Pandora's Star

Even though this huge book ended on a cliffhanger, it was one of the best Sci-Fi books I've read in a long time. The Commonwealth is another tale of multi-planet human civilization set far in the future. It uniquely mixes together imaginative qualities of Frank Herbert's Dune, Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Dan Simmons' Hyperion. The core of the plot hinges on the discovery of highly advanced Dyson Spheres suddenly enveloping two star systems hundreds of light years away and the tragic cascade of events that occur when humanity builds and sends a special ship with its crew to investigate (hence the opening of Pandora's box). But there is so much more detail to the story, with its many well-developed characters, that includes the concept of life regeneration and body enhancement; practical wormhole travel, trade and communication between hundreds of unique worlds; a super AI assistant that inhabits its own world; interactions with truly strange known alien races; political manipulation and intrigue; and an over a century old, ongoing detective investigation into the terrorist activities of a group trying to stop what they believe is a shadowy alien entity, released from an ancient derelict spacecraft, manipulating humanity towards its own destruction, and who just may be right.