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)

dissatisfied

I am an avid audible listener. Really struggled to finish this one. Too many story lines.

Just couldn't do it....had to get on with my life!

Man... epic and bouncy...as in all over the place. If you don't follow the story closely you'll end up walking from planet to planet for some reason you won't even remember.

Names, story lines, this, that....all gets a bit to complex and other worldly thorough. Don't get me wrong, for someone who has a lot of time spend mapping this out, you'll come to enjoy it - that's if you can remember who's doing what and why.

The reviews did indeed warn me about the depth of this space opera.....I was just looking to get off this planet and take in some new technology.

First no go for me on Audible....but I'm pretty sure it was the listener and not the story. Nah, that wasn't it...but there I go again getting all bouncy! Now where are my glasses?

Long and Boring at Times

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

No, not after this. Not much action and it reads more like a murder mystery than SciFi.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Disappointment.

Did John Lee do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

He was ok. Many of his characters sounded similar. He did add some accents from American to Scottish that helped, but for the most part, he was pretty dull.

Do you think Pandora's Star needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Only for the fans. For me, I'm done.

Any additional comments?

I forced myself to listen to this because I paid for it. It's overly descriptive in some parts and the "action" sequences are not very exciting. There are TOO MANY CHARACTERS to keep track of and you need to keep a book of notes while you're listening just to remember which character is which.

Don't know about this book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Personally I can't keep my attention on this book. I don't know if it's the readers voice or the story it's self. I have tried and tried but I have no idea what this book is about. Things are dragged out in the story and the readers voice, no emotion to it. I have stopped this book so many times because I lose interest in it.

Was Pandora's Star worth the listening time?

Not to me. Too long, too confusing and boring.

stand still

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

too much jumping around in the stories, to many stories at one time. leaves you hanging on diffrent stories.

What do you think your next listen will be?

o

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

o

Do you think Pandora's Star needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

o

Any additional comments?

o

Very Good Book

I am glad that I took the time to read and find out what order these 3 books come in... I found this book to be very engaguing and really enjoyed the story line... The author uses imagry really well and the narrator uses his voice to give each character his or her own "voice" and personality. I enjoyed this book so much that I immediately started listening to the sequel "Judas Unchained" also a wonderful book.

You have to be very patient...

...to endure the telling of this story. It promises great entertainment, and quite engrossing themes, but the telling is slow, slow, slow; the listening is tedious.
It is possible to enjoy this tome, I suppose, but one has to stay wide awake and be very patient.
This work would be much better realized with a cast of 4 or more players, not just one voice actor with a limited range.

I can barely hear the narrator

I wear earbuds while listening to my audio books and I have to have the volume all the way up and I can still barely hear the narrator. if he could just speak up a bit it would make the story a lot easier to follow, I have to keep rewinding the book so I can try to catch what he is saying. it's taking away from the story

Readers performance volume varies drastically!

I the readers volume trails off so low at the ends of some sentences and booms at the beginning at most. it's a very unpleasant experience because you either miss words to protect your eardrums or suffer from them getting pounded.

Could have been better

I can not review this book based on the narrator. If I did it would have to get a one. The voice would start strong and fade start strong and fade... A lot of two characters would be talking and the narrators voice would be the same. You couldn't tell who was talking.

3/4 through the book I said this is a four star book. It lost a star because of lack of an ending. This book is almost 40 hours long and it all but says "too be continued" For a 40 hour investment you should of have an ending and just add to the story in another book. This books obvious downfall is it's amount of characters. In the 5th part (about 28 hours in) I'm starting to get into the story but it is still introducing new characters and going on about thing I could care less about. A good editor should have cut parts to keep the story streaming. Instead the book flows very poorly. The beginning of the book talks you into every day and almost minute to minute life of the characters. But just when the story gets going it jumps weeks and months at a time. Denying me to learn about interesting characters but forcing me to know about boring interactions in the governments senate. The senate is not the story.

The characters remind me of the idiocracy theory. Dumb people populate more than smart people so in the future people will be outnumbered with idiots. At least to me that seems like how it's written. The super smart detective who can't solve a case in over 100 seems to be right on par with the average human today.

This book gets 3 starts from me and a commitment to read the sequel because of some really good parts. The story of the alien race and the interaction it make with humans is interesting. The development of a mystery is entertaining though I don't like the author's portray of the detectives. Besides, I've already invested about 40 hours into it I need to find out how it ends.