It’s actually the sub-plots that make Alchemist: as with Reality Dysfunction, it consists of several distinct plot-strands, almost of novel scope in themselves, running in parallel within a common background. Which explains the length; it’s not just one story, but an entire series. And yet it is one book, for the spread of the Reality Dysfunction generates all manner of crossovers and interconnections, and indeed provides much of the driving force, the compulsion to read on.

This is space opera on a grand scale, very traditional in approach, so much so that it’s possible to play ‘Spot the Influences’; there’s a distinct touch of Niven’s Known Space, for instance, combined with (if I’m not giving away too much of the story here) Farmer’s Riverworld; there’s echoes of the old ‘Star-Smasher’ himself, Edmund Hamilton, and likely many others. But the combination is purely original, and some of the principal players are recognisable (Peter) Hamilton types, Ione Saldana and Quinn Dexter to name but two. Dexter, especially, is almost an evil, reversed mirror-image of the Mindstar trilogy’s Greg Mandel.

Don’t be put off by the length; this is simply one of the finest, large-economy size slugs of stay-up-all-night-to-finish-it-and-then-start-again sf since, well, since Reality Dysfunction, actually.