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A review by willrefuge
The Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
4.0
8 / 10 ✪
Please beware spoilers for the Salvation Sequence—Books 1 & 2—or check out my reviews of both below.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/11/06/the-saints-of-salvation-by-peter-f-hamilton-review/
Years into the siege of Earth, the situation is dire. Most cities are losing shield-integrity due to time rather than the once prevalent sabotage, with few such as those in London, New York, Leipzig, and other megalopolises holding out. Even in the 23rd century, one of warfare’s oldest traditions remains true: the longer a city is besieged for, the more likely it is to fall.
But the situation grows worse still. Outside of Earth, other developed worlds have begun to fall, and are harvested by the Olyix to present to their god at the end of time. The human race is approaching extinction.
In one last desperate act, the “Saints” are sent to infiltrate the Salvation of Life—the Olyix arkship—where they are to secrete themselves aboard, and wait. Wait, until the planet falls. Wait, until the fleet returns to the Olyix homeworld. Wait—and signal its location to the resistance, once sufficient time has passed.
Assuming, that is, there is any resistance at all.
In the far future, the full reality of humanity’s is revealed. Their ambush has failed. The Olyix know of their plans, and those further to spread humanity across the greater galaxy. Only Ainsley’s intervention spared Yirella, Dellian, and the rest the same fate. Now, one question remains: do they take the Neana option and hide amongst the emptiness between stars, or do they continue the fight, throwing well-worn strategies to the wind and trying something truly crazy?
—
What is reality but chaos?
—
Thus ends the Salvation Sequence. I have to say that overall, I quite enjoyed it. Now, the trainwreck that was Salvation (the first book) really weeded out a lot of those less dedicated fans. Or in my case, the less curious ones. The two books following it, however, were lovely. Rip-roaring space operas on the grandest of scales following the biggest of plot-points: the survival of the human race. Now, I was a little disappointed in the characters, both those in the past and in the future, as they’re not as deep as those in some of the author’s other books. Of course, where those were most of 1000+ pages and these only pushing 600, that could well be the reason, though there was still ample time to kill that could’ve done with a bit more characterization. Something like that found in the first book, only sprinkled throughout the other two, once the overarching plot was set in motion.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the premise, plot, and aim of the series as a whole, in addition to the path traveled. Other than the character depth (and a bit of time-wasting), I’ve nothing to complain about at all. In fact, this was the series to rekindle my interest in the Commonwealth, and has since convinced me to tackle a few more of the author’s books—starting with Great North Road.
While all of the characters had their arcs wrapped up quite nicely, not all of our questions were answered in this final installment. After all, this is but the latest installment (actually, I think it’s chronologically the earliest?) in Hamilton’s greater Commonwealth Universe, which means that there’s everything to follow—so one must expect a bit of mystery regarding the future.
Future that we may explore together, after all.
Please beware spoilers for the Salvation Sequence—Books 1 & 2—or check out my reviews of both below.
https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2023/11/06/the-saints-of-salvation-by-peter-f-hamilton-review/
Years into the siege of Earth, the situation is dire. Most cities are losing shield-integrity due to time rather than the once prevalent sabotage, with few such as those in London, New York, Leipzig, and other megalopolises holding out. Even in the 23rd century, one of warfare’s oldest traditions remains true: the longer a city is besieged for, the more likely it is to fall.
But the situation grows worse still. Outside of Earth, other developed worlds have begun to fall, and are harvested by the Olyix to present to their god at the end of time. The human race is approaching extinction.
In one last desperate act, the “Saints” are sent to infiltrate the Salvation of Life—the Olyix arkship—where they are to secrete themselves aboard, and wait. Wait, until the planet falls. Wait, until the fleet returns to the Olyix homeworld. Wait—and signal its location to the resistance, once sufficient time has passed.
Assuming, that is, there is any resistance at all.
In the far future, the full reality of humanity’s is revealed. Their ambush has failed. The Olyix know of their plans, and those further to spread humanity across the greater galaxy. Only Ainsley’s intervention spared Yirella, Dellian, and the rest the same fate. Now, one question remains: do they take the Neana option and hide amongst the emptiness between stars, or do they continue the fight, throwing well-worn strategies to the wind and trying something truly crazy?
—
What is reality but chaos?
—
Thus ends the Salvation Sequence. I have to say that overall, I quite enjoyed it. Now, the trainwreck that was Salvation (the first book) really weeded out a lot of those less dedicated fans. Or in my case, the less curious ones. The two books following it, however, were lovely. Rip-roaring space operas on the grandest of scales following the biggest of plot-points: the survival of the human race. Now, I was a little disappointed in the characters, both those in the past and in the future, as they’re not as deep as those in some of the author’s other books. Of course, where those were most of 1000+ pages and these only pushing 600, that could well be the reason, though there was still ample time to kill that could’ve done with a bit more characterization. Something like that found in the first book, only sprinkled throughout the other two, once the overarching plot was set in motion.
Otherwise, I enjoyed the premise, plot, and aim of the series as a whole, in addition to the path traveled. Other than the character depth (and a bit of time-wasting), I’ve nothing to complain about at all. In fact, this was the series to rekindle my interest in the Commonwealth, and has since convinced me to tackle a few more of the author’s books—starting with Great North Road.
While all of the characters had their arcs wrapped up quite nicely, not all of our questions were answered in this final installment. After all, this is but the latest installment (actually, I think it’s chronologically the earliest?) in Hamilton’s greater Commonwealth Universe, which means that there’s everything to follow—so one must expect a bit of mystery regarding the future.
Future that we may explore together, after all.