Product Description

In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them. For what if their disappearance indicates some kind of galactic conflict? Since a conventional wormhole cannot be used to reach these vanished stars, for the first time humans need to build a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance. But it arrives to find each 'vanished' star encased in a giant force field -- and within one of them resides a massive alien civilisation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15877 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1152 pages

Synopsis
In AD 2329, humanity has colonised over four hundred planets, all of them interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth now occupies a sphere of space approximately four hundred light years across. When an astronomer on the outermost world of Gralmond, observes a star 2000 light years distant - and then a neighbouring one - vanish, it is time for the Commonwealth to discover what happened to them. For what if their disappearance indicates some kind of galactic conflict? Since a conventional wormhole cannot be used to reach these vanished stars, for the first time humans need to build a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance. But it arrives to find each 'vanished' star encased in a giant force field -- and within one of them resides a massive alien civilisation.

About the Author
Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960, and still lives near Rutland Water. His previous novels are the 'Greg Mandel' series: Mindstar Rising (1993), A Quantum Murder (1994) and The Nano Flower (1995); and the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy: The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God. Also published by Macmillan (and Pan) is A Second Chance at Eden, a novella and six short stories set in the same universe, and The Confederation Handbook, a vital guide to the 'Night's Dawn' trilogy. His most recent two novels were Fallen Dragon and Misspent Youth.

Customer Reviews

Sci Fi Bloatware
"Britain's Bestselling SF Writer Returns To Outer Space"... This was too good to resist! ... I had heard great things about Hamilton, so when I found a copy of this 1000+ pager, I hunkered down for some serious reading. Unfortunately, Hamilton's bloated, overlong, badly edited, and somewhat cheesy space opera falls far short of the mark. I read in various places that Hamilton's far reaching plots and broad tapestries, huge casts and detailed science were the sine qua non of new space opera, but I have read much better SF in Dan Simmon's Hyperion and Endymion sagas, and Stephen Donaldson's Gap Cycle. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga cannot compare to these masterpieces. Hamilton may well be Britain's bestselling SF writer, but beyond the hype, all we have is a not-very-well-written piece of SF bloatware. Some of the concepts are extremely cheesy and far better presented in other books, (re-life, rejuvenation, sentient intelligence, the datasphere) and the dialogue rings false in many instances. When speaking in an American voice, Hamilton just doesn't sound convincing. There are some very good chapters - for example: the evolution of the Primes of Dyson Alpha was well done, but for me this was too little too late. I have never given up on a story before, but I can guarantee that I will not be buying episode two of the saga. There is much better work available - please look beyond the hype and go with the classics: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, or the new geniuses: Simmons, Vinge, et al.

" 2 Stars but could have been 5
A great complex interwoven storyline with some excellent heroes and bad guys, but.......... So very very tedious in descriptive narrative where everything, and I mean everything is explained in intimate detail -for instance the number nomencleture of railway engines etc. It made the book flow badly and you couldn't skip read to avaoid it as the whole book is written this way. The two books together have nearly 3000 pages! Fantastic value but I am so glad to have finished it and can move ahead. Would have been excellent if the whole lot was covered in 350 pages.
Could do so much better by doing so much less.

Space romp
This book, and its sequel, gallop along at a good pace and are an enjoyable distraction. I preferred these books to the night's dawn series largely due to what I found to be a more believable premise to the story. It is, again, a bit wordy in parts and Hamilton must rank up there amongst the worst writers when it comes to sex scenes. However it is, all in all, fun to read, and gripping enough to keep you turning the pages.