A Gap within the Sky evaluation: Peter F. Hamilton’s newest is an epic slice of sci-fi – with one flaw

A Hole in the Sky
Peter F. Hamilton, Indignant Robotic

I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Peter F. Hamilton fan, so I used to be actually wanting ahead to his new e book, A Gap within the Sky, particularly as I all the time love an ark ship story.

This ship is a whole lot of years into its voyage, and its inhabitants have regressed to one thing like medieval peasantry, residing in villages beneath the high-tech towers their ancestors inhabited. We be taught in regards to the points they’ve confronted – an issue with the primary planet they have been meant to land on, then a mutiny on board – which have left them in dire straits. On the age of 65, each particular person have to be recycled for the nice of the ship. I liked each single factor about this set-up.

All that is advised from the first-person perspective of Hazel, a 16-year-old lady. She is getting horrible complications as a result of there’s a literal gap within the hull of the ship (therefore the e book’s title) and he or she shortly turns into embroiled in a dramatic chain of occasions. However there’s additionally time for her to fret rather a lot about boys and garments, which I discovered myself not fairly shopping for. Would a lady or girl of any age fear about her outfit when the lives of everybody on her spaceship have been at stake and he or she had a relentless headache?

As you could already know, Hamilton is a genius who has made his title writing massive sci-fi. My favourites (in all probability his Void and Night time’s Daybreak trilogies, plus his Commonwealth Saga duology) are wild, ludicrously ingenious, sophisticated and mind-blowing. I don’t all the time completely perceive them, however I really like the experience.

I wasn’t so eager on Hamilton’s current e book Exodus: Archimedes Engine, tied to the upcoming online game Exodus, as a result of I felt there have been sequences included just for the sport, moderately than readers’ enjoyment, however I do admire that wasn’t aimed toward me. I additionally get {that a} grasp author may need new challenges. (The second within the collection, for these not averse to online game tie-ins, is out later this 12 months. The sport arrives in 2027.)

All of which brings me again to A Gap within the Sky. I used to be midway via once I observed it was a bit, for need of a greater phrase, infantile. Investigating additional, I discovered that the e book first got here out as an audio-only novel in 2021 – and that it’s typically categorised as “younger grownup”, which suggests aimed toward youngsters.

In an interview in 2020, Hamilton is quoted as saying: “Having a youngster as the principle protagonist defines the publishing class, however I’m hopeful that it’ll attraction to readers of any age.” Personally, I believe a younger protagonist doesn’t rule out a e book being aimed toward adults. (I’m scripting this as somebody who has written novels with teenage protagonists.) However will folks of any age get pleasure from this explicit e book?

The set-up and the plot twists are incredible, as you’d count on from Hamilton. However I want he had held off from what I believe are supposed to be “teenage” parts. When my hero is operating for her life, I don’t want interludes during which she is thrilled to carry her boyfriend’s hand. I discovered myself wishing the principle character was 65 and about to be recycled – that might have had some heft.

Perhaps Hamilton will discover a contemporary viewers with this. If I have been a movie or TV scout, for instance, I might think about it transferring brilliantly to the display. A Gap within the Sky is a part of a trilogy, with follow-ups due in June and December. As I wrote in my preview of 2026’s new sci-fi books, this fast schedule is uncommon, and I can be intrigued to see the way it fares.

Emily additionally recommends…

Pandora’s Star
Peter F. Hamilton, Pan Macmillan

When you have by no means tried Hamilton’s basic works, there are numerous doable entrance factors to the totally different universes he has created, however I counsel Pandora’s Star and its follow-up Judas Unchained (they make up the Commonwealth Saga duology) as a great route in. For those who discover the phrase “epic house opera” has a pleasant ring to it, these are in all probability for you.

Emily H. Wilson is a former editor of New Scientist and the creator of the Sumerians trilogy, set in historical Mesopotamia. The ultimate novel within the collection, Ninshubar, is out now. You will discover her at emilyhwilson.com, or comply with her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1