Pandora’s Star
By the British author of the bestselling The Night's Dawn
Trilogy, Pandora's Star is Part One
of the two-part Commonwealth Saga.
It is set in 2380, a time when the human race has expanded into a significant
portion of the galaxy through the invention of
wormhole technology. Its success
is further increased by rejuvenation, which effectively allows many people (not
the poor) to live forever by having successive rejuvenations. Thus middle-aged
people with wrinkles and paunches can become young, vibrant and sex-mad again. Because
of such long life, social taboos are very different – one major relationship or
marriage in a life-time is now unheard of.
Even accidental death can be cheated by previously downloading one's memories
into a secure store, and then making a new
person from DNA Of course there is
some debate if the new person is actually the same person.
Astronomer Dudley Bose has discovered a unique astronomical
phenomenon, two stars, named Dyson Alpha and Dyson Beta, more than a thousand
light years from Earth. They are both surrounded by obviously artificial energy
barriers. The Commonwealth builds a new faster than light ship, The Second Chance to travel to Dyson
Alpha. While being built an unsuccessful sabotage attempt is made on the ship by
the enigmatic terrorists Guardians of Selfhood led by Bradley Johansson. The
Guardians believe the Commonwealth is being manipulated into visiting the Dyson
system by a mysterious alien entity known as the Starflyer, who Johansson
claims kidnapped him.
Johansson and his right-hand man, arms smuggler, Adam Elvin
have been pursued by Chief Investigator Paula Myo for many decades. In the course of her investigations Myo
apparently solves a rare murder of wealthy socialite Tara Jennifer Shaheef. One
of her former lovers is convicted of the crime and is sentenced to death;
however his memories are secured and he will be allowed resurrection in two
centuries. But later Myo suspects the influence of the Starflyer as more
murders occur across the Commonwealth.
The Second Chance
arrives at Dyson Alpha, only to find that they have somehow brought down the
energy barrier. Within the system they find an advanced technological species
called the Primes, inventive, warlike and utterly ruthless. To avoid being
destroyed the ship retreats through a wormhole, leaving Dudley Bose and a
female crew member behind. They are later tortured and murdered, but not beforeBose
reveals the secrets of the Commonwealth’s location and the technology of
wormhole generation. A second journey to the Dyson system allows Bose, now only
a memory incorporated in the Prime immotile, MorningLightMountain, to reveal
what the Primes have discovered.
The Commonwealth Government and military rush to build a
navy (not needed previously because of lack of war) and a wormhole detection
system. But the Primes arrive and start destroying planets and killing many
millions. Again the Starflyer is suspected.
Hamilton
is notorious for overwriting and having too many subplots in his novels.
Pandora’s Star is almost 1200 pages, and its sequel Judas Unchanged is likely
to be of a similar length. But for those who like space opera on a grand scale
is a rollicking good read.