\n<\/p>\n
\n A Hole in the Sky is told through the eyes of 16-year-old Hazel<\/p>\n Adam Serba\/Alamy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n A Hole in the Sky<\/strong><\/em> I am a dyed-in-the-wool Peter F. Hamilton fan, so I was really looking forward to his new book, A Hole in the Sky<\/i>, especially as I always love an ark ship story.<\/p>\n This ship is hundreds of years into its voyage, and its inhabitants have regressed to something like medieval peasantry, living in villages beneath the high-tech towers their ancestors inhabited. We learn about the issues they have faced \u2013 a problem with the first planet they were meant to land on, then a mutiny on board \u2013 which have left them in dire straits. At the age of 65, every individual must be recycled for the good of the ship. I loved every single thing about this set-up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n All this is told from the first-person perspective of Hazel, a 16-year-old girl. She is getting terrible headaches because there is a literal hole in the hull of the ship (hence the book\u2019s title) and she quickly becomes embroiled in a dramatic chain of events. But there is also time for her to worry quite a lot about boys and clothes, which I found myself not quite buying. Would a girl or woman of any age worry about her outfit when the lives of everyone on her spaceship were at stake and she had a constant headache?<\/p>\n As you may already know, Hamilton is a genius who has made his name writing big<\/i> sci-fi. My favourites (probably his Void<\/i> and Night\u2019s Dawn<\/i> trilogies, plus his Commonwealth Saga<\/i> duology) are wild, ludicrously inventive, complicated and mind-blowing. I don\u2019t always totally understand them, but I love the ride.<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t so keen on Hamilton\u2019s recent book Exodus: Archimedes Engine<\/i>, tied to the upcoming video game Exodus, because I felt there were sequences included only for the game, rather than readers\u2019 enjoyment, but I do appreciate that wasn\u2019t aimed at me. I also get that a master writer might want new challenges. (The second in the series, for those not averse to video game tie-ins, is out later this year. The game arrives in 2027.)<\/p>\n \n \n \u201c<\/span> All of which brings me back to A Hole in the Sky<\/i>. I was halfway through when I noticed it was a bit, for want of a better word, childish. Investigating further, I found that the book first came out as an audio-only novel in 2021 \u2013 and that it is generally categorised as \u201cyoung adult\u201d, which means aimed at teenagers.<\/p>\n In an interview in 2020, Hamilton is quoted as saying: \u201cHaving a teenager as the main protagonist defines the publishing category, but I\u2019m hopeful that it will appeal to readers of any age.\u201d Personally, I think a young protagonist doesn\u2019t rule out a book being aimed at adults. (I am writing this as someone who has written novels with teenage protagonists.) But will people of any age enjoy this particular book?<\/p>\n The set-up and the plot twists are fantastic, as you would expect from Hamilton. But I wish he had held off from what I think are meant to be \u201cteenage\u201d elements. When my hero is running for her life, I don\u2019t need interludes in which she is thrilled to hold her boyfriend\u2019s hand. I found myself wishing the main character was 65 and about to be recycled \u2013 that would have had some heft.<\/p>\n Maybe Hamilton will find a fresh audience with this. If I were a film or TV scout, for example, I could imagine it transferring brilliantly to the screen. A Hole in the Sky<\/i> is part of a trilogy, with follow-ups due in June and December. As I wrote in my preview of 2026\u2019s new sci-fi books, this rapid schedule is unusual, and I will be intrigued to see how it fares.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Emily also recommends\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Pandora\u2019s Star<\/strong><\/em> If you have never tried Hamilton\u2019s classic works, there are many possible entrance points to the different universes he has created, but I suggest Pandora\u2019s Star and its follow-up Judas Unchained (they make up the Commonwealth Saga duology) as a good route in. If you find the phrase \u201cepic space opera\u201d has a nice ring to it, these are probably for you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Emily H. Wilson<\/b> is a former editor of New Scientist<\/i> and the author of the Sumerians<\/i> trilogy, set in ancient Mesopotamia. The final novel in the series, Ninshubar<\/i>, is out now. You can find her at emilyhwilson.com, or follow her on X @emilyhwilson and Instagram @emilyhwilson1<\/i><\/p>\n Topics:<\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n
Peter F. Hamilton, Angry Robot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n If I were a film or TV scout, I could imagine A Hole in the Sky<\/i> transferring brilliantly to the screen
\n \u201c<\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n
Peter F. Hamilton, Pan Macmillan<\/strong><\/p>\n