Pandora's Star

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 37 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

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)

Engrossing.

This is one of those books you don't want to to come to an end. A fascinating in-depth account of life in the galaxy in the future. This is the perfect audio book--long, complex with many characters and a lot of skipping around, I think it would be hard to read. The characters, action and descriptions of life hence are extremely well thought out and believable--an epic.

Not bad but...

The plot is quite interesting and the universe works well but the multiple threads are so fractured it is hard to keep track and what could have been said in a paragraph gets 5 to ten pages. This could have used a good editor. It would also have worked if the book was split in two and the plot lines disentangled a bit between the books.

Slow start, overall enjoyable.

1. The book starts slowly. As in, don't expect much of a coherent narrative for the first five or six hours. If you can get past this, the story picks up and becomes excellent. But you've got to invest the time.

2. Hamilton builds an excellent, encompassing galaxy and spins a good story. There are so many "main" characters it is difficult to become close to all of them, but there are some fun characters.

3. John Lee is a good narrator, but he seems out of place in science fiction. I'd prefer him in historical fiction or classic novels. Maybe it's a personal taste, but he doesn't sound like science fiction to me.

Stuck with it and wasn't disappointed

I don't know what was wrong with the narration -- if it's poor audio balancing or the narrator's unfortunate tendency to drop his voice at the end of sentences -- but it was truly hard to get through the first ~10 hours of this book. I found myself alternating between constantly adjusting the volume and falling asleep.

That said, I ended up loving this book (because of the story) and immediately downloading the next one. I don't know if the audio actually got better or if I was better able to ignore it because the story picked up.

Love the story needs sound balancing

Awesome book great characters and story Mr Hamilton knocks another one out of the park!!

I found the volume level varied widely quiet to the point of turning it up one sentence and distorting the speakers the next. Could use audio balancing. But this is a small complaint for such an engrossing read.

Performance was Great, but Recording is Terrible

This is one of the grandest and most believable SciFi worlds that I have ever considered. It really has pushed me to expect more from Science fiction in general. I CANNOT wait to continue with the series.

Slow build-up gets better...

I don't want to be too wordy here, so I'll just give it simply. This book started slow, and had characters that were very difficult to care about in the early going. I'm nearly finished with the book now, and I have to say that it has been worth the ride. I'm definitely intrigued by the story, the politics, and the characters now. I'm very much looking forward to the second installment, Judas Unchained.

Dense and detailed story, terrible performance.

The longest audiobook I've ever heard, by far... not unexpectedly, the prose is dense and the story is richly detailed. The universe is very believable, largely due to the complexity of the human characters...

If you like political sci-fi, this is worth your time. Like most political sci-fi, there are some boring parts.

The big problem with this book is the performance. The narrator has a habit of starting sentences loudly, and finishing them at a whisper. Perhaps this is "dramatic" but it makes selecting a volume level impossible. In order for me to hear the end of the sentence, the beginning of the sentence needed to be so loud that the speakers would distort.

Awesome Space Saga

Would you consider the audio edition of Pandora's Star to be better than the print version?

Absolutely! There are nuances you have to hear to believe. It creates such a wonderful world in your head it feels like I am listening to a movie played out in my mind.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Pandora's Star?

The intricate detail that is Peter F. Hamilton creates is superb. I loved the building of his future into a believable place in my mind that I loved to retreat to.

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

John Lee was phenomenal and captured the energy and voice of each character so you always knew who was talking.

soooo many characters

good story but a bit dense for an audiobook. prepare to rewind often and maybe jot down characters