"Pandora's Star" and its sequel are two of my favorite audiobooks, and I've listened to atleast 50 audiobooks over the last few years.

I..Show More » do have one warning, the story is fairly slow going at first and there are many characters/subplots. I almost gave up after a few hours, but I'm glad I kept going. I caught myself wishing at points that he'd just stop introducing new characters, but hang in there, the story is well worth the initial effort. Some of the characters who I thought were boring and extranious at first ended up being the most interesting and exciting in the end.

Peter F Hamilton has created a unique new scifi universe in these two books. Like all great Scif universes this is futuristic and imaginative without feeling fake or "made up". The humans still act like humans(with human strengths and flaws) and the aliens are truely alien(not just humans that look different). Hearing about life in the Commonwealth is almost as interesting as the story itself.

I would definitely consider this epic scifi, but there are elements that appeal to the Cyber-punk fan in me. This is certainly edgy with plenty of sex and violence. There aren't that many sex scenes but sexuality is certaintly a driving force in some characters and is often refered to in the context of the story. There are also several homosexual characters, but he hardly makes it into an issue, its just one part of a few characters lives. Its refreshing to have characters who also happen to be gay rather than "gay characters".

Some reviews have been critical of the narrator, don't believe them. I think he did a great job, sure some of his american accents aren't flawless, but give him a break hes obviously british. Each character is easy to distinguish and he does a good job with the individual voices without going overboard(like some narrators when they voice a different gender)

Highly Recomended!!

« Show Less

Pandora's star is no light read (or should I say listen to), be prepared for a long haul that seems to take, at times forever to get where it's going...Show More » You may well believe that Mr Hamilton is paid per page as this detailed at at times rambling tale trundles along the tracks. However the author manages to invent a truly engaging and detailed Universe where Humanity despite being able to practially live forever is in true danger of being wiped out by an alien menace.

However understand that this is only the first part of the series, it isn't a stand alone book. So take the ride, settle in, give it a chance and I think you will enjoy this tale a great deal, the narrator does a fine job of bringing all the characters to life and the story, while long winded this is a very enjoyable one.

« Show Less