Marrow

... a sleep, sweet as Death. .. time traversed, and an incalculable distance ... and then a splash of light emerged from the dark and the cold, its warming touch slowly explaining itself to me, showing suns and little worlds and great swirls of colored gas and angry, roaring dust. The Ship has travelled the universe for longer than any of the near-immortal crew can recall, its true purpose and origins unknown. It is larger than many planets, housing thousands of alien races and just as many secrets. Now one of those secrets has been discovered: at the centre of the Ship is ... a planet. Marrow. But when a team of the Ship's best and brightest are sent down to investigate, will they return with the origins of the Ship - or will they bring doom to everyone on board? Robert Reed is the new century's most compelling SF voice. MARROW is the highest of high concepts, one of the most original visions in a long while' STEPHEN BAXTER