[By Nic Lindh on Sunday, 23 October 2005]
Peter F. Hamilton’s Pandora’s Star is one of the most impressive science fiction novels of the decade … a huge, sprawling epic.
The basic premise is that in the near future, technology has made two major breakthroughs: Wormhole technology, which allows for instant travel and the colonization of the galaxy, and rejuvenation, which makes everybody near-immortal. These technologies result in the creation of a near-utopia.
However, this utopia, and humanity itself, becomes threatened by an implacable nemesis.
With excellent characterizations, believable and well-thought-out technological advances, complex aliens, and a plot that takes its time, Pandora’s Star is the current gold standard for epic science fiction.
The one drawback is that the novel ends in a cliff hanger, and the next installment is not due until February 28, 2006, so if you want immediate closure, you may want to wait until then to begin this saga.