Pandora's Star

Peter F. Hamilton

Dec 2008 · Commonwealth Saga Book 1 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by John Lee

About this audiobook

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 bestselling 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 multivolume 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 the Commonwealth...and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

Ratings and reviews

The narration is horrible and will either put you to sleep or make you pick up the the book version to read. There is no differentiation between different characters having a dialogue and the entire 37 hours is done in a monotone which makes it impossible to follow the story.

I found myself frequently forgetting who some of the characters were. Maybe the reader could have given them more unique voices? Didn't encounter this problem with similar Alastair Reynolds books, also read by John Lee. Honestly, I think the cause was too many of these characters having such generic names! =) Excellent story, all the same!

Hard to follow the characters and the narrator will put you to sleep. Overall a good author but the audio version is a waste of money

About the author

Peter F. Hamilton is the author of numerous novels, including A Night Without Stars, Great North Road, The Evolutionary Void, The Temporal Void, The Dreaming Void, Judas Unchained, Pandora's Star, Misspent Youth, Fallen Dragon, and the acclaimed epic Night's Dawn trilogy. He lives with his family in England.

John Lee has read audiobooks in almost every conceivable genre, from Charles Dickens to Patrick O'Brian, and from the very real life of Napoleon to the entirely imagined lives of sorcerers and swashbucklers. An AudioFile Golden Voice narrator, he is the winner of numerous Audie Awards and AudioFile Earphones Awards.