

Spread the love