Pandora's Star

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

Critics have compared the engrossing space operas of Peter F. Hamilton to the classic sagas of such SF giants as Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert. But Hamilton's best-selling fiction - powered by a fearless imagination and world-class storytelling skills - has also earned him comparison to Tolstoy and Dickens. Hugely ambitious, wildly entertaining, philosophically stimulating: the novels of Peter F. Hamilton will change the way you think about science fiction.

Now, with Pandora's Star, he begins a new multi-volume adventure, one that promises to be his most mind-blowing yet. The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some 400 light-years in diameter, contains more than 600 worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over 1,000 light-years away, a star...vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears.

Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him. Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer.

Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends. Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated.

Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery, the unleashing of which will threaten to destroy t...

©2004 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"The depth and clarity of the future Hamilton envisions is as complex and involving as they come." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

Great book; terrible production

This review relates to both Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. These are two books of the same series

Firstly the narration: Generally I like the performances of narrator John Lee. I have listened to a number of others of his books including White Tiger, Pillars Of the Earth, Count of Monte Cristo. But the narration in this series leaves much to be desired. This production, while not as bad as Pandora’s Star, is a hopelessly flawed engineering fiasco. One can never tell when there is a change in chapters unless it is stated in the literary context. When there is a change of scene or arc, the narrator just connects the end of the one with the beginning of the next and we are left wondering, where in the universe we are. The variations in modulation are unnatural, distracting and just plain horrible.

However, despite all that Audible has done to detract from the greatness of this selection, it is almost without peer in its greatness. Hamilton creates a world of places, people, aliens and events unlike any I have read. The stories, and there are many, are complex and they all come together in multiple, exciting conclusions. Unlike the series Wheel of Time which seems to go on for several volumes and have very little new to add than what we discovered in the first volume, every part of these two books is fresh, interesting and surprising.

This masterpiece of literature deserved better than the treatment it received by Audible. All of that being said, I could not recommend a selection more highly. It is too good to miss even with all of its detractors.

Fantastic!

At first I was pretty apprehensive about downloading this book as something just seemed a bit too "Sci-fi"about the title and cover art, wow am I glad I did! This book really is incredibly well written and fascinating from end to end. Character and plot development are amazing and it builds tension constantly. There is plenty of action (from political maneuvering to full scale war) to keep you listening. Within the bounds of the created reality everything makes sense and characters react as humans really do. What most impresses me about this work is that it is at times a crime drama, a character driven narration, a sci-fi work, and even a political thriller; truly the scope of this work is impressive!
I think this is the second book of the past 30 I've listened to from Audible I've given 5 stars, quite surprising to me that it's Sci-fi! I can't wait to start Judas Unchained to find out what happens next!

Simply TOO long and nothing really innovative.

If the book was was less than 5 hours it would be MORE than enough to get to the point and have content. It is simply too long and has too much details on many things that are not pertinent to the main story. I felt as if I was reading 10 different books because the writer is all over the place discussing different stories that have no relevance to the main story.

Great story & futuristic world

Hamilton creates yet another great futuristic world and gives his trademark "epic" sci-fi stories wih great writing. The narration is good, not great, but the audiobook gets a 5 anyway. The story is just too awesome :)

Run Of The Mill, Below Average Space Opera

Any additional comments?

I downloaded this book when I was assured that if I enjoyed Alastair Reynold's Revelation Space trilogy I would enjoy this more. They couldn't have been farther from the truth. Pandora's Star is, for the first 90% of this massive novel, a bunch of loosely connected plot threads that throw everything and the kitchen sink into the story and then tie it all together with a somewhat decent ending. Hamilton's novel is void of any of the hard science fiction that made Revelation Space a classic.

yaaaaaawn

Would you try another book from Peter F. Hamilton and/or John Lee?

Maybe. Hamilton has some good story ideas and some not so good story ideas. This is the only book of his I've bought so I'm reserving judgment... But this one was incredibly pedantic and drawn out with irrelevAnt and uninteresting sub-stories..

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The wormhole travel and mystery of the Dyson sphere star systems were what compelled me to but this book. That was the most interesting part. The tedious and totally beside the point sub-opera story lines were uninteresting enough to eclipse that however.

How could the performance have been better?

Find another performer to narrate it!! John Lee read this like he was on thorazine and reading a phone book. Absolutely monotone and lacking a sense of performance for the story. Imagine the most still and boring documentary you can think of... And you still won't be there.

Was Pandora's Star worth the listening time?

No. I was expecting a fascinating story, but what I got was potential death by boredom. I've found myself repeatedly rewinding the book... Only to find I simply can't focus long enough to know what's going on. I didn't bother finishing the story.

Any additional comments?

I can't be kinder about my review on this one. It's more effective than any drug at putting a person to sleep. So effective, that it should come with the same disclaimer about not operating vehicles and machinery...

long and unsatisfying

The book is very long. The story is interesting but the amount of time the author spends describing every single detail of the environment would completely lose me at times. I decided to tough it out and finish listening to the end just to discover after 30 hours that the story is not over and that there is a sequel.

The narrator had an annoying habit of starting the sentence on a high pitch and almost whispering towards the end of it which made adjusting volume almost impossible. it was either too loud or not loud enough.

Overall disappointing experience.

First Rate Story - First Rate SciFi

Destined to be a classic! In the same vein as "Dune" or "The Brothers Karamazov." Like a novel of novellas. Narrator should have paused a bit before going from one story arc to another, but I could still follow. If you like hard sci fi, this book should satisfy. One warning: The story will be completed in the upcoming sequel, "Judas Unleased."

NSFK

Incredible story. Gripping. I lost myself in it. But...I could not play it out loud an could not share it with my kids (as I have others). Sexual content is frequent, although not graphic. F**k is said quite often. I'm not quite sure why the author needed to do this, but it did limit how I could listen to it. The story is still so good that it easily overcame this negative. Readers should just be aware.

Be Ready to Spend an Entire Summer listening.

This is the first of a "series" of five books (six if you count "Misspent Youth".). [Background from Wikipedia] The "Commonwealth Saga" is published in two halves, 'Pandora's Star' and 'Judas Unchained'. Set approximately 300 years later in the same universe as Misspent Youth, it explores the social effects of the almost complete elimination of the experience of death following widespread use of a rejuvenation technique. . .followed by. . .The Void Trilogy -- set in the same universe as the Commonwealth Saga, the Void Trilogy is set 1200 years after the end of Judas Unchained.

If you like really broad, complex space-opera (meant in the very best way) this series has everything. It is on my list of the best SF ever. (Along with: Simmons' 4 Hyperion books, Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space and some other really long stuff.)

I once got hooked on the biography of Alexander Hamilton which led to biographies on all of the Founding Fathers and then the history of the Civil War. . .this was the same thing. You can get so far into it that by the time you end, at least a seaon has passed. Hypnotic.

Some complain that there are too many threads, or that there is too much detail. But (especially if you are listening on a Audible copy) it is like a huge movie in your mind.

I don't mean to make it sound too intellectual or overwhelming -- it is fun in a really, really big way.