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Pandora's Star (The Commonwealth Saga Book 1) by [Hamilton, Peter F.]

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Pandora's Star (The Commonwealth Saga Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Peter F. Hamilton (Author)

522 customer reviews

Book 1 of 2 in The Commonwealth Saga (2 Book Series)

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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?

From the Hardcover edition.

Length: 992 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled

Books In This Series (2 Books)

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1
Pandora's Star (The Commonwealth Saga …
Peter F. Hamilton
(522)
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2
Judas Unchained (The Commonwealth Saga …
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(353)
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Complete Series

The Commonwealth Saga (2 Book Series)

Peter F. Hamilton

Kindle Edition

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Product details

File Size: 2318 KB
Print Length: 992 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345461622
Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (March 2, 2004)
Publication Date: October 26, 2006
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B000FC1AFC
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray:

Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,827 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #1054 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Space Opera
- #1180 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Science Fiction
- #1525 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Space Opera

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Painfully long-winded but full of interesting ideas and concepts

January 24, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have my experience with long-winded books – Tolkien, Martin, Eco, they all like to take extensive detours to describe menial stuff that's mostly unrelated or unimportant to the plot at hand – but this one trumps them all. It happened to me for the first time in my life that I eventually sinned and skipped a few paragraphs here and there.

What kept me reading though were all the interesting concepts that the author keeps introducing rather boldly. These aren't necessarily flawless or super coherent (the imagined universe has nowhere near the same "real" feeling as Herbert's Dune, despite what the publisher says), but they're still pretty clever, even radical and novel: The unisphere, d-sinks, OCtattoos, various inserts, RI/SI, re-lifing, cellular reprofiling, electromuscles, accelerants and aliens who're mostly ignored by humans because they behave like stoned child-hippies speaking with flashy opulence and painful ambiguity.

Interestingly, there are enough ideas, characters and twists to build a huge Netflix series next to which The Expanse would feel like a backyard sci-fi.

You'll like this book if you:
- enjoy fat books (full of not-always-likeable-nor-important characters)
- enjoy hard sci-fi (one that occasionally goes "a bit too far", but not stupidly so)
- enjoy novel ideas that provide food for thought to munch on long after you've put the book down

0Comment 10 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

UniversalCitizen

A great story in many ways but lacks a certain dimension of imagination

September 9, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I very much liked this book and am excited for the next one. I jumped to Pandora's Star after realizing that The Dreaming Void, which I had already started reading, was actually the 3rd book in the Commonwealth saga. I had already learned some things which give parts of this story away but I didn't want to go any further until I read this one.

But I find myself distracted sometimes by what occurs for me as some (likely unintentional) sexism and homophobia. I have lived my adult life navigating these issues so perhaps I am more sensitive to them than most. But to me it mostly indicates something else which I found in this book: a lack of attention to detail, or thorough imagining or projection into the future. Aside from this, I very much enjoyed the book and I would still recommend it to anyone who likes complex sci-fi world building and a good story.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

Not my style - fell flat for me

August 1, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

There are a lot of great reviews for this book so I'm disappointed that it just didn't work for me. I'm looking for another great "epic" series, but this just isn't it for me. I gave it to midway into chapter 6 which was 3.5 hours of my time (listening to the audio book) and I just can't fathom another 30+ hours of it (or even more time with more books in the series.) The narration was so-so and the material, to me, just seemed dry and drawn out. You get thrown into situations where you have no idea what is going on or who the characters are. There are so many names thrown out that you can't keep track of who is who, and it's hard to know who you're supposed to care for. The author talks about people, settings, and technology like you know all about it, only to finally explain it later on. Obviously a lot of people love this series - I did not, so I'm cutting my losses.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Myles Marcovitch

Two Stars Blink Out and Then What?

June 9, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this book. It's the first segment of a two-part saga. There are many, many characters to follow and lots of sub-plots so it takes some concentration, AND at 900+ pages, it's not a read for those looking for a quick summer book. That being said, there's some new and creative ways of looking at mankind's future. Space travel was rendered unnecessary when a workable wormhole generator was invented that enabled humans to populate hundreds of star systems without flying to them. In fact, you simply boarded trains which went through the wormhole portal and you were at another planet (the wormhole did harken back to StarGate). Meanwhile an unknown astronomer on a distant planet discovered a double star that suddenly blinked off! It didn't supernova or dwindle, it simply vanished. After this discovery was passed along to the powers that be, it became evident that the Dyson Pair were both surrounded by a barrier that blocked them from the rest of the universe. From this point, many initiatives and much intrigue. Needless to say, who and what put the barrier in place and why presents a big conundrum. I am now 1/3 through the second book, Judas Unchained, and it's as good as the first.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?

An Epic Saga to be considered as a must read

July 1, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The Pete Hamilton Novels I've read (or listened to while driving) are all epic feats of superb imagination and stellar organization. He weaves a series of stories together with diverse characters, in some cases interesting and expansive enough to be a separate novel, then ties them all together in a gratifying and solid conclusion.

I don't want to give away too much of this wonderful novel. A few items: Mankind developed wormhole gateways and settled dozens of worlds in nearby space. These are all connected by trains that carry passengers from world to world as easily as contemporary trains carry passengers from city to city.

An astronomer makes a discovery: A star about 1,100 lights years from earth suddenly disappears. He learns that the star 'winked' out over the span of seconds, and this inspires a mission using a starship derived from the wormhole technology. While visting the star, the crew learns a massive and impregnable force field covers not only that star, but another a few light years distant. As they explore the device generating the field, it switches off. The alien race within (developed by the story earlier) prove to be intolerant of any other creatures, and in very little time, a devastating war erupts.

How this is resolved, and the complexity of the story to resolve it, make this a cliffhanger story throughout the entire read.

There are sequels to this novel, and I've in the process od reading them now. They are as good as this epic, but maybe not as exciting because you know the writer will work everything out in a logical and rational way without the help of deux ex machine techniques.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Most recent customer reviews

Prime-Time Space Opera

Hamilton's Pandora's Star is set more than three hundred years in the future. Humanity has settled several hundred worlds under the banner known as the Commonwealth.Read more

Published 19 days ago

Amazon Customer

Would not recommend, boring and overly verbose.

What a disappointment. This book was already probably 4 times longer than it should have been and it's carrying over to another book??Read more

Published 23 days ago

Book no delivered to my digital library

Published 2 months ago

I love the commonwealth!

This book is delicious like the entire series is. Do yourself a favor and read or reread this one. I can't find more complete sci-fi.

Published 2 months ago

Warning, this is truly just he first book

So you have to read the second one. Looking forward to that read as the first one was a page turner, although many threads to track.

Published 2 months ago

Charles Yearsley Jr.

Great start for an intriguing series!

I wish they would give us half stars as I would push this to 3 and 1/2. Very good in many ways though its length is daunting.Read more

Published 2 months ago

Interesting characters - way too many. Too many seemingly unconnected plot lines and never came together or resolved after a very very long read.Read more

Published 3 months ago

Well done, but way too long.

He's an excellent writer, but this book is too long, and you have to read the next installment to find out the mystery behind the
Dyson Sphere.

Published 3 months ago

Amazon Customer

John Lee: the true hero of Pandora's Star.

Listening to John Lee read Pandora's Star was a delight. The narration in many cases lent a gravitas and poise to a work that while grand in ambition and execution lacked much of...Read more

Published 3 months ago

Amazon Customer

Brilliant future science fiction story.

Published 3 months ago

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