The Abyss Beyond Dreams

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

The first volume in the Chronicles of the Fallers, The Abyss Beyond Dreams is an incredible adventure, exploring the mystery at the heart of the Peter F. Hamilton's sprawling Commonwealth Universe. For fans of Iain M. Banks and Alaistair Reynolds.

To save their civilization, he must destroy it.

When a so-called prophet sees visions of a lost civilization, Nigel Sheldon is asked to investigate. Especially as these dreams seem to be coming from the Void – a mysterious area of space with hugely destructive capabilities. Then Nigel crash-lands inside the Void, and finds so much more than he expected. Bienvenido: a planet populated by survivors from long-vanished Commonwealth ships.

For centuries their descendants have been fighting a desperate battle against the Fallers, space-born predators that have evolved to conquer worlds. And Nigel soon realizes that the Fallers hold the key to the destruction of the Void itself. If he can survive long enough to find it . . .

'Huge cast, enormous canvas, big ideas – mega in every way' – Daily Mail

Continue the adventure with the second in the duology, Night Without Stars.

Critic reviews

A thoroughly enjoyable and unstoppable work that will leave you craving more.

The Fallers threaten not only human settlers, but also the very existence of the universe. Hamilton expertly interleaves disparate storylines

Another stonkingly large and addictive SF thriller from one of the genre’s leading exponents. Huge cast, enormous canvas, big ideas – mega in every way.

Peter Hamilton’s new novel stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Culture books of Iain Banks and the Kefahuchi Tract saga of M. John Harrison . . . a book that is paradoxically both old-school and totally au courant: the best of two worlds

A satisfying and well-oiled story, with potential for more epic adventure to come

Quite simply, this is a novel whose world-building and story have been masterfully interwoven with previous Commonwealth novels, as well as one that stands alone in delivering a complex and immersive narrative, and shows a master at the top of his game. It’s intelligent and gripping, action-packed and emotional, but most of all it’s a shining example of what science fiction has to offer. I can’t recommend this novel highly enough

Peter Hamilton doesn’t just write Space Opera, he defines it . . . Imaginative, intelligent and accessible, The Abyss Beyond Dreams hits all the right notes

If you like your science fiction in the shape of epic, sprawling, interstellar space opera things can’t get much better than with new novel by everyone’s favourite Peter F. Hamilton . . . Quite simply, The Abyss Beyond Dreams is Hamilton’s love letter to his readers. It’s set in everyone’s favourite universe and it has everything you’d expect from Peter F. Hamilton’s book – epic scope, engaging story and twists to die for

Again, can not get enough of it

I've become a huge Commonwealth Saga fan ever since I listened to Pandora's Star (the very first part). This story in this new mini series (and by mini I mean it only has two parts, not that they are short books...) takes place largely parallel to that in the Void Trilogy. Which you should really listen to first, before you start with this one.
I was happy to meet some beloved characters again, though not all of them could be there of course, given this particular plot line.
As always the plot of this novel is intricate, with very well-fleshed out, very human characters, each with flaws and strenghts. You'll need to concentrate when you're listening, or you will loose your place - again, as usual with the Commonwealth books.

The book is very long but I consider that a treat. It's like all great novels and sagas: the longer the better, you simply want to stay immersed, hoping the experienced will never end. Fortunately there's a sequel to this novel - although unfortunately that one will finish the entire saga.

This is certainly not a fluffy, light read. You really have to go all in, but then an awesome new universe awaits you. I compare it to the Dune and Foundation sagas in its awesomeness and depth.

Narration by John Lee is great, I really find him the perfect narrator for Hamilton's books. He does great voices and accents, without overacting.

Nothing but praise, highly recommend!

Love it

Great book, great story, great narrator - its just great! If you dont like a long streichers story this might not be for you, But if you do, try it! Commonwealth saga is absolutely great too if u get hooked like i have !

Captivating story line

Less Victoria era drama than Void trilogy. Really enjoyable complex story line that keeps you entertained. Cant wait to start sequel

Superbly done

One of my most favourite authors with a new book that is great, performed well with enough feeling to give the characters life, loved it

excepțional book

I've read some comments that compared Peter F Hamilton with Asimov and I am a huge fan of Asimov). I would say Peter Hamilton's books have a richer content, more action and stories teaming with liveliness and inovațive detail (understandable given the time distance they wrote their books). Whole new worlds recreated in excepțional detail yet perceivable by the reader.

I fully recomend the Commonwealth series and the alternative void series ( the original void and this new one).