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)

Space Opera done right

this is obviously one of the earlier reads by the narrator. sounds balance is poor, especially at the beginning. He whispers a lot, which made this a hard listen during my commute. Don't worry though! This narrator is great in his later recordings.

This guy needs an editor

I'd recently been impressed by 'Daemon' and had a taste for more sci-fi. I bought Judas Unchained for $4.95 and then realized I needed this book for back ground.
The author writes in excruciating detail on everything, no matter how minor. I was being patient for the first few hundred pages and then it started heating up with a good alien encounter battle and right in the middle of it, boom, he leaves and we get twenty pages of what's happening in some minor characters life on a far off planet. Then the next scene is about another minor character. Then we get back to what happened in space. Ridiculous. After that I had to listen to the book on double speed to get through it. He's writing a very uneven soap opera and I hope Judas Unchained is better. The narrator is good though.

Wow!

Epic. Longest book I have listened too so far. Can't write much as book 2 awaits. Well worth the listen!

Epic

While sometimes it feels like there are too many characters and too many storylines they all come together perfectly at all the right moments for this epic start to a series. I was worried about the complaints of too much sex in the story from other reviews but found there were only a couple instances where it was more than a passing mention. The few that were in more detail were relatively short descriptions that were not very graphic and fit well to the story so worry not IMO

Stop reading reviews and download it now!

This is a great book, and a strong beginning to an epic series.
I don’t have too much to say about this that others haven’t already said in various places, and this book is several years old. This is my second readthrough, and I thought I should leave a review and a rating because this book deserves the praise.
For one thing it’s long. I’m talking George RR Martin long, and I think this one is actually longer than some of the ice and fire books.
John Lee does a tremendous job of bringing it to life. I had free access to this book and the sequel, narrated by somebody else, but I paid for the audible version in order to get John’s narration. I knew how good he would be, and it lived up to my expectations.
This is hard science fiction, with military, social, and political aspects, which are all very well done and balanced; but one of the things I love most about it is the world building and deep, flawed, characters. Or should I say worlds building. Also the aliens are quite interesting. Think of them as a combination of the Borg and the Thing.
Oh, and if you need them, there are also elves.

PFH at his finest! Definitely read this!

Peter F. Hamilton is by far one of my top sci-fi authors. Everything I've read of his, is fantastic. If you love some really good hard sci-fi I strongly recommend starting with Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. You'll be hooked. Attention to detail and large sweeping world building that is hard to come by. I absolutely love it! I promise you will too!

0.9x speed reading

John Lee is an amazing reader in all the Peter Hamilton and Stephen Baxter books I've listened to. He reads just a tad too fast got me to follow while I'm working on mundane things, so 0.9x speed is perfect for me.

Couldn’t believe this didn’t end after all that time

How much longer can this go on? A more convoluted plot cannot exist. I’m afraid I’m hooked

Fantastic in every aspect (except 1)

I enjoyed this audiobook very much. The only part that bothered me was the way the reader spoke the cursing. Sounded a bit like Johnny Bravo every time he said “son of a bitch”. 10/10 would recommend.

great book, buy part 2 also

The narrative and story are really good. the mix of new technology with existing ideas presented a fun mix. but buy part 2