Teaser

A Dyson Sphere is the ultimate symbol of civilisation’s power over nature. So when a distant star is suddenly obscured, the ramifications shake the very foundations of humanity . . .

Review

I don’t know if Peter F. Hamilton is still the best-selling British SF author, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the title remains his. His books are everywhere, often getting a whole shelf to themselves (a testament to both their numbers and their thickness), and his name would likely be recognised by most British SF readers. It is therefore something of a frustration to me that I’m walking away unsatisfied. Science fiction should make us ask questions, but the question I have here is, ‘What am I not getting here?’

Standing at over a thousand pages, it’s no surprise that there’s a lot going on in Pandora’s Star. There are Dyson Spheres (a favourite megastructure of mine), murders, strange aliens, and a cast of dozens. I’ve seen reviews comparing Hamilton’s books to roast dinners, filling and hearty. For me, a better comparison would be an all you can eat buffet. I may well like a lot of the food on offer, but there’s some stuff I can’t stand. Continuing that analogy, I don’t necessarily want all those flavours in the same meal.

Once again I come back to the issue of length. Pandora’s Star has a page count to rival some trilogies. Books this long are rare in science fiction, but not unheard of. Some of David Weber’s Honorverse novels are nearly as long. Yet Pandora’s Star is only the first half of a story. Not the first part of a series, but of one story. Everything in here feels like build-up, with very little in the way of payoff. That payoff doubtless can be found in Judas Unchained, but I think there should be more resolution here. Two thousand pages is simply too much of a commitment in the hopes of an eventual resolution. Of course, longer series exist, but they are comprised of a series of smaller battles. Even Honor Harrington stopped for a breath or two.

Moreover, this length does not equate to depth. Hamilton’s style is to write widely, pulling in every little tangent, not all of which have any immediate relevance to the core narrative. That is why, in a novel about the looming collision of two interstellar civilisations, we have time to visit the set of a porn film masquerading as real art. This is only one of many egregious diversions along the way. There isn’t a good novel hiding in all this, there are several, all competing for attention that I can’t give them.

So no, I don’t get Hamilton’s appeal. I ought to love a massive wide-ranging space opera, but this isn’t the one for me. I need more focus, more to latch onto, and fewer pages. I am glad that the British SF scene can support someone of Hamilton’s stature, but I also know I need to find a different corner of the genre to explore.

Book Stats

• The Commonwealth Saga (1)
• First Published 2004
• 1144 Pages