Pandora's Star (The Commonwealth Saga)

One of the most engaging science fiction books I have read in a long time.Great story lines, very creative disruptions from reality and great pacing. I have spent more than a few nights til 4am reading this!

Nothing kills the momentum of a good story like starting another one half way through, and that happens over and over again throughout this incredibly long saga. It has its moments but they are few and far between.

Where to begin...?

First, I have to state the obvious - this book is incredibly long. While its length does give Hamilton the ability to create a highly-detailed universe, I also felt he could have shortened the story by several hundred pages, and made a much better story. Hamilton includes endless descriptions of the various planets that are part of the Commonwealth, which I came to find tiresome. While I do feel these highly-developed locations gave the novel a panoramic and even epic feel, I still think Hamilton overdid the physical descriptions of the various planets of the Commonwealth (some 600 or so planets are part of the Commonwealth at the time of the events of this novel). As a science fiction writer myself, I enjoy creating worlds and cultures as much as the next science fiction writer, but I think Hamilton went overboard in this novel - at the very least, he could have dialed back the descriptions, and still left his readers with a very rich and multilayered universe.

Second, I felt like this novel was a utopian novel that painted a perfect society. While there certainly is conflict, I found it to be much like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series: a utopian view of the future. (Star Trek is likewise another utopian vision of the future.) I do have real problems with the untopian vision that Hamilton presents.

The first problem is with the rejuvenation technology that is one of the core features of Commonwealth life, which helps to create a society of men and women who are essentially immortal. The prospect of eternal life is admittedly one that excites most people, yet the reality of eternal life is not exactly the paradise many of us dream it will be - at least not in the context of this present, fallen world. There are some pretty nasty characters in this story, but as nasty as they are, thanks to rejuvenation technology, their nasty behaviors can be perpetuated for literally centuries on end. Think about what this means: philanderers continue to pursue an endless series of self-centered relationships; dishonest businessmen and businesswomen are able to carry on with unethical business practices decade after decade after decade; corrupt politicians are able to hold onto their political offices indefinitely; and the possibilities for the continual perpetuation of nasty behaviors is endless.

In addition, in the Commonwealth, rejuvenation technology has led to a very casual approach to marriage, in which nobody expects to have a marriage that will last more than a few decades, due to the extreme longevity the vast majority of people enjoy. If marriage is merely a temporary convenience, then where is the relational and emotional stability that adds so much purpose and meaning to the lives of individuals, families, and even entire communities?

But perhaps the most damning characteristic of the Commonwealth is the self-centered lives so many Commonwealth citizens lead. In fact, this is one trait that an off-worlder noticed of Earth citizens during his time on Earth. In many ways, I was very satisfied with the Prime invasion of the Commonwealth - not because I rejoice in the deaths of millions and billions which this invasion caused, but because this invasion exposed the blindness and unreality of the lives lived by so many Commonwealth citizens.

I also did not appreciate the foul language that was featured in the book, especially Hamilton's use of f-bombs. There really are many other ways to express oneself without having to resort to the limited vocabulary of cursewords. In addition, I found the lack of religion in the future disturbing, because the desire for a transcendent reality is a fundamental element of our humanity, and has been throughout human history. Even if atheism is held by many people in the future, surely there would be some Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Buddhist, or Hindu communities somewhere...?

I am thankful that I was able to read this novel, because it showed me just how awful living an eternal life in this fallen world really would be, as well as just how deadly a self-centered society ultimately proves to be when faced with an outside enemy that is determined to utterly annihilate them.

I like the immersion of the whole galaxy but some details were left out such as the day/night cycle on different planets. It seemed that every world had a 24 hour cycle which was unrealistic. Overall this book was good. I like the view on human evolution for space exploration and medical science.

Peter F. Hamilton's vision of the future is refreshing in that he has a generally positive outlook on the human condition. Most science fiction today seems to be about some post apocalyptic dystopian future caused by the sinfulness of the human creatures on this planet. Even the mostly positive Star Trek universe involved a horrible "World War III" where so many people were killed that only Mr. Spock can cite the true statistics. Hamilton takes us to a different future. We certainly have problems, but technology doesn't inevitably lead to genocidal machines à la "Terminator's" SkyNet and such. The intricate ways in which human biology might be interfaced with electronics for communication and to even supplement human cognition is fascinating. A rich world of possibilities is uncovered. "Pandora's Star" is part one of a two part series - but you will have to read the follow up series, "Void Trilogy" too. A neat package of 5 books that will give you the ultimate Sci-Fi adventure. Seriously. Hamilton ranks up there with Arthur C. Clarke and Philip K. Dick as a real auteur of futurism.

I'm really surprised. Just finished the Kindle edition and all I can say is "wow!" This book reminds me of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. The way it spans so many character and events, some seemingly insignificant. But as the overall story unfolds, you really come to know the characters in this book, and come to understand why things happen the way they do. I'm also reminded of Daniels Suarez and "Daemon", especially with the use of OC Tattoos and the visual implants used to access the unisphere. Pretty cool. I'll leave the plot summaries to those with the talents to write them. Instead, just take the time to get into this book. You won't be disappointed. And if the sci-fi jargon puts you off at first, just roll with it. All will be explained in time.

I just finished this book and its second half, Judas Unchained, which is not really a sequel so much as an uninterrupted continuation. I gather he either didn't finish the manuscript in time or the publisher doubted the ability to get both volumes into a single paperback :-) I thoroughly enjoyed this story. As others have noted -- this is not light reading.

Since there are so many powerful positive reviews that I agree with, I will focus on telling you why I didn't give it 5 stars. It's unlikely that any of the below rise to the level of serious flaws for most people, but they've been bugging me :-)

1. Brevity. Hamilton needs to learn the power of brevity. I found myself forced to skip through large portions of pages filled with irrelevant scenery descriptions that didn't really factor into or propel the story forward. Perhaps he also needs a better editor. This and Judas Unchained could have been combined into one volume with better editing of the many, MANY superfluous scenery descriptions. I believe another reviewer noted that this is a good 600-page story trying to find its way out of a 1000-page manuscript (or the like).

2. Character voices. I realize he's a Brit, but Hamilton should decide whether he's writing English voices or American voices (in the appropriate situations). Granted, this story takes place over 400 years in the future, where colloquial speech between the cultures has probably coalesced somewhat. However, it seems clear that Hamilton is going for American-sounding voices for many of his main characters. He doesn't do a great job in this endeavor. I like the Ozzie Isaac and Nigel Sheldon characters immensely, but DUDE, his effort to make them sound like 21st century American college students from Southern California fails when he has them using phrases like "they are so crap", or "I need to get that sorted", "that's not anything like as much as you'll need", or "the solution fitted the problem" (I am using examples, not verbatim, but representative of the main forms I object to). He even has one of the characters refer to a truck as a "lorry" at one point in Judas Unchained (clearly a slip, as it's only used the one time). He can't even decide whether the Vernon kids call Liz "Mum" or "Mom".

Mind you -- I am not bashing British English. I am an avid Anglophile in fact. My problem with the British-isms is that they sound inauthentic when placed in the mouths of supposed Americans. Or, rather, they make the supposed Americans sound inauthentic.

/soapbox

Well, it would have been five stars, but even after weaving my way through this huge tome of interconnected stories, characters, timelines and solar systems, it turns our I have to read the next ones to reach any kind of resolution. Seriously? ;-)

I am not sure why Peter F. Hamilton is relatively unknown in the US. I'm not a
huge SF fan, but I know most of the main players. For some reason I've never
even heard of this guy until an English friend mentioned him. Well, the sheer
volume of his books was daunting, but once I started I could not put this one
down. Although massive, the plot moves along relatively quickly, and he holds
things together remarkably well. The characters are well fleshed out, the
science is more or less believable. If you are a fan of sweeping SF sagas,
this one is definitely for you.

Well; when they said this book was "sprawling" they WERE not kidding.. geez... took me a while to "learn" to read a Peter Hamilton; or at least this series. I got lost so many times. But I'm one of those; who likes to keep her "ducks in a row".. In this book my ducks were all over the place.. jumping from mountains into hurricane type winds... . Going back in time... Roaming from planet to planet.
I finally learned.. just read on.. your ducks will line up behind you. This is a GREAT book.. and great read.

An absolute must for anybody even remotely interested in science fiction. This is not only book one of two, but also of the 'Void' trilogy which follows on from that. 'Pandora's Star' is a wise reading 'investment' you wont regret.

Hamilton is a great author who walks the line between too much geek and not enough detail. The science he describes just plausible and in depth enough to satisfy the arm chair engineer in me.

That said, he is verbose when it comes to setting up and introducing characters. More than 100 pages into the novel you are still meeting new characters and after 200 pages you are still trying to remember who they all are.

Overall it is an enthralling read that, once under your skin, is impossible to put down.

Awesome. This book is an epic start to my favorite space opera. It combines the 2 things i require in good science fiction. 1: science and technology that are both well explained and also theoretically possible within our current understanding. 2: unique, developed, and enjoyable characters. Bravo.

It can certainly get mired down into seemingly too-detailed minutia, but overall it's a great read. Hamilton has a great talent for describing locations, emotions, and situations. And I like the seven or so points-of-view as the story unfolds.

I loved this book. Multiple storylines often make me sick, but I think Hamilton did it right. I can't remember how many storylines he ended up opening in this book, but they all work. I didn't have the quibbles with grammar that others did, so I don't detract for that. My only problem is with the two year gap between this volume and the next one. That's an awfully long time, and my memory isn't that good. It's a complaint, but I don't think it's a downgrade for this volume.

Pandora's Star marks my foray into the space opera genre. I must say, I've been expecting something else - more like Star Trek, I guess (space voyages and adventures). Nonetheless, Peter F. Hamilton delivered a solid read with a very interesting vision of humanity's future - that is plausible and seems very real.

We already work on genetics, can produce artificial organs and even clone whole animals (say hello to Mary the sheep), if we could just go one step further and clone man, we would only need one more thing - memory crystals, where everyone dumps their memories and feelings - think of them as your file backup in the cloud. Without them, even being fully genetically compatible, a clone is just a heap of meat that looks and works like you, but doesn't behave like you and certainly isn't you. But if we could dump our memories to an external storage device and then clone our body and download the memories to it... It would virtually mean immortality, something that humans have been seeking forever - be it literal or written in letters (poetry).

The inhabitants of Hamilton's universe (our universe projected a few hundred years forward) have achieved exactly that - there is no final death - if your body dies, you go for a re-life procedure and end up in a clone with all your memories. If you don't die, you can still rejuvenate your body every few decades and stay forever young and strong.

Living like that re-calibrated human brains, we've become more peaceful and warfares just died out. But there is another threat, a threat that only the Guardians of Selfhood - a terrorist group lead by a raving lunatic - Bradley Johansson - believes, a fairy tale they claim is real and dangerous - the Starflyer. The Starflyer is not real, it's a conspiracy theory which says that there's some alien working inside the human Commonwealth and its only goal is to bring peril to us. It doesn't help that believers turn to terrorist methods that we know all too well from 20th and 21st century. No one has seen it, no one has heard it, there is only the word of one men who claims he's been enslaved by it and used by it and then fortunately the Silfen (another alien race) freed him. Now he smuggles weapons and performs the acts of terror killing innocent people - all that to save the human race. Er, yeah, right...

You'll find a bit of detective story, some action (but I wouldn't say the book is action packed), adventure / other worlds and a very realistic image of ourselves in the future. All in all, Pandora's Star has been a great read and I'm looking forward to the second tome. It is a hefty one, counting almost 1000 pages (in print), but it's nowhere close to dull and it certainly doesn't feel too long. I think it should appeal to every hard sci-fi fan, even if this would be the first book of the genre that you read - if you like sci-fi movies, games, anime, whatever, you're gonna like Pandora's Star.

The narrator starts out his sentences incredibly loud, then trails off into a barely audible mumble at the end. If you turn the sound up high enough to catch the ends, the start will be intolerably loud. I had to run the whole book through a Dynamic Range Compression filter and re-burn to CD to make it a tolerable experience. But the content of the book is pretty good, so I'm giving it 2 stars.

The book is enjoyable, though the multiple plot-lines can be challenging to follow. But the writer really needs a good editor -Hamilton tends to over-write, and sometimes falls into bad habits, like using adverbs in dialog to try to describe a character's emotions. He is also overly-fond of certain phrases. If you took out every other use of "enzyme-bonded concrete" for example, the book would be half as long.