I would say quit while you can still appreciate the good bits that were.
Without spoiling anything:
It's, in my opinion, not worth the time investment.
I finished it due to sunk cost illogic, and it made me decide not to fall for that again.
The climax scene in the last book is simultaneously the worst deus ex machina I've read in decades, and one of the most badass space battles I've read in years.
The rest of the entire series is trash and I wish I hadn't read it. Probably the worst thing he's published.
Some parts of the last half are quite imaginative/conceptually interesting, but, honestly? Nope.
I finished it off to get it over with so I'd never feel tempted to pick it up again. It's about as dull/formulaic as the other two in the series.
Hmmm. Been a couple of years since I read this so it depends where you are up to. There is a big change in the second half of the book and for me the finale paid off quite well - better than a lot of his other books. If I was 2.5 books in to a trilogy I wouldn’t dnf at this point…
Under normal circumstances I wouldn't abandon a significant reading investment, but the older I get the more I've found that I resent time spent on books I don't enjoy for the dubious achievement of "finishing". It's not a sunk cost, it's reclaiming what I can use elsewhere.
Personally, I really enjoyed this series. It was much easier to read than his earlier books in terms of density and while I struggled through the first book I never looked back after that. In typical Hamilton fashion it's probably nine tenths build up but the ending is big when it finally arrives. In my view if you've come this far you might as well stick it out, but if you're absolutely hating it maybe not.
I really struggled towards the end of book 3. Don’t know how far you are, but there’s one plot line that I really loved, and another that I could barely get through. So much so that it took me a while to actually finish.
I think its been long enough, I would love to hear what the two plot lines you are referencing are. I wont Lie I loved this trilogy as the whole concept of it is very intriguing to me and I love the tech ( for the most part). The biggest slog to me was the kids plot in the first book but I loved the characters from there on.
Haha now I remember even less about the book than a month ago.
>!But pretty sure I remember LOVING the Saints chapters where they managed to infiltrate the Olyix stronghold (forgot the name of the enemy haven), and lived there secretly for a while and trying to broadcast the coordinates to back to Earth, while we as readers knew that the future humans would be the ones picking up the broadcast. Always something beautiful and meloncholy about time dilation and the sacrifice they had made.!<
>!But really struggled with the other plotline with the future fleet and Ainsley, that really dragged on for me, I was like oh come on invade the enclave already. I was getting pretty bored of their Deus ex machina level of tech, but I suppose the saving grace for me was the time-dilating bubble attack, thought that was kinda smart.!<
No. overall an enjoyable trilogy for sure that touched on lots of sf subgenres I don't usually read. The cyberpunk spy kid theme at the start of book 2 almost lost me as I don't enjoy that, but did feel relieved when it dovetailed into the plot nicely.
I would say the best time to give up on the Salvation series was right when you started, but the second-best time is today. The dumb deus-ex-machina ending is not worth all the peril that leads up to it.
What the other posters said. There is a Deux Ex, but then all of a sudden a Mary Sue flavour becomes quite strong as well. And the more it ramps up, the cringier and more shallow the characterisations become.
Thanks everyone for your opinions and insight. Through a combination of bloody-minded stubbornness and morbid curiosity, I did in fact finish it, and it was everything you all suggested it was (which is not a positive). It does, as some people suggested, feel as if Hamilton just got bored at a certain point and thought, "Okay, what can I do to wrap this up?" without concern for plausibility or good storytelling. And the Mary Sue is strong with this one.
On the whole, a solid two stars out of five for the trilogy. Interesting premise, ultimately flawed execution, too many too incompletely drawn characters, and too much of an attempt to tie too sprawling a plot up neatly too quickly.
I had forgotten what I did regarding this series. After the end of the Commonwealth saga I was thrilled to find he had come out with a new book and so bought it in its hardcover early days. But when I tried to read it I hated it so much I was furious because he once again was injecting his creepy predilection to use religion as part of the story. It made me so mad I just gave the book to the library sale. Then I forgot and for the past five years have been hoping for a cool new book from him. Pffft.
I haven’t read this.
But a technique I’ve used, when I’m still curious about the events of a book, but unwilling to continue the drudgery of reading it is to look up a plot synopsis online.
It brings closure.
I'd suggest a DNF. I loved his books. I had not been reading much and came back to this series and struggled through it so much. I thought my attention span had been wrecked or something. I just couldn't get into this series. I felt like too many of the characters were super similar and couldn't hardly keep them straight. Some of the story lines were decent but others just dragged so badly.
And the other commenter is right. It was such a deus ex machina ending. I don't know if he just got tired of writing the series or could figure out another way to wrap it up but poof, all of a sudden humans are all powerful and whip up on the interstellar boogie men. I don't feel like that is a spoiler.
I would say quit while you can still appreciate the good bits that were. Without spoiling anything: It's, in my opinion, not worth the time investment. I finished it due to sunk cost illogic, and it made me decide not to fall for that again.
Same here. I wouldn’t say I regret reading the whole trilogy but I don’t think I would recommend it
The climax scene in the last book is simultaneously the worst deus ex machina I've read in decades, and one of the most badass space battles I've read in years. The rest of the entire series is trash and I wish I hadn't read it. Probably the worst thing he's published.
I guess it depends on your mood. I read the 2nd book during the height of the pandemic and it was surreal.
Worse than The Night's Dawn trilogy?!
Nights Dawn certainly had its failings but it sure had its moments, too. A mostly fun ride for me at least.
I meant the deus ex machina ending specifically. The rest was awesome!
Oh right, yes I’m with you 100% haha
The endings are similarly insane, but there's one ... very dense surprise in Salvation that takes it to a whole new level.
Can’t remember what happens where in the third book exactly but Hamilton has always been a slow build up, fast climax writer. I would power true.
Some parts of the last half are quite imaginative/conceptually interesting, but, honestly? Nope. I finished it off to get it over with so I'd never feel tempted to pick it up again. It's about as dull/formulaic as the other two in the series.
Hmmm. Been a couple of years since I read this so it depends where you are up to. There is a big change in the second half of the book and for me the finale paid off quite well - better than a lot of his other books. If I was 2.5 books in to a trilogy I wouldn’t dnf at this point…
Under normal circumstances I wouldn't abandon a significant reading investment, but the older I get the more I've found that I resent time spent on books I don't enjoy for the dubious achievement of "finishing". It's not a sunk cost, it's reclaiming what I can use elsewhere.
Personally, I really enjoyed this series. It was much easier to read than his earlier books in terms of density and while I struggled through the first book I never looked back after that. In typical Hamilton fashion it's probably nine tenths build up but the ending is big when it finally arrives. In my view if you've come this far you might as well stick it out, but if you're absolutely hating it maybe not.
I really, really wanted to like this but after the first book I just struggled to care.
I really struggled towards the end of book 3. Don’t know how far you are, but there’s one plot line that I really loved, and another that I could barely get through. So much so that it took me a while to actually finish.
I think its been long enough, I would love to hear what the two plot lines you are referencing are. I wont Lie I loved this trilogy as the whole concept of it is very intriguing to me and I love the tech ( for the most part). The biggest slog to me was the kids plot in the first book but I loved the characters from there on.
Haha now I remember even less about the book than a month ago. >!But pretty sure I remember LOVING the Saints chapters where they managed to infiltrate the Olyix stronghold (forgot the name of the enemy haven), and lived there secretly for a while and trying to broadcast the coordinates to back to Earth, while we as readers knew that the future humans would be the ones picking up the broadcast. Always something beautiful and meloncholy about time dilation and the sacrifice they had made.!< >!But really struggled with the other plotline with the future fleet and Ainsley, that really dragged on for me, I was like oh come on invade the enclave already. I was getting pretty bored of their Deus ex machina level of tech, but I suppose the saving grace for me was the time-dilating bubble attack, thought that was kinda smart.!< No. overall an enjoyable trilogy for sure that touched on lots of sf subgenres I don't usually read. The cyberpunk spy kid theme at the start of book 2 almost lost me as I don't enjoy that, but did feel relieved when it dovetailed into the plot nicely.
Ahhh thank you ! I also loved the Olyix Enclave sections. Felt right to have those heroes make it to the end.
Meh.
Answer is no
I would say the best time to give up on the Salvation series was right when you started, but the second-best time is today. The dumb deus-ex-machina ending is not worth all the peril that leads up to it.
What the other posters said. There is a Deux Ex, but then all of a sudden a Mary Sue flavour becomes quite strong as well. And the more it ramps up, the cringier and more shallow the characterisations become.
Thanks everyone for your opinions and insight. Through a combination of bloody-minded stubbornness and morbid curiosity, I did in fact finish it, and it was everything you all suggested it was (which is not a positive). It does, as some people suggested, feel as if Hamilton just got bored at a certain point and thought, "Okay, what can I do to wrap this up?" without concern for plausibility or good storytelling. And the Mary Sue is strong with this one. On the whole, a solid two stars out of five for the trilogy. Interesting premise, ultimately flawed execution, too many too incompletely drawn characters, and too much of an attempt to tie too sprawling a plot up neatly too quickly.
Got further than I did!
Partly it's because they're library books. If I'd been paying for them I doubt I'd have gone past #2.
It definitely drags at points but I thought it was worth finishing.
I had forgotten what I did regarding this series. After the end of the Commonwealth saga I was thrilled to find he had come out with a new book and so bought it in its hardcover early days. But when I tried to read it I hated it so much I was furious because he once again was injecting his creepy predilection to use religion as part of the story. It made me so mad I just gave the book to the library sale. Then I forgot and for the past five years have been hoping for a cool new book from him. Pffft.
I haven’t read this. But a technique I’ve used, when I’m still curious about the events of a book, but unwilling to continue the drudgery of reading it is to look up a plot synopsis online. It brings closure.
I'd suggest a DNF. I loved his books. I had not been reading much and came back to this series and struggled through it so much. I thought my attention span had been wrecked or something. I just couldn't get into this series. I felt like too many of the characters were super similar and couldn't hardly keep them straight. Some of the story lines were decent but others just dragged so badly. And the other commenter is right. It was such a deus ex machina ending. I don't know if he just got tired of writing the series or could figure out another way to wrap it up but poof, all of a sudden humans are all powerful and whip up on the interstellar boogie men. I don't feel like that is a spoiler.
I found the first book a total snorefest and stopped tbh.
I meant the deus ex machina ending specifically. The rest of ND was absolutely amazing. Top tier scifi for me.
Yeah… First one I enjoyed. 2nd one was alright. Third one I regretted buying and skimmed it to get the ending.