The Abyss Beyond Dreams: A Novel of the Commonwealth (Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers Book 1)

The Abyss Beyond Dreams is the first book in a two-book saga set in Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth universe. In the year 3326, Nigel Sheldon, one of the Commonwealth's founders, is visited by the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, an enigmatic construct at the galaxy's core that poses a threat to all life. The Raiel persuade Nigel to join a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void. Once inside, Nigel finds that humans are not alone. Multiple life-forms have been drawn into the Void, where physics operates differently and mental powers function like magic. The humans trapped there face attacks from the Fallers, an alien species of biological mimics that are intelligent and lethal killers. However, these aliens may also hold the key to destroying the Void's threat permanently—if Nigel can learn their secrets. As the Fallers continue their attacks and human society fractures into civil war, Nigel must uncover the aliens' secrets before being killed by the very people he came to save.