After the Greg Mandel novels, Hamilton wrote a space opera in three volumes, known collectively as The Night's Dawn Trilogy.
In somewhat similar style to Night's Dawn, Hamilton also outlines, in detail, a universe with a small number of distinct alien species interacting essentially peacefully and who suddenly become faced with an increasingly ominous external threat.
In this period humanity has developed near-instantaneous space travel via a network of QSE (quantum-spatial entanglement) portals and are using them to begin spreading out into the galaxy.
It follows a genetically engineered team of special forces designed to confront and destroy an enemy who are following their religious agenda of harvesting all sentient species in the galaxy.
[4][5] Released as an audiobook exclusive, Arkship Trilogy is a departure from the typical widescreen space opera Hamilton is known for, instead focusing on a colony ship story from a first-person perspective.
[6] His full-length novel Fallen Dragon is in many ways a condensation of the ideas and styles (and even characters) of the Night's Dawn trilogy, if rather darker in tone.
It describes the troubled military campaign by one of these companies to "realise assets" from a minor colony, through the eyes of a veteran mercenary.
One of the more interesting aspects of the book was its unconventional description of a spacefaring society which has developed interstellar travel but only at vast expense, putting it out of the reach of many people and a one-way trip for most of the rest.