Like Kevin Costner’s tendency to shoot long films, it seems British science fiction writer Peter F. Hamilton can only produce big, fat novels. Hamilton’s latest series, The Commonwealth Saga, comprises Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained, and when combined, the page count of both books exceeds 2,200. With such a large canvas to work with, Hamilton paints an incredibly vast and vivid world.

In the far future, mankind has prospered under the control of the hegemonic Commonwealth, led by the charismatic Nigel Sheldon. Part of the reason for this prosperity lies with the adaptation of wormhole technology (first developed by Sheldon), where wormholes are used to create a series of intergalactic railway tunnels linking distant planets with a simple train network. As the Commonwealth’s colonial reach continues to expand, it seems that the days of lengthy and expensive space flights are truly over. But, when a bumbling astronomer discovers the abnormal disappearance of the distant Dyson Star in an undeveloped region of space, an expedition is sent to explore this anomaly. Closer inspection reveals that the star is hidden inside a gigantic barrier, encapsulating the entire Dyson solar system. The most obvious question is: what is inside the barrier that needs to be contained on such a scale? Inter-galactic war follows, and it seems that an enemy exists within the Commonwealth itself.

Hamilton takes the time to explore and explain the impact and consequences of his world. Among his impressive ideas are the aforementioned wormholes and a universal information network that can be accessed mentally. For some, Hamilton’s need to explain concepts and ideas in detail may seem to be a tad excessive, but in most cases, Hamilton’s detailed painting of the world indulges the genre’s attractions.