It is AD 2329 and humanity has colonized over four hundred planets, all interlinked by wormholes. With Earth at its centre, the Intersolar Commonwealth has grown into a quiet, wealthy society, where rejuvenation allows its citizens to live for centuries. When astronomer Dudley Bose observes a star over a thousand light years away vanish. Imprisoned inside a force field of immense size, the Commonwealth is anxious to discover what actually happened. As conventional wormholes can't reach that far, they must build the first faster-than-light starship. Captained by Wilson Kime, an ex-NASA astronaut a little too eager to relive his glory days, the Second Chance sets off on its historic voyage of discovery. But someone or something out there must have had a very good reason for sealing off an entire star system. And if the Second Change does manage to find a way in, what might then be let out?

Author Biography

Peter F. Hamilton was born in Rutland in 1960 and still lives in that county. He began writing in 1987, and sold his first short story to Fear magazine in 1988. He has written many bestselling novels, including the Greg Mandel series, the Night's Dawn trilogy, the Commonwealth Saga, the Void trilogy, two short story collections and several standalone novels. Find out more about Peter F. Hamilton at www.peterfhamilton.co.uk or discover more Pan Macmillan and Tor UK books at www.torbooks.co.uk