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)

Fantastic story, worth a listen.

I have to say, the authorship here is outstanding. Everything shows a great deal of creativity.

The only thing to note is that at the beginning the book is very difficult to listen to. For the first couple of chapters it seems like the studio is using sub-standard equipment or maybe John is too far away from the microphone. In addition, in several chapters we change character viewpoints several times. For whatever reason the director decided to not place a pause between these points, so the change is sudden and a little disorienting.

That being said, I would still highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in science fiction. After listening to this book, I can say it easily makes it into my top five favorites.

sciFi, romance, adventure

the story was better than average. It had lots of action lots of thrill Romance and many plot lines to follow. my only complaint with the novel was that it got a little long-winded in some parts. Glad I work my way through it.

loved the content but the volume level was low.

I couldn't hear with my normal headphones and had to improvise. basically had to use ear buds covered with worktunes.

Sci Fi at it's best

Where does Pandora's Star rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top tier

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

Not sure why, but I really enjoyed how fleshed out the back story on MorningLightMountain.
Peter Hamilton lays just enough of a foundation for each of the players to let you know what they are about without it being exhausting. I also enjoyed Ozzie's journey.

Which scene was your favorite?

Perhaps When Ozzie Meets Tochee.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, all 40 some odd hours. If I could stay awake that long, I could listen to this book straight through.

enjoyable but slightly overrated

(3 and a half stars, really)

Enjoyable but not-quite-first-rate space opera, Pandora's Star is as much about the politics and foibles of an imagined future human society as it is about exploring the galaxy and alien mysteries. To his credit, Hamilton does a fine job of managing the many threads of his sprawling plot and his large cast of characters, gradually steering them across a dozen worlds to a heart-racing confrontation in the book's final quarter. I also found his conception of a hostile alien species to be quite enjoyable in its almost anthropological detail. That said, Hamilton is a bit of a wooden writer, filling pages and pages with exposition. Many of his characters and sci-fi creations are a little formulaic, and I have a hard time taking too seriously any novel that posits massive advances in technology four hundred years into our future, but envisions a society that's still pretty recognizable to present-day readers. (Think of the differences between the 1600s and now -- the world of 2400 ought to be a stranger one.)

But, Hamilton obviously put some heart into the story, and there's enough interesting stuff going on that it held my attention. Not quite as imaginative or evocative as the best space opera out there (see Dan Simmon's Hyperion), but if you like your science fiction epic and densely-plotted, you might enjoy this book.

Audio was fine for me, The book itself was amazing

If you could sum up Pandora's Star in three words, what would they be?

Complex, Detailed, Captivating

Who was your favorite character and why?

Paula Myo: Her character has shown the ability to evolve within the book, most other characters are who they are, but she develops what seems to be a change in her belief system to a small degree. Mark and Liz, and Melanie are intriguing as well.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

Wilson Kime

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A dumb'd down Star Trek on complex crack that can rejuvenate itself.

Any additional comments?

A lot of the comments about the narration volume/inconsistencies almost made me pass on this book. Man am I grateful I took the chance. This book was absolutely amazing, yes, in the first few hours, the narrator tails off his sentences like he's running out of air, but after a while, he hits his stride. At that point, you really start to feel the development in the characters, you begin to learn them and their voices.

The comments about "the women sound manly and seductive", I believe don't take into account the fact that there are SO MANY characters to vocalize. This causes the problem of everyone sounding the same if you don't add some drastic diversity.

I did have some trouble in those first few hours if I was listening in my vehicle, but it was easily compensated. For the majority of the book, I listened with headphones, and while I used them, I never had a problem.

I just started this series, and I hope the following books are just as good if not better than this one.

Cheers!
Terrence C.

stick with it

I would describe this as a very British novel, full of details and paved very differently to American SciFi. I am not sure if the author is British, but it is Dr who compared to Stargate. one you get into the story it will hook you.

I was hooked

Believe it or not, I actually looked forward to a 12 hour drive across Texas so I could listen to this book. It is that good. The vision of the future is bright, but the undercurrent is dark. Terrorists, alien plots, corporate arrogance, wealthy 'quasi-nobles' playing with the future of billions...romance, sex, military action. The author evokes images in your mind in an effective way and the British accented narrator does a good job. One of my favorite audio books ever.

Hard to follow.

I struggled to follow a multitude of hopefully connected story lines within the story, very difficult. Then it ended without resolution of any of them. I am forced to buy the next in the series to resolve all the story lines.

Great story, bad reader

The narration felt overdone and many parts were exaggerated unnecessarily. Many of the character's voices sounded the same as well, making it hard to tell who was speaking most of the time.

On the other hand, the book itself was great! The world is well fleshed out and the different paths that the characters are on tie together in excited and surprising ways.

I'll definitely be getting the sequels, in paperback.