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karinlib's review against another edition
3.0
Prior to reading Pandora's Star, I read [b:Great North Road|13573419|Great North Road|Peter F. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344371600l/13573419._SY75_.jpg|19154394], which I really enjoyed. I was a little disappointed with this one. I kept putting this down and reading other books. I found that some of the storylines were more interesting than others.
The book started off really well: An astronomer, while observing the night sky, sees a star completely vanish. Then the book slows down to a crawl with a huge cast of characters, political machinations, rejuvenations, wealthy dynasties, and sexism.
I will read [b:Judas Unchained|45244|Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2)|Peter F. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316501189l/45244._SY75_.jpg|44507] because I want to read [b:The Dreaming Void|866136|The Dreaming Void|Peter F. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440047585l/866136._SY75_.jpg|851537] for a buddy read.
The book started off really well: An astronomer, while observing the night sky, sees a star completely vanish. Then the book slows down to a crawl with a huge cast of characters, political machinations, rejuvenations, wealthy dynasties, and sexism.
I will read [b:Judas Unchained|45244|Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2)|Peter F. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316501189l/45244._SY75_.jpg|44507] because I want to read [b:The Dreaming Void|866136|The Dreaming Void|Peter F. Hamilton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1440047585l/866136._SY75_.jpg|851537] for a buddy read.
billymac1962's review against another edition
2.0
Nope.
Alright, I can see that this novel plus its sequel Judas Unchained combine to make a very good Sci-Fi story. But I can also see many complaints that the time and effort to get there were pushing the bounds of worthwhile reading.
Last Saturday morning I spent two hours reading about a recreational glider flight. Okay, fine.
Still I pushed on. And on. Checking my progress: 9%...........10%.........10%........10%.......10%......10%...........11%, you get the picture.
Once I hit 14% I started checking out more reviews that matched my experience. Many of these reviewers made it to the end of the tale, and were happy. A few were not and blamed the attention to detail of every fringe character, event and setting.
I envy those who can read quickly enough that they can knock down doorstops like this and walk away with a good overall story in their head, but my reading time is at such a premium and I'm not getting any younger.
I'm disappointed that I'll never get this whole story in my head because I'm sure it's fantastic, but I just can't look forward to another 1800 pages or so while there are so many other books on my list I'm excited about. I've moved on to something else and am very happy with it so far, so it was a good call to pull the pin on this one.
This is my second strikeout with Hamilton, and too bad. I love his ideas and storylines. Just way too bloated for me.
Alright, I can see that this novel plus its sequel Judas Unchained combine to make a very good Sci-Fi story. But I can also see many complaints that the time and effort to get there were pushing the bounds of worthwhile reading.
Last Saturday morning I spent two hours reading about a recreational glider flight. Okay, fine.
Still I pushed on. And on. Checking my progress: 9%...........10%.........10%........10%.......10%......10%...........11%, you get the picture.
Once I hit 14% I started checking out more reviews that matched my experience. Many of these reviewers made it to the end of the tale, and were happy. A few were not and blamed the attention to detail of every fringe character, event and setting.
I envy those who can read quickly enough that they can knock down doorstops like this and walk away with a good overall story in their head, but my reading time is at such a premium and I'm not getting any younger.
I'm disappointed that I'll never get this whole story in my head because I'm sure it's fantastic, but I just can't look forward to another 1800 pages or so while there are so many other books on my list I'm excited about. I've moved on to something else and am very happy with it so far, so it was a good call to pull the pin on this one.
This is my second strikeout with Hamilton, and too bad. I love his ideas and storylines. Just way too bloated for me.
cesterwo2's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I don't like that this book just kind of drops you off without an ending and says the kind of find out next week on .... type of move. I prefer completed books to cliff hangers for series.
bredabear4823's review against another edition
3.5
Could have been shorter. Should have been shorter.
ali_frieda's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
agtgrif's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
An incredible story, a very long but powerful adventure. Be warned, this is book 1 of a two book series.
bretticon's review against another edition
4.0
Such a sprawling world-building story of the future of the human race after we've colonized hundreds of planets. It's long and slow in parts but it's just the right kind of slow.
The story ends on a literal cliffhanger but thankfully the next book in the series is already out.
The story ends on a literal cliffhanger but thankfully the next book in the series is already out.
ronercat's review against another edition
5.0
Find my other reviews at http://wellreadviking.blogspot.com/
To start off I feel that I should say that Science Fiction is not normally my thing. I love to watch it, but to read it has been a different story. Give me swords and magic over ray guns and technology any day. With that in mind I had a friend of mine ask me for a book suggestion. He isn't really into fantasy, but he loves stories about space and whatnot. That put me in a bind. I had no idea what to recommend to him. Time was passing so I turned to my trusty source of Goodreads. I found out what they had rated highly and placed on their Sci Fi lists and passed the news on. In reading the description of this book I came across the term "space opera". How could I not read a book belonging to the genre of space opera? I started reading the book and I was immediately sucked into the writing of Peter F. Hamilton.
The book starts off just as the human race is about to land on Mars. Humans have come a long way and are reaching further out in to the stars and are making huge advances in undoing the effects of aging. As the ship lands the world prepares for a solemn moment. As the pompous words are being spoken they hear some laughter. As they go around the outside of their craft they find a man in a homemade spacesuit watching them from a wormhole that connects back to California.
Fast forward 300 years. The human race has expanded through the universe and now lives on 600 different worlds. These worlds are connected by wormhole gateways. There also is rarely death. The technology allows for people who have aged to go through a rejuvenation cycle and come out looking and feeling like they are twenty. It is a good time to be alive. You can pretty much find a world that matches the society you would like to live in.
As the people are going about their lives a discovery is made. Two star systems many light years away just vanished. With further tests they see that it happened in less than a second. The humans were perplexed. What has the technology to do such a thing and why. A crew is put together and a ship is built to find out all that they can about the so-called Dyson Pair.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very well developed and his ideas of technology were fascinating. It is not a small book though. Coming in at over 1100 pages it is quite the commitment. The bad news also is that it is actually just part one of a two part series. If you read this one you have to go on and read Judas Unchained to get any type of conclusion. Being so lengthy at times it felt like the side plots went on a little long. Not often, but on a few occasions I felt that he should get on to the next part. I guess if you like Sci Fi or are curious about space opera as I was I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
To start off I feel that I should say that Science Fiction is not normally my thing. I love to watch it, but to read it has been a different story. Give me swords and magic over ray guns and technology any day. With that in mind I had a friend of mine ask me for a book suggestion. He isn't really into fantasy, but he loves stories about space and whatnot. That put me in a bind. I had no idea what to recommend to him. Time was passing so I turned to my trusty source of Goodreads. I found out what they had rated highly and placed on their Sci Fi lists and passed the news on. In reading the description of this book I came across the term "space opera". How could I not read a book belonging to the genre of space opera? I started reading the book and I was immediately sucked into the writing of Peter F. Hamilton.
The book starts off just as the human race is about to land on Mars. Humans have come a long way and are reaching further out in to the stars and are making huge advances in undoing the effects of aging. As the ship lands the world prepares for a solemn moment. As the pompous words are being spoken they hear some laughter. As they go around the outside of their craft they find a man in a homemade spacesuit watching them from a wormhole that connects back to California.
Fast forward 300 years. The human race has expanded through the universe and now lives on 600 different worlds. These worlds are connected by wormhole gateways. There also is rarely death. The technology allows for people who have aged to go through a rejuvenation cycle and come out looking and feeling like they are twenty. It is a good time to be alive. You can pretty much find a world that matches the society you would like to live in.
As the people are going about their lives a discovery is made. Two star systems many light years away just vanished. With further tests they see that it happened in less than a second. The humans were perplexed. What has the technology to do such a thing and why. A crew is put together and a ship is built to find out all that they can about the so-called Dyson Pair.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were very well developed and his ideas of technology were fascinating. It is not a small book though. Coming in at over 1100 pages it is quite the commitment. The bad news also is that it is actually just part one of a two part series. If you read this one you have to go on and read Judas Unchained to get any type of conclusion. Being so lengthy at times it felt like the side plots went on a little long. Not often, but on a few occasions I felt that he should get on to the next part. I guess if you like Sci Fi or are curious about space opera as I was I would definitely recommend this book.
Rating: 4.5 stars.
edwinavalos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0