This second book in the Salvation Sequence was far more enjoyable for me. The plot was more streamlined and focused solely on the threat from the alien race, although there were still different timelines at play. There were new characters added in this installment and I particularly enjoyed the chapters focusing on Ollie and his friends - they were gritty and quite unpleasant in places, but kept the narrative grounded in humanity, which I appreciated. I also enjoyed the interactions between Gwendoline and Horatio and thought that Peter F. Hamilton did a good job at balancing the more heavy science elements with these character moments. Overall, I thought this was a compelling read and I will definitely be picking up the concluding book.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It is said that strategy lasts until the moment the first shot is fired. At that point when you finally meet your opponent the grand plans can either pay off or fall apart with new ones quickly required. Reading Salvation Lost the second part of Peter F Hamilton’s Salvation Sequence (the first of which Salvation is reviewed HERE ) gave me a grand story of humanity discovering it’s under threat of total conquest and where far in the future it’s last hope for survival find their grand plan isn’t enough to combat their greatest enemy.

A quick recap – in 2202 humanity discovered that their super friendly alien allies the Olyix were actually playing a long game to take the entire human population and convert it (willingly or not) into their strange religion which they have been doing for eons across the galaxy to any race they feel is sentient and advanced. They have created enemy agents who are infiltrating Earth to further their agenda for future invasion. Fortunately, another set of biological constructs created by the mysterious Neana. a race that fled the Olyix’s approach millennia ago. A small group of humans at the end of Salvation were stunned to find an intruder but this also has triggered the Olyix invasion of Earth.

What really impressed me in this story is Hamilton’s examination of an advanced earth and what happens if it meets an even more advanced invader. There is a wonderful sense of future global shock that a civilisation that has taken over it’s solar system and is beginning to terraform and harness the power of stars and interstellar portals is suddenly found to be impotent. More scarily that it’s biological marvels provided by the Olyix that can heal disease and morph bodies is actually a secret alien weapon that when we see what it is for turns into gruesome body horror. In this timeline we focus on the ingenious Callum a trouble-shooter who has to and save the planet and take some scary risks while we also get mercenary Kandara and the Nunea agent Jessika striking an uneasy truce trying to save earth but also see what the Neana are really up to.

In this Hamilton throws all the speculative idea of what a future earth looks like. How asteroids are converted into habitats or weapons; earth’s defence systems and the powerful computers watching and trying to do everything. The scale is vast and impressive and is painted with a feeling of solidity that I really liked – it’s a world that evolved into the technology rather than just assembled for the story. The reader gets a front row seat at the end of the world and I really liked how Hamilton played with the city of London you may recognise some of the streets and buildings but they are transformed into new purposes such as Kings Cross being used for portals and not trains.

The London storyline also centres on a young street gang trying to make a score while the chaos goes on but this felt the weakest element of the storyline and an opportunity for some truly cringing sex scenes – I could have done without the focus on how Viagra is replaced in the twenty third century. Despite that the overall theme is of the world as we know it ending and I really liked the action scenes and moments of body horror that come through.

The far future storyline also is well played with a focus on if you’ve played a chase and wait game against the Olyix for centuries what are the impacts on people’s psyche. Never settling down always running leads to some dark moments for the next generation. Happily, the leader Yirella has a strange idea that leads to an epic battle in space and more revelations for the future instalment.

Nothing is totally resolved in this novel, but the respective timelines are in very different places by the end and are setting up for what should be an epic conclusion. If you enjoy your SF big then this will appeal a lot!

Whilst this book can be read as a standalone I would recommend that the previous book be read first , setting the worldbuilding and characters in place .
The Author writes vast and intricately plotted space operas with a large cast of characters , which makes for a highly complicated storyline at times , but they are well worth reading .

The discovery of Feriton Kayne as being one of these Olyix quint ...…. brings to the fore the fact that Olyix are a threat beyond humanity’s wildest fears . This along with the newly discovered the alien species, the Neána , puts the Assessment Team on the back foot .
The story follows three distinct threads - With city shields and interstellar portals at their disposal, everyone is sure that the Neána threat reports are exaggerated but efforts are under way to mitigate any future problems .
The land based Southwark Legion gang members carry out jobs and raids for the mysterious Jade, hoping that she’ll give them the big job she’s been dangling in front of them for months .
We also follow Dellian and his colleagues many millennia in the future, having left Juloss behind and continuing the plan the Saints left humanity.The star created at Vayan provides a lure and Dellian and his colleagues lay in wait for the arrival of the Olyix.
The fast pace and interweaving of the various lines draws the plot to a narrower thread --- but at what cost to all ?

This is , as usual , a well crafted book by the Author and shows his constant high standards in producing books that will appeal to all Space Opera fans - I look forward to read more in the future

I was given an arc of this book by NetGalley and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review .

I haven't read the first book in the trilogy but have read Peter F Hamiltons' books before. This book apparently follows on directly from the previous one so I wasn't up to date. But as a Sci-Fi lover I did enjoy the story.

Peter F Hamilton writes vast and intricately plotted space operas with a large cast of characters, mostly over many volumes, and while perhaps most known for his Night’s Dawn trilogy, it’s his Commonwealth Universe books that really show the staggering vision he has when telling his stories. The Salvation Sequence continues this trend, the first in the series, Salvation (review), building up a picture of humanity’s near future in detail, and leading us towards a revelatory conclusion. Salvation Lost is the second novel in the series, essentially picking up the moment where Salvation left us, and it jumps straight in to the action.

Before going any further it’s safe to say that as this is a sequel there will be spoilers for the first book, Salvation, both in the publisher’s synopsis and my thoughts below…

From the publisher:
Humanity rises to meet a powerful alien threat, in this extraordinary sequel to Peter F. Hamilton’s Salvation. This is a high-octane adventure from ‘the most powerful imagination in science fiction’ (Ken Follett).
Fight together – or die alone . . .
In the twenty-third century, humanity is enjoying a comparative utopia. Yet life on Earth is about to change, forever. Feriton Kane’s investigative team has discovered the worst threat ever to face mankind – and we’ve almost no time to fight back. The supposedly benign Olyix plan to harvest humanity, in order to carry us to their god at the end of the universe. And as their agents conclude schemes down on earth, vast warships converge above to gather this cargo.
Some factions push for humanity to flee, to live in hiding amongst the stars – although only a chosen few would make it out in time. But others refuse to break before the storm. As disaster looms, animosities must be set aside to focus on just one goal: wiping this enemy from the face of creation. Even if it means preparing for a future this generation will never see.

Salvation closed on a major reveal that will propel the story forward from here: the Olyix are a threat beyond humanity’s wildest fears. Having used their advanced technology to infiltrate all aspects of human society by replacing human brains with one of their own, connecting it to the rest of its quint (a group of five Olyix that are quantum entangle and share all experiences), they know so much more about humanity and its secrets than almost any single human. With Feriton Kayne discovered as one of these Olyix quint, and the subsequent revelation that there is also another alien species, the Neána, present in human society, the Assessment Team find themselves scrambling to discover the truth with an Olyix invasion imminent.

As the Assessment Team return to Earth they are sceptical of Jessika’s revelation about the Olyix, especially with her true nature revealed as a Neána construct sent to help humanity escape. But they start to tentatively plan against such an invasion, confident in only the way humans can be that they will triumph. With city shields and interstellar portals at their disposal, everyone is sure that the Neána threat reports are exaggerated.

Down on the ground we follow the Southwark Legion gang members as they carry out jobs and raids for the mysterious Jade, hoping that she’ll give them the big job she’s been dangling in front of them for months. Little do they know just how bad things are soon going to become.

And we follow Dellian and his colleagues many millennia in the future, having left Juloss behind and continuing the plan the Saints left humanity. With a lure star created at Vayan they lay in wait for the arrival of the Olyix. But they aren’t alone…

Salvation Lost isn’t so much a sequel to Salvation, but merely the second part of a larger story. This is most obvious with the direct continuation of events, picking up straight away and dealing with the fallout from the Olyix revelation. Gone are the flashback sections: Salvation Lost is all about the here and now. And honestly, it’s a stronger novel for it.

The on-the-ground view from Ollie, Tronde, and the rest of the Southwark Legion, and that of Gwendoline and Horatio, really helps to show how events are effecting society on different levels. It’s an interesting viewpoint, and the way that media and instant information plays into this emphasises the fight that humanity has on its hands. It’s also good to see the plans of those left in charge, how they adapt and how they refuse to believe the Neána option is the only way to survive.

Hamilton is deft at creating future societies and populating them beyond the pages of the story, with everything having that lived-in feel and the knowledge that what he includes is done for a reason. Coming in at 460 pages of story (plus additional pages dedicated to characters and timeline), Salvation Lost is almost trim in comparison to Hamilton’s previous works, yet it doesn’t feel any less of a story. If anything, it feels a tighter novel without indulging in more points of view than necessary. And when you add in the backstory and progression from the first book it feels more complete.

This all brings me to perhaps the only negative with Salvation Lost, and a point I mentioned in my review for Salvation: it’s clearly part of a bigger story, a story that may need to be read as one whole to fully appreciate it. That isn’t to say that Salvation Lost isn’t good in its own right – it really is – but more that this is the first series I’ve read from Peter that feels completely connected and dependent on the whole to really deliver.

Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed Salvation Lost. It ticks all the boxes, and now that the build-up is out of the way and we’re getting into the true action, it’s a thrilling read that will keep you reading chapter after chapter, eager to find out what happens next. Personally I can’t wait for The Saints of Salvation to bring this all to a close. I bet it’ll be fantastic.

Builds well on the first book, ramping up on revelations both current and future as the true nature of the threat is unveiled - plenty of space battles and tech ideas. Excellent space opera, switching back and forward between time periods.

I found that having read the first book in this series over a year ago I had difficulty in remembering what had gone before and thus found it hard to pick up the story. I think that when a story as complex as this is spread over several books which are of necessity published over a period of years it is unreasonable of authors to expect readers either to remember details of the plot or to re-read the previous book. A 'what has gone before' preface is greatly appreciated and for the lack of this I'm only giving this book 4 stars.

Salvation Lost is the second instalment in The Salvation Sequence series and it feels like I've waited an eternity for it to arrive. It is even better than the preceding book but I would advise those wondering whether they can jump into the series here to begin chronologically as it is almost imperative to know and understand the background and scene-setting carried out in Salvation. This is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished and thrilling space operas I have had the pleasure to read and is that superb that I am finding it difficult to pick fault with it in any way. The story picks up right where the last left off and switches between past and present in order to fill in the details and enlighten us about what is currently happening and why. Hamilton's writing is incomparable and grabs you by the throat and that is where you stay for the entirety of the story.

The plot seems to flow more easily than in book one and has you fully engaged and captivated by the tension, excitement and danger running throughout. It's highly entertaining, fast-paced and will have your nerves jangling and your heart pounding for the characters we have grown to love and admire as they try to evade the enemy. But don't be fooled this requires concentration to keep up with and is quite the challenge, however, those who make it through are richly rewarded and come to realise just how phenomenal this book and writer are. The complexity and intricate world-building had me immersed in the world so much that I didn't want the book to conclude. A compulsively readable and beautifully written work of science fiction. Unreservedly recommended. Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC.

A continuation of Peter's truly extraordinary <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2510816925">Salvation</a> (my review). I strongly suggest you re-read this before starting this, book #2.

<i> As usual with my reviews, please first read the publisher’s blurb/summary of the book. Thank you.</i>

The book opens with a clever and engaging chapter, as a Neána insertion ship approaches the planet Vaya, on a mission to warn them of the Olyix. There's quite a wonderful surprise here, truly delicious!

Many of the same players are in this book, with a few new faces who add an amplified dystopia and poignancy to the invasion of Earth. The world-building is astonishing and fascinating, the action is marvellous, and the plot is quite complex. Unfortunately both the pacing and the dialogue stumble at several points, so minus 0.5 stars for that. We did not see that at all in the first book.

The second book in a trilogy is always the hardest to get right: Having to bridge the first and last books, building on character and plot without detracting from the (coming) third book, and sadly winnowing down the list of characters.

<img src="http://images2.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/700jpg/9780399178856">

I did enjoy the future-thread ("Vayan") of <b>Salvation Lost</b> much more than in the first book. It's far more complex and human here, with real passions and peril, even thousands of years in the future.

The "Southwark Legion" crime gang in London was a bit confusing and boring at first, but their importance becomes clear later in the book.

The battle scenes throughout the book are wonderful, with pacing excellent and good hard sci-fi.

And there's a terrific ending, as in the first book, to leave us gasping again for the next volume <b>The Saints of Salvation</b> in a year's time.

I very wisely read the first book again, to remind my tired old brain of the characters and their roles. I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the 5-star <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2510816925">Salvation</a> even more than the first time! I highly you recommend to re-read the first.

<b>List of Characters 2204</b>

Yuri Alster - Connexion Security chief
Crina - Connexion Security bodyguard, sent to protect Gwendoline in London
Eldlund - Callum’s aide
Anne Groell - Connexion Security, New York chief Callum
Hepburn Utopial senior troubleshooter
David Johnston - Supreme Commander Alpha Defence
Emilja Jurich - Utopial leader
Kohei - Connexion Security, London chief
Loi - Yuri’s aide
Kandara Martinez - Dark-ops mercenary
Alik Monday - FBI senior special detective
Jessika Mye - Neána metahuman
Gwendoline Seymore-Qing-Zangari Connexion finance director
Horatio Seymore - Social services agency adviser
Lucius Soéko - Neána metahuman
Ainsley Baldunio Zangari - Connexion founder & CEO
Ainsley Zangari III - CEO of Connexion TranSol division

Southwark Legion (2nd rate criminal gang, aspiring)

Adnan Tech-head
Piotr Ramin - Leader
Tronde Aucoin - Printer
Gareth Brabin - Nethead
Ollie Heslop - Planner
Lars Wallin - Muscle
Claudette Beaumant - Legion scam target
Lolo Maude - Ollie’s lover
]ade Urchall - Lieutenant in London crime family

<b>List of Characters, Vayan (distant future)</b>
Crew of the Morgan

Dellian - Squad leader
Ellici - Tactician
Falar - Squad member
Janc - Squad member
Kenelm - Captain of the Morgan
Mallot - Squad member
Ovan - Squad leader
Rello - Squad member
Tilliana - Tactician
Tomar - Squad member
Uret - Squad member
Wim - Bridge officer
Xante - Squad member
Yirella - Designer of Vayan
Fintox - Neána metavayan
Motaxan - Neána metavayan

Quotes and notes:
(strong language)<spoiler>Tronde worried Ollie would say too much to hir when they were fucking - because sure as whale shit fell deep, sie wouldn't keep hir mouth shut if the police ever questioned hir.</spoiler>

Claudette is hungry for her bad boy, Tronde
<i>"You want me because I’m a bad boy. Everybody knows that."
"Yes". A flicker of greed unsettled her cherry-red glossed lips, then she was herself again. The bright dazzling gal about town, the Richmond superstar, the friend you always had a great time with.</i>

Callum calms, with some assistance
<i>He felt the nark starting to soothe his hot nerves, allowing him to relax, and returning a comforting level of lucidity to his mind. The way he liked to think, the way an engineer observed and analysed the universe.</i>

Loi reacts to a brutal command from Yuri
<i>Yuri: "We find out how fast they can duck!"
From the corner of his eye he saw Loi stiffening, but for once the young man didn’t object. Yuri was obscurely sad about that. When someone like Loi ignored his moral compass to favour desperate necessity, you knew you were living in dark times indeed.</i>

Truly fabulous prose. Wow!
<i>Vayan Year 56 AB
I have finished watching, for now I behold what I have waited for all these long centuries. The Olyix are coming. Oh yes. I activate my compressed systems. All of them. My metamorphosis begins. I will no longer be defined as a numbered level, a mere subset of something greater. First to decompress are the nul-quantum patterns. They hang in space, phantom sketches of nucleonic machinery, lacking even the density of the vacuum which supports them, stretching out from my core as if I possess the wings of an angel. Thought routines issue forth from my mentalic vault, enhancing my mind. What I do now will not only be precise, but it will have a purpose that was absent before. I have regained the righteousness that was my human soul.</i>

Callum considers the space dock and shipyards
<i>The girders bent and twisted in geometric chaos, forming seven separate ovoid nests extending radially from the centre of the station. Three were empty; the remaining four held starships under construction. Callum had never seen one outside of a virtual, and being so close caused an unexpected rush of emotion. This was exactly the kind of thing which had inspired a twenty-year-old Callum Hepburn: physical proof that the future held wonders beyond imagination.</i>

Note 😊
<i>Ten gees will get you up to point eight lightspeed in just over a month.</i>

Gwendolyn tries to keep Horatio with her
<i>(Gwendolyn)"Another week of food won’t make any difference in the long term."
(Horatio) "But we’ll have done the decent thing, the right thing. That matters. Even now. Maybe, especially now."
Gwendoline put her arms around him, and hugged tight. "I never did deserve you."</i>


Thank you NetGalley and Peter for this ARC.

<b>Peter F. Hamilton</b>
<img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1WfxDbupLL.jpg">
<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/A1WfxDbupLL.jpg">Full size image here</a>

Space opera is not usually my choice, but i'd heard of this writer and wanted to check it out. Complex but deeply committed to his world, the author helped me sail through. .. there's never a false note (I loved as well the very description of what wr find pt layer of ate humans from other species point if view) this kind of perspective weaves well into a story v about salvation.. I was keener than I thought I would be to find my way through twists and turns to ending, leading to another story! Really good fun, requires attention!

It's going full-Hamilton time stream variance..
A cracking story arc, so glad it's a trilogy, I feared it was all getting wrapped up at the end of this book.

I listened to Salvation on Audible and apart from finding the narration challenging at times I thought the so called twist at the end was actually telegraphed half way through the book so I was left a tad disappointed, the sequel follows straight on from the first but this book in my opinion is much better, more cohesive, more engaging and generally more fun, I won’t be getting the audible again as the narrator is still challenging but as a read it’s well worth getting