Peter F. Hamilton bibliography explained

List of works by or about British science fiction author Peter F. Hamilton.

Novel series

Greg Mandel trilogy (1993–1995)

  1. Mindstar Rising (1993),
  2. A Quantum Murder (1994),
  3. The Nano Flower (1995),

Confederation universe (1996–2000)

See main article: The Night's Dawn Trilogy.

  1. The Reality Dysfunction (1996, published in two volumes in the US: Emergence and Expansion),
  2. The Neutronium Alchemist (1997, published in two volumes in the US: Consolidation and Conflict),
  3. The Naked God (1999, published in two volumes in paperback in the US: Flight and Faith; the US hardback was one volume),

After the Greg Mandel novels, Hamilton wrote a space opera in three volumes, known collectively as The Night's Dawn Trilogy. The three books are each well over a thousand pages long and are not standalone novels, totalling 1.2 million words. The trilogy is set in a universe with a wealth of worlds and artificial orbiting colonies. The plot is centered on the souls of the dead coming back from a hellish "beyond" to possess the living, and the latter fighting back. It was followed by a companion to the series, The Confederation Handbook, an informational book containing data about the universe of the Night's Dawn trilogy. Hamilton re-set several earlier short stories set in the Confederation timeline, published as the collection A Second Chance at Eden (see "Short story collections" below), including the newly written title novella.

Commonwealth universe (2002–2016)

Misspent Youth

See main article: Misspent Youth. Misspent Youth (2002) is shorter than Hamilton's previous works, and again depicts a near-future version of Britain. This was his least well received book critically. Misspent Youth is placed in the same universe as the Commonwealth Saga, though it is not integral to the storyline of those novels. Much of the technology used in those novels (rejuvenation and low-cost/high-capacity memory storage) is established within this book.

Commonwealth Saga

See main article: Commonwealth Saga.

  1. Pandora's Star (2004),
  2. Judas Unchained (2005),

The Commonwealth Saga is published in two halves, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Set approximately 300 years later in the same universe as Misspent Youth, it explores the social effects of the almost complete elimination of the experience of death following widespread use of the rejuvenation technique described in Misspent Youth. In somewhat similar style to Night's Dawn, Hamilton also outlines, in detail, a universe with a small number of distinct alien species interacting essentially peacefully and who suddenly become faced with an increasingly ominous external threat. The saga focuses on wormhole technology and the first expansion in the space nearer to earth. Fifteen key new worlds are established.

Void Trilogy

See main article: Void Trilogy.

  1. The Dreaming Void (2007),
  2. The Temporal Void (2008),
  3. The Evolutionary Void (2010),

Set in the same universe as the Commonwealth Saga, the Void Trilogy is set 1200 years after the end of Judas Unchained. A timeline that links the Commonwealth Saga with the Void Trilogy, filling in the 1200-year gap, has been written by Hamilton.[1]

The Chronicle of the Fallers

See main article: The Chronicle of the Fallers.

  1. The Abyss Beyond Dreams (2014),
  2. Night Without Stars (2016), (UK), (US)

Hamilton announced in 2011 that he was developing a new trilogy.[2] He later cut this down to two books[3] titled The Chronicle of the Fallers. It is a return to his Commonwealth Universe, set in the same time-frame as the Void Trilogy, and tells the story of Nigel Sheldon and what happened when he broke into the Void.

The Queen of Dreams (2014–2017)

  1. The Secret Throne (2014),
  2. The Hunting of the Princes (2016)
  3. A Voyage Through Air (10 August 2017)

A children's fantasy series also known as Book of the Realms. Taggie and Jemima are summer holidaying on their dad's farm. They know just what to expect—a tumbledown cottage, sunshine and strawberry-picking. But then Jemima sees a white squirrel wearing glasses… And things become even more extraordinary when their dad is captured and whisked away to a faerie world.

Salvation Sequence (2018–2020)

Hamilton's Salvation sequence involves two concurrent story lines. One is set during the year 2204. In this period humanity has developed near-instantaneous space travel via a network of QSE (quantum-spatial entanglement) portals and are using them to begin spreading out into the galaxy. As a consequence of this technology, crewed spaceships are unnecessary. When an unknown vessel is found on a recently explored world, a team of specialists are sent out to investigate both the craft and the astonishing contents therein. The other story line is set much farther in the future. It follows a genetically engineered team of special forces designed to confront and destroy an enemy who are following their religious agenda of harvesting all sentient species in the galaxy.[4] [5]

Arkship Trilogy (2021–present)

Released as an audiobook exclusive, Arkship Trilogy is a departure from the typical widescreen space opera Hamilton is known for, instead focusing on a colony ship story from a first-person perspective. After that he is contracted to write a new two-book space opera series in a different universe.[6]

Standalone novels

His full-length novel Fallen Dragon is in many ways a condensation of the ideas and styles (and even characters) of the Night's Dawn trilogy, if rather darker in tone. The stand-alone book describes a bleak corporatocratic society dominated by five mega-corporations which wield almost unlimited power. It describes the troubled military campaign by one of these companies to "realise assets" from a minor colony, through the eyes of a veteran mercenary. One of the more interesting aspects of the book was its unconventional description of a spacefaring society which has developed interstellar travel but only at vast expense, putting it out of the reach of many people and a one-way trip for most of the rest.

Set in Newcastle upon Tyne in 2143, the Great North Road is a futuristic murder-mystery.[7]

Short story collections

Other short fiction

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Timeline . https://web.archive.org/web/20161228035152/http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/index.php?page=timeline . dead . 2016-12-28 . peterfhamilton.co.uk.
  2. Web site: Blog 025 - May 2011 . peterfhamilton.co.uk. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140605095639/http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/index.php?page=blog-025---may-2011. 2014-06-05.
  3. Web site: GeekChocolate - TV - Film - Books - Comics - Theatre . GeekChocolate.
  4. Web site: Liptak. Andrew. Aliens watch the rise of humanity in an excerpt from Peter F. Hamilton's sci-fi novel, Salvation. 7 February 2018. The Verge. 4 May 2018.
  5. Web site: Salvation Peter F.Hamilton. February 2018. Macmillan. 4 May 2018.
  6. Web site: A Hole in the Sky by Peter F Hamilton, with a short Q&A – SFFWorld . 16 March 2021 .
  7. Web site: Great North Road. Thirdyen. 21 January 2013. Barnes & Noble.
  8. Web site: Manhattan In Reverse. Peter F. Hamilton. Goodreads.