Prior to 2013 I did not read much science fiction. I read some classics like 2001 and Dune and some of Ted Chiang's short stories but not much else. I am also a lover of long books. If I'm into a story it doesn't matter if it's seven thousand six-hundred and fifty-seven pages long, I'm there for it. So, point being is that in 2013 someone recommended I read some Peter F. Hamilton because his books tended to be on the long side and the stories were pretty vast, so I read Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained back-to-back and while not only totally blowing my mind those two books opened my eyes to a genre I have been devouring ever since.

That brings us to Saints of Salvation, the conclusion to what I think might be his most accessible series to date. The trilogy as a whole is more streamlined and focused than some of his earlier stuff but it retains everything that makes Mr. Hamilton one of the best science fiction writers writing today. This last book is almost too much to comprehend in terms of scope and some of the time fluctuation stuff and few authors would be able to pull off explaining some of the ideas and technology without becoming totally incomprehensible or turning my brain to mush. Ole Pete pulls it off while instilling a sense of wonder and excitement that I liken to what it was like for me to see The Empire Strikes Back in the theaters as a five year old and how at ten years old at Boardwalk and Baseball I overcame my fears and rode my first roller coaster. Sincerely, this book takes you up down, left right, and it made my stomach plunge, but in a good way. There are bigger action scenes than anyone could ever imagine filming for a movie and some serious fist-pumping, yell-out-loud moments in the third act. I thought I knew a few times where the book was going and what was going to happen and was deliciously surprised when I turned out to be wrong and unthinkable unfathomable ideas began to be poured into my brain. Epic writ so large it would look like an infinitely high wall if you were standing in front of it and fun beyond my wildest expectations, this book is spectacular in every sense of the word. There was not a boring page in this, as it is a culmination of events introduced in the previous two books. I loved the way everything came together and appreciated the few dangling carrots left to pursue in future books but those strands did not take anything away from the way it ended and how things turned out.

I can't thank NetGalley, Del Rey Books, and Peter F. Hamilton enough for the arc copy and how that in no way impacted my opinion or review.

I read this final installment in the Salvation series without actually reading the other two - so I missed out on a lot! At first I was overwhelmed and a little confused by the story line, but after several chapters, pieces finally started falling into place. The scope of this book is as vast as Cixin Liu's trilogy, with so much more optimism and fierce defense of the best of humanity. Peter F. Hamilton planned every single detail perfectly; no "convenient" solutions or deus ex machinas here! I will admit I lost interest in the middle, due to that same extreme attention to detail. But I pushed through because the concept was so fascinating to me, and it was worth it. The last 25 percent of this book was fantastic, and I could not put it down! I would recommend this book for sure if you've read the first two, because despite the bogged-down places, the ending is whirlwind and satisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, who allowed me to read this ARC in return for a fair and honest review. I had the good fortune or reading book 2 and book 3 of the series back to back. This made everything flow very well-the story, which spans the galaxy and even time, is expansive but reading the story together heightened my appreciation for the author's craft. So my first recommendation, lucky reader, is to get all three books at once, or read them right after one another. This series deserves attention. Where in the first book I was getting my bearings for this immense world the author built, much like the humans were in dealing with the antagonist Olyix species, the second book had an escalation of the conflict, and this, the third, brought almost every thread to a satisfying conclusion. Normally, I am not a huge fan of time manipulation, but this book describes it, and how it can be weaponized in believable ways. The off POV development of the ships and evolution that ended up being instrumental in the final battles was frustrating at first, because I wanted to learn more about it, but the author deliberately left that mystery, teasing answers along the way, to perhaps be fleshed out later. Wanting more, in this case, is a good sign. The author did give enough details that it ended up not feeling like a god in a box solution.
The final battles were cathartic, and appropriately epic in size. Think about your favorite Borg or Star Wars scenes, but then layer on nuance that comes from being in a novel and you might get a sense of the scale and quality of writing that went into the story. But, and it is hard to write this in a way that isn't a minor spoiler, but I really enjoyed how the various storylines came together in the end. It really felt like an Aha moment for me, and underscores how the author had plotted everything together (or at least seemed to) methodically from the first book. There are still some major mysteries at the end. Non -antagonist alien species, what are their motivations? The future message from the 'god', who or what is motivating that. This leads me to believe Hamilton will return to this universe in the future, and the tale will be warmly welcomed.
Even though this is sci-fi, fans of epic fantasy will also like it. Fans of Star Wars and Star Trek will enjoy this series. People who like Vernor Vinge and John Scalzi should definitely check this out. Anyone into sentient spaceships will also like this series. I can't wait to read more of Hamilton's other series now. Anyone my age who played Star Con 2 will probably also love this work. Highest recommendation of five stars.

This is the third book of the series and Hamilton continues the high standards of the first two books. The book is a fun read and well worth the time. I enjoyed the characters and the plot.

This final installment in Peter Hamilton's latest standalone Salvation Sequence trilogy goes above and beyond what I could have hoped for or imagined.

This is galaxy and millennia spanning, alien apocalypse mania that continues the parallel narratives, past and present, of the previous books. Many of the narrative threads are personal stories of triumph and tragedy that Hamilton gradually weaves together in some unexpected ways, converging in an ultimate showdown with the Olyix and the God at the End of Time. Instant galactic travel via quantum spatial entanglement, gender (and age) bending bio-engineering, time travel paradoxes and quantum temporal theory that twist your brain in knots, timeshifting via time flow control technology, post-human "corpus" aspects, von Neumann style self-replicating tech and more, even some cyberpunk vibes, mix with a thrilling story of humanity's fight for survival against an enemy of implacable, highly advanced alien zealots.

Part War of the Worlds, part Battlestar Galactica and even part Ender's Game, this is a fantastic end to an exhilarating, mind blowing trilogy that few authors could have imagined, let alone wrote so deftly. While this ends in a very satisfying way there is still a rather crucial component that Hamilton leaves wide open, possibly for exploration in future stories.

Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton- The third book in this exciting trilogy is full of strange twists and turns as we find out more about the Olyix and their strange Enclave. Across several timelines, humans are playing a millennial-long game after their rude awakening at the Vayan trap. They need to out-think and outmaneuver their deadly foe, who has become even more resourceful and dangerous. Once again Peter F. Hamilton gives us a daring space epic, where the human condition stands steadfast and unbent. Thanks to NetGalley for this great ARC!