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Archimedes Engine #1
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine
Explore EXODUS, a new sci-fi action-adventure RPG coming soon from Archetype Entertainment featured in this epic novel from legendary author Peter F. Hamilton.
Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.
Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.
Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.
When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.
Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars.
Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion.
Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home.
When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.
928 pages, Hardcover
First published September 17, 2024
1,584 people are currently reading
14.3k people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
155books9,869followersPeter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.
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August 21, 2024
An epic space opera spanning millennia, across multiple star systems and a variety of advanced races, political machinations, and good old-fashioned humans. The skill of the author in building an intricate, inter-connected, believable set of worlds and cultures in which to set this story can’t be overstated. It’s quite an achievement.
The Set Up
The story is set 40,000 years in the future, in an area of space known as the Centauri Cluster. Playing the part of “advanced aliens� are humans that travelled to the Centauri Cluster, 16,000 light years from earth, “early� in the book’s timeline and made massive advances in technology and genetic engineering. They have highly sophisticated technology, and hugely extended lifespans. They are known as “celestials�.
And it’s just as well that they have extended lifespans, because there are no sci-fi tricks to allow anybody to travel or communicate faster than light: no hyperspace, no warp drive, no wormholes, no subspace communication. OK, so there’s one trick: a technology that allows very quick acceleration up to relativistic speeds (and deceleration), but this doesn’t change how relativistic laws still apply - including time dilation, where time passes more slowly for the people travelling than those left behind. And this is used to great effect in the story telling, where decades can pass on the planets while the plot follows some characters that are travelling between star systems.
The celestials originally arrived, as humans, in the Centauri cluster in generation ships - ships that travel at relativistic speeds, but still take millennia to travel between star systems (although it seems like less time to those on board). When they found an abundance of habitable worlds in the Centauri cluster, they sent out a “green worlds� signal to all of the other generation ships that had left earth. These ships then arrived in dribs and drabs over the next millennia, but weren’t especially welcome amongst the advanced (and now heavily populated) worlds of the Centauri cluster.
It is into this context that the latest generation ship arrives - the ‘Diligent�, which had been travelling away from the Centauri cluster when it received the “green worlds� signal, and thus has taken a somewhat circuitous route, to arrive late at the party.
And thus we have everything we need for an epic story of enormous scale. A downtrodden human population, into which new arrivals are injected. Plenty of opportunity for exposition, as the new arrivals have things explained to them about everything from technology, to politics, to celestial history. There are power structures amongst the celestials, with traditions and relationships that have spanned millennia, and are focused on retaining stability. There are secretive strategists, that have extensive information networks amongst their own, and their rivals, populations, and play the Great Game - a long game of strategy and political positioning.
And there is a rogue planet that is destined to enter one of the central star systems of the Centauri cluster, for reasons that nobody fully understands. And it is around consequences of the arrival of this planet that the main plot of the story revolves.
But Is It Good?
This book is� long. Obviously, I knew that when I started reading it. And it has to be reasonably long, given the scale and scope of the world building and the extensive cast of characters. And the length isn’t gratuitous at the paragraph level - there are no rambling descriptive passages that you can skip over. It’s wall-to-wall plot. However, the author does use plot to establish character and back-story, often telling entire sub-stories to flesh out the background of a character, technology, or organisation. The fine details of these sub-stories aren’t always important - but they might add flavour or depth to a particular character or broader sequence of events.
So to really enjoy this book, you need to be engaged and interested enough to want to immerse yourself in the sub-stories, and for those to be satisfying in themselves. This is space opera in its “soap opera� sense - where you want to hear more stories of the characters, places and organisations for their own sake, and where the advancement of the overall plot can sometimes take second place. And this is where I had a problem. I’m going to compare this to and , and not in a good way. Dune, because many of the characters aren’t particularly likeable, and I’m not particularly interested in political manoeuvring and power struggles; and Lord of the Rings, because many of the side quests don’t advance the plot as much as you might hope, and if you don’t care about the culture of dwarves in Middle-Earth (for example), you’re going to find it frustrating.
But Dune and Lord of the Rings are well liked, so perhaps it’s just me.
As I said at the beginning, there is no doubting the achievement of intricate world building that this book represents. If I was rating for that alone, it would get a solid 5 stars. But my personal enjoyment was hampered by my disinterest in the themes around politics and power struggles.
This is the first part of a duology. Will I read the second part when it’s released? I genuinely don’t know.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan Tor for the free review copy of #ExodusTheArchimedesEngine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
The Set Up
The story is set 40,000 years in the future, in an area of space known as the Centauri Cluster. Playing the part of “advanced aliens� are humans that travelled to the Centauri Cluster, 16,000 light years from earth, “early� in the book’s timeline and made massive advances in technology and genetic engineering. They have highly sophisticated technology, and hugely extended lifespans. They are known as “celestials�.
And it’s just as well that they have extended lifespans, because there are no sci-fi tricks to allow anybody to travel or communicate faster than light: no hyperspace, no warp drive, no wormholes, no subspace communication. OK, so there’s one trick: a technology that allows very quick acceleration up to relativistic speeds (and deceleration), but this doesn’t change how relativistic laws still apply - including time dilation, where time passes more slowly for the people travelling than those left behind. And this is used to great effect in the story telling, where decades can pass on the planets while the plot follows some characters that are travelling between star systems.
The celestials originally arrived, as humans, in the Centauri cluster in generation ships - ships that travel at relativistic speeds, but still take millennia to travel between star systems (although it seems like less time to those on board). When they found an abundance of habitable worlds in the Centauri cluster, they sent out a “green worlds� signal to all of the other generation ships that had left earth. These ships then arrived in dribs and drabs over the next millennia, but weren’t especially welcome amongst the advanced (and now heavily populated) worlds of the Centauri cluster.
It is into this context that the latest generation ship arrives - the ‘Diligent�, which had been travelling away from the Centauri cluster when it received the “green worlds� signal, and thus has taken a somewhat circuitous route, to arrive late at the party.
And thus we have everything we need for an epic story of enormous scale. A downtrodden human population, into which new arrivals are injected. Plenty of opportunity for exposition, as the new arrivals have things explained to them about everything from technology, to politics, to celestial history. There are power structures amongst the celestials, with traditions and relationships that have spanned millennia, and are focused on retaining stability. There are secretive strategists, that have extensive information networks amongst their own, and their rivals, populations, and play the Great Game - a long game of strategy and political positioning.
And there is a rogue planet that is destined to enter one of the central star systems of the Centauri cluster, for reasons that nobody fully understands. And it is around consequences of the arrival of this planet that the main plot of the story revolves.
But Is It Good?
This book is� long. Obviously, I knew that when I started reading it. And it has to be reasonably long, given the scale and scope of the world building and the extensive cast of characters. And the length isn’t gratuitous at the paragraph level - there are no rambling descriptive passages that you can skip over. It’s wall-to-wall plot. However, the author does use plot to establish character and back-story, often telling entire sub-stories to flesh out the background of a character, technology, or organisation. The fine details of these sub-stories aren’t always important - but they might add flavour or depth to a particular character or broader sequence of events.
So to really enjoy this book, you need to be engaged and interested enough to want to immerse yourself in the sub-stories, and for those to be satisfying in themselves. This is space opera in its “soap opera� sense - where you want to hear more stories of the characters, places and organisations for their own sake, and where the advancement of the overall plot can sometimes take second place. And this is where I had a problem. I’m going to compare this to and , and not in a good way. Dune, because many of the characters aren’t particularly likeable, and I’m not particularly interested in political manoeuvring and power struggles; and Lord of the Rings, because many of the side quests don’t advance the plot as much as you might hope, and if you don’t care about the culture of dwarves in Middle-Earth (for example), you’re going to find it frustrating.
But Dune and Lord of the Rings are well liked, so perhaps it’s just me.
As I said at the beginning, there is no doubting the achievement of intricate world building that this book represents. If I was rating for that alone, it would get a solid 5 stars. But my personal enjoyment was hampered by my disinterest in the themes around politics and power struggles.
This is the first part of a duology. Will I read the second part when it’s released? I genuinely don’t know.
Thank you #NetGalley and Pan MacMillan Tor for the free review copy of #ExodusTheArchimedesEngine in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
March 30, 2025
Epic in scope, characters and far future scientific speculations as always. Nothing short of exceeds expectations. One of the best Hard Sci-Fi reads I've sampled since Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds.
Absolutely superb work in par with his Dreaming Void trilogy, containing within, his unusually vivid and otherworldly alien visualizations represented in an anthropomorphic view; it's got a fast paced plot with expertly drawn three dimensional characters.
In other words, a novel with masterclass plot, pace and writing. I really give this one my highest recommendations for fans of this subgenre.
P.S
A more comprehensive review to follow after a rearrangement of my wild thoughts!
2024 Read
Absolutely superb work in par with his Dreaming Void trilogy, containing within, his unusually vivid and otherworldly alien visualizations represented in an anthropomorphic view; it's got a fast paced plot with expertly drawn three dimensional characters.
In other words, a novel with masterclass plot, pace and writing. I really give this one my highest recommendations for fans of this subgenre.
P.S
A more comprehensive review to follow after a rearrangement of my wild thoughts!
2024 Read
July 17, 2024
FinishedExodus: The Archimedes Engine by P Hamiltonand it quite surpassed my high expectations as it brought back the inventiveness, sense of wonder, and great characters that the author first displayed in his Night's Dawn trilogy and which was only partially seen in the rest of his work since.
And this with no ftl, aliens or inteligent ai's but with various kinds of humanity-descended advanced species, the Celestials, regular humans, and uranic humans (the ones that interface between the Celestials and the humans under their dominion) is that a good though the Celestials hand while firm and all-seeing is also quite benevolent in the worlds the action takes place as of now - though of course hints of malevolent Celestials and oppressed humans appear here and there - as the regular humans have high tech civilized societies, though with the usual blemishes, like gangs and drugs, fierce competition that can descend in all-out fights between factions etc).
The Celestials of our story - the Crown Dominion - while seemingly above this, have their forms of intrigue and competition, including powerful fleets that guard their borders against other potential malevolent Celestial races. And of course, the supreme Celestials of all, the mythical Elohim who long ago terraformed the numerous systems of today, are missing in action though their handiwork is still there (they are the only possessors of the Archimedes Engines who can move planets and stars and of the ability to create the interstellar gates through which spaceships move at 99.999 speed of light making the interaction between the numerous worlds of the Centauri cluster possible if still time-consuming for the ones not traveling relativistically).
At the high level, we have Helene-Chione, one of 5 (immortal mindline Helene, Chione being the current body name) Queens of the Crown Dominion Celestials which has seemingly been quite stable and prosperous for millennia, since the 5 Queens and their solar systems ganged up on the 6th which supposedly wanted dominion over all through dark genetic manipulations; but there are rumors of an Archimedes Engine planet hurtling towards them which can destabilize the current arrangement and after all, when 5 ganged on the 6th, 4 can gang up on the 5th on some pretext or another...
While of fairly young body, Helene has numerous consorts and gives birth (well, produces eggs that her consorts carry out to term...) to various children, of which the most promising daughters are groomed as princesses in waiting if something happens to the Chione body or when it ages out after 7-8 decades; but since the mindline can be transferred only at fairly young ages before personality sets in, the process continues as the aged-out princesses become valued members of the court and new such are instated; one is Thyra, single daughter of minor noble Bekket (known derisively as oneshot as usually more eggs are produced by the Queen) but with mysterious abilities of his own; and of course the other 4 of the current in-waiting brood, some true sisters and all from high born fathers, gang up on Thyra at any occasion, but Thyra seems to be a match for any and all of her rivals as she conclusively proves at the First Trial riding a unicorn against powerful modified beasts...
At the (to start) low level we have Finn, uranic son of one of the noble families that rule Gondiar, the human agricultural planet in Queen Helene's system, who is super-bored with his role, associates himself with discontented humans and dreams of flying to the stars with the Traveller families who own spaceships and go exploring and bringing old Remnant tech to the Celestials from dangerous places; to establish enough creed, he flies to the Anoosha the other human planet in the Dominion, an industrial one under a fellow/rival Celestial Queen, gets in over his head in the process and opens the book by being thrown outbound and naked from a high altitude plane... While a drone breaks his fatal fall, he still needs rescuing (as he is thrown naked into a snow-covered area) and we meet human newcomers Ellie of arkship Diligent and Josiah (her many generations ancestors, originally born of Earth 40000 years or so before and recently thawed), now marooned on Anoosha and strangers in a strange land. Finn wants to fly to the stars and would do anything it takes for that...
Also, we have Terence a young and upcoming detective in Santa Rosa, the capital of Gondiar, who accepts an interesting assignment and becomes involved with Celestial and Traveller intrigue which of course can get quite dangerous in itself.
With a layered and complex storyline of which we get successive glimpses only until the powerful finale which leaves the story at a good stopping point (thankfully no planet hopping waterfall ride this time as its sort of analog here is done earlier) the book is an extraordinary achievement in which the author really let fly his imagination.
Best of the year by far and will be hard to top in the promise sequel and duology ending The Helium Sea.
And this with no ftl, aliens or inteligent ai's but with various kinds of humanity-descended advanced species, the Celestials, regular humans, and uranic humans (the ones that interface between the Celestials and the humans under their dominion) is that a good though the Celestials hand while firm and all-seeing is also quite benevolent in the worlds the action takes place as of now - though of course hints of malevolent Celestials and oppressed humans appear here and there - as the regular humans have high tech civilized societies, though with the usual blemishes, like gangs and drugs, fierce competition that can descend in all-out fights between factions etc).
The Celestials of our story - the Crown Dominion - while seemingly above this, have their forms of intrigue and competition, including powerful fleets that guard their borders against other potential malevolent Celestial races. And of course, the supreme Celestials of all, the mythical Elohim who long ago terraformed the numerous systems of today, are missing in action though their handiwork is still there (they are the only possessors of the Archimedes Engines who can move planets and stars and of the ability to create the interstellar gates through which spaceships move at 99.999 speed of light making the interaction between the numerous worlds of the Centauri cluster possible if still time-consuming for the ones not traveling relativistically).
At the high level, we have Helene-Chione, one of 5 (immortal mindline Helene, Chione being the current body name) Queens of the Crown Dominion Celestials which has seemingly been quite stable and prosperous for millennia, since the 5 Queens and their solar systems ganged up on the 6th which supposedly wanted dominion over all through dark genetic manipulations; but there are rumors of an Archimedes Engine planet hurtling towards them which can destabilize the current arrangement and after all, when 5 ganged on the 6th, 4 can gang up on the 5th on some pretext or another...
While of fairly young body, Helene has numerous consorts and gives birth (well, produces eggs that her consorts carry out to term...) to various children, of which the most promising daughters are groomed as princesses in waiting if something happens to the Chione body or when it ages out after 7-8 decades; but since the mindline can be transferred only at fairly young ages before personality sets in, the process continues as the aged-out princesses become valued members of the court and new such are instated; one is Thyra, single daughter of minor noble Bekket (known derisively as oneshot as usually more eggs are produced by the Queen) but with mysterious abilities of his own; and of course the other 4 of the current in-waiting brood, some true sisters and all from high born fathers, gang up on Thyra at any occasion, but Thyra seems to be a match for any and all of her rivals as she conclusively proves at the First Trial riding a unicorn against powerful modified beasts...
At the (to start) low level we have Finn, uranic son of one of the noble families that rule Gondiar, the human agricultural planet in Queen Helene's system, who is super-bored with his role, associates himself with discontented humans and dreams of flying to the stars with the Traveller families who own spaceships and go exploring and bringing old Remnant tech to the Celestials from dangerous places; to establish enough creed, he flies to the Anoosha the other human planet in the Dominion, an industrial one under a fellow/rival Celestial Queen, gets in over his head in the process and opens the book by being thrown outbound and naked from a high altitude plane... While a drone breaks his fatal fall, he still needs rescuing (as he is thrown naked into a snow-covered area) and we meet human newcomers Ellie of arkship Diligent and Josiah (her many generations ancestors, originally born of Earth 40000 years or so before and recently thawed), now marooned on Anoosha and strangers in a strange land. Finn wants to fly to the stars and would do anything it takes for that...
Also, we have Terence a young and upcoming detective in Santa Rosa, the capital of Gondiar, who accepts an interesting assignment and becomes involved with Celestial and Traveller intrigue which of course can get quite dangerous in itself.
With a layered and complex storyline of which we get successive glimpses only until the powerful finale which leaves the story at a good stopping point (thankfully no planet hopping waterfall ride this time as its sort of analog here is done earlier) the book is an extraordinary achievement in which the author really let fly his imagination.
Best of the year by far and will be hard to top in the promise sequel and duology ending The Helium Sea.
July 12, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton has long been one of my favorite science-fiction writers. From my earliest days of reviewing when I worked at Borders Books, he was one of the first authors I got into after pulling a copy of The Reality Dysfunction off the shelf and totally becoming immersed in Hamilton's prodigious imagination. After that I was hooked and I couldn't get my hands on the rest of his books fast enough. Hamilton writes space opera that can also be heavy on the hard sf, but does it in such a way that even a newbie to the genre can grasp the plot without getting lost. It's a tough thing to pull off as a lot of hard sf elements can provide a good deal of intimidating moments for those who aren't used to reading it. EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is Hamilton's latest effort and I have much to say about it after venturing through its 900+ pages.
The first thing I will say is that immediately upon reading the back cover description this seemed like a book that was right up my alley. Generation ships fleeing Earth, setting up colonies and then seeing how that evolves tens of thousands of years later on said colonies? Yeah I guess you could say I was eager to read this story based on the tantalizing summary.
This is a huge book in pretty much every way. Huge in length, huge in galactic scope, with a huge cast of multi-dimensional characters. The main thrust of the plot is a very interesting one as the already established Celestials are now having to deal with a brand new group of colonists and see them as inferior just by virtue of the fact that they are new. Never mind that these Celestials were once exactly the same as the newly arrived colonists 40,000 years previously. I couldn't help but think that this was an intentional aspect of the storyline that kind of mirrors a lot of things that have happened in our real world history. And as the book progresses we get to see the same prejudices and stereotypes that have stained much of our past and present.
Understandably there is a good deal of setup in the first 200 pages or so of EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE. We get introduced to the timeline of events leading up to present day and then each major player and their particular factions and home worlds. It can be tough to wade through but thankfully there is a handy glossary to help keep everyone straight. After I was able to grasp who was who the story really took hold and I couldn't stop reading, often consuming this goliath of a novel in hefty chunks. And once Hamilton sucks you in, you really have to cancel all plans for a while because he doesn't do anything in a half-hearted way, its mostly pedal to the floor with mind-blowing scene after mind-blowing scene.
EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is a brilliant first book in what will be a duology, so there won't be very long to wait for the ending of this story. Please do not be put off by the size of it because there aren't very many lulls and I found myself breezing through it in fairly short order. I am constantly in awe of Peter F. Hamilton's incredible vision and ability to project that vision onto the written page. If you are looking for space opera that has a lot of meat on the bone, then you should jump on this right away. It's just another masterpiece in a long string of successes from one of the best in the biz. I can't wait for the final chapter of the duology because the cliffhanger to this one left me truly flabbergasted.
The first thing I will say is that immediately upon reading the back cover description this seemed like a book that was right up my alley. Generation ships fleeing Earth, setting up colonies and then seeing how that evolves tens of thousands of years later on said colonies? Yeah I guess you could say I was eager to read this story based on the tantalizing summary.
This is a huge book in pretty much every way. Huge in length, huge in galactic scope, with a huge cast of multi-dimensional characters. The main thrust of the plot is a very interesting one as the already established Celestials are now having to deal with a brand new group of colonists and see them as inferior just by virtue of the fact that they are new. Never mind that these Celestials were once exactly the same as the newly arrived colonists 40,000 years previously. I couldn't help but think that this was an intentional aspect of the storyline that kind of mirrors a lot of things that have happened in our real world history. And as the book progresses we get to see the same prejudices and stereotypes that have stained much of our past and present.
Understandably there is a good deal of setup in the first 200 pages or so of EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE. We get introduced to the timeline of events leading up to present day and then each major player and their particular factions and home worlds. It can be tough to wade through but thankfully there is a handy glossary to help keep everyone straight. After I was able to grasp who was who the story really took hold and I couldn't stop reading, often consuming this goliath of a novel in hefty chunks. And once Hamilton sucks you in, you really have to cancel all plans for a while because he doesn't do anything in a half-hearted way, its mostly pedal to the floor with mind-blowing scene after mind-blowing scene.
EXODUS: THE ARCHIMEDES ENGINE is a brilliant first book in what will be a duology, so there won't be very long to wait for the ending of this story. Please do not be put off by the size of it because there aren't very many lulls and I found myself breezing through it in fairly short order. I am constantly in awe of Peter F. Hamilton's incredible vision and ability to project that vision onto the written page. If you are looking for space opera that has a lot of meat on the bone, then you should jump on this right away. It's just another masterpiece in a long string of successes from one of the best in the biz. I can't wait for the final chapter of the duology because the cliffhanger to this one left me truly flabbergasted.
September 13, 2024
There was a time in my life when I thought I would never stop reading Science Fiction. The real, hard stuff, full of physics, other worlds, aliens and especially full of new ideas. Somehow I drifted away from the genre when all I saw published were books in the Fantasy genre, a genre that doesn’t appeal to me as strongly as SF does.
But every now and then, ever since I changed my focus to (true)crime and thrillers and the like, I feel strongly that I need some SF. I’ve just finished a heavy tome by Peter Hamilton, it’s almost 1000 pages, and it completely fulfilled my wishes!
The Archimedes Engine is not the first book I’ve read by this excellent master but every time I’m astonished again about all the ideas, the humans, the aliens and not to forget the worlds. And at the same time, there are a lot of things that are recognizable, still. Even 40.000 years in the future, even now humanity has evolved to almost another form of life, there are quarrels and fights, and love and hope � with a very human touch. This makes reading The Archimedes Engine so great: you can still relate to the characters. Not all, of course, and not all characters are very honest or likable, but still. In between the sometimes rather difficult to read explanations about how the different starships work, there is a lot to explore (no pun intended) in this book.
A book by Hamilton is not the kind of book you read in short sittings. You really need to take the time to sit (or lay in bed, or on the beach) and dive in. You will be rewarded with a great experience. And even you’ve never read SF, or never any books by Hamilton, it’s good to give this one a try. I’m already looking forward to the second part in this story.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this review copy.
But every now and then, ever since I changed my focus to (true)crime and thrillers and the like, I feel strongly that I need some SF. I’ve just finished a heavy tome by Peter Hamilton, it’s almost 1000 pages, and it completely fulfilled my wishes!
The Archimedes Engine is not the first book I’ve read by this excellent master but every time I’m astonished again about all the ideas, the humans, the aliens and not to forget the worlds. And at the same time, there are a lot of things that are recognizable, still. Even 40.000 years in the future, even now humanity has evolved to almost another form of life, there are quarrels and fights, and love and hope � with a very human touch. This makes reading The Archimedes Engine so great: you can still relate to the characters. Not all, of course, and not all characters are very honest or likable, but still. In between the sometimes rather difficult to read explanations about how the different starships work, there is a lot to explore (no pun intended) in this book.
A book by Hamilton is not the kind of book you read in short sittings. You really need to take the time to sit (or lay in bed, or on the beach) and dive in. You will be rewarded with a great experience. And even you’ve never read SF, or never any books by Hamilton, it’s good to give this one a try. I’m already looking forward to the second part in this story.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this review copy.
January 4, 2025
Really enjoyed this. Hamilton went wild with the worldbuilding here creating all kinds of new races and technology. If you have read other Hamilton books and realized his books tend to share some similar worldbuilding elements this will be a nice change of pace as it is quite different than his other books. What isn't different is his reliance on a big cast so there are a lot of names for you to learn and remember here. Especially when you consider this book has really good politics and scheming knowing those names is fairly important and one of the more challenging aspects. I often found myself trying to remember who X was and what side they might be representing. But once you get past that the scheming and betrayals and such are excellent. I'll be thinking about this book for a while and will definitely reread before book 2 comes out. I'm reserving one star to see how book 2 goes. If it pays off a lot of things here it will make book 1 retroactively better.
Update: I lied. I bumped this to 5 stars because I kept thinking about it and how incredibly unique it is.
Update: I lied. I bumped this to 5 stars because I kept thinking about it and how incredibly unique it is.
July 5, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is an epic science-fiction novel sitting at just shy of 1,000 pages. The first book, in what is set to be a duology, is phenomenal and ended in such a way that will leave readers clamoring for the conclusion to this story. My only complaint with this novel is a factor of the sheer size which left me constantly referring back to the dramatis personae to remind myself who a character was after they weren't mentioned for several hundred pages, as well as referring back to the "Timeline of The Centauri Cluster" found at the beginning of the book to remind myself of key events and the years in which they took place.
Hamilton's worldbuilding is superb, setting the stage for a mass exodus as humans flee a dying Earth for the Centauri cluster and its vast array of potentially habitable planets. Upon arrival, humanity finds many worlds suitable for habitation, and sends the "Green World Signal" back to Earth to encourage the rest of humanity to make the journey. Due to time dilation (I would recommend a quick Google review of the concept), once the rest of humanity has followed the Green World Signal and arrived in the Centauri system, over 40,000 years have passed since the original human pioneers arrived... and humanity has evolved. Now calling themselves Celestials, these incredibly advanced civilizations view humans as a primitive, archaic species and exile them to war-torn, remnant worlds to live under the rule of the Celestial dominions.
This book is an epic, space opera unlike anything I have had the pleasure of reading. This book is a commitment, and one that I will make again in a heartbeat when book two releases, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, Book Two: The Helium Sea.
Hamilton's worldbuilding is superb, setting the stage for a mass exodus as humans flee a dying Earth for the Centauri cluster and its vast array of potentially habitable planets. Upon arrival, humanity finds many worlds suitable for habitation, and sends the "Green World Signal" back to Earth to encourage the rest of humanity to make the journey. Due to time dilation (I would recommend a quick Google review of the concept), once the rest of humanity has followed the Green World Signal and arrived in the Centauri system, over 40,000 years have passed since the original human pioneers arrived... and humanity has evolved. Now calling themselves Celestials, these incredibly advanced civilizations view humans as a primitive, archaic species and exile them to war-torn, remnant worlds to live under the rule of the Celestial dominions.
This book is an epic, space opera unlike anything I have had the pleasure of reading. This book is a commitment, and one that I will make again in a heartbeat when book two releases, Exodus: The Archimedes Engine, Book Two: The Helium Sea.
October 24, 2024
Peter F. Hamilton has done it again. Once more, he succeeds with a space opera featuring a captivating storyline (or rather, storylines), with a constant dose of sense of wonder. Of course, like any of his other novels, it has some flaws, but I believe each of his books is a feast for science fiction fans.
We'll have to wait and see if the sequel lives up to this one (it ends on a cliffhanger). For now, I give it four stars, but I highly recommend it.
PS: Regarding the game that is planned to be published, as far as I know, nothing until 2026.
We'll have to wait and see if the sequel lives up to this one (it ends on a cliffhanger). For now, I give it four stars, but I highly recommend it.
PS: Regarding the game that is planned to be published, as far as I know, nothing until 2026.
August 8, 2024
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest opinion.
I am a big Peter F. Hamilton fan and this totally lived up to my expectations. It was epic in scope, story and imagination! It's a slow burn and it took me a while to get to grips with the world-building and the politics but the battle scenes were intense and the ending was edge of the seat stuff. I can't wait until book 2.
I am a big Peter F. Hamilton fan and this totally lived up to my expectations. It was epic in scope, story and imagination! It's a slow burn and it took me a while to get to grips with the world-building and the politics but the battle scenes were intense and the ending was edge of the seat stuff. I can't wait until book 2.
November 3, 2024
3.5 Stars
I am not at all familiar with the RPG games but instead I picked up this one because of the author. It starts with the bang and is an easy read despite its length. I liked this one but it wasn't quite as memorable as I hoped it would be.
I am not at all familiar with the RPG games but instead I picked up this one because of the author. It starts with the bang and is an easy read despite its length. I liked this one but it wasn't quite as memorable as I hoped it would be.
October 13, 2024
This may be Hamilton’s most accomplished novel to date.
April 11, 2025
"the universe is stranger than imagination"
Indeed; however no one beats PFH's imagination. No matter that I've read all his books, every time I start a new one I'm blown away by the scale of it: the civilizations, the species, the planets, the habitats, the infrastructure, the technology, the whole worldbuilding is beyond amazing. Add to this already overwhelming setup a political scheming whose size and implications exceeds every expectation, and you'll get yourself just a glimpse on how this book is.
The idea of it started with an offer from Archetype Entertainment to help them build the world of Exodus, a video game, and write a book in this universe. Thus started one of the most jaw dropping adventures ever, and the result is astonishing; I guess the game will be the same.
I love this kind of joint-ventures. I only know of one other, between and , the latter writing a small book with short stories based on the lyrics from the band's album, .
More behind the scenes of Exodus in the following post, from the author's FB page:
And this is the timeline for both the game and book, but the main characters and action are different:
What more can I say? I was one hell of a ride, and I can't wait for the sequel, The Helium Sea, to be published. Yes, it is finished, and over 220k words (before editing), and I am eagerly waiting to read it!
>>> ARC received thanks to Pan Macmillan | Tor via NetGalley <<<
Bonus:
Indeed; however no one beats PFH's imagination. No matter that I've read all his books, every time I start a new one I'm blown away by the scale of it: the civilizations, the species, the planets, the habitats, the infrastructure, the technology, the whole worldbuilding is beyond amazing. Add to this already overwhelming setup a political scheming whose size and implications exceeds every expectation, and you'll get yourself just a glimpse on how this book is.
The idea of it started with an offer from Archetype Entertainment to help them build the world of Exodus, a video game, and write a book in this universe. Thus started one of the most jaw dropping adventures ever, and the result is astonishing; I guess the game will be the same.
I love this kind of joint-ventures. I only know of one other, between and , the latter writing a small book with short stories based on the lyrics from the band's album, .
More behind the scenes of Exodus in the following post, from the author's FB page:
And this is the timeline for both the game and book, but the main characters and action are different:
What more can I say? I was one hell of a ride, and I can't wait for the sequel, The Helium Sea, to be published. Yes, it is finished, and over 220k words (before editing), and I am eagerly waiting to read it!
>>> ARC received thanks to Pan Macmillan | Tor via NetGalley <<<
Bonus:
September 16, 2024
This is a decent book. Great at times. Frustrating at times. Possibly the perfect example of the strengths and flaws of both Peter Hamilton in specific and the “tie-in novel� in a more general term. Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No.
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is the first of two tie-in books by Peter F. Hamilton to the upcoming game, Exodus. It is set in the far far future in another space, the Centauri Cluster, to which mankind has fled, 40,000 years before. Here
Let’s start by talking about both Hamilton. I am unquestionably a Peter F. Hamilton fan. I’ve read the Commonwealth duology three times and I’m halfway on a fourth. I’ve read Night’s Dawn once and am considering a re-read. Warts and all, I very much enjoyed the Void trilogy (and was thrilled that Hamilton was brave enough for it to be both a sequel to the Commonwealth duology and very much not so). While the Salvation novels weren’t exactly my favorites, I didn’t hate them. I know what I’m going to get with Hamilton:
it will be a doorstop
it will feature fantastic worldbuilding with bizarre worlds as far from our conception as possible
it will have a sprawling cast of characters that you will struggle to keep straight
it will often (but not always) have some sort of wormhole technology � often with trains
it will be…how to put it…sexually liberated (usually)
it will have fantastic set piece combat/action
it will feature some sort of “twist� around 60% of the way through the book where the “true antagonist� gets revealed
The one featured all of those. Sorta. It is definitely a doorstop. I got approved for this book very late in the pub process and had to finish it rather quickly after getting sick in the beginning of September which sidelined my reading. The worldbuilding is exceptional � quite literally WORLD building, since my favorites were the descriptions of the various places visited by the cast of characters. It features no true FTL, but rather uses the gates to play with relativistic speed and time dilation � actually enjoyed that aspect more than I thought. Great combat. Honestly…a little more chaste than his other novels (I wonder if that’s the tie-in aspect). It features a “twist� but it was one I’d seen coming for quite awhile and I think was telegraphed early on.
I actually think that his cast of characters is somewhat restrained compared to some of the other series he’s written. That’s good and bad. Good in that I’m not struggling to keep pace with the plot, understanding who’s who and remembering things. Bad in that you really notice the lack of real character development for most of them. They’re not “bad� mind…they’re just kinda “there.� Ellie would seem to be a fascinating character to explore the world but we don’t get that much from her POV and when we do, it is mostly to react to events. There is no Ozzie in this book, though. There is no Joshua Calvert. There are some interesting characters, but none of them really stand out.
And then there is the tie-in aspect. I have a long history with reading “tie-in� novels � either novelizations of movies, adapted expanded universes, etc. I’m not opposed to them at all. And this one is definitely that. It is clearly tied to the Exodus video game.
But how much of this book is the game and how much is just Hamilton � that I don’t know (and couldn’t unless I asked). I get the feeling that a large portion of the ships, weapons, etc. are invented by him. But clearly the Celestials, Travelers, Ghosts, etc. are game things. And there’s a bit of the novel where midway I started to wonder how much of this was just exploring the universe vs. an original plot (since Hamilton has said up-front that this is set in a different corner of the Exodus universe than the game).
The goal of a book like this should, typically, be to interest you in buying and playing the game. Did it do that? Maybe? I’m not sure. And this is where we have to talk about how much of the universe is something Hamilton created and how much the game designers did. Specifically, the Celestials.
The Celestials are easily the most problematic part of the plot. For all of how I felt Finn’s story was interesting but very “videogamey,� and for all I enjoyed the informant/police plot…I didn’t care for the Celestial plot at all. Thyra was easily my least favorite character and her reveal was both unsurprising (I don’t know that it was supposed to be) and did not change my opinion. The Celestials are boring. They’re also all universally “racist� (excused away by having evolved) to various extents and encouraging a society that is utterly uninterested in change. I didn’t want to root for any of them.
I get the impression that they were a game creation and that Hamilton wouldn’t have necessarily done them they way they’re done. Or maybe he assisted. It is hard to say. But I would have been fine if the Celestials just didn’t exist. Or were “gone� now, having moved on. And having done a little research…that may be exactly what’s happening as the press stuff on Exodus seems to indicate that it is set a further 40,000 years into the future beyond the novels. Again � none of that is explicit in the novel.
None of this is to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. It is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. Some of the sections are amazing. But at times, it all felt very “videogamey� � particularly Finn’s story. He’s got to get this thing. And then he has to get this thing to get that thing to do a third thing and enact a fourth. I didn’t hate it. But it seemed very un-Hamilton.
Will I play the game? Maybe. I don’t know. Will I read the second book when it comes out? Yeah. Probably. YMMV, but even mediocre Hamilton is still better space opera than just about anything else out there.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read an ARC of this prior to release in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
You can pre-order here.
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is the first of two tie-in books by Peter F. Hamilton to the upcoming game, Exodus. It is set in the far far future in another space, the Centauri Cluster, to which mankind has fled, 40,000 years before. Here
Let’s start by talking about both Hamilton. I am unquestionably a Peter F. Hamilton fan. I’ve read the Commonwealth duology three times and I’m halfway on a fourth. I’ve read Night’s Dawn once and am considering a re-read. Warts and all, I very much enjoyed the Void trilogy (and was thrilled that Hamilton was brave enough for it to be both a sequel to the Commonwealth duology and very much not so). While the Salvation novels weren’t exactly my favorites, I didn’t hate them. I know what I’m going to get with Hamilton:
it will be a doorstop
it will feature fantastic worldbuilding with bizarre worlds as far from our conception as possible
it will have a sprawling cast of characters that you will struggle to keep straight
it will often (but not always) have some sort of wormhole technology � often with trains
it will be…how to put it…sexually liberated (usually)
it will have fantastic set piece combat/action
it will feature some sort of “twist� around 60% of the way through the book where the “true antagonist� gets revealed
The one featured all of those. Sorta. It is definitely a doorstop. I got approved for this book very late in the pub process and had to finish it rather quickly after getting sick in the beginning of September which sidelined my reading. The worldbuilding is exceptional � quite literally WORLD building, since my favorites were the descriptions of the various places visited by the cast of characters. It features no true FTL, but rather uses the gates to play with relativistic speed and time dilation � actually enjoyed that aspect more than I thought. Great combat. Honestly…a little more chaste than his other novels (I wonder if that’s the tie-in aspect). It features a “twist� but it was one I’d seen coming for quite awhile and I think was telegraphed early on.
I actually think that his cast of characters is somewhat restrained compared to some of the other series he’s written. That’s good and bad. Good in that I’m not struggling to keep pace with the plot, understanding who’s who and remembering things. Bad in that you really notice the lack of real character development for most of them. They’re not “bad� mind…they’re just kinda “there.� Ellie would seem to be a fascinating character to explore the world but we don’t get that much from her POV and when we do, it is mostly to react to events. There is no Ozzie in this book, though. There is no Joshua Calvert. There are some interesting characters, but none of them really stand out.
And then there is the tie-in aspect. I have a long history with reading “tie-in� novels � either novelizations of movies, adapted expanded universes, etc. I’m not opposed to them at all. And this one is definitely that. It is clearly tied to the Exodus video game.
But how much of this book is the game and how much is just Hamilton � that I don’t know (and couldn’t unless I asked). I get the feeling that a large portion of the ships, weapons, etc. are invented by him. But clearly the Celestials, Travelers, Ghosts, etc. are game things. And there’s a bit of the novel where midway I started to wonder how much of this was just exploring the universe vs. an original plot (since Hamilton has said up-front that this is set in a different corner of the Exodus universe than the game).
The goal of a book like this should, typically, be to interest you in buying and playing the game. Did it do that? Maybe? I’m not sure. And this is where we have to talk about how much of the universe is something Hamilton created and how much the game designers did. Specifically, the Celestials.
The Celestials are easily the most problematic part of the plot. For all of how I felt Finn’s story was interesting but very “videogamey,� and for all I enjoyed the informant/police plot…I didn’t care for the Celestial plot at all. Thyra was easily my least favorite character and her reveal was both unsurprising (I don’t know that it was supposed to be) and did not change my opinion. The Celestials are boring. They’re also all universally “racist� (excused away by having evolved) to various extents and encouraging a society that is utterly uninterested in change. I didn’t want to root for any of them.
I get the impression that they were a game creation and that Hamilton wouldn’t have necessarily done them they way they’re done. Or maybe he assisted. It is hard to say. But I would have been fine if the Celestials just didn’t exist. Or were “gone� now, having moved on. And having done a little research…that may be exactly what’s happening as the press stuff on Exodus seems to indicate that it is set a further 40,000 years into the future beyond the novels. Again � none of that is explicit in the novel.
None of this is to say that I didn’t enjoy the book. It is a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. Some of the sections are amazing. But at times, it all felt very “videogamey� � particularly Finn’s story. He’s got to get this thing. And then he has to get this thing to get that thing to do a third thing and enact a fourth. I didn’t hate it. But it seemed very un-Hamilton.
Will I play the game? Maybe. I don’t know. Will I read the second book when it comes out? Yeah. Probably. YMMV, but even mediocre Hamilton is still better space opera than just about anything else out there.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for the opportunity to read an ARC of this prior to release in exchange for a fair review. All opinions are my own.
You can pre-order here.
September 23, 2024
For the past year I’ve slowly been going through Hamilton backlog so I was super excited to see he was releasing a new book this year.
As always Hamilton manages to combine exciting science, imaginative world building and interesting characters. Overall I enjoyed the first book in the new duology and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Received from NetGalley
As always Hamilton manages to combine exciting science, imaginative world building and interesting characters. Overall I enjoyed the first book in the new duology and can’t wait to see what happens next.
Received from NetGalley
December 15, 2024
As a newbie to Peter F Hamilton, I found one of my new favorite authors!
Exodus was filled with nonstop cool ideas executed beautifully. I was constantly engaged with the setting and characters, always wondering what would happen next. The book is massive in scope, involving time dilation as a front-and-center element of the plot. Finn's journey to becoming a traveler is never straightforward, and watching him grow as a character along with the rest of the cast was awesome.
This being a tie-in to a new game is not to be ignored, although this book never "feels" like one because that game (as of the time I wrote this) has yet to show actual gameplay. I almost feel like the game is second to this great book. But regardless, I am very excited to see how that game develops. As a Mass Effect fan and a reader of many classic sci-fi, this is setting up to be a home run for me. (Heck, I even managed to snag an early copy of the TTRPG book coming out in March.)
Disclaimer: the book does leave off on a cliffhanger. I stepped into this knowing it might, so it didn't disappoint me, but I know that can be a hang-up for some people, especially (again, as of the time of writing) since the sequel isn't out yet. I will be eagerly awaiting to read what happens next to Finn and crew.
I highly recommend it, and I hope the game is even half as good as this book!
Exodus was filled with nonstop cool ideas executed beautifully. I was constantly engaged with the setting and characters, always wondering what would happen next. The book is massive in scope, involving time dilation as a front-and-center element of the plot. Finn's journey to becoming a traveler is never straightforward, and watching him grow as a character along with the rest of the cast was awesome.
This being a tie-in to a new game is not to be ignored, although this book never "feels" like one because that game (as of the time I wrote this) has yet to show actual gameplay. I almost feel like the game is second to this great book. But regardless, I am very excited to see how that game develops. As a Mass Effect fan and a reader of many classic sci-fi, this is setting up to be a home run for me. (Heck, I even managed to snag an early copy of the TTRPG book coming out in March.)
Disclaimer: the book does leave off on a cliffhanger. I stepped into this knowing it might, so it didn't disappoint me, but I know that can be a hang-up for some people, especially (again, as of the time of writing) since the sequel isn't out yet. I will be eagerly awaiting to read what happens next to Finn and crew.
I highly recommend it, and I hope the game is even half as good as this book!
November 2, 2024
I remember very well buying my first book by Peter F Hamilton, it was in one of the Charring cross bookshops, and I was on a business trip somewhere, in 1997. I was persuaded by the shop assistant when I asked for new SF, he said it was very popular, it was The Reality Dysfunction, and it must have been just out, I was surprised to find it was signed, I was very lucky. After that it became a tradition to buy a new Hamilton every time I was flying. That first one was an amazing read, and Hamilton just kept delivering, the only one I didn’t like was Misspent Youth, but on the other hand that one led to his best works, in my opinion, Pandora’s star and Judas unchained, then came The Void series, and for me that’s when it stared cracking a bit, the hard SF parts were great, but I never really liked the more fantasy parts with Edeard, then he tried to keep the series going for too long with The fallers. The next series was the Salvation sequence which was never very good. So I was a bit worried when I got this book, reading Hamilton is quite an investment of time, but I was intrigued when the first reviews signaled that he’s got his mojo working again. And that was certainly true.
I enjoyed every minute of this one, even though it’s a slow read, it’s so complicated and often difficult to understand, you just can’t read it fast. I’ve been reading a couple of non-fictions at the same time, and that worked rather well, Exodus has always pulled me back. It’s difficult to explain why Hamilton is so good, something about the timing, he does all sorts of scene swapping and cliff-hangers which I don’t like, but when Hamilton does it, I don’t notice. It’s well-written space-opera adventure, a combination where many authors fail, Hamilton sails through. And there are lots of spaceships:-)
/Neil
PS. And time dilation!
I enjoyed every minute of this one, even though it’s a slow read, it’s so complicated and often difficult to understand, you just can’t read it fast. I’ve been reading a couple of non-fictions at the same time, and that worked rather well, Exodus has always pulled me back. It’s difficult to explain why Hamilton is so good, something about the timing, he does all sorts of scene swapping and cliff-hangers which I don’t like, but when Hamilton does it, I don’t notice. It’s well-written space-opera adventure, a combination where many authors fail, Hamilton sails through. And there are lots of spaceships:-)
/Neil
PS. And time dilation!
July 4, 2024
Peter F Hamilton is back with another mind-blowing hard sci-fi. This time the worlds are 40,000 years apart.
Set 42,000 years in the future when humanity has spread across the stars and is presumably not human anymore. It is a story of humans' place in the universe where they are relics of the past. Through genetics, humanity has splintered into multiple species and is ruled by the powerful crown dominion. Tension starts to build up when another one of the old arkship arrives and provides Finn, our protagonist, a chance to leave his elite but mundane lifestyle and explore the stars. It is also the story of Ellie, a human of the old arkship for whom this world is unknown, Fletcher, an excellent character with high morals, Helena-chione, now and forever queen of Wynid, and a lot more characters.
The first one-third of the book is slightly slow-paced where we explore the world of crown dominion, and celestials and are introduced to a plethora of characters. Like always, PFH world-building is beautiful. But considering the number of worlds and characters involved it becomes difficult to follow the plot. If you wade through the same, then the plot starts to make sense, characters become relatable, action starts to build up and anticipation is exciting. The ending is amazing though it leaves us wanting for more.
I would be eagerly waiting for the second part of the duology and the Finn story to conclude.
Thanks Netgalley and Pan Mcmillan for the ARC.
Set 42,000 years in the future when humanity has spread across the stars and is presumably not human anymore. It is a story of humans' place in the universe where they are relics of the past. Through genetics, humanity has splintered into multiple species and is ruled by the powerful crown dominion. Tension starts to build up when another one of the old arkship arrives and provides Finn, our protagonist, a chance to leave his elite but mundane lifestyle and explore the stars. It is also the story of Ellie, a human of the old arkship for whom this world is unknown, Fletcher, an excellent character with high morals, Helena-chione, now and forever queen of Wynid, and a lot more characters.
The first one-third of the book is slightly slow-paced where we explore the world of crown dominion, and celestials and are introduced to a plethora of characters. Like always, PFH world-building is beautiful. But considering the number of worlds and characters involved it becomes difficult to follow the plot. If you wade through the same, then the plot starts to make sense, characters become relatable, action starts to build up and anticipation is exciting. The ending is amazing though it leaves us wanting for more.
I would be eagerly waiting for the second part of the duology and the Finn story to conclude.
Thanks Netgalley and Pan Mcmillan for the ARC.
August 30, 2024
This was extremely long to read and also so complicated for me to visualize everything but ooooh I do not regret it.
The timeline is so weird I love it; it's definitely something that can be considered as humanly impossible but the way the world is built around it makes it humanly believable.
There are so many good characters and so many races/species. Surprisingly it didn't take me that long to differentiate everything (just needed a bit more concentration than usual) and when I got the hang of it, it made the universe even more enjoyable.
I wasn't sure if I would have wanted a 2nd book with all that information but uhm yes please? Give me 1000 more pages
The timeline is so weird I love it; it's definitely something that can be considered as humanly impossible but the way the world is built around it makes it humanly believable.
There are so many good characters and so many races/species. Surprisingly it didn't take me that long to differentiate everything (just needed a bit more concentration than usual) and when I got the hang of it, it made the universe even more enjoyable.
I wasn't sure if I would have wanted a 2nd book with all that information but uhm yes please? Give me 1000 more pages
April 1, 2025
4.5 stars. Excellent space opera using hard science but not boringly so.
The difference races, genetically altered people and animals were a highlight.
Loved the Celestials even though they were a bunch of the worst motherfuckers!! Long Game indeed. Glad I didn't meet the Mara Yama this book and I certainly do not look forward to meeting them in the future.
(Have just been told subject of this book is also a computer game)
The difference races, genetically altered people and animals were a highlight.
Loved the Celestials even though they were a bunch of the worst motherfuckers!! Long Game indeed. Glad I didn't meet the Mara Yama this book and I certainly do not look forward to meeting them in the future.
(Have just been told subject of this book is also a computer game)
January 31, 2025
I really wanted to like this book more. Hamilton is a great sci fi writer, in that he knows how to build good plotlines and interesting characters, knows how to dish out exposition and pace out a long winding story. The problem is, and i never thought I'd ever say this, too much worldbuilding. The Exodus setting is chunky, there's a lot to encounter and encounter we do. Hamilton paces out some of the exposition, we tie it to mature concepts of inequality and the like but it all seems so damn much and the parallel plotlines do not help such a big book. It feels at time like reading Game of thrones or other thicc, rambling parallel plotline books but you also have to internalize a weird setting with multiple human offshoots and technologies. Will follow up with the series (and the game, likely) but, yeah, it's not an easy read. Pretty good one though.
January 19, 2025
Fleeing a ravaged Earth, humanity launched near-lightspeed arkships across a large part of the galaxy. Many have vanished, some established isolated colonies in remote systems, but the greatest success was in the Centauri Cluster, a group of millions of stars within a few hundred light-years of one another with thousands of habitable worlds between them. The Green Signal was sent across the galaxy to attract more arkships. But in the tens of thousands of years it took them to arrive, the humans of the Centauri Cluster become technologically advanced, becoming near godlike beings called the Celestials. The late-arriving humans, for whom only years or decades had passed at relativistic speeds since the fall of Earth, these Celestials might as well be a different species.
The arrival of the arkship Diligent in the Crown Dominion, the only Celestial empire to allow humans their own worlds, settlements and businesses, after 40,000 years in deep space at first seems like business as usual. But the owner-ruler of the Diligent is one of old Earth's most ruthless businessmen, who sees an opportunity in the ossified power structures of the Crown Dominion to further the cause of ordinary humans. At the same time, the arkship's arrival gives the rebellious son of a rich family an opportunity to become a Traveler, an interstellar starship captain. Elsewhere, a police officer is recruited by a Celestial archon to become his eyes and ears in the Crown Dominion's home system, and a potential recruit to succeed a Celestial ruler sets about her destiny with impressive ruthlessness. Both within and outside the borders of the Crown Dominion, threats are gathering which could change - or obliterate - the fate of billions, humans and Celestials alike.
Peter F. Hamilton, Britain's biggest-selling living science fiction author, is known for his brick-thick, far-future space operas featuring living starships, immense space battles and impeccable worldbuilding. His most recent space opera trilogy, The Salvation Sequence (Salvation, Salvation Lost, The Saints of Salvation), operated on a different level, with three relatively constrained novels working with a tight focus to deliver a very effective storyline. It worked very well, but arguably lacked the epic grandeur of his best work.
The Archimedes Engine cheerfully throws that approach out of the window and slams down the accelerator. This is, once again, a huge (900 pages in hardcover), dizzyingly epic space opera which swaps between a large number of storylines, planets and starships, with a meticulously constructed plot that combines breathless action setpices with impressively atmospheric worldbuilding. Hamilton hasn't delivered a book quite like this since 2004's Pandora's Star and 1996's The Reality Dysfunction, so it's impressive to see that, twenty years on, he's still got it.
The Archimedes Engine does have one major differences to his earlier work though: this is, to some degree, a collaborative project. It is part of the wider Exodus project which also incorporates an episode of Amazon's recent Secret Level animated series (Exodus: Odyssey) and a forthcoming, massive video game RPG from the same team as Mass Effect. Reading interviews with the creatives, it seems that they came up with the underlying concepts and gave them to Hamilton to flesh out, with them then providing guidance on those ideas. The result is an impressive amount of worldbuilding, since it is needed to drive not just this novel, but TV and video game projects as well.
The core principle of the setting is incredibly straightforward: FTL (faster than light) travel is utterly impossible. Spacecraft are limited to the speed of light. There are "Gates of Heaven," incredibly powerful devices which can accelerate spacecraft to 99.99% of lightspeed in an instant (that's 500,000 gees, thank you very much) without obliterating them, but that's about it. Starship crews buzz around at relativistic speeds, with only a few days or weeks passing for their crews as they travel from one system to another, but potentially years at a time passing for their friends and family back home. Even a round-trip to a star a modest fifteen light-years away will see at least thirty years, a quarter of a human lifetime in this time, elapse for those left behind. This makes it incredibly important to work out which journeys are necessary and which are not; an early meeting in the book, which takes three years out of someone's life, feels like it could have been an email, which is even more annoying in this context.
Hamilton's not actually done this before, his previous work has largely relied on FTL travel, usually via wormholes, so seeing him track where his characters are as decades pass for them is quite interesting (his friend Alastair Reynolds is more of a dab hand at this, as his signature Revelation Space setting similarly lacks FTL travel). To some degree the action in the book is largely constrained to the Kelowan system, which limits the problem, but several subplots do see trips to other star systems, allowing decades to pass when they return. Fortunately this is a setting where people like to set in motion very long-term plots.
Hamilton juggles a huge number of plots, subplots, characters and worldbuilding information with typical aplomb. For all the praise given to Brandon Sanderson and Steven Erikson for this, I think Hamilton has them both beat when it comes to building a series of wildly disparate threads over the better part of a thousand pages only for them to converge with a titanic clash at the end. The Archimedes Engine is no different, with storylines that seem utterly disconnected colliding with the force of matter and antimatter, leaving the reader eager for the sequel (though you'll have to wait until late 2025 for that).
As an author, Hamilton does have a number of long-standing, almost infamous weaknesses. One is that no matter how far future, bizarre or strange the setting, his characters can have a tendency to break down into English idioms, sayings and insults. This is a nice change from SF novels which have characters doing the same thing with American vocabulary, but can be a bit distracting. Fortunately, his other infamous (though probably over-stated, especially in his later work) tendency towards sex scenes of wildly variable plot relevance is here altogether missing. Characters hook up, but tasteful fades to black are the order of the day. Also, for some reason, Hamilton seems to have lost faith in his recurring plot device of a benevolent billionaire/trillionaire who helps save the human race from the goodness of his heart, so our stand-in in that role in this book is a much more morally grey character.
Where the book is a bit more variable is the quality of the characters. Thyra, the would-be-heir to the crown of Wynid who has to fight against her low rank of birth to gain her Queen/Mother's favour, is probably the standout here, but she does take a back seat in the back half of the book. Finn is the very beige young callow youth protagonist who goes on a wild adventure (this book's Joshua Calvert), though he works enough as a bit of a blank slate for the reader to experience the crazy universe through. I'm more surprised that Hamilton didn't do more with Ellie, the Diligent crewmember we spend the most time with, though mostly not as a POV character. As someone who's spent her life on a low-tech arkship, she's probably better-placed to act as our eyes and ears in the setting, but perhaps that would have been too obvious. It's Gahji, the Celestial politician trying to make sense of the increasingly weird goings-on, and Terence Wilson-Fletcher, police detective (and our spiritual surrogate for the Commonwealth universe's Paula Myo, still Hamilton's finest character creation) who emerge as the most interesting protagonists. Other characters descend into the usual morass of petty criminals, scheming politicians and greedy businessmen. It works well, but isn't his most vivid cast.
The Archimedes Engine (****½) is Peter F. Hamilton back on top form, doing what he does best: large-scale, epic space opera, in a well-realised setting, with a huge, multi-faceted plot that builds and concludes hugely satisfyingly at the end. This is the first in a duology, so there is a significant cliffhanger. The second book, The Helium Sea, seems tentatively scheduled for later this year. The book is available now worldwide.
Exodus, the video game, is currently unscheduled but likely to arrive in 2026 or 2027. There is a significant amount of worldbuilding and background information that can be seen on Archetype Entertainment's website.
The arrival of the arkship Diligent in the Crown Dominion, the only Celestial empire to allow humans their own worlds, settlements and businesses, after 40,000 years in deep space at first seems like business as usual. But the owner-ruler of the Diligent is one of old Earth's most ruthless businessmen, who sees an opportunity in the ossified power structures of the Crown Dominion to further the cause of ordinary humans. At the same time, the arkship's arrival gives the rebellious son of a rich family an opportunity to become a Traveler, an interstellar starship captain. Elsewhere, a police officer is recruited by a Celestial archon to become his eyes and ears in the Crown Dominion's home system, and a potential recruit to succeed a Celestial ruler sets about her destiny with impressive ruthlessness. Both within and outside the borders of the Crown Dominion, threats are gathering which could change - or obliterate - the fate of billions, humans and Celestials alike.
Peter F. Hamilton, Britain's biggest-selling living science fiction author, is known for his brick-thick, far-future space operas featuring living starships, immense space battles and impeccable worldbuilding. His most recent space opera trilogy, The Salvation Sequence (Salvation, Salvation Lost, The Saints of Salvation), operated on a different level, with three relatively constrained novels working with a tight focus to deliver a very effective storyline. It worked very well, but arguably lacked the epic grandeur of his best work.
The Archimedes Engine cheerfully throws that approach out of the window and slams down the accelerator. This is, once again, a huge (900 pages in hardcover), dizzyingly epic space opera which swaps between a large number of storylines, planets and starships, with a meticulously constructed plot that combines breathless action setpices with impressively atmospheric worldbuilding. Hamilton hasn't delivered a book quite like this since 2004's Pandora's Star and 1996's The Reality Dysfunction, so it's impressive to see that, twenty years on, he's still got it.
The Archimedes Engine does have one major differences to his earlier work though: this is, to some degree, a collaborative project. It is part of the wider Exodus project which also incorporates an episode of Amazon's recent Secret Level animated series (Exodus: Odyssey) and a forthcoming, massive video game RPG from the same team as Mass Effect. Reading interviews with the creatives, it seems that they came up with the underlying concepts and gave them to Hamilton to flesh out, with them then providing guidance on those ideas. The result is an impressive amount of worldbuilding, since it is needed to drive not just this novel, but TV and video game projects as well.
The core principle of the setting is incredibly straightforward: FTL (faster than light) travel is utterly impossible. Spacecraft are limited to the speed of light. There are "Gates of Heaven," incredibly powerful devices which can accelerate spacecraft to 99.99% of lightspeed in an instant (that's 500,000 gees, thank you very much) without obliterating them, but that's about it. Starship crews buzz around at relativistic speeds, with only a few days or weeks passing for their crews as they travel from one system to another, but potentially years at a time passing for their friends and family back home. Even a round-trip to a star a modest fifteen light-years away will see at least thirty years, a quarter of a human lifetime in this time, elapse for those left behind. This makes it incredibly important to work out which journeys are necessary and which are not; an early meeting in the book, which takes three years out of someone's life, feels like it could have been an email, which is even more annoying in this context.
Hamilton's not actually done this before, his previous work has largely relied on FTL travel, usually via wormholes, so seeing him track where his characters are as decades pass for them is quite interesting (his friend Alastair Reynolds is more of a dab hand at this, as his signature Revelation Space setting similarly lacks FTL travel). To some degree the action in the book is largely constrained to the Kelowan system, which limits the problem, but several subplots do see trips to other star systems, allowing decades to pass when they return. Fortunately this is a setting where people like to set in motion very long-term plots.
Hamilton juggles a huge number of plots, subplots, characters and worldbuilding information with typical aplomb. For all the praise given to Brandon Sanderson and Steven Erikson for this, I think Hamilton has them both beat when it comes to building a series of wildly disparate threads over the better part of a thousand pages only for them to converge with a titanic clash at the end. The Archimedes Engine is no different, with storylines that seem utterly disconnected colliding with the force of matter and antimatter, leaving the reader eager for the sequel (though you'll have to wait until late 2025 for that).
As an author, Hamilton does have a number of long-standing, almost infamous weaknesses. One is that no matter how far future, bizarre or strange the setting, his characters can have a tendency to break down into English idioms, sayings and insults. This is a nice change from SF novels which have characters doing the same thing with American vocabulary, but can be a bit distracting. Fortunately, his other infamous (though probably over-stated, especially in his later work) tendency towards sex scenes of wildly variable plot relevance is here altogether missing. Characters hook up, but tasteful fades to black are the order of the day. Also, for some reason, Hamilton seems to have lost faith in his recurring plot device of a benevolent billionaire/trillionaire who helps save the human race from the goodness of his heart, so our stand-in in that role in this book is a much more morally grey character.
Where the book is a bit more variable is the quality of the characters. Thyra, the would-be-heir to the crown of Wynid who has to fight against her low rank of birth to gain her Queen/Mother's favour, is probably the standout here, but she does take a back seat in the back half of the book. Finn is the very beige young callow youth protagonist who goes on a wild adventure (this book's Joshua Calvert), though he works enough as a bit of a blank slate for the reader to experience the crazy universe through. I'm more surprised that Hamilton didn't do more with Ellie, the Diligent crewmember we spend the most time with, though mostly not as a POV character. As someone who's spent her life on a low-tech arkship, she's probably better-placed to act as our eyes and ears in the setting, but perhaps that would have been too obvious. It's Gahji, the Celestial politician trying to make sense of the increasingly weird goings-on, and Terence Wilson-Fletcher, police detective (and our spiritual surrogate for the Commonwealth universe's Paula Myo, still Hamilton's finest character creation) who emerge as the most interesting protagonists. Other characters descend into the usual morass of petty criminals, scheming politicians and greedy businessmen. It works well, but isn't his most vivid cast.
The Archimedes Engine (****½) is Peter F. Hamilton back on top form, doing what he does best: large-scale, epic space opera, in a well-realised setting, with a huge, multi-faceted plot that builds and concludes hugely satisfyingly at the end. This is the first in a duology, so there is a significant cliffhanger. The second book, The Helium Sea, seems tentatively scheduled for later this year. The book is available now worldwide.
Exodus, the video game, is currently unscheduled but likely to arrive in 2026 or 2027. There is a significant amount of worldbuilding and background information that can be seen on Archetype Entertainment's website.
July 17, 2024
This is a very long book. There is a bit of background information to support the world building-which is impressively imaginative- but�.
So many different characters, on different planets, in different star systems, even different species�. I was confused, to say the least. A ‘who’s who� list for this book is an absolute must. I read an ARC, so perhaps the published book will contain this.
A big source of confusion for me was that there were three or four separate timelines being followed. Not an unusual scenario in books but because of the relativistic effects of near-light speed travel, time passed at different rates for each group of protagonists; the time passed could range from a few months to thirty years.
Once I eventually managed to work out (sort of) what was going on, I realised that I really didn’t care about any of the characters, with the exception of Koa and Keizen, very minor characters who were only in it for a few chapters.
I didn’t dislike the book, but I just couldn’t get into it, with the result that it took me far longer than normal to read, and felt disjointed. And discovering at the end of 900 + pages that - spoiler alert- it’s not the end of the story�..I don’t think I’ll be waiting impatiently for book 2.
The writing style is good, lots of action and intrigue, and as I already said, highly imaginative. But you just may have to take notes as you go through it!
So many different characters, on different planets, in different star systems, even different species�. I was confused, to say the least. A ‘who’s who� list for this book is an absolute must. I read an ARC, so perhaps the published book will contain this.
A big source of confusion for me was that there were three or four separate timelines being followed. Not an unusual scenario in books but because of the relativistic effects of near-light speed travel, time passed at different rates for each group of protagonists; the time passed could range from a few months to thirty years.
Once I eventually managed to work out (sort of) what was going on, I realised that I really didn’t care about any of the characters, with the exception of Koa and Keizen, very minor characters who were only in it for a few chapters.
I didn’t dislike the book, but I just couldn’t get into it, with the result that it took me far longer than normal to read, and felt disjointed. And discovering at the end of 900 + pages that - spoiler alert- it’s not the end of the story�..I don’t think I’ll be waiting impatiently for book 2.
The writing style is good, lots of action and intrigue, and as I already said, highly imaginative. But you just may have to take notes as you go through it!
September 15, 2024
9 / 10 �
The more intense the light, the deeper it reaches.
Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth and took to the stars. Sailing in massive arkships, they spread across the galaxy in all directions, searching for a new home. Upon arriving in the Centauri Cluster—a dense array of stars and habitable planets—one arkship signaled the others that it had found just that home. Left alone to wait for their brethren, these pioneers flourished, eventually transcending humanity for a new, advanced form. These beings are now known as Celestials, and their Dominions control the Cluster. Of these Celestials, arguably the most evolved and most powerful belong to that of the Crown Dominion—a collection of five houses (formerly six), each led by a queen, that take it in turns to rule over the others as Empress.
While arkships continue to arrive to this day, they aren’t as welcome as they once were. Humanity is commonly seen as packs of backward monkeys that most Celestials refuse to share a planet with. Thus, many humans are packed into densely overpopulated worlds where life is cheap and easily thrown away.
Finn was lucky enough to be born onto a different world, one where humans flourish, albeit under the oppressive rule of the Crown Celestials. Born into luxury, his family rules Anoosha as stewards for the Celestial overlords, a position Finn has never wanted. All he wants is his own ship; to wander the stars. A dream he has dedicated his life to fulfilling, by any means possible, even going so far as to shirk his familial “duty�. But even for a ‘man as well-off as him, this dream has proven elusive.
Enter the arkship Diligent.
Cast out of his mercenary outfit and left for dead, Finn is rescued by the latest refugees from Earth. In him, they see an opportunity to leave their nomadic lifestyle behind, and finally settle their own world. In them, he sees the abilit to acquire his own ship, and wander the stars in peace. Together, both will be pleasantly surprised and not entirely disappointed. But there are always more forces at work, here in the Centauri Cluster.
�
The more intense the light, the deeper it reaches.
�
The Archimedes Engine is the first of a planned two books set in the world (or should I say “universe�) of EXODUS, an upcoming space exploration game from Archetype Entertainment. While the first book is out September of 2024, the planned release date (subject to change) of EXODUS isn’t until 2026. And, most importantly, if the game is anything close to the book I NEED IT NOW.
I read the Archimedes Engine at a time in my life that coincided with marked burnout, including the inability to focus on much of anything, particularly books. Now, given that this beast is nearly one thousand pages in length, it would’ve taken me a while to get through it at any time, not to mention one where I struggled to pay attention for 30-50 pages. As such, the month that it took me isn’t all that bad. Furthermore, the fact that I never once considered quitting is even more surprising. Because this thing is dense. Not just an allusion to its length: the lore and world-building for this is almost excessive. There’s a high learning curve to conquer, and a LOT of places and names and terms and history to remember. It was a LOT to deal with at the time I read it, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
Now, the overarching plot takes a while to get off the ground (as one would expect given both the length and the author compiling it), but basically concerns the former-sixth Crown Dominion and the surviving fives� Great Games (alluding to the similar Great Games of houses or thrones found in epic fantasy) within their cooperative rule of the Dominion. As such, there’s intrigue galore; plots atop plots atop plots, spies and agents alike melding with commonfolk and naïve stooges like Finn. The other main POVs including Terence Wilson-Fletcher, a human agent of one of the Crown Dominions; Thyra, Celestial princess of the same Dominion; Marcellu, human agent of a rival Dominion; Ellie, newly arrived refugee aboard the arkship Diligent; and more, as the others are killed or deposed whenever necessary. And they will be killed off. I won’t say who or when or where, but I will warn about getting too attached to any one character, as they can up and die with no notice. Which I loved, just as I enjoyed all the characters—to the point where I’d be hard-pressed to pick my favorite one.
While I’ve basically raved about this thus far, I will say that it isn’t quite perfect. The length itself will scare off a fair few readers (and rightly so), but I understand why it had to be this way. What better way to show how deep and intricate your game universe is, after all, than to contract an author like PFH to write it, knowing that it would be long and dense and epic in every sense? That said, some of the early world-building takes some improbable leaps. The early history of the Crown Dominion comes across as common knowledge, but where has history ever seemed straightforward after even a few hundred years, not to mention 40,000? (And yes, I’d like to acknowledge the nod here to 40k.) Furthermore, there’s no FTL travel, and the resulting time-dilation and time-delays can at times get a bit questionable. But these are really minor details, and shouldn’t distract from the overarching successes.
TL;DR
Short of it is this: the Archimedes Engine provides a glimpse into a universe so complex and detailed that—if the game is even half as good, honestly even a quarter so—I can’t wait to explore it. But time will tell if the game is near as good. And yet there’s no question about the book itself. Long and deep and intricate and immersive, with plots within plots within plots, with schemes lasting thousands of years, and conspiracies buried beneath even the most widely accepted histories—EXODUS has gone and built itself an amazing universe, and Peter F. Hamilton has come and produced an epic story to accompany it. Deep, intricate characters. Grand, sweeping designs. Vivid, detailed worlds. Immersive, astonishing stories. Don’t let the length scare you; if you’ve been searching for a new science fiction crush now that the Expanse is over and done with, let it be this (at least until the game is delayed indefinitely, or comes out as a buggy and broken mess—Dear Archetype: please, please prove me wrong).
The more intense the light, the deeper it reaches.
Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth and took to the stars. Sailing in massive arkships, they spread across the galaxy in all directions, searching for a new home. Upon arriving in the Centauri Cluster—a dense array of stars and habitable planets—one arkship signaled the others that it had found just that home. Left alone to wait for their brethren, these pioneers flourished, eventually transcending humanity for a new, advanced form. These beings are now known as Celestials, and their Dominions control the Cluster. Of these Celestials, arguably the most evolved and most powerful belong to that of the Crown Dominion—a collection of five houses (formerly six), each led by a queen, that take it in turns to rule over the others as Empress.
While arkships continue to arrive to this day, they aren’t as welcome as they once were. Humanity is commonly seen as packs of backward monkeys that most Celestials refuse to share a planet with. Thus, many humans are packed into densely overpopulated worlds where life is cheap and easily thrown away.
Finn was lucky enough to be born onto a different world, one where humans flourish, albeit under the oppressive rule of the Crown Celestials. Born into luxury, his family rules Anoosha as stewards for the Celestial overlords, a position Finn has never wanted. All he wants is his own ship; to wander the stars. A dream he has dedicated his life to fulfilling, by any means possible, even going so far as to shirk his familial “duty�. But even for a ‘man as well-off as him, this dream has proven elusive.
Enter the arkship Diligent.
Cast out of his mercenary outfit and left for dead, Finn is rescued by the latest refugees from Earth. In him, they see an opportunity to leave their nomadic lifestyle behind, and finally settle their own world. In them, he sees the abilit to acquire his own ship, and wander the stars in peace. Together, both will be pleasantly surprised and not entirely disappointed. But there are always more forces at work, here in the Centauri Cluster.
�
The more intense the light, the deeper it reaches.
�
The Archimedes Engine is the first of a planned two books set in the world (or should I say “universe�) of EXODUS, an upcoming space exploration game from Archetype Entertainment. While the first book is out September of 2024, the planned release date (subject to change) of EXODUS isn’t until 2026. And, most importantly, if the game is anything close to the book I NEED IT NOW.
I read the Archimedes Engine at a time in my life that coincided with marked burnout, including the inability to focus on much of anything, particularly books. Now, given that this beast is nearly one thousand pages in length, it would’ve taken me a while to get through it at any time, not to mention one where I struggled to pay attention for 30-50 pages. As such, the month that it took me isn’t all that bad. Furthermore, the fact that I never once considered quitting is even more surprising. Because this thing is dense. Not just an allusion to its length: the lore and world-building for this is almost excessive. There’s a high learning curve to conquer, and a LOT of places and names and terms and history to remember. It was a LOT to deal with at the time I read it, and I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.
Now, the overarching plot takes a while to get off the ground (as one would expect given both the length and the author compiling it), but basically concerns the former-sixth Crown Dominion and the surviving fives� Great Games (alluding to the similar Great Games of houses or thrones found in epic fantasy) within their cooperative rule of the Dominion. As such, there’s intrigue galore; plots atop plots atop plots, spies and agents alike melding with commonfolk and naïve stooges like Finn. The other main POVs including Terence Wilson-Fletcher, a human agent of one of the Crown Dominions; Thyra, Celestial princess of the same Dominion; Marcellu, human agent of a rival Dominion; Ellie, newly arrived refugee aboard the arkship Diligent; and more, as the others are killed or deposed whenever necessary. And they will be killed off. I won’t say who or when or where, but I will warn about getting too attached to any one character, as they can up and die with no notice. Which I loved, just as I enjoyed all the characters—to the point where I’d be hard-pressed to pick my favorite one.
While I’ve basically raved about this thus far, I will say that it isn’t quite perfect. The length itself will scare off a fair few readers (and rightly so), but I understand why it had to be this way. What better way to show how deep and intricate your game universe is, after all, than to contract an author like PFH to write it, knowing that it would be long and dense and epic in every sense? That said, some of the early world-building takes some improbable leaps. The early history of the Crown Dominion comes across as common knowledge, but where has history ever seemed straightforward after even a few hundred years, not to mention 40,000? (And yes, I’d like to acknowledge the nod here to 40k.) Furthermore, there’s no FTL travel, and the resulting time-dilation and time-delays can at times get a bit questionable. But these are really minor details, and shouldn’t distract from the overarching successes.
TL;DR
Short of it is this: the Archimedes Engine provides a glimpse into a universe so complex and detailed that—if the game is even half as good, honestly even a quarter so—I can’t wait to explore it. But time will tell if the game is near as good. And yet there’s no question about the book itself. Long and deep and intricate and immersive, with plots within plots within plots, with schemes lasting thousands of years, and conspiracies buried beneath even the most widely accepted histories—EXODUS has gone and built itself an amazing universe, and Peter F. Hamilton has come and produced an epic story to accompany it. Deep, intricate characters. Grand, sweeping designs. Vivid, detailed worlds. Immersive, astonishing stories. Don’t let the length scare you; if you’ve been searching for a new science fiction crush now that the Expanse is over and done with, let it be this (at least until the game is delayed indefinitely, or comes out as a buggy and broken mess—Dear Archetype: please, please prove me wrong).
October 1, 2024
I had very high expectations for this book and I was not disappointed. One of the best reads of the year.
(RTC soon on Den of the Wyrd)
(RTC soon on Den of the Wyrd)
February 8, 2025
Hallelujah, I am done reading this!
Hamilton's world-building is nothing short of extraordinary. The intricacies of the various species of evolved humans, cultures, and technologies are meticulously detailed, creating an immersive experience for the reader. The sheer scope of the universe Hamilton has crafted is awe-inspiring and I was able to appreciate it despite this story not appealing to me for the most part. It might have also been a mistake on my part to listen to it rather than read it, because I found it a bit hard to concentrate with all the technical details and lost interest in some parts. However, the production was well done!
I understood from the beginning that this might be a mistake for me because I was not able to empathize with any of the characters, not that it's the characters' or the author's fault on this one. I think that the author managed to create a fairly complex network of personalities and personae but I wouldn't want to hang with any of them at the end of the day. The second star deducted for me would be the plot - which at first I was quite confused about, the author introducing multiple story lines from the beginning, story lines which do not seem to intertwine in the least. The book is big and you need to be veeeery patient to see the weaving in action - which, speaking of, to me felt like there was hardly any up until the last 10% of the book when the plot switches gears from second to 6th directly and all the plotlines converge.
Hamilton's world-building is nothing short of extraordinary. The intricacies of the various species of evolved humans, cultures, and technologies are meticulously detailed, creating an immersive experience for the reader. The sheer scope of the universe Hamilton has crafted is awe-inspiring and I was able to appreciate it despite this story not appealing to me for the most part. It might have also been a mistake on my part to listen to it rather than read it, because I found it a bit hard to concentrate with all the technical details and lost interest in some parts. However, the production was well done!
I understood from the beginning that this might be a mistake for me because I was not able to empathize with any of the characters, not that it's the characters' or the author's fault on this one. I think that the author managed to create a fairly complex network of personalities and personae but I wouldn't want to hang with any of them at the end of the day. The second star deducted for me would be the plot - which at first I was quite confused about, the author introducing multiple story lines from the beginning, story lines which do not seem to intertwine in the least. The book is big and you need to be veeeery patient to see the weaving in action - which, speaking of, to me felt like there was hardly any up until the last 10% of the book when the plot switches gears from second to 6th directly and all the plotlines converge.
February 19, 2025
Asteria's arse! This book was a chonker. Overall, phenomenal book. The setting this book takes place in was so fascinating to read. Love the far future technology, and the fact that the secrets of that technology have been lost to time is an interesting twist. This book had a lot of really high highs, and also some dull low moments. I don't care much for Peter F. Hamilton's politics, but to each their own. I feel that at some point while writing this, he got stuck behind a Just Stop Oil protest, and decided to dedicate an entire chapter to a POV character getting stuck behind a liberal protest, and then complain endlessly about it. Kinda made me chuckle. Also, did not care for the romance in this book. As ever, Peter F. Hamilton writes romance like a horny teenage boy fantasizing. Did a lot of skim-reading around that. But, that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book, and I am very excited for the second one to see how the story concludes. The book did just kind of end, but given the length, I'm okay with that.
February 19, 2025
An all around good space opera, with some twist, mysteries, and a great game political plot.
Everything about this book was solid--characters, plot, the tech, the setting.
Looking forward to Book 2...we end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so it will be interesting to see what the next step of the great game is.
4.25 STARS
Everything about this book was solid--characters, plot, the tech, the setting.
Looking forward to Book 2...we end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so it will be interesting to see what the next step of the great game is.
4.25 STARS
March 26, 2025
Probably the best read of the year so far. Amazing world building and good balance between politics and thrilling action.
September 21, 2024
Exodus: The Archimedes Engine is the first book in a duology set in the world of Exodus, a recently announced sci-fi action-adventure RPG video game by Archetype Entertainment.
This is an epic space opera set forty thousand years in the future and follows several different characters. Through them, we are introduced to humanity's history and the current empire under the Imperial Celestials. The empire and history were one of my favorite things in this book - it is massive, so detailed, and very immersive. I love all of the hard science fiction that is created and used in it. But my absolute favorite part are the planets we visit. Hamilton creates such vivid and varied environments, all with different histories, people, and technology. The plot is fun and well-paced, with a little something for everyone. Through Finn, we follow a heist. Through the Celestials, a mystery. There is even a crime investigation. Exodus: The Archimedes Engine has many twists and turns, with reveals that I was not surprised by, but it was fun nonetheless. So, what didn't I like?
The characters. They aren't terrible, but they lacked soul and were just kind of there for the story. There isn't really any character development either. I didn't care for any of them and was only interested in how the overall story would play out. This ultimately brought the book down 1 star, to a final rating of 4 stars. Another (very small) thing: this is set forty thousand years in the future, and there is little mention of language or changes in language with the exception of some types of genetically modified species. Even the Imperial Celestials still use the same curse words as we do today. I'm not sure what Hamilton (or the video game developers, for that matter) could use instead, but it just felt off to me. Everything is so incredibly futuristic, yet they still speak the same way. Anyway, it's a really small thing and not negatively impacting my review, but I had to mention it.
Presumably, the second book in this duology will also be released before the game, which currently does not have an official release date. From what I have read in various interviews, Peter F. Hamilton was asked to assist with the video game in addition to writing the duology. Will I still play the game when it releases? Definitely - I was already planning to when it was announced that several ex-Bioware devs were working on it. I just hope they are able to add that good-Bioware-of-old character depth and include loveable characters that (so far) this story is lacking. Will I pick up the second book? Probably - I still love video game tie-ins and would like to see how this particular story concludes.
is a link to the video game trailer, announced at The 2023 Game Awards. I'm very excited for it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is an epic space opera set forty thousand years in the future and follows several different characters. Through them, we are introduced to humanity's history and the current empire under the Imperial Celestials. The empire and history were one of my favorite things in this book - it is massive, so detailed, and very immersive. I love all of the hard science fiction that is created and used in it. But my absolute favorite part are the planets we visit. Hamilton creates such vivid and varied environments, all with different histories, people, and technology. The plot is fun and well-paced, with a little something for everyone. Through Finn, we follow a heist. Through the Celestials, a mystery. There is even a crime investigation. Exodus: The Archimedes Engine has many twists and turns, with reveals that I was not surprised by, but it was fun nonetheless. So, what didn't I like?
The characters. They aren't terrible, but they lacked soul and were just kind of there for the story. There isn't really any character development either. I didn't care for any of them and was only interested in how the overall story would play out. This ultimately brought the book down 1 star, to a final rating of 4 stars. Another (very small) thing: this is set forty thousand years in the future, and there is little mention of language or changes in language with the exception of some types of genetically modified species. Even the Imperial Celestials still use the same curse words as we do today. I'm not sure what Hamilton (or the video game developers, for that matter) could use instead, but it just felt off to me. Everything is so incredibly futuristic, yet they still speak the same way. Anyway, it's a really small thing and not negatively impacting my review, but I had to mention it.
Presumably, the second book in this duology will also be released before the game, which currently does not have an official release date. From what I have read in various interviews, Peter F. Hamilton was asked to assist with the video game in addition to writing the duology. Will I still play the game when it releases? Definitely - I was already planning to when it was announced that several ex-Bioware devs were working on it. I just hope they are able to add that good-Bioware-of-old character depth and include loveable characters that (so far) this story is lacking. Will I pick up the second book? Probably - I still love video game tie-ins and would like to see how this particular story concludes.
is a link to the video game trailer, announced at The 2023 Game Awards. I'm very excited for it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
January 4, 2025
The cover of Peter F. Hamilton's Exodus: The Archimedes Engine (Become the Traveler) by Edwin A. Vazquez drew me in. I was expecting something like Dune, The Expanse or Red Rising. Exodus takes place millennia after arkships began to flee dying Earth, and still arrive in the Centauri Cluster, in the 41,000 - 42,000's AD. Various advanced transhuman species, the Imperial Celestials, oppress humans by not giving them a voice in how they live. There are powerful family houses (like in Dune), an arkship/starship, the Diligent (like the Rocinante) and a sort-of hero Finn (unfortunately not like Darrow).
While I persevered to the end, I often felt like not finishing the novel. Except maybe Terence Wilson-Fletcher, the detective, and Ellie Oponi, from Old Earth, the characters were disappointing . Unending versions of “Asteria� are used for profanities, along with mostly current (YA?) language and idioms (“what the hell�, “crap�, “you are kidding me�, “damned if I do damned if I don't�). A couple of minor SSA characters are added in because, apparently, that's what's done these days. It's too long, overly descriptive and not very original.
Warning: This hardcover is about 900 pages so is quite heavy and awkward to hold for any length of time.
While I persevered to the end, I often felt like not finishing the novel. Except maybe Terence Wilson-Fletcher, the detective, and Ellie Oponi, from Old Earth, the characters were disappointing . Unending versions of “Asteria� are used for profanities, along with mostly current (YA?) language and idioms (“what the hell�, “crap�, “you are kidding me�, “damned if I do damned if I don't�). A couple of minor SSA characters are added in because, apparently, that's what's done these days. It's too long, overly descriptive and not very original.
Warning: This hardcover is about 900 pages so is quite heavy and awkward to hold for any length of time.
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