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  • Pandora's Star

  • Written by: Peter F. Hamilton
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 37 hrs and 21 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (196 ratings)

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Pandora's Star cover art

Pandora's Star

Written by: Peter F. Hamilton
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's Summary

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 best-selling 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 multi-volume 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 t...

©2004 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Tantor

What the critics say

"The depth and clarity of the future Hamilton envisions is as complex and involving as they come." ( Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

What listeners say about Pandora's Star

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Skip this one

Massive amount of narrative that adds nothing to move the story forward. Story would benefit from an edit to reduce the length by half. Added to a long rambling narrative there was no conclusion, the story is not complete in the one text. I will not be sucked in to buy the next text.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sound problems

The story is interesting and i want to listen. But the audio is a problem, the narration would be good if the audio could normalize the volume. His reading puts an emphasis at the start of sentences for example and the the rest of the sentence becomes too quiet and you turn up the volume to hear and are then blasted by the next sentence start.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible narration

I can not make it past the first chapter. The narration is absolute terrible. Every sentence starts really loud and tapers off in volume to the point I can't even hear the words. It is like the narrator is running out of breath every time he speaks.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A++

This was such a good book! I can't believe how deep and complex of a universe the author has created here.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story. Bad read.

I had to listen at 1.4x speed because he reads so slow. It was difficult to hear sometimes.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wow! amazing!

epic sci fi universe. a little slow to start but the detail and development of the story is amazing.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An uphill walk but worth the view

It took me a week of of restarting and backtracking to get to the sweet spot. The narrator’s delivery didn’t help as he would start loudly then trail off. That encouraged me to disengage and I would have to backtrack. Plus, there wasn’t a “break” between story streams (chapters?). Nothing to give the listener a clue to pay attention. Once I figured out the characters (not easy), it’s been easier to follow and the story is beginning to intrigue me. I am looking forward to book 2 .......either because of that intrigue or because I have invested so much time into book 1!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

hard to stick on the voice, too monotonus.

hard to stick on the voice. too monotonus. i am disapointed. I stopped listening to audiobook for 2 months after buying this book

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great space opera, meh narration

Slow start but an awesome space opera, really worth it by halfway in.

I usually like John Lee but his narration wasn't great here. sometimes I couldn't even tell which character was talking, and his American accents are very inconsistent

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book. Voicing of characters was indistinct.

Hamilton created a superb galaxy. Each character rich. Character narration was monotone and hard to discern.

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