This was an epic book that is absolutely jam packed with great characters, both human and machine, and a fantastic story once you get into it. Granted the latter did take a little while for me given the amount of detail that Hamilton puts into his work but once I got past this it was well worth it. The various different races and cultures also took a little time to get my head around but the story does carry it through once you get through the initial introductions. This kind of reminded me of the first in the Lord of the Rings trilogy in that there is a lot of detail that could put you off but then there is a great story behind it all and it is the start of something even more brilliant. I'll certainly be looking out for the next one in this series.

This is my first Peter Hamilton book, and I'm sorry but it is likely my last. There is nothing terrible here, the book is complex but plotlines are reasonably handled and cohesive and undeniably fit the 'Space Opera' genre but I found it lacking really interesting or original ideas, wit and above all any well drawn characters. The heroes are all handsome, irresistible and libidinous, the women all young, beautiful, and equally libidinous. There is little nuance or indeed much surprise in the plot and although the action scenes are well enough written there is an awful lot of padding. Compared to the writing of Iain Banks for example this is very routine fare. It passes the time but the series will continue without this reader.