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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I almost lost interest in this book at a couple places. It's not due to the story line, which is definately an awesome concept. The problem (at least for me) was the enormous cast of characters and settings. There must be more than 50 (main)characters and more planets than I can name. This definately makes for an epic tale, but I really had difficulty keeping track of certain characters. At one point (around 300 pages into the book I beleive) I didn't even realize that a character that was being introduced, was actually in a previous chapter.
By the end I had a better grasp of who was who. There are so many storylines going on that there's a little something for everyone. Mystery, Adventure, Love, Sex, Deceipt, Terrorism, Politics, Corruption, War, Aliens and plenty of Sci/Fi.
I'm pretty sure that there is a book that comes before this one. This is part of "The Commonwealth Series" which all take place in the same "universe." I didn't realize this was the second book until I was about halfway through. Luckily the first book doesn't really effect the storyline in Pandora's Star.
I would definitely recommend this book to any Sci/Fi lovers. At almost 1000 pages, you're more than getting your money's worth for this one. I just started the sequel "Judas Unchained" and can't wait to see where Peter Hamilton takes the Commonwealth.
By the end I had a better grasp of who was who. There are so many storylines going on that there's a little something for everyone. Mystery, Adventure, Love, Sex, Deceipt, Terrorism, Politics, Corruption, War, Aliens and plenty of Sci/Fi.
I'm pretty sure that there is a book that comes before this one. This is part of "The Commonwealth Series" which all take place in the same "universe." I didn't realize this was the second book until I was about halfway through. Luckily the first book doesn't really effect the storyline in Pandora's Star.
I would definitely recommend this book to any Sci/Fi lovers. At almost 1000 pages, you're more than getting your money's worth for this one. I just started the sequel "Judas Unchained" and can't wait to see where Peter Hamilton takes the Commonwealth.
Wow! I didn't expect such big things from an author I hadn't heard of before. I kept seeing his name in lists of must-read sci-fi books when I was looking for something new to read, and since my library had it, I figured I'd check it out. Hamilton builds this book like the beginning of an epic fantasy series. When the action didn't start until page 700-something in a 900ish page book, I was really worried that there was going to be a rushed ending and that was that. I didn't know there was a sequel, but as I got closer to the ending it became apparent there would have to be. So much of this book is just building up for the awesomeness I hope to find in the second one.
This was a chore for me. Not because it wasn't good but because I guess I read slow and the time I have to read is limited. Content wise, this was an awesome book, I love the operatic nature of it and the sense of wonder. I really did not get bored anywhere along the way, which can happen easily for me.
One of my favourite sci fi books. Thoroughly enjoyed it and have now made a start on Judas Unchained.
I have a love/hate relationship with sci fi books. I've tried a lot but I find most of them just plain hard work. I read because I enjoy the experience and love the escapism, but if it's too heavy going, I'll just move on.
With the two books of the Commonwealth Saga (a total of 2,000 pages), Peter F Hamilton has seemingly done the impossible by providing an incredibly complex and detailed set of scenarios all wrapped up in the most delightful and entertaining prose.
Maybe it's just the way my mind processes stuff, but this is far more accessible than, for instance, the Culture series by Iain M Banks - all of which are highly rated, I know. I've tried a few and it's just too heavy going for my liking. Oddly, though, PFH seems able to provide the same level of detail in a much easier to digest set of work.
We're all different, thank goodness, and these two books just suit me perfectly.
I'm looking forward to trying more from the author once I've finished Judas Unchained.
I have a love/hate relationship with sci fi books. I've tried a lot but I find most of them just plain hard work. I read because I enjoy the experience and love the escapism, but if it's too heavy going, I'll just move on.
With the two books of the Commonwealth Saga (a total of 2,000 pages), Peter F Hamilton has seemingly done the impossible by providing an incredibly complex and detailed set of scenarios all wrapped up in the most delightful and entertaining prose.
Maybe it's just the way my mind processes stuff, but this is far more accessible than, for instance, the Culture series by Iain M Banks - all of which are highly rated, I know. I've tried a few and it's just too heavy going for my liking. Oddly, though, PFH seems able to provide the same level of detail in a much easier to digest set of work.
We're all different, thank goodness, and these two books just suit me perfectly.
I'm looking forward to trying more from the author once I've finished Judas Unchained.
Very long, but excellent book! Multiple plots going on, but all through it is the evil of the Starflyer - real or not? This is book 1 of 2. I listened to the audiobook read by John Lee. Something wrong with the sound, but if played at 1.25x speed and using earbuds or headphones, it's great. This is hard science, lots of detail. Normally, I don't enjoy hard science, preferring action, but this is a great story and doesn't plod at all IMHO.
Great imagery and world building. Multiple strands come pleasingly together but beware that this book does not really end - it just ploughs on into the sequel, boo.
Pandora's Star recently appeared on a "most popular" science fiction list using reddit as its source. I have had the book for a while, including a paperback version that became part of my beach reading in mid-May. It's a monster of a book and one of two in a duology.
The story starts with the spotting of two stars that disappear. Some investigation determines that artificial barriers were activated around the stars. Why? Did some alien within the systems need to be contained or were they protecting themselves? Either way, humanity must investigate to determine the potential risks to the Commonwealth, a collection of human inhabited worlds connected by wormhole stations. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Self are convinced that an ominous alien, called the Starflyer, is behind the exploration of the disappearing stars.
Peter F. Hamilton fills a thousand pages with characters, descriptions, and action, and the interest of them is a bit scattered for me. The most interesting characters are Paula Myo and Wilson Kime. Myo is a detective who has been hunting the Guardians of the Self's leader, Bradley Johannson, and primary strategist and smuggler, Adam Elvin. She's been on the case for over a hundred years (people routinely go through a process known as rejuvenation, which effectively makes them immortal, as well has having their memory backed up). Myo was "rescued" from a planet that followed an Aldous Huxley model of genetically tweaking people for expertise in specific tasks, and Myo is a fantastic detective, though the Guardians elude her (because of the Starflyer?). We follow her method and near misses. Dedicated, focused, and no nonsense, she proves several times to be sympathetic and faces her moral crisis at the end of the book fully aware of the risks.
Wilson Kime landed the first human expedition on Mars, only to be upstaged by Nigel Sheldon and Ozzie Isaac, creators of the first wormhole generators. After many rejuvenations, he is selected by Sheldon to lead the exploration of the barrier star, called Dyson Alpha. He eventually leads a follow up scouting mission and becomes the first admiral of the Commonwealth navy. He's out to reclaim some of that lost glory and because he loves exploration.
Ozzie has a whole sequence of parts that I did not like. He teams up with a kid who alternatively seems like he's two and then 18. Ostensibly, Ozzie is seeking what the alien Silfden, a fey, carefree culture, know of the Dyson barrier. Ozzie grew up in surfer culture California and says "dude" far too often for my taste.
I found quite intriguing the SI character: the AI created by humanity who stores the human memories. The SI has an interest in the Dyson barrier, but it is enigmatic and its interest and motivations are mysterious, which is why it is intriguing.
Hamilton knows how to describe various planets and technologies with ease. His ideas on rejuvenation, the Dyson aliens, wormholes, and a host of technologies are wonderfully executed and thought out. However, I found many of the descriptions unnecessary, word padding. Also, much of his dialogue seemed overly wrought--some of the interactions between couples were particularly galling.
Still, the scope and the characters he does do well lead me to a lukewarm four stars. Pandora's Star is definitely the set up for book two, which I will read.
The story starts with the spotting of two stars that disappear. Some investigation determines that artificial barriers were activated around the stars. Why? Did some alien within the systems need to be contained or were they protecting themselves? Either way, humanity must investigate to determine the potential risks to the Commonwealth, a collection of human inhabited worlds connected by wormhole stations. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Self are convinced that an ominous alien, called the Starflyer, is behind the exploration of the disappearing stars.
Peter F. Hamilton fills a thousand pages with characters, descriptions, and action, and the interest of them is a bit scattered for me. The most interesting characters are Paula Myo and Wilson Kime. Myo is a detective who has been hunting the Guardians of the Self's leader, Bradley Johannson, and primary strategist and smuggler, Adam Elvin. She's been on the case for over a hundred years (people routinely go through a process known as rejuvenation, which effectively makes them immortal, as well has having their memory backed up). Myo was "rescued" from a planet that followed an Aldous Huxley model of genetically tweaking people for expertise in specific tasks, and Myo is a fantastic detective, though the Guardians elude her (because of the Starflyer?). We follow her method and near misses. Dedicated, focused, and no nonsense, she proves several times to be sympathetic and faces her moral crisis at the end of the book fully aware of the risks.
Wilson Kime landed the first human expedition on Mars, only to be upstaged by Nigel Sheldon and Ozzie Isaac, creators of the first wormhole generators. After many rejuvenations, he is selected by Sheldon to lead the exploration of the barrier star, called Dyson Alpha. He eventually leads a follow up scouting mission and becomes the first admiral of the Commonwealth navy. He's out to reclaim some of that lost glory and because he loves exploration.
Ozzie has a whole sequence of parts that I did not like. He teams up with a kid who alternatively seems like he's two and then 18. Ostensibly, Ozzie is seeking what the alien Silfden, a fey, carefree culture, know of the Dyson barrier. Ozzie grew up in surfer culture California and says "dude" far too often for my taste.
I found quite intriguing the SI character: the AI created by humanity who stores the human memories. The SI has an interest in the Dyson barrier, but it is enigmatic and its interest and motivations are mysterious, which is why it is intriguing.
Hamilton knows how to describe various planets and technologies with ease. His ideas on rejuvenation, the Dyson aliens, wormholes, and a host of technologies are wonderfully executed and thought out. However, I found many of the descriptions unnecessary, word padding. Also, much of his dialogue seemed overly wrought--some of the interactions between couples were particularly galling.
Still, the scope and the characters he does do well lead me to a lukewarm four stars. Pandora's Star is definitely the set up for book two, which I will read.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's by no means perfect, but I love this book. I read it as a teenager when it first came out, and I hold a soft spot in my heart for it.
An extraordinarily long book with a lot of great world building and characters. Always new and interesting ideas like aliens addicted to experiencing human lives and using trains since wormholes give instant access to other worlds. It deals with the acceptance people easily give to "normal" life and how defensive we get when the norms are questioned. It also really brings home the concept of alien life. This is no Star Trek where most aliens are humanoids with prosthesis. No, these creatures have motives that are not remotely in human realms of concepts, with motives that are either indecipherable or irrational. The book is a slow build to an exciting end that is really a "to be continued".
The book meanders quite a bit, but it pays off in connecting most of the dots to one another by linking the most obscure characters and bringing forward less important characters in the end. Reading such a long book feels like a journey and I feel more involved in the end.
The book meanders quite a bit, but it pays off in connecting most of the dots to one another by linking the most obscure characters and bringing forward less important characters in the end. Reading such a long book feels like a journey and I feel more involved in the end.