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)

Great story

If you love hard Science fiction this is the ticket. This is a classic work of the genre.

Hang in there…

This was a tougher story line to digest for the first 1/2 of the book. Hang in there! This was an EXCELLENT story where multiple storylines and character arcs come together to make a very compelling story. John Lee is outstanding in the narration.

Superb plot

Really good sci-fi space opera. Sharp dialogues, epic scope, engaging characters. It draws you to read more about this universe.

Very poor audio production

This isn't my favorite Hamilton book, but it's still worth reading. Unfortunately, poor audio production or post-production absolutely ruins this audiobook. I cannot blame the narrator John Lee, since I have many of his other recordings of Hamilton and Reynolds books and he usually does a fantastic job, but the volume modulation on this is so bad it renders the book unlistenable. I have sensitive ears anyway, but it's not just me- these reviews are full of others complaining that phrases start out loud and trail off so much that it's either too loud or impossible to hear. And it's so frequent and pervasive that it's unavoidable. Honestly, how much would it have cost to fix this in post production?

Ending Stupid

The book started out with some really good character hooks, the discriptions of locations and the technical gadgets were well written and easily visualized. A large part of that was from the high quality and profesionalism of John Lee. My major complaint, and it greatly damaged my appreciation of the story, was by the ending. You fall off the end of the World! In a word it is STUPID!

What the heck!

Good story line in early parts. I think almost too many sub plots. The major battle an outcome perhaps explained then book just stops.
Very adult in language and content. Not for anyone under 30.

Quality Writing in a Science Fiction Setting

I have been waiting for Audible to have something from Peter Hamilton for some time. I was completely sucked into "Reality Dysfuntion" after only eighty pages. I woke up five or six books later.

"Pandora's Star" has to be looked at as only a small portion of the whole picture. At the end of the book we still do not have a full grasp of the universe nor do we have an idea how the story will unfold. So I would not be too critical of the ending of the first book. It is difficult to end a book when the story is just beginning. I would blame the editor for the ending of this the first book because I am sure that the author just continued on with the story until the end. The editor was left with the job of determining the break points for each book in the series.

I really enjoyed the discription and evolution of the alien life form MorningLightMountain. I would agree that some of the haute couture was over the top.

Narration was good for the most part. I have 183 books in my audible library and this one definitely worth the credit. Enjoy.

Unlistenable Narration`

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

Don't know

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

Don't know

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of John Lee?

Anyone. I did not finish listening to the book. Lee speaks in a near monotone and his voice starts loud and trails off on every sentence. In a quiet room this is merely irritating. When I turn up the volume in a noisy environment, the first word hurts my eardrums and then I can't hear the end of his sentences. This is shockingly unprofessional. the audio engineer should have recognized this problem and done something about it (there are tools for this). Additionally, there are occasional thumps and sibilance as the narrator's breath hits the microphone. This is the worst recording I have ever heard in all my years with Audible.

Did Pandora's Star inspire you to do anything?

Throw my phone on the ground and stomp on it.

Any additional comments?

It may be possible to repair this recording using audio tools. I want my money back.

Overfull of ideas, needs editor, meh narration

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

While he differentiated the characters, I found his cadence, pronunciation, and intonation distracting. At times it was strange and annoying - overly whiny for some characters, cursing sounded odd, melodramatic too often. I only really liked him when he was doing general narration and not dialog. And his take on Ozzie was obnoxious.

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

It clearly needs (got) one - the author just sort of ends the book mid-action.

Any additional comments?

3.5 stars. What a massive, sprawling, varied, detailed, and over-stuffed novel. The good includes a number of interesting ideas (rejuvenation allowing the well-off to be something like immortal, wormhole technology allowing for human expansion to other planets, alien life, genetic modifications, Dyson spheres), and makes the book at turns fascinating. But Hamilton has shoe-horned too many ideas, too many characters, too many plot threads, into a single book. He does not tie them all together, and the ones he does tie together feel a bit forced. When done properly, multifaceted stories of empire with a lengthy cast of characters can be breathtaking (think Frank Herbert's Dune); but here it feels bloated and sometimes aimless. What's worse, Hamilton rather abruptly ends the book. It isn't just a cliffhanger, it literally feels as if you are missing some chapters. I do not think I will continue the series, the amount of effort just does not feel rewarded. Which is a pity - with a better editor and/or splitting some of his ideas into more than one book, this could have been great.

My favorite audio book so far

Pandora sets the stage for most absorbing science fiction story I've ever read.
I only wish Peter Hamilton could write faster. If you like science fiction, read all of Hamilton's books starting with Pandora's Star.