- Hardcover: 768 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey Books (Mar 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345461622
- ISBN-13: 978-0345461629
- Product Dimensions: 24.4 x 15.3 x 4.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (119 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,305,186 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
" The depth and clarity of the future Hamilton envisions is as complex and involving as they come."
-- "Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
" The author's expansive vision of the future combines action and intrigue on a panoramic scale."
"-- Library Journal
"" Astounding . . . Thrilling . . . Hamilton uses technology to excellent effect."
"-- Science Fiction Age
"" Shows how thought-provoking yet entertaining science fiction can be. Some of the best fiction . . . in years."
"-- Midwest Book Review
"" [Hamilton is] taking on one of sf's (and maybe all of literature' s) primal jobs: the creation of a world with the scale and complexity of the real one."
-- "Locus
"" [Hamilton is] a rare talent."
"-- The Denver Post
"
-- "Publishers Weekly "(starred review)
" The author's expansive vision of the future combines action and intrigue on a panoramic scale."
"-- Library Journal
"" Astounding . . . Thrilling . . . Hamilton uses technology to excellent effect."
"-- Science Fiction Age
"" Shows how thought-provoking yet entertaining science fiction can be. Some of the best fiction . . . in years."
"-- Midwest Book Review
"" [Hamilton is] taking on one of sf's (and maybe all of literature' s) primal jobs: the creation of a world with the scale and complexity of the real one."
-- "Locus
"" [Hamilton is] a rare talent."
"-- The Denver Post
"
"From the Hardcover edition." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
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 four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred 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 one thousand 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 whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.
Could it be that Johansson was right?
The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred 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 one thousand 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 whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.
Could it be that Johansson was right?
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Hamilton page-turner,
This review is from: Pandora's Star (Hardcover)
Odd that Amazon considers it not yet published, as I just finished reading it this weekend after Amazon shipped a copy to me. Once again, Peter Hamilton has painted a broad canvas for his latest series of novels. Set in a relatively near future, but one in which wormhole travel to far stars is an everyday occurrence, where the elves are recognized as an off-world species who walk their own paths between the worlds, and a shadowy terrorist group, inspired by fears of a mysterious alien invader that no-one else believes to exist, Hamilton once again weaves dozens of individual stories into a seamless whole.The "Pandora's Star" of the title refers to a mysterious cosmic event hundreds of light years away, beyond the reach of the wormhole technology, where two solar systems are suddenly enclosed instantly by a pair of massive force fields. This drives the major action in the book, with its usual massive space battles, detailed descriptions of alien species, complex politics and the tragedy and small triumphs of individual lives. Hamilton has developed a star-spanning empire with new species, including his usual AI constructs and human memory archives, however this world is very different from the universe of the Neutronium Alchemist. There are the usual cliff-hangers at the end of this satisfying read, which make me certain to buy the sequel when it is released (hopefully this year!)
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sci-Fi at it's very best,
By
This review is from: Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga) (Paperback)
In my younger days I was an avid sci-fi fan devouring everything that I could get my hands on. Twenty years on I decided to re-visit the genre and after many disappointments happened on Pandora's Star. Don't be put off by the size of this book - I found myself so enthralled that as I neared the end I was getting quite depressed at the thought of finishing but still couldn't put it down. A superb story, fantastic plot-lines, wonderous worlds and amazing technology. The action involves dozens of characters across the galaxy I never once lost the thread of any of the sub-plots so well is the story constructed. Of all the good things I could say the best is.....there is a sequel!
41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hamilton Returns to Space in Style,
By A. Whitehead "Werthead" (Colchester, Essex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga) (Hardcover)
What do you do when you have written the last truly great space opera of the 20th Century? If you are Peter F. Hamilton, the answer seems to be to try and write the first great space opera of the 21st. He may have been pipped to the post by Alastair Reynolds' Inhibitor series in that regard, but The Commonwealth Saga, starting with Pandora's Star to be concluded in Judas Unchained, is an extremely impressive piece of work. In his Night's Dawn Trilogy Hamilton populated his universe with starships swallowing the void in artificial wormholes. In Pandora's Star wormholes directly link planets together, meaning visiting another world is as simple as getting on a train. There are no starships and the Intersolar Commonwealth is a peaceful, stable society. When two stars 1200 light-years away disappear, the Commonwealth builds the first faster-than-light ship to investigate. As the title suggests, this isn't a great idea and soon the Commonwealth is under threat of annihilation. Like Night's Dawn, this new series is complex, richly populated with interesting characters and with an effortless style which pulls you in and makes you care about what's happening, a skill most hard SF authors lack (hello Gregory Benford!). The ending is shocking, the humour is impressive (especially the prologue which must rank as one of the best SF novel openings ever) and the 18-month wait for book two will be interminable. Extremely impressive.
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