The Core Dump

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Review: Pandora’s Star

Peter F. Hamilton’s _[Pandora’s Star](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345479211/ref=ase_thecoredump-20/104-1434937-5308730?v=glance&s=books)_ is one of the most impressive science fiction novels of the decade ... a huge, sprawling epic.

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.

Posted Sunday, 23 October, 2005 by

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