Pandora's Star

Commonwealth Saga, Book 1

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

Pandora's Star is the first part of Peter F. Hamilton's epic Commonwealth Saga duology – a fantastic galaxy-spanning novel from the master of space opera. For fans of Iain M. Banks and Alastair Reynolds.

At the edge of the galaxy something awakens – and it's coming for us . . .

Earth AD 2329: Humanity has colonized over four hundred planets, all interlinked by wormholes. For the first time in mankind's history there is peace. Then a star over a thousand light years away suddenly vanishes, imprisoned inside a force field of immense size. Yet who – or what – has that sort of technology? And what could this mean for us? Only a faster-than-light starship, captained by ex-NASA astronaut Wilson Kime, can reach that distance to investigate.

For Wilson, getting inside the force field could be easy. It may be harder to stop something else from getting out.

What if there was a very good reason to seal off an entire star system?

The Commonwealth Saga duology concludes with Judas Unchained.

©2004 Peter F Hamilton (P)2008 Tantor Media Inc

Critic reviews

The best book Hamilton has written in years (Guardian)

Anyone who begins this won’t be able to put it down (Publishers Weekly)

Compelling (SFX)

Wonderful & transporting!

I have been a fan of PFH's work for some time, and jumped at the opportunity to get this audiobook. In short, the material is fabulous and John Lee's confident reading is inspirational. He brings this exciting and non-stop story to life! Thoroughly recommended!

Amazing saga

Would you listen to Pandora's Star again? Why?

Absolutely I will listen to this again. I didn't want this book to end, so many sub-stories within the main text, great characters and the amazing world in which the live.

What other book might you compare Pandora's Star to and why?

The Rama series would be the next best thing aside from other Peter F Hamilton books.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I hated John Lee's narration when I first heard him narrate the Dreaming Void, but after a few chapters he settles in and I started to enjoy his narration. The same applied to this book but this time I was expecting it so it did not bug me so much. In the early part of the book he sounds like he is over emphasizing parts of the sentence and overall it sounds to staccato in his speech but then he settles into normal reading pattern as he progresses.

Any additional comments?

Best series I have ever read, after reading Game of Thrones series it was a pleasure to read a well written series that was as interesting on page one as it was on the last page.

Exiting, emotional and deep.

This slow-starting book slowly bring together the fates of different aliens and humans in a bright future dwindling to what seems like a dystopian alien apocalypse. 10/10 on all parts.

Excellent!

Fast paced, mature, well thought out and awesome. Not suitable for children but great for anyone else.
Now for the sequel...

Massive in scope

The beginning of a great adventure. I'm looking forward to the next storey. Fun times ahead.