"Powerfully compelling space opera"
It is the golden age of humanity thanks to Nigel Sheldon
and Ozzie Isaac, the two scientists who developed the math
that made wormhole technology possible. Mankind travels
between the six hundred colonized worlds by using wormhole
generated vessels. Rejuvenation is available to all so
everyone can live as long as they want. If they are
killed, a clone is created of that person and their stored
memory chips are inserted into the neural network so they
can be the same person they were before they died. When the Second Chance spaceship travels the solar system
Dyson Alpha to observe the force field that surrounds it,
the barrier suddenly disappears. The crew sees hundreds
of ships using nuclear missiles on each other. The Second
Chance leaves before it is spotted even though they have
to leave two crew men behind. A second expedition to
Dyson Alpha discovers that the warfighters have wormhole
technology and will launch an invasion into commonwealth
territory. The government authorities authorize the
creation of a navy but to find out if it will be
effective, readers will have to wait for JUDAS UNCHAINED
to be published. Imagine using a train to travel to a different world,
living for as long as you want and picking the planet of
your choice to make a home. It sounds like heaven, so
when hostile aliens threaten the peace, humanity, who has
not known war for three centuries, has a lot of catching
up to do but they are hindered in their quest by unknown
enemies who have the powers-that-be in their pocket.
Peter F. Hamilton has written a powerfully compelling
space opera in the tradition of Robert Heinlein and Arthur
C. Clarke Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted February 4, 2004
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