The Saints of Salvation by Peter F Hamilton
I would like to thank Beth from EDPR for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Macmillan
Published – Out Now
Price - £20.00 Hardcover £9.99 Kindle eBook
Live in hiding – or die for freedom
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 . . .
Space opera at its most operatic is a symphony of scale - vast civilisations; interstellar distances, fates of worlds and stories that span millennia. In Peter F Hamilton’s Salvation Sequence starting in Salvation and then Salvation Lost has been an epic tale of a near future high technology earth being confronted with galactic civilisation of religious fanatics keen on converting all lifeforms into cocoons to meet their God in the far future at the end of time. Finally, in The Saints of Salvation this final battle begins as Earth’s future generations take the fight back to the enemy’s home world. Prepare for science fiction on a truly galactic scale.
We have two timelines in this story. In the early twenty third century Earth has managed a breathing space from the Olyix invasion but at a huge cost. Those living in the remaining cities are protected behind massive shields while outside though the seas are boiling; mountains have been flattened by enemy warships and their agents slowly infiltrate each city and are bringing each city down one by one. In space some bodies are preparing new weapons to try and liberate humanity but also prepare for a mass exodus to the stars. A team comprising the five core characters that started the tale off in Salvation now board a hijacked Olyix starship to try and find the enemy’s core location to plan a counterattack. In the far future humanity has spread across the galaxy ever fleeing Olyix attacks but appeared to have stalled; now a group led by the smart and tactical Yirella arrive at a unusual solution to jumpstart the counterattack for what everyone hopes to be the last battle.
To give you a feel of how big this story goes an enthralling heart-racing alien invasion of London is just an early chapter. This story isn’t holding back Hamilton in both timelines unleashes truly awe-inspiring ideas of technology both biological and physical. In the twenty third century it’s starships that can destroy aliens and a tense tale of humans having one single advantage on the Olyix that they’ve learnt to intercept the Olyix groupmind reminiscent of WW2 and the enigma machine being cracked. There is a much better resolution of the London gang story I wasn’t too sure about in the previous book but this time it has an emotional depth. This part of the tale has the feel of a last stand – not everyone can get out and we know Earth itself is doomed. Sombre but stunning.
The far future tale as Yirella and her fleet make the final battle though is SF on a truly different scale. Armadas on both sides in tens of thousands, technology that goes easily past simple physical technology and raises questions of consciousness, evolution and controlling the powers of time itself. Here a weapon isn’t just powerful it can be a star itself. That’s the scale and yet pleasingly Hamilton adds in some humanity to each storyline. We get a gut-wrenching look at the people left behind in London making desperate choices; then we follow the people we know the future will call the Saints on a likely final mission with no return and ultimately in space Yirella has to tackle her elders and betters to get agreement on its time to stop running. Impressively we also get an insight into the Olyix and see they too have used the millennia since Earth’s conquest to raise their powers to godlike status. Pleasingly and through some smart science fiction speciation we get to see the two storylines smartly merge which was unexpected but felt incredibly satisfying pulling the trilogy together
This was an awe-inspiring read. It has been a long time since I’ve read a story that really stretches the scale of what the universe can cover and what humanity could evolve into. More action than philosophy it still raises some intriguing questions on what we are capable of. Hamilton concludes this tale but leaves an option for future adventures in the same universe. If you fancy spending your next lockdown touring the entire galaxy and its future, then this is a perfect trilogy to curl up with this winter.
