Peter F. Hamilton – författare

For millennia, the Crown Dominion has been at relative peace, with the Celestials in control and the human population little better than serfs. But now the Crown Dominion is facing a crisis of epic proportions—one that could change the balance of power in the Centauri Cluster forever—as an exiled faction that has been waiting for seven thousand years beyond the Helium Sea has returned to claim their vengeance. For Finn and his human allies, who have ended up at the center of this conflict either through circumstance or manipulation, this is an unprecedented opportunity. If they can band together, they may be able to outwit the Celestials and finally earn their fellow humans a place of independence and power in the Crown Dominion. But first they must locate and master ancient artifacts of immense power that could give them a needed edge in the conflict ahead. And all while ducking the forces that are determined to knock them off the board for good.

Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth. Traveling in massive arkships, these brave pioneers spread out across the galaxy to find a new home. After traveling thousands of light-years, one fleet of arkships arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars with a vast array of potentially habitable planets. The survivors of Earth signaled to the remaining arkships that humanity had finally found its new home among the stars. Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster has flourished. The original settlers have evolved into advanced beings known as Celestials and divided themselves into powerful Dominions. One of the most influential is that of the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of Centauri. As arkships continue to arrive, the remaining humans and their descendants must fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into serving the Crown Dominion. Among those yearning for a better life is Finn, for whom Earth is not a memory but merely a footnote from humanity’s ancient history. Born on one of the Crown Dominion worlds, Finn has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, though he dreams of the possibility of boundless space beyond his home. When another arkship from Earth, previously thought lost, unexpectedly arrives, Finn sees his chance to embrace a greater destiny and become a Traveler—one of a group of brave heroes dedicated to ensuring humanity’s future by journeying into the vast unknown of distant space.