Exodus

Exodus is the first book in a new duology by Peter F. Hamilton. Forty thousand years ago, humanity fled a dying Earth aboard enormous ark ships and spread across the galaxy in search of a new home. After thousands of light-years, one fleet arrived at Centauri, a dense cluster of stars holding thousands of potentially habitable planets. The survivors signalled the remaining arks that humanity had at last found its home among the stars.

Thousands of years later, the Centauri Cluster is thriving. The first settlers have evolved into advanced beings called Celestials, who have split into powerful Dominions. Among the most influential are the Crown Celestials, an alliance of five great houses that controls vast areas of the cluster. Ark ships are still arriving, and the humans aboard them and their descendants must either fight for survival against overwhelming odds or be forced into service under the Crown Dominion.

Finn is one of those hoping for something better. To him Earth is not even a memory, only a footnote in humanity's ancient history. Born on a Crown Dominion world, he has known nothing but the repressive rule of the Celestials, yet he dreams of the boundless space beyond his home.

Then an ark ship from Earth, long thought lost, unexpectedly arrives. Finn sees a chance at a greater destiny: to become a Traveler, one of the brave people who secure humanity's future by journeying into the unknown reaches of distant space.

Peter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author known for large-scale space opera, including the Night's Dawn trilogy and the Commonwealth Saga.