Critics have compared the engrossing space operas of Peter F. Hamilton to the classic sagas of such SF giants as Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert. But Hamilton's bestselling fiction -- powered by a fearless imagination and world-class storytelling skills -- has also earned him comparison to Tolstoy and Dickens. Hugely ambitious, wildly entertaining, philosophically stimulating: the novels of Peter F. Hamilton will change the way you think about science fiction. Now, with Pandora's Star, he begins a new multivolume adventure, one that promises to be his most mind-blowing yet.
The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.
Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.
Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself.
Could it be that Johansson was right?
"The depth and clarity of the future Hamilton envisions is as complex and involving as they come." PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED REVIEW)
"The author's expansive vision of the future combines action and intrigue on a panoramic scale." LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Astounding... Thrilling... Hamilton uses technology to excellent effect." SCIENCE FICTION AGE
"Shows how thought-provoking yet entertaining science fiction can be. Some of the best fiction... in years." MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"[Hamilton is] taking on one of SF's (and maybe all of literature's) primal jobs: the creation of a world with the scale and complexity of the real one." LOCUS
"[Hamilton is] a rare talent." THE DENVER POST
Peter F. Hamilton’s superbly imagined, cunningly plotted interstellar adventures are conceived on a staggeringly epic scale and filled with fully realized human and alien characters as complex as they are engaging. No mere world builder, Hamilton creates entire universes–and he does so with irresistible flair and intelligence. His previous novel, the acclaimed Pandora’s Star, introduced the Intersolar Commonwealth, a star-spanning civilization of the twenty-fourth century. Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy. The Prime are the Commonwealth’s worst nightmare. Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next.Nor are the Prime the only threat. For more than a hundred years, a shadowy cult, the Guardians of Selfhood, has warned that an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist–the Starflyer–has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth. Branded as terrorists, the Guardians and their leader, Bradley Johansson, have been hunted by relentless investigator Paula Myo. But now evidence suggests that the Guardians were right all along, and that the Starflyer has placed agents in vital posts throughout the Commonwealth–agents who are now sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage?Caught between two deadly enemies, one a brutal invader striking from without, the other a remorseless cancer killing from within, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before.This will be humanity’s finest hour–or its last gasp.From the Hardcover edition.
The Reality Dysfunction and The Neutronium Alchemist chronicled an epic, far-future struggle set in a universe of thrilling complexity. Multiple worlds, alien races, two types of future humanity, and uncountable forms of fascinating future technology make up the universe created by Peter F. Hamilton. The "reality dysfunction" is a break in the fabric of reality that allows the dead to return to our world, where they possess living bodies.
In The Naked God, the Confederation starts to collapse economically and politically as more star systems fall to the possessed. On Earth, Quinn Dexter plots to bring about the Final Night for the human race. Opposing him is Louise Kavanagh, who unknowingly teams up with the universe's most powerful and secretive policeman. In the midst of all this chaos, Joshua Calvert and Syrinx take their ships in search of an alien god which may hold the solution to the current crisis. Unfortunately, it was lost in space ten thousand years ago on the other side of the Orion Nebula, and the Tyrathca, the only ones who might know where it is, aren't telling.
"This series is taking on one of SF's (and maybe all of literature's) primal jobs: the creation of a world with the scale and complexity of the real one." LOCUS
"An epic in the traditional sense of the word -- big, brash, sweeping, hyperbolic, exuberant, thunderously enjoyable." INTERZONE
"If any book deserves a recommendation 'Do not mis
This book contains the text of both Consolidation and Conflict.
In The Reality Dysfunction, it became horrifyingly clear that all of humanity was at risk of being taken over by the minds of those long dead, arriving in our universe by means that seem impossible to stop. More and more of the dead are stealing the bodies of those still living, grouping together into powerful consortiums led by leaders from history. Opposing this development is an increasingly desperate Confederation Navy. Joshua Calvert is assigned to chase after Alkad Mzu, who is trying to recover the "doomsday weapon" that might possibly blast the dead back into oblivion. Mzu is hunted not only by Joshua, but also by various intelligence agencies and the possessed themselves, all of whom are desperate to lay hands on the weapon.
"If any book deserves a recommendation 'Do not miss,' it is this." CRITICAL WAVE
For new readers of Peter Hamilton, A Second Chance at Eden is a great introduction into the universe of The Reality Dysfunction. For previous readers of The Reality Dysfunction and The Neutronium Alchemist, these stories will keep them happy and eager as they await the final volume
