Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton

[rol7805]

I've been chewing through Hamilton's massive 1000 page Pandora's Star. I'm not quite finished, but I thought I'd go ahead and see if anyone has read this and enjoyed it. With a novel this big, he has room to introduce numerous characters and settings. At times it almost seems like too much, but he keeps you hooked and keeps the story going. Though you are left wondering at times what one thread has to do with the rest.

Also, I enjoyed his guesses at where technology will take us, from implants and tattoos made of printed circuits to wormholes and rejuvenation, he paints a world made of people very different from those of today (though with many of the same underlying motives).

On a side note, I thought his ideas on how travel would look in a universe of wormholes was novel, and very likely. Rather than vast airports or spaceports, with the ability to open portals between worlds, land based travel would be the norm. And the easiest way to have mass land-based transit would be trains of course. His image of vast trainyards as the hubs of future cities surrounded by wormhole portals is a rather unique one.

 

[Werthead]

It's a good idea and an excellent book, although not quite up there with his seminal Night's Dawn Trilogy. However, the sequel, Judas Unchained, was a slight letdown whilst the third book set in the universe (although the opener of a new trilogy, The Dreaming Void) was a bit better.

 

[Rane Longfox]

I love the universe he's created there, with the Dynasties, the trains through the wormholes, etc, and Pandora's Star is an excellent book I did also quite enjoy Judas Unchained and Dreaming Void too. Hamilton is a very good writer

 

[chopper]

the motiles are probably the most realistically disturbing alien race i've ever read about. i prefer Pandora over Judas, but that's as much because of the massive world-building involved as anything else.

s

 

[MG1962]

It was like a cake that had great ingedients, mixed to perfection, but cooked at the wrong temperature. The Motiles were fantastic, the universe in general was great, the war was really interesting, but the other plot (Dont want to spoiler) Really really dragged for me

 

[purple_kathryn]

Well I read it a while ago but I certainly enjoyed it (even if it did take me ages) and also the sequal Judas Unchained.

To the point were I have the Night's Dawn Trilogy in my stack of books to read

 

[Kostmayer]

Bought it merely because it had a Dysons Sphere in it. The Sphere itself was a bit of a letdown but I really enjoyed the rest of the book. I've just started Judas Unchained.

 

[Werthead]

Well,it wasn't really a Dyson Sphere, they just thought it might be for a while and the name stuck.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Is a Dyson Sphere a real thing?

 

[Werthead]

No Any culture that could build a Dyson Sphere would probably be too advanced to actually need one.

Damn cool idea though.

 

[clovis-man]

The only thing wrong with Pandora's Star is that you're not done when you're done. Judas Unchained has to come next before you can relax.

A funny thing happened to me while I was reading the second book: I had been unexpectedly hospitalized and had the book with me to read during quiet moments (What a laugh!). My pastor came to visit me and saw the book on the nightstand. Based on the title, he thought I was reading a religious work. I had to disabuse him of that notion. But I recovered anyway.

Jim

 

[chrispenycate]

Is a Dyson Sphere a real thing?

Theory is, any continuously evolving society will ultimately require all the energy output of its star.

Take a good few thousand years, though.

But the original design specification was not a rigid shell (which would have everybody living on the surface falling into the sun any time their velcro got old) but a total wall of moving units closer to the sun, still blocking off all the light.

Still, the fields round the Dyson pair were effectively genuine Dyson spheres, radiating the energy in the infrared (presumably the energy gradient went to maintain the fields) so as not to make a Dyson pressure cooker…

 

[williamjm]

I did like the book a lot. It has some of Hamilton's typical problems, in that it is longer than it really needs to be, takes too long for the plot to really get started and has some dull sub-plots. Fortunately it also has plenty of Hamilton's strengths with plenty of fascinating SF ideas, some well-done aliens, some excellent action scenes later in the book and an intriguing plot. I particularly liked the initial exploration of the Dyson Sphere system, stories about exploring the unknown without it being clear what is going to be found there are something not enough Science Fiction stories have been doing in recent years.

 

[Overread]

I have always been amazed by Hamiltons ability to both write with sciencey language and descriptions and yet still be able to construct a well structured story and be able for the layman (with nothing more than a startrek understanding of science ) to understand what is going on!
If anything I found this world easier to get into and a little more real than his other universe in Night's Dawn. The motiles are definatly intersting and very different to the often mamalian or reptilian aliens that we more commonly see (but why am I seeing no refrences to --forgets name and is not near to book-- the alien that accompanied Ozzy Osborn -- sorry Ozzy!

 

[chopper]

eh, the Tochee?

i think in th Void series that carries on the story humans have made proper contact with the Tochee.

 

[Rane Longfox]

Yeah, the Tochee are mentioned in The Dreaming Void, but they don't play much of a part, iirc.

 

[Overread]

hmm I must get on and read more of that book (tis in reading pile)
and I remember that they have been "discovered" but that is all that is mentioned - I think they will most likley be forgotten in the series with possibly one or two ( or thier races actions ) being a minor influence later on

 

[Taltos]

Can't say anything about the book as it is still in my TBR pile, but this book manged to make a friend I lend it to a Hamilton fan, so it certainly has it's good points.

 

[williamjm]

I have always been amazed by Hamiltons ability to both write with sciencey language and descriptions and yet still be able to construct a well structured story and be able for the layman (with nothing more than a startrek understanding of science ) to understand what is going on!

I think this is probably because Hamilton (as he has admitted in interviews) is not a scientist himself or from a scientific background, and therefore doesn't naturally use scientific jargon.

If anything I found this world easier to get into and a little more real than his other universe in Night's Dawn

In terms of plausibility, it is lacking the quasi-supernatural elements that is such a crucial part of the ND books. Although I don't have any problems with it, I know some people found the central premise of the ND trilogy too implausible to take seriously in a Science Fiction novel.