Thank you so much to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me with this e-Arc. I am very grateful! Will definitely read more from this author in the near future.

(See all my Book Reviews) - Author Peter F. Hamilton published the novel “Salvation Lost” in 2019. Mr. Hamilton has published more than 20 novels. This is the second in his "Salvation Sequence" series.

I categorize this novel as “R” because it contains Mature Language and Mature Situations. The story is set in the twenty-third-century.

An alien race, the Olyix, has approached Earth. At first, they are friendly. That abruptly changes when their religious beliefs manifest in an assault on humanity. Humanity has two choices. They must either slip into the vast dark spaces of the galaxy, hiding or stand up and fight.

I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent reading this 566-page science fiction novel. The beginning of the novel was a challenge. The difficult language used almost made me call a Rule of 50 on it. It had a slow and dull beginning. While this is readable as a stand-alone novel, I definitely recommend reading "Salvation" first. I am sure my experience with this novel would have been better if I had. The story became better the more I read. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

A great read and continuation by Hamilton started in Salvation. Its not a rosy picture of humanity in the 23rd century but one of war and struggle. The story line starts with the attack of Earth by a powerful alien force and spans thousands upon thousands of years of war to fight back over the milky galaxy.

Space opera at its finest. The kind that comes in a trilogy of doorstoppers, and you don’t care because you don’t want it to end. At this time, a couple of hundred years in the future, humanity strives toward utopia with its solutions for cheap energy, ubiquitous teleportation, and the harnessing of wormholes to reach and terraform nearby planets. As we learned in volume one, an alien race, the Olyix, approaches Earth in a large ship with messages about peace and wonderful technology to share. However, study of alien artifacts in a nearby system suggest they have not come in peace. A collaboration of government, business, security and military wizards and problem solvers emerges to figure out what we should do. Early in this tale (so not a serious spoiler), a human in their midst turns out to be a construct of another alien race on a mission to help humanity fight back. The story is that the Olyix aim to somehow put all humans in hibernation so they can be merged into some kind of group mind at the end of time.

The cast of characters is wonderful, as usual with Hamilton. In addition to the set of powerful, big-ego folk at the center of forging a consensus response, we periodically tap into colorful characters in the criminal underclass of London. It was fun to experience them putting their own devious brilliance into play when the shit from the Olyix starts to hit the fan. A third stream of action in the narrative comes from a set of humans and aliens thousands of years in the future and many light years from Earth. It takes some time to understand what is happening with them, but the inference is clear that humans have lasted this long (and fortunately still recognizable in their creativity, fallibility, egos, and humor) and the struggle for survival persists.

A tale of all of humanity driven to work together to defeat a common threat is just what I needed. Since I read the book last Fall, the tragic arrival of the Pandemic in the interval gives me more interest in reading the finale.

This book was provided for review by the publisher through the Netgalley program.

Published by Del Rey on October 29, 2019

Salvation Lost is the second novel of the Salvation trilogy. Readers who have not read the first novel (Salvation) are cautioned that this review makes references to that novel that might be regarded as spoilers.

At the end of Salvation, I expected the direction of the trilogy to change. The novel’s “present” is set about 200 years in the future. Things are looking bleak for Earth as humans come to realize that aliens known as the Olyix are not the benevolent benefactors they seem to be, but are intent on capturing the entire human race, reducing individuals to a bodiless essence and storing them in cocoons (“a bulbous barrel of flesh with a distended head protruding at the top”) to further what seems to be (from the Olyix perspective) a divine mission. This is what happens when people (or aliens) think they are doing the work of God. Another Salvation storyline is set in the far future, focusing on the descendants of humans who fled Earth and its colonies. These future humans are plotting and training to battle the Olyix, as have generations before them. I expected the second novel to focus on the characters in the far future, but quite a bit of the novel engages the reader with familiar characters from the present, who are fighting in Earth’s end days to give the human race a chance to survive. I was happy about that because I felt a stronger attachment to the characters in the present than to those in the future.

Much of the future story deals with the crew of a starship, including characters who will be familiar to readers of Salvation. They have created what they believe will be a trap for the Olyix, with a goal of capturing one of their ships and pinpointing the location of their home base. Their larger plan is to take the war to the Olyix. The problem is that the Olyix have been around a long time and this is all “been there, done that” to them.

Much of the present story deals with efforts to thwart the Olyix as they try to snatch every human. The humans hope to slow the Olyix enough to allow substantial numbers of humans to flee — and to prepare them to keep fleeing, generation after generation, until humans ae in a position to take it to the Olyix. Peter Hamilton provides greater depth of characterization in the second novel than he did in Salvation, as we take a close look at conflicted members of a powerful family who face the prospect of losing all the wealth they’ve created.

To the story in the present, Salvation Lost adds some lowlifes who find themselves well paid to commit acts of vandalism for reasons they don’t fully understand. An entity that calls itself that watcher joins the story of the future. Hamilton eventually reveals the reason the lowlifes are being exploited and the nature of the watcher. Both revelations impart interesting twists to the plot.

The best part of Salvation, I thought, was the detailed future-building: the economic and social structures that evolve around unlimited energy, instantaneous transportation, and food printing. Salvation Lost takes that all as a given and delivers a meatier plot than the first novel. Both the past and future elements of the plot are exciting and fast-moving. Both contain surprises that spin the story in new directions.

Some of the novel’s themes are drawn from decades of science fiction, including human ingenuity and the value of self-sacrifice. While the themes are familiar, Hamilton’s imaginative use of future technology makes them seem fresh. Hamilton advances a story that rises above a typical “humans versus aliens” space opera, simply because the detailed universes in which the plots unfold are so convincing. Salvation Lost is a much stronger novel that the space-filling middle installment that so often bridges the first and last novels of a sf trilogy.

RECOMMENDED

Huge story, multitude of characters, redefines epic science fiction. But start at the beginning of the series, or it will be a scramble to catch up.

Peter Hamilton brings us Part 2 of the Salvation Sequence with Salvation Lost. A sprawling science fiction universe spanning story of human resistance to Olyix who are trying to take over all life in the universe and make it over in their version of God. Olyix hits humanity and humanity hits back, determined to wipe out the Olyix. Moderately successful but could have profited from editing to remove excess verbiage.

I couldn't get into this as I ran out of time to read the first book. I love the premise and the overall idea of the series - thank you for the chance to review!

I really enjoyed this book, thank you Netgalley! Even better the next book in the series was just released and I'm very excited to continue the adventure.

Peter F. Hamilton’s latest tome, Salvation Lost, is fantastic and well worth your time.

I have been a fan of Peter F. Hamilton since I first got Fallen Dragon as an SFBC book of the month. I fell in love with his worldbuilding and excellent characters. I plowed through the Nights Dawn series and still remember how I felt when, not realizing it was not a standalone novel, I blitzed through Pandora’s Star when it was first published and howled with dismay as I turned the last page and realized I was left with a cliffhanger as momentous as when Riker said “Mr. Worf, fire.”

So of course I was excited when the Salvation trilogy began last year, and of course I couldn’t wait to find out what happened after the cliffhanger at the end of the first volume. I was lucky to get an eARC from Net Galley and it did NOT disappoint.

In addition to following the same characters as the last book in both the near future and far future timelines, Mr. Hamilton has added a number of additional characters - a British Street gang of thieves and drug dealers who make up their own found family. This group had some well rounded characters in it that you want to root for as well as some venal and despicable people that bring to mind Hamilton’s take on the ghost of Al Capone or an early obnoxious Dudley Bose.

I don’t want to get into too many spoilers, but this volume follows directly from the end of the last book, but does not progress too far in time. It had a bit of middle-book-in-trilogy syndrome, inasmuch as, at times, it felt like it was building without conclusion or spinning its wheels. Having read most of Mr. Hamilton’s work, I know that I cannot fully judge this book until the series is concluded and I finish the reread - only then will I understand exactly why he made some of the choices he did.

None of that detracts from my overall conclusion that this book is fantastic and I cannot wait for volume 3!

The threat to humanity and the galaxy is finally taken serious by those threatened. I was blown away after just the first few pages. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, or for the author, whom I have the utmost respect of. But you know how some books will leave you on a cliffhanger, a big revelation and then take that story forward at the beginning of the next book? Well, Mr. Hamilton not only drops a bomb at the end of the first book, but sets the setting for an incredible continuation of the story from the very git go. Less than 5 pages in and he's already made your head spin with the epic giganticness of the Salvation sequence. Hamilton is at his imaginitive best, no surprise but extremely satisfying. 5 stars, all the way...neutron stars, if I had to pick.
I am so thankful for being given an advance review copy.

The Olyix are back -- with a vengeance. And, if you think you can just hide in your cocoon waiting for the war to pass, you had best think again. Yes, there is plenty of unnecessary foul language and immature sexual content, but there is an engaging story line if you can overlook it and keep your annoyance in check. The old crew is back with a few new and interesting characters not least of which are Callum, Yirella, and, of course, Ainsley Zangari who, as always, is way out there outside the box. I am eager to see how Hamilton finishes this up in the next and last installment of this trilogy.

THIS WAS A INCREDIBLE SEQUEL TO THE FIRTS BOOK “SALVATION”.

This starts when/where the first book ended.
Is mostly the same characters, but some characters that were secondary in the firts book have a more central role in this.

The last part of the book was filled with twisted and turns, and revelations.

Overall, a excellent book/sequel.

If you worried that Salvation Lost wouldn't be able to stand up to the pure adrenaline rush that was Salvation - first in the trilogy - worry no more my friend. If the first book was an adrenaline rush then this second is simply stacking rush on top of rush and coming out the other side with panting breath and sore fingers from turning pages or, in my case, tap, tapping on my Paperwhite to turn those pages.

I'm beginning to think this Peter F. Hamilton guy can write. Two five star ratings in a row from me? Unheard of because I can pretty much pick, pick, pick anything apart. Not here, although it is VERY highly suggested by me that you read Salvation first, before you try this one on because there is so much going on that there isn't much time given over for catching new readers up to speed. This is the book where all of the space battles begin with the Olyix and everyone finds out how incredibly far ahead they are of anybody else in the universe when it comes to technology. They don't want to kill any humans, they want to save them all by putting them in a cocoon state to survive the journey to the end of time and space. The Neana are trying so hard to tell the humans how to survive this encounter with the Olyix but the human folk don't like the idea of running and hiding. So what's going to happen? Don't know. Tune in for episode three The Saints of Salvation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine, Del Rey for an e-galley of this novel.

Wow.

Firstly I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Now that’s out of the way I’ll say it again: wow.

When I read Salvation last year it immediately entered my top 10 favourite books. I’ve always been a fan of Hamilton but this particular trilogy has pushed all the buttons for me. Portals? Check. Aliens? Check. Espionage? Check.

Salvation Lost is actually better than Salvation. If I have one criticism is that the book ends; and the story continues in the final part of the trilogy WHICH I’VE GOT TO WAIT A FULL YEAR FOR!

I won’t go into a review where i describe what happens, or try to draw parallels to modern day. All I’ll say is: read Salvation (hopefully you’ve done this already) and then read Salvation Lost; finally become irritated you’ve got to wait for the last part it in the trilogy.

Amazing book, I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could. Read it.

This is a nice follow-up to the first book, Salvation. It adds background to a lot more of the story and brings different timelines together to further fill out what is happening. I would advise that you need to pay attention to the dates listed at the beginning of the chapters to help you keep track of when the events take place. It gets easier once you are far enough along in the book to recognize the time period from the characters that are involved. I am looking forward to next book in the series!

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton (Randon House/Del Rey Books; 2019)
Salvation Lost is the second of a planned trilogy from prolific and popular hard sci-fi author Peter F. Hamilton. This series, "The Salvation Sequence," is set in an entirely new world that is similar to his earlier series like "The Night's Dawn Trilogy," and "The Commonwealth Saga," in that Earth plays a role that is more central to this latest series than others --- mostly because the this latest series features an Earth that is only a couple of hundred years in the future, rather than many thousands of years like the earlier series.

In writing this review, I am at a slight disadvantage because I have not read the first installment in the series, so would state that Salvation Lost is truly an installment in a series that is not meant to be read as a stand-alone. However, there are some sections of the present volume that give enough exposition to help readers understand a little of what occurred in the earlier novel in this trilogy.

Salvation Lost has all the trademarks that one has come to expect from this most prolific and inventive writer: believable dialogue; a large cast of characters, scenes and even timelines that change from chapter to chapter; technical but not overly cumbersome explanations and implications of new technologies and advances that affect the worlds and individuals that people the book in both small and large ways; and a certain predilection to more than a little detail in the sexual and gender bodily adaptions and enhancements that become commonplace in the books' settings. Yet these things are all handled with aplomb by Hamilton that displays why he is one of the most popular writers working in science fiction today, carrying on the legacies or other authors from the UK all the way from Arthur C. Clarke to Iain Banks.

Salvation Lost largely picks right up where the first entry, Salvation, left off; describing the discovery of the true intentions of the Olyik who began as apparent friends and benefactors of Earth in the early 23rd Century, only to be discovered as the greatest threat to the human race ever encountered. Through the fortuitous arrival of a truly friendly ally called the Nea`na, a strategy is devised to affect the immediate safety of Earth and its many habitats strewn throughout the solar system and exo-Sol environments. But in an interesting twist, the Nea`na are shown to have direct knowledge of the future and convince the Earth authorities that the technologically-advanced and implacable Olyik will only be ultimately defeated in a very long-drawn-out strategy encompassing thousands of years. Thus, the book moves from back-and-forth from the primary setting in the early 23rd Century to a time many thousands of years in the future, as the alliance of humans and Nea`na carry forth their very-long range strategy to first rescue many billions of "cocooned" humans taken over through many centuries by the Olyik, to an ultimate plan to eventually infiltrate the inscrutable Olyik "enclave" homeworld/system, so that this evil predatory race can hopefully be ultimately destroyed and wiped from existence.

As usual with Hamilton, he injects a lot of action and sometimes graphic violence that is still quite intriguing and engaging, and does a masterful job of juggling more than 30 different characters and several species of aliens to show the personal impacts of the truly monumental and epoch-shaping events also taking place in and around Earth and eventually across the reaches of the galaxy. I will definitely be looking for the third and last installment of this trilogy when it is produced. Readers of Hamilton's other works will certainly not be disappointed in this volume, although it is not as truly gargantuan as many of his other works, coming in at less than 500 pages compared to other works he has produced that are 1000 pages and more. I would recommend this book and this series as maybe a good introduction for new readers of Hamilton to familiarize themselves with his style before getting into his more challenging works.

If it's not obvious, you should read the previous book in the series first... This is quite good, and maybe better than it's predecessor. Great tech, interesting characters and situations, and fun action. Recommended.

I really appreciate the advanced copy for review!!

Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mr. Hamilton does it again. But this time, rather than kicking off an epic war of dead people versus the living in a high-tech far-future space-opera, he twists us around a truly desperate struggle against very powerful aliens coming to "save" us, preserving us and sending us to the end of the universe where we will all share the experience together.

Sound like some religious nutters? They FEEL like religious nutters. And it's awesome. This is the start of the full-on conflict right here. All the human worlds, some alien help, and the full efforts of our own far-future humanity are set against this odd invasion.

And it's an extinction-level event.

Never mind that we have near-immortality, quantum entanglement transporters, von Neumann transhumanists, or some extreme printing technology, minds as big as moons, or anything we thought would make us amazingly resilient.

This is total war. And the twists to come are pretty damn amazing. No spoilers, but this is one of the more impressive novels by Hamilton. And when it comes to worldbuilding and storytelling and the epic, that's saying a lot.

Picking up immediately where the previous book left off, Salvation Lost rotates through a cast of characters as humanity has a final show down with the Olyix, alien religious extremists formally thought to be friendly. This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat as each character is up against horrific odds, and I spent most the night devouring the book. Hamilton always has a way with describing the future in a way that seems fantastical but also achievable!

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.