Reviews

Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton

Only show reviews with written explanations

andre93na's review

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ithildin's review

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adventurous mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mamaowlbear's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Fantastic! The sheer amount of detail in this book is definitely not for everybody. It makes for a good long term audiobook though.

It's my second listen through and I'm thoroughly enjoying it! On to the second one.

nakedsushi's review against another edition

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3.0

What a literal cliffhanger. And yes, I do mean literal in the sense that some characters are now dangling over a cliff.

I've heard lots of great things about this and the other book in the Commonwealth Saga, so I came into it with high expectations. It started off pretty slowly, with tons of disjointed characters, but eventually, some of them came together to contribute to the general plot. While the story itself was engaging, it took way too long to get started and there was just too much filler. It got to the point where the big reveals had less impact because I was annoyed at how long it took me to get to them.

My favorite parts were the Silfen paths even though Ozzie is one of my least favorite characters. I was also pretty annoyed by the Silfen. I'm not a fan of the mysterious, omnipotent aliens which seem like just a cheap plot device.

Not sure if I'll read the next book, even though I'm eager to know what happens. I don't think I can sit through another 1000+ pages of filler. I do want to find out if Tochee ever finds his way home though. He's my favorite.

abrswf's review against another edition

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3.0

Oh, what a tediously long book. And it ends on a cliffhanger! The good: interesting premises, great description, strong writing, plausible science. The bad -- ridiculously long with pointless endless digression, characters without much character or dimension, a huge amount of sexism, obliviousness to the reality that a lot of people aren't heterosexual, and said cliffhanger.

vickerstaylor's review against another edition

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5.0

This one took me a bit, but it was worth the ride.

This book has everything I love in a space opera. Hard and soft sci-fi, fantasy elements, espionage, family drama, politics. PFH definitely throws a lot at you through the almost 800 pages, and sometimes you're unsure of where it fits in the grand scheme of things, but the environment, the technology, the existential threats, the characters, the villains, etc. are all fascinating. I've been told that Judas Unchained ties up these loose threads and I'm excited to jump in after a quick detour.

cappallo's review

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4.0

This is a really tough one to nail down. It's like it was a 700-page prologue, establishing a pretty big cast of characters and settings and background. Honestly, how much I like it will end up depending mostly on how much the sequel delivers. Bottom line: plodding at times, but intriguing concepts and exciting moments interspersed throughout.