Epic in scope, richly detailed, but some flaws

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	• Pandora's Star Peter F. Hamilton Del Rey, 2005 - 992 pages average customer review:based on 157 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Epic in scope, richly detailed, but some flaws

To use the word "sweeping" in a description of this novel is almost to diminish what the word actually means in the context of the scale that is present in this extremeley challenging and detailed science fiction novel. Pandora's star is our future hundreds of years from now when humans have discovered how to create wormholes in space. This technology has led humankind to be spread over hundreds of worlds with the ease of stepping through a portal to the other side. Hamilton has keenly created a possible future, replete with commercial and governmental infrustructure and fully realized high technology. And this future scares the hell out of me! Humans have developed the ability to live "forever" by storing their memories in something like a computer bank vault, and then reimplanting those memories into a lab created, accelerated growth clone. Part of the brilliance of Hamilton is that he has indeed hypothesized the impact this may have on humanity in terms of values, wealth, and societal institutions such as marriage and family. This future envisions a completely secularized society (since there is no death, what is the point?) where marriages are merely a business partnership with fringe benefits of sex and childrearing. Even childbirth is usually undertaken in a laboratory. The continued exploration of space has led to a prosperous free market system, and the limitless lifespans have led to vast wealth accumulation. Thus, externally humanity is more prosperous and mobile than it has ever been. A sole astronomy professor has discovered that a couple of stars hundreds of light years away, have seemingly "winked out." This was no natural phenomena, but apparently caused by some type of alien interference. It is this backdrop of a story upon which this novel is based. Could it be that this has something to do with the alien invasion warned about by the Guardians of selfhood? The Guardians are a secretive cultish society that believes that aliens have infiltrated human society and will destroy them. Their leaders have been hunted by the government for over a hundred years, accused of sabotage and murder.

There are a vast array of characters and a huge number of subplots in this book. Towards the middle and the end of the book I expected that I had covered all of the subplots only for a new one to start. In fact, they continue on almost through to the end of the book. One drawback of this is that some of the subplots are far more interesting than others and I was dissappointed to have to leave those to start in on a less interesting one and then have to wait for a very long time to get back to the interesting ones. The alien presence imagined in this novel is most certainly menacing. I would have to say that this is the most malevolent and fully scientifically realized alien that I have ever encountered. There is some derivation ala Ender's Game, but this is so fully imagined that it is only a surface comparison.
It is this ominous alien presence that is the real strength of the novel. It is so well done that it was almost hard to read. The tremendous scope of the novel, while ambitious, does detract a bit from the overall effectiveness of the narrative. Some of it was tedious and distracting. The characters were well written and also actualized well, however some were simply not necessary. Even though the future implications of an eternal life were well described, however ultimately believable or not, I found the existence sterile and soulless, and this also affected my ultimate enjoyment of the book. A secular humanity, devoted only to the pursuit of human material gratification, no lifelong devotion and commitment to another person, and no real human metaphysical connection seemed to me to be more horrible a future calamity than any hostile alien presence.

Pandora's star is still so well crafted, and the alien threat so absolutely menacing, that despite the length issues and the numerous subplots and characters it is well worth reading. If not for its story and what that says, but for the uncomfortable ramifications of an eternal and soulless life.

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Very Entertaining Space Opera...

Plenty of other reviews provide plot synopsis, etc. Here are aspects of this work that I didn't see as much of elsewhere:

1. Overall Believability of Setting:
Hamilton's slick style pulled me right in, and a richly detailed "movie" began playing in my mind's eye almost immediately. I have read very few authors who do this so well -- Julian May is one of the few others who comes to mind.

2. Future Tech:
This work bristles with technology; some mundane, some wicked cool, and some worthy of making you stop and ponder. Very fun.

3. Characters:
Yes, there are loads of them, and a mind-boggling number of story threads. For whatever reason, I can't stand referring to a Dramatis Personae while reading. Uncomfortable at first, I soon realized that though I may not immediately recognize a character thread chapters later, there were always enough "breadcrumbs" in the new thread for my brain to find the link back.

With so many to juggle, Hamilton has to set-up characters quickly, and make them stick. I think he does this very well, with excellent hooks: quirks, an interesting point-of-view, a feeling for a loved one, the impact of interaction with technology, etc.

4. Entertainment Value:
A Bargain Bonanza. This book, plus its sequel, Judas Unchained, are two thousand pages of amazingly great entertainment. Would make a great series on the Sci-Fi Channel.

5. Humor: Ask yourself, when was the last time you read Sci-Fi that actually made you laugh out loud? Give up? Read this :-)

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A Grand Tapestry

"Pandora's Star," Peter F. Hamilton's sprawling 988-page opus (first volume of two)is a thrill. It's an episodic space opera cum techno thriller, in which the kicker is that people can be, and are, rejuvenated and can also store their memories electronically, in case something happens to them. So death is impermanent. The society the author conjures up is called "The Commonwealth," an organiztion of explored planets linked by wormholes.

The story, told in multiple povs, takes a while to get started, and along the way it delves into many familiar sci-fi themes, while managing to make every one of them fresh. It begins with a look at the first landing on Mars, segues into the tale of an astronomer who makes a starting discovery, morphs into a police procedural, follows with a "behind closed doors" glimpse into political decisionmaking, and then gives us a look at an X-Game version of hang gliding.

And that brings us all the way to page 126.

The story gains steam as an FTL starship--obsolete tech in this age of wormholes--is built (and this is where that astronomer's discovery comes in) in order to learn why the double star system known as the "Dyson Pair" has been shielded by some sort of force field. Is it meant to keep the natives of that system within, or to protect them from what lies without? As if that weren't enough, a terrorist group wants to prevent this excursion.

But even as this is going on, the author continues his journey through genres--a murder mystery is solved (yes, I know I explained that people can be rejuvenated here, but wait for it); a low-tech fantasy theme is introduced (a scene at an inn, a native boy who wants to join the explorer, and so forth) that at one point presents readers with a trek across a frozen planet (a la LeGuin), and there's even a priggish dad with an ickily cute family (complete with dog) on one of those impossibly utopian planets (think Kim Stanley Robinson with an edge). There's a helpful AI, and some alien critters, too. In fact, there are so many characters, so many concepts, that maybe you'll feel that this is the first sci-fi epic you've ever read that could have used an index. (Certainly a list of characters could have been provided.)

About 700 pages in, we finally meet the creeptastic villain(s) (eek! hive mind!), after which the tale cascades on swiftly on to the end of part I.

So pull up a chair, relax and enjoy. And be not afraid. While the 988th page is just the halfway point in the saga, part two, "Judas Unchained" is now available. (At 1008 pages and, oh wow! a list of characters.)

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Space opera with heart

"Pandora's Star" is an amazing, sweeping - almost epic - version of the space opera that so many of us know and love. Covering a critical juncture in the history of the Commonwealth (taking place approximately 400 years in the future), which is a grouping of star systems linked by wormholes, "Pandora's Star" is intricately plotted, giving us a rich array of characters, all of whom are fleshed out and complete. Two stars, some distance from the farthest outpost, were somehow covered by a barrier hundreds - if not thousands - of years ago. When an astronomer discovers that the barriers went up almost instantaneously and close to the same time, the Commonwealth decides to build the first starship in hundreds of years to go out and take a look. While examining the barrier, it suddenly goes down, exposing a strongly technological - and very aggressive - society of a hive-mind type creature that calls themselves Prime. The Prime immediately set out creating their own wormholes, so they can eradicate the humans and take over their worlds. But is this the only enemy? A cult group calling itself the Guardians of Selfhood have been claiming for decades that another alien, whom they call the Starflyer, is set to destroy the Commonwealth and they believe that the Starflyer is itself responsible for releasing the Prime. For what reason?

This is the very bare-bones of the ideas covered in this book. Every character that is introduced, no matter how minor, is fleshed out and real. Nigel and Ozzie, who created the wormholes - Paula Myo, who is obsessed with shutting down the Guardians - Mark Vernon, who lives on a distant world in a settlement dedicated to a clean, fairly simple life after dropping out of the fast lane . . . these are just a few of the many characters that Hamilton brings to glowing life.

This book receives a strong recommend from me for anyone who likes sci fi in general; space opera in particular; or just a book with a gripping plot and strong characters. Terrific!!

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

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Commonwealth Novels by Peter F. Hamilton
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Wandering of the Mind

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