I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This was SUCH a cool novel! If you love the movie Passengers, this is kind of like that except everyone is awake and hurtling through space trying to find a new home. This novel mostly focuses on Hazel and her experience of watching society have it's routine...and then slowly learning that everything she knows and has lived by is not necessarily as it seems...

This was an awesome novel that was action packed and it was in space, had alien contact, nerdy science stuff, Star Trek like dilemma's and just this Trekkie nerd's dream of a novel! I so thoroughly enjoyed it and would love to continue to read/listen if this series continues! Although, if it does not, this was a very good novel and did feel quite complete.

This was aim interesting audio read that I wasn’t fully engaged in at all times. I had a hard time with some inconsistencies that seemed to appear throughout the book.

In all, I liked the idea of discovery and the “journey” to buck the system, but I found the YA parts to be a bit too much. When the MC was not worried about the air supply she was overly thinking about boys. And when she “got” a boy it was so insta-love filled that I didn’t really connect with their very convenient meet-up. Too many things were put off as “it was obvious this is where you would be/go/do” when to the reader those things did not seem obvious.

I did enjoy the incorporation of the tech and the alien element in this. I’m not sure that I will continue on with the series as I wasn’t as invested as I would’ve liked to of been.

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Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced audio copy of this book. All opinions expressed on my own.

When I finished reviewing the Salvation Sequence by Peter F. Hamilton, I said that I looking forward to trying his next series. And I was so right! I got an audio advanced reader copy of A Hole in the Sky and it was fantastic! I love Hamilton’s space opera, and I love a good generation ship story, and this was so much fun!

I didn’t realize that this book was a YA book when I began listening to it, so in some ways it came across as a breath of fresh air. Some of the sex and violence in some of Hamilton‘s other books gets a little grim, and it was a pleasure to have a teenaged female protagonist in this book that I wasn’t going to have to worry about.

The mysteries of how the people on the generation ship lost their access to technology war well plotted and well revealed. I didn’t wanna stop listening to this book because I kept wanting to find out what was going to happen next. I am very much looking forward to the sequel and everything else Mr. Hamilton chooses to write.

Hazel is a 16 year old living on the starship Daedalus which has been traveling 500 years to find a new world to settle. Years ago most of their technology was destroyed during a mutiny and the people survive now by farming. Since resources are scarce, people who are unable to contribute are Cycled. Some people, the Cheaters, who refused to be Cycled have run away and are living in hiding until one reappears and warns Hazel about an impending disaster.

This is the first book of a new trilogy, available in audio format only. That is unfortunate, because the narrator (Elizabeth Klett) has an annoyingly chirpy British accent and she is unable to differentiate characters. That is a problem. My other problem with this book is that it is labeled as adult, while it is really YA. When the main character spends considerable time deciding between (and kissing) her suitors and gossiping with her friend, it’s YA as far as I’m concerned. It also has the typical YA storyline of the teenaged protagonist knowing more than everyone around her, going on a mission and discovering she is specially anointed to save the day.

Every once in a while there is an information dump from one of the Cheaters that brings Hazel, and the readers, up to speed. The AI also conveniently have solutions for almost every problem. At the end of the book Hazel finds out what is really happening on Daedalus. In book two she will have to share that information with the rest of the passengers. I didn’t hate the story but I am not a YA fan, so I am probably not the right audience for this book.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

A hole in the sky
By Peter f Hamilton and Elizabeth klett

This is an amazing story.. showing how propaganda can affect generations. The story of space colonization and personal trust of government.
I like the audible version that brings you into the story.
The character development is amazing. I like the strong female heroine.
The characters have universal appeal.

I will first start by saying that I generally enjoy books by Peter Hamilton. I found this book to fall a bit flat, as an audiobook, the characters are likeable but the storyline is a bit predictable in some places.

I applaud Hamilton for trying something new and developing a whole new world but I'm a creature of habit, and wanted more of what I am use to with his writing. It's definitely not the typical space operas that I've come to love from Hamilton but I would add, for someone just introduced to his writing, it may be something easier to tackle.

I struggled a bit with my rating because I expected typical Hamilton, with excellent world building and depth in the characters, but as a YA novel, it seemed too simplistic. We're introduced to 16-year old Hazel, who lives on an arkship setting forth to a new world. Because resources are scant, thanks to a rebellion, the ship has a cycling ceremony to get rid of the old people to end their drain on the limited resources. This is where we learn about the "issue" affecting the ship's inhabitants.

Because the main narrator, as well as several characters, such as Hazel's brother and best friend, are teenagers, they approach the "issue" of the arkship very naively. I struggled a lot here because it felt as if Hamilton was a bit indecisive of whether he wanted this to be a full YA novel or have some appeal to his adult fan base.

Although there are two more novels to come, it generally feels as if it follows the premise of YA novels…teenager finds out something is affecting his/her community, bands together with friends to figure it out, stumbles across too much information, and then has to fight it out. I'll stick it out with the series and update my review as it continues.

I received as a free listen from NetGalley for an honest review.

A Hole in the Sky is the first entry in Peter F Hamilton’s latest series, the Arkship Trilogy. Releasing as an audiobook exclusive, A Hole in the Sky 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.

The arkship Daedalus is 500 years into its journey to a new world, the second such journey it has had to make. The first world it arrived at was already home to alien life, albeit seemingly not quite sentient, and the decision was made to move on to another world so as not to interrupt their development. However, not everyone on board was in agreement and a mutiny took place where much of Daedalus’ equipment and technology was destroyed. Although the mutineers were ultimately unsuccessful, humanity needed to return to an agrarian culture in order survive, growing the food needed for the population, and implementing cycling once a certain age has reached – essentially euthanising the elderly in order to limit population and maintain enough resources.

Hazel and her younger brother, Fraser, live in one of the villages within Daedalus, doing their part for society and abiding by the rules. When Hazel is to be flower girl for the latest cycling ceremony she encounters a group of cheaters – elderly people who fled to hide rather than be cycled – who had been caught near the village and will now be euthanised and cycled. One of these cheaters tells Hazel that the Daedalus is losing air, and before long the arkship will no longer be able to support life. If not enough to deal with, Fraser suffers an accident that leaves him almost entirely paralysed, which in turn means he will be cycled early, something Hazel can’t begin to accept. From here begins a journey to try and repair the Daedalus, and along the way they learn lots of untold details of its past…

Going into A Hole in the Sky I knew that this wouldn’t be a typical Hamilton novel with a wide cast of characters spread across the galaxy, but a more focused novel dealing with a specific story. Told in the first-person and set on a generational arkship, the basic structure of the novel is nothing new to the genre, and it’s also, because of its nature, a simpler approach to storytelling. It does, however, work well, and it’s easy to get caught up in the story without additional information on the world and technology making its way into the narrative. A reliable narrator or not, Hazel has a limited knowledge base and everything we know comes from her, or through her interactions and understanding, and it works to build up that sense of something not quite right.

Hamilton is known for in-depth worldbuilding in his novels, yet A Hole in the Sky manages to mostly move away from this. Yes, there are times through the story where we get bits of information, with the occasional longer section, but it’s relevant to the story and dealt with accordingly. Again, all of this information comes through Hazel’s perception and participation in events, and as expected it keeps the story flowing nicely. The actual society on the Daedalus is also fascinating, and so much is simply taken for granted by its inhabitants as the way things have to be. While Hazel has her own views on this, Fraser, her younger brother, is the character I most enjoyed because of his inquisitive and intelligent nature.

Elizabeth Klett, the narrator of the audiobook, does a good job here. Admittedly, it took me a while to really get into her narration – often the case with many of the audiobooks I listen to due to the number of different narrators I’ve heard – but by the end it was easy listening and well suited to the story.

It’s hard to say too much more about the story without delving into spoilers, but suffice to say that Hamilton delivers a solid and entertaining novel. Much like other generation/arkship stories, this one is carried along by its characters and that underlying question of what exactly is going on. It’s been a while since I read them, but Scott Sigler’s Alive and Pamela Sargent’s Earthseed are apt comparisons for A Hole in the Sky, and, much like those novels, I enjoyed A Hole in the Sky very much. While I have some inclinations on where the story might go from here in the next volume, I could be very wrong – but either way I’m looking forward to finding out.

I was a bit bored and lost while listening to this audiobook. The idea was great and I was very interested at first but it was very hard to keep my interest and focus while listening, although I did like the narration.

🎧 My first book by this author!! (I have the Salvation hardcover intimidating me from my bookshelf) The narrator is a British female & adequate for the job.

The story .... Headaches plague the citizens on a generational ship that’s been barreling through space at half the speed of life for 500 years after a mutiny. Is there a cause for the headaches? Is that cause world ending?

Hazel, our ~18 year old MC is a flower girl at the beginning of the story & the captain’s daughter at the end. You’ll have to read it to figure that puzzle out. :)

A bit YA but I really enjoyed the slow build up & world building. Hazel us a bit whiny in the beginning but her character develops & by the end of their main quest she’s a little older & a little wiser. There are unexpected heroes & sad deaths.

For the last hour or so (15%) I was on the edge of my seat.

A bit Logan’s Run, a bit ST-TNG episode Half a Life, a bit Orphans of the Sky. I would definitely listen to book 2! I loved Lazarus, John, Frazer, Elijah, Hazel & of course the book!

Free listen through NetGallery in exchange for an honest review. Now I’d like to try Pandora’s Star, what am I talking about .... Salvation!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/3

Durante la entrevista que le hicimos a Peter F. Hamilton para Tryperion, nos habló de sus futuros proyectos y entre ellos se encontraba la publicación de esta novela, exclusiva para formato audio. No cabe duda de que despertó mucho mi interés así que en cuanto que tuve la oportunidad, me dispuse a escucharla.


A Hole in the Sky es una obra menor dentro de la producción del autor británico, pero acostumbrados como estamos a sus obras titánicas hay que decir que esta obra novela es un cambio que no viene mal. La historia tiene lugar en una nave generacional en la que no todo ha salido como estaba previsto (la verdad, me cuesta creer que cualquier persona que haya leído algo de ciencia ficción se embarque en un viaje de este tipo, siempre salen mal).

Todo está narrado desde el punto de vista de Hazel, una joven que vive en uno de los pequeños pueblos que colonizan el interior de la nave, que a causa de un motín ha vuelto a un estado bastante primitivo de civilización. La maquinaria destinada a hacer su vida más fácil no funciona correctamente y han de trabajar muy duro tan solo para sobrevivir y llegar al siguiente día. Todo esto bajo la supervisión de «la capitana electrónica», una supuesta mezcla entre inteligencia artificial y la personalidad de la última capitana de la nave, que recurrió a esta fusión como última defensa contra el motín mencionado anteriormente. Quizá lo más duro de la vida en la nave es que para aprovechar los recursos se debe reciclar a los que cumplen 65 años, a lo Fuga de Logan. La mayoría aceptan su destino como parte del servicio a la comunidad, pero algunos hacen «trampa» y huyen hacia zonas inexploradas de la nave.

Siendo este el punto de partida, ya nos podemos imaginar que tendrá que ocurrir algún cambio para romper el status quo de la situación. Esto ocurre cuando un accidente afecta a un familiar de Hazel, que dejará de poder contribuir al bien común, por lo que la decisión sobre la continuidad de su vida está en entredicho.

Sin querer meterme más en el argumento, hay que decir que la novela es bastante optimista a pesar del punto de partida un tanto ominoso del que parte con el reciclado de seres humanos. También pienso que se han suavizado mucho las aristas de la situación para que la novela pueda estar dirigida a un público más juvenil. Hazel comenzará una viaje para mejorar la situación de la nave generacional en el que «casualmente» su ascendencia tendrá un papel relevante.

A pesar de lo simple y quizá algo manida que es la trama, no puedo dejar de lado alguna de las aportaciones de Hamilton a la intriga, sobre todo en la parte final. Aunque como digo se trata de una novela de mucha menor complejidad de lo que el autor acostumbra, no cesa de dar muestras de su oficio como escritor. Los personajes son un tanto maniqueos, pero se les coge cariño. Y ojo, que estamos solo ante la primera entrega de la serie, así que no podía faltar un buen cliffhanger para engancharnos hasta la siguiente entrega.

En cuanto a la narración de Elizabeth Klett, he de decir que me parece correcta, pero no aporta mucho valor a la historia. Quizá sea debido a la comparación de su labor con la de otros narradores, pero no me ha parecido especialmente destacable.

A coming-of-age story perfect for youngsters who want a simple adventure plus the comfort of a HEA ending. Centuries after a mutiny on a generational has destroyed virtually all technology on board, the remaining people have been reduced to an agrarian lifestyle—along with some unsavory traditions. The story begins when our heroine learns the possible cause of her sudden and mysterious migraines. But what can she do? Later, when a brutal shipboard tradition threatens her brother’s life, she rebels against the village conformists (and deniers) in order to save his life. While following her chosen path of rebellion, she learns that the entire spaceship is in a grave danger that only she can avert. A group of friends follow her leadership, each displaying loyalty, courage, and resilience. Along the way, she wakens machines that have been dormant since the mutiny—machines that are so advanced that they seem like magic from a fantasy rather than technology. As a result, this novel should appeal to a broad audience of people other than SF diehards.

I am grateful to NetGalley for a peek at Peter Hamilton’s latest audiobook. I only wish it had been mind blowing like the last book of his I read.

Note ISBN numbers don’t match on goodreads.

Sweet Captain!

My best friends husband who is a MAJOR fan of Peter F. Hamilton has been trying to get me to read Nights Dawn Trilogy for at least a year, and the series has been sitting in my audible wish list equally as long as ashamed to say but after listening to this I'm finally going to buy them all.

A Hole In The Sky ⭐⭐⭐

It took me a little bit to get into this book however that's not due to the story but more that narrator. At first It felt like she was reading the story at me instead of sucking me into it. This is definitely a story I want to continue with however.

Narrator ⭐⭐⭐