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Pandora's Star
- Commonwealth Saga, Book 1
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 37 hrs and 30 mins
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Pandora's Star
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Summary
Pandora's Star is the first part of Peter F. Hamilton's epic Commonwealth Saga duology – a fantastic galaxy-spanning novel from the master of space opera. For fans of Iain M. Banks and Alastair Reynolds.
At the edge of the galaxy something awakens – and it's coming for us . . .
Earth AD 2329: Humanity has colonized over four hundred planets, all interlinked by wormholes. For the first time in mankind's history there is peace. Then a star over a thousand light years away suddenly vanishes, imprisoned inside a force field of immense size. Yet who – or what – has that sort of technology? And what could this mean for us? Only a faster-than-light starship, captained by ex-NASA astronaut Wilson Kime, can reach that distance to investigate.
For Wilson, getting inside the force field could be easy. It may be harder to stop something else from getting out.
What if there was a very good reason to seal off an entire star system?
The Commonwealth Saga duology concludes with Judas Unchained.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dean J
- 02-01-24
The world building is top tier
The narrator is very bad at making distinct voices and accents between 2 conversing characters. This makes it hard to follow the conversations a lot of the time. There are some characters where it is very easy like osha the SI or Paula. But many others sound identical.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Colin
- 15-03-18
slow, but brilliant in places
The story is slow. the concepts are amazing and there are patches of breathtakingly exciting storytelling.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John Cliffe
- 29-12-20
Wonderful
Just finished second listen, so much depth in the story. Really really good - like all PFH book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR
- 13-12-13
Entrancing
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Reynolds creates a rich galaxy full of wonder. At every turn you are treated to some new figment or idea which gradually unwinds the plot into a complicated, but not overly so, web. The behavior and reactions of the protagonists feels authentic and so far I have not felt the need to suspend my own disbelief to keep the flow going.
My only complaint was that, at around 40 hours, it was too short :).
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pandora's Star?
The cliffhanger at the end was excruciating. Make sure you plan to get the sequel as well.
Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favourite?
Paula Mayo
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Far from human.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ian Garstang
- 07-07-14
EPIC... What a rollercoaster ride of a space opera
If you could sum up Pandora's Star in three words, what would they be?
Epic, ambitious and long
What was one of the most memorable moments of Pandora's Star?
The twists when you find out a good guy is actually a bad guy
What about John Lee’s performance did you like?
He painted a great picture of the characters through his voice acting.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
Awe
Any additional comments?
It's part of a two book set so be mindful than after the first 35hrs listening, you will then do book 2 for another 35hrs :)
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss J. Gordon-Clark
- 15-07-13
Great Story
What did you like most about Pandora's Star?
A realistic interpretation of future worlds and the sheer pace of the book but with a touch of "whodunnit" and plenty of twists.
What other book might you compare Pandora's Star to, and why?
I am now listening to The Void trilogy which is linked to Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. As I am starting to explore this type of science fiction, I cannot really compare it anything except, perhaps, for The Great North Road.
Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Yes. His styled of narration is quite laid back, but his characterisations are well suited to the characters. Nothing jarred.
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
There is hidden humour in Peter Hamilton's books that sudden appear, even during a quite dramatic part.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mollousc
- 24-08-23
Outstanding piece of space opera
Many intriguing individual threads weave together to form a brilliant and gripping tapestry that spans the entire world built by the author. No single part feels trivial or mundane. Every technology and scenario in this book felt plausible, which only deepened my sense of emersion into the story.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Adrian
- 02-10-15
A book as deep as the universe it's self!
This book is awesome!
However it is deep and complex, from the interpersonal relations shops of the mass of main characters, to the science under pinning the future tech in the series!
This book will need your focus, but I believe it's worth it.
Looking forward to the next book to find out what happens next!!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Wood
- 18-03-15
Great Audio book well narrated!
Very good book, well narrated. Can't wait to get stuck into the second one. A good Scifi replacement now that I've finished all the Iain M Banks books.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nik Hewitt
- 08-02-15
My First Foray Into Commonwealth Space
Just marvellous. Entirely epic in breadth and scale, as all truly timeless sci-fi should be. A great performance, as ever, that admirably brings 100 characters to life. Can't recommend this book highly enough. A bargain for a single credit that true sci-fi fans won't regret :)
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