What do you think?
Rate this book
Commonwealth Saga #1-2
The Commonwealth Saga
PANDORA’S STAR
JUDAS UNCHAINED
2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars, contains more than six hundred worlds interconnected by a web of transport “tunnels” known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: over one thousand light-years away, a star . . . disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, the Second Chance, a faster-than-light starship commanded by Wilson Kime, a five-times-rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat.
Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood. Shortly after the journey begins, Kime wonders if the crew of the Second Chance has been infiltrated. But soon enough he will have other worries. Halfway across the galaxy, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.
2854 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2014
59 people are currently reading
942 people want to read
About the author
Peter F. Hamilton
208 books10.2k followersPeter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 30, 2024
This is a review of The Commonwealth Saga, one massive book over 2,000 pages long. It is marketed as two separate books, Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained, but make no mistake: this is one long work, arbitrarily cut in half. When you reach the end of Pandora’s Star nothing has concluded, instead it’s just a series of cliffhangers (including one almost literal cliffhanger). Does Peter F. Hamilton make reading this gigantic tome worth it, or enjoyable? God no.
So why didn’t I just drop it? At first what was driving me to complete this behemoth-sized slog was the question of whether or not Peter F. Hamilton knew what the hell he was doing. Did he set off to write a massive book, or did it just get away from him somehow? But by the end I think it was intentional—there are just too many segments that could easily have been excised if Hamilton wanted to, so he evidently didn’t. I’m left to conclude that Peter F. Hamilton cannot write a character or a relationship to save his life, but he does have the ability to write ten pages where one would do just fine. And, apparently, he’s found a market for that. This led me to the question that got me over the finish line with this book, and that I continue to think about: Why does such a market exist? What is the mindset of someone who would rather have 1,000 pages of mediocrity rather than 100?
I don’t have an answer, but I’m convinced that I’ve phrased the question correctly, as The Commonwealth Saga is undeniably mediocre. I initially thought that the prologue was well-crafted in how it made the characters unlikable (for a purpose, I thought). But these aren’t throw-away characters, rather they are key figures for the rest of the book. With a cast of probably more than a hundred characters, next to none of them are likable, or interesting, or have any degree of depth, and absolutely none of them check all three boxes. Female characters are especially poorly handled. At least 50s pulp writers weren’t even trying to give their sex-object female characters depth; in contrast Hamilton is obviously trying to do so and fails embarrassingly. When Hamilton attempts to write relationships between these boring characters, the whole thing gets exponentially worse.
Peppered in among these poor characters and relationships are pages upon pages of pointless tangents. If you are able to somehow give a shit about the engine size of future trains, the operation of future hang gliding, garden design, a weekend-long political schmoozefest, the workings of a solar powered windmill, or how to balance electromuscles, with no real help from Hamilton, then (a) you may like The Commonwealth Saga, and (b) there may be something fundamentally wrong with your brain.
But it isn’t the pointless tangents that truly confuse me, what boggles my mind are the entire story threads, taking up hundreds of pages, which make so little contribution to the overall narrative such that they aren’t at all necessary. You want to portray the devastation of an alien invasion from the perspective of a character on the planet getting invaded? Fine. But Hamilton makes you read a hundred pages covering that character’s mid-life crisis on a different planet, moving to the planet that will later be invaded, adjusting to his new life, describing his family and his marital problems, and discussing his reputation in his new town before getting to the invasion that is the entire point of the character (the character does more things later, but all these actions could have been performed by a nameless engineer with no impact to the story). And there are multiple examples of Hamilton doing this. You may argue that reading all that background makes you sympathize with the character, but Hamilton isn’t a good enough writer to pull that off, and it was this that made me really question whether Hamilton knew what he was doing.
What is especially bizarre is that some of the pointless story threads are actually more interesting than the main story itself (which never rises above “okay,” and ends weaker than it started). Ozzie’s wandering of the paths and Paula’s attempts to catch the arms dealer Adam and the Guardians are more interesting than the main plot, and the former could have been rewritten only slightly and served as a solid standalone 300-page book (3 stars, probably). Instead it’s an extra book-worth of content in an already overlong volume.
Even when it comes to Hamilton’s world building, something a sci-fi author can make work even when they aren’t strong at writing characters or relationships, I found Hamilton disappointing. I don’t believe he bothered to fully think through the implications of man discovering wormhole technology. Apparently a working wormhole generator was whipped up by two university grad students using centuries-old equipment, yet in the book’s time period a single company has a monopoly on the technology, and no one has jury-rigged their own? Not even the terrorist organization with supply-line problems build one to help transport their contraband goods? It’s not the biggest problem, but it’s emblematic of how, if you think too much about almost any sci-fi element of The Commonwealth Saga, it doesn't make sense. To quote a salient passage: “Paula wanted to point out flaws, it seemed such a bizarre notion, not one you should depend on to bring a hundred-thirty-year-old crusade to its climax; but she didn’t know enough about the procedures Johansson had dreamed up. It just had to be taken on faith.”
This review is already quite long, I don’t want to replicate Hamilton’s mistake, but a few more points I feel obliged to make:
• The aliens aren’t very alien, one character even saying “they ain’t that different.”
• Apparently no one recognizes the most infamous terrorist of the past several hundred years, even though he seems to spend most of his time hanging out in restaurants and cafes.
• The writing is largely functional, but, again, Hamilton always adds more words even when he doesn’t need to. It’s not “concrete,” it’s “enzyme-bonded concrete,” and Hamilton is going to tell you that 33 goddamn times (I counted).
You’re never going to run out of books, even if you’re the fastest reader to ever live and reading is all you do. So, to me, the quality of a book always tops the quantity of it. I’ll take a great novella over a good 500-page book every time. Thus, the one thing that Hamilton seems to excel at, pure volume, isn’t a selling point to me. Instead it’s another flaw in a work that already has many other problems. Go read the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, or the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, they’re both superior to The Commonwealth Saga, which, while not offensively bad, has a lot wrong with it, and does not at all justify its massive length. 2/5.
So why didn’t I just drop it? At first what was driving me to complete this behemoth-sized slog was the question of whether or not Peter F. Hamilton knew what the hell he was doing. Did he set off to write a massive book, or did it just get away from him somehow? But by the end I think it was intentional—there are just too many segments that could easily have been excised if Hamilton wanted to, so he evidently didn’t. I’m left to conclude that Peter F. Hamilton cannot write a character or a relationship to save his life, but he does have the ability to write ten pages where one would do just fine. And, apparently, he’s found a market for that. This led me to the question that got me over the finish line with this book, and that I continue to think about: Why does such a market exist? What is the mindset of someone who would rather have 1,000 pages of mediocrity rather than 100?
I don’t have an answer, but I’m convinced that I’ve phrased the question correctly, as The Commonwealth Saga is undeniably mediocre. I initially thought that the prologue was well-crafted in how it made the characters unlikable (for a purpose, I thought). But these aren’t throw-away characters, rather they are key figures for the rest of the book. With a cast of probably more than a hundred characters, next to none of them are likable, or interesting, or have any degree of depth, and absolutely none of them check all three boxes. Female characters are especially poorly handled. At least 50s pulp writers weren’t even trying to give their sex-object female characters depth; in contrast Hamilton is obviously trying to do so and fails embarrassingly. When Hamilton attempts to write relationships between these boring characters, the whole thing gets exponentially worse.
Peppered in among these poor characters and relationships are pages upon pages of pointless tangents. If you are able to somehow give a shit about the engine size of future trains, the operation of future hang gliding, garden design, a weekend-long political schmoozefest, the workings of a solar powered windmill, or how to balance electromuscles, with no real help from Hamilton, then (a) you may like The Commonwealth Saga, and (b) there may be something fundamentally wrong with your brain.
But it isn’t the pointless tangents that truly confuse me, what boggles my mind are the entire story threads, taking up hundreds of pages, which make so little contribution to the overall narrative such that they aren’t at all necessary. You want to portray the devastation of an alien invasion from the perspective of a character on the planet getting invaded? Fine. But Hamilton makes you read a hundred pages covering that character’s mid-life crisis on a different planet, moving to the planet that will later be invaded, adjusting to his new life, describing his family and his marital problems, and discussing his reputation in his new town before getting to the invasion that is the entire point of the character (the character does more things later, but all these actions could have been performed by a nameless engineer with no impact to the story). And there are multiple examples of Hamilton doing this. You may argue that reading all that background makes you sympathize with the character, but Hamilton isn’t a good enough writer to pull that off, and it was this that made me really question whether Hamilton knew what he was doing.
What is especially bizarre is that some of the pointless story threads are actually more interesting than the main story itself (which never rises above “okay,” and ends weaker than it started). Ozzie’s wandering of the paths and Paula’s attempts to catch the arms dealer Adam and the Guardians are more interesting than the main plot, and the former could have been rewritten only slightly and served as a solid standalone 300-page book (3 stars, probably). Instead it’s an extra book-worth of content in an already overlong volume.
Even when it comes to Hamilton’s world building, something a sci-fi author can make work even when they aren’t strong at writing characters or relationships, I found Hamilton disappointing. I don’t believe he bothered to fully think through the implications of man discovering wormhole technology. Apparently a working wormhole generator was whipped up by two university grad students using centuries-old equipment, yet in the book’s time period a single company has a monopoly on the technology, and no one has jury-rigged their own? Not even the terrorist organization with supply-line problems build one to help transport their contraband goods? It’s not the biggest problem, but it’s emblematic of how, if you think too much about almost any sci-fi element of The Commonwealth Saga, it doesn't make sense. To quote a salient passage: “Paula wanted to point out flaws, it seemed such a bizarre notion, not one you should depend on to bring a hundred-thirty-year-old crusade to its climax; but she didn’t know enough about the procedures Johansson had dreamed up. It just had to be taken on faith.”
This review is already quite long, I don’t want to replicate Hamilton’s mistake, but a few more points I feel obliged to make:
• The aliens aren’t very alien, one character even saying “they ain’t that different.”
• Apparently no one recognizes the most infamous terrorist of the past several hundred years, even though he seems to spend most of his time hanging out in restaurants and cafes.
• The writing is largely functional, but, again, Hamilton always adds more words even when he doesn’t need to. It’s not “concrete,” it’s “enzyme-bonded concrete,” and Hamilton is going to tell you that 33 goddamn times (I counted).
You’re never going to run out of books, even if you’re the fastest reader to ever live and reading is all you do. So, to me, the quality of a book always tops the quantity of it. I’ll take a great novella over a good 500-page book every time. Thus, the one thing that Hamilton seems to excel at, pure volume, isn’t a selling point to me. Instead it’s another flaw in a work that already has many other problems. Go read the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, or the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, they’re both superior to The Commonwealth Saga, which, while not offensively bad, has a lot wrong with it, and does not at all justify its massive length. 2/5.
March 12, 2017
What can I say about this story. It was amazing. I was immersed in the lives of all of these characters from the Commonwealth for quite a few weeks. It was a lengthy and well written story.
I have often wondered what living "forever" would do to people and how far we would advance with wormhole technology and terraforming many different worlds for human life. The adaption to these different environments was thoughtful and created a diverse civilization of humans.
Living with implanted memory cells and enhancing cyber-ware was the norm in almost every character and were essential to every day living in the Commonwealth. That was cool.
The threat of human extinction from aliens that could not be reasoned with, or even communicated to properly with, was scary and riveting at the same time.
The different story lines all came together brilliantly in the ending of this masterpiece. If you like technology, aliens and new worlds, murder mysteries and a taste of how life in a intergalactic Commonwealth would be, take some time and travel across the universe in this really exciting read.
I have often wondered what living "forever" would do to people and how far we would advance with wormhole technology and terraforming many different worlds for human life. The adaption to these different environments was thoughtful and created a diverse civilization of humans.
Living with implanted memory cells and enhancing cyber-ware was the norm in almost every character and were essential to every day living in the Commonwealth. That was cool.
The threat of human extinction from aliens that could not be reasoned with, or even communicated to properly with, was scary and riveting at the same time.
The different story lines all came together brilliantly in the ending of this masterpiece. If you like technology, aliens and new worlds, murder mysteries and a taste of how life in a intergalactic Commonwealth would be, take some time and travel across the universe in this really exciting read.
April 21, 2017
This is diarrhea of the purest quality. You'll get everything: 1-dimensional characters, pretty women everywhere, overlong and unoriginal subplots that lead nowhere, complete lack of originality in the main story, failure in building a credible futuristic background, and — of course — a complete absence of literary style.
December 9, 2021
Unnescarry character development for minor characters. Too many characters, Couldn't keep track of the characters. SEX!!! Too much SEX. Oh my god, the many ways he describes SEX!!! The book could have been half the size.
January 23, 2021
3.5★
Pandora's Star -4.5★
Judas Unchained -3★
(Read the omnibus,2-in-one version)
Pandora's Star -4.5★
Judas Unchained -3★
(Read the omnibus,2-in-one version)
May 3, 2021
Started litening to this on Audiobook after a recommendation from Media Death Cult on Youtube.
I very much enjoyed the scope of the world-building and the well considered consequences of certain technologies within the story. Definitely makes you think about how the same consequences in our current era affect our behaviour as a species, for good or for ill.
There were a couple of stand-out characters in the series and most of the characters were well written and fleshed out (not surprising given the page count). I would say that most of the characters were pre-occupied with sex to a degree that bordered on perverse at times although, again, given the setting it maybe isn't surprising but still note-worthy.
The "big bad" of the Saga was brilliantly handled, a foe that definitely intended most unpleasant outcomes for our protagonists but was in a very understandable position to justify said outcomes.
All in all a very enjoyable Duology that was intricate but not a difficult read.
Either book on it's own may have been a 4 but together they are a 5.
I very much enjoyed the scope of the world-building and the well considered consequences of certain technologies within the story. Definitely makes you think about how the same consequences in our current era affect our behaviour as a species, for good or for ill.
There were a couple of stand-out characters in the series and most of the characters were well written and fleshed out (not surprising given the page count). I would say that most of the characters were pre-occupied with sex to a degree that bordered on perverse at times although, again, given the setting it maybe isn't surprising but still note-worthy.
The "big bad" of the Saga was brilliantly handled, a foe that definitely intended most unpleasant outcomes for our protagonists but was in a very understandable position to justify said outcomes.
All in all a very enjoyable Duology that was intricate but not a difficult read.
Either book on it's own may have been a 4 but together they are a 5.
August 24, 2017
This book takes a long time to start. I mean a long. time. There are lots and lots of characters and the author does not fill in the historical timelines completely as the characters progress in the story. However, with that said, it takes time to build an entire universe. There are lots of ideas in this book that sci-fans have seen in other books. Wormholes, aliens, AI etc. And, you either like these themes or you don't. Instead of having one main protagonist, you follow several different characters at the same time...who start out seemingly unrelated to each other but come together nicely as the book's central problem is revealed/developed.
~ in progress :)
~ in progress :)
January 23, 2016
I'm reviewing the saga, not the individual books, the cliff hanger at the end of the first one makes it impossible not to read the whole thing.
The number of subplots and characters is daunting, and that's what made this such a great read, they're all interesting and even if at first you don't see a connection to the main plot, there'll be one.
The commonwealth universe is plausible, rich and detailed.
It's a long read, but an epic one.
The number of subplots and characters is daunting, and that's what made this such a great read, they're all interesting and even if at first you don't see a connection to the main plot, there'll be one.
The commonwealth universe is plausible, rich and detailed.
It's a long read, but an epic one.
October 15, 2017
again...those endings of Hamilton...too short, too suggestive. Though nowhere nearly as excruciating as the end of the Night's dawn trilogy, this saga too has some very cut-off endings.. Though self-explanatory, I would have wanted endings that are more spun out, not merely suggestions what is going to happen. Give me the total demise of the Prime!!! ;-) (love the psychological touch of the 'brooding' though. That was brilliant!)
November 26, 2018
It's really hard to read, but once you've got to the interesting parts, about 300 pages in, you can't stop.
January 11, 2019
Loved it. Very smart sci fi
December 17, 2024
I was only a short way in to an audiobook of this when I realised I'd once read the dead-tree version. But perhaps that was all to the good -- I remembered some arresting scenes from this immense SF blockbuster and was keen to revisit them. That, and the fact that I didn't have to lift the thing, for Peter F. Hamilton tends to write at great length, and this book offered more than 70 hours of interstellar romps as I walked the dogs and did the daily round. That doesn't mean he can't write short stories when he wants to. I once commissioned a very short story from him, and the result, The Forever Kitten, is a delight. Reading it again now, I can see that it's a kind of prequel to Pandora's Star. This is a picture of humanity a few centuries hence when humans are kept forever young, and potentially immortal, by rejuvenation therapy. Those humans who can afford it, though, because society is dominated by a few 'Grand Families' and 'Intersolar Dynasties' that control what appears to be a stable plutocracy. As the story opens, humans have colonised hundreds of worlds, each linked -- by railways! -- through stable wormholes invented in the 21st century by two Californian techno-geeks. That's when an astronomer on a backwater human planet spots a Dyson Sphere enclosing a faraway star. An expedition is sent to investigate, the Dyson Sphere mysteriously dematerialises, and all hell is let loose (the enclosed star is the Pandora's box to which the title alludes). But there is a lot more to this story than that. Sure, there are enough space battles to sate the appetite of any space-opera fan, but there are also scads of sex, often taking place between impossibly beautiful people in luxurious and meticulously described interiors (Peter F. Hamilton must be the Jackie Collins of SF); lots of violent action; fabulously realised adventure sequences; suitably weird aliens; tortuous political intrigue; and a detective element that's almost noir, featuring the genetically modified super-sleuth Paula Myo, who always gets her man, except in the one case that's eluded her for nearly two centuries. Immersive SF fun for everyone.
May 31, 2018
Whew that was a long one. Overall, I enjoyed it, but definitely some parts more than others. There were sections that held my interest and went fast, then other sections (political maneuvering mostly) that dragged on forever and almost made me put the book down for good. But I was hooked to those few good moments that I liked, mainly the Silfen paths and Ozzie's journey. I also liked the descriptions of MorninglightMountain which caught my attention as a fairly unique life-form but after a rather brief history and a few scenes involving some of it's thought processes it disappeared and became just a formless threat. And then at the very end when the Starflyer was revealed and engaged I was pretty underwhelmed by it all. I expected something completely different and what I got was , well, boring. It didn't help that the final battle was very drawn out and difficult to follow culminating in an incredibly unsatisfying conclusion. As I said, I enjoyed most of this book, but it wasn't all great.
September 22, 2024
It's truly a Saga. These books are BIG. If you can't stand world building, politics, and random adventures which have seemingly no meaning (we love you Ozzie), then this will be a hard read.
I have read this book at least a dozen times.
God dammit I absolutely love every character in these novels. Their unique backgrounds, their individual talents, their humanity, and fuck me the raw power of the group when they exist together.
You learn about the characters in their individual settings, and through their own story, then BAM. They are together saving the world.
The Commonwealth universe is outstanding, a world where you can easily see how humanity would get there. Every story told in this universe is fantastic and unique. And so creative, Peter is a true sci-fi visionary.
The best bit? THESE CHARACTERS CONTINUE TO EXIST IN THE NEXT STORY HELLO??? There's something so cool about knowing the history and capabilities of a character when they pop in to a new story line, becuase you followed their story 1000 years ago???
I have read this book at least a dozen times.
God dammit I absolutely love every character in these novels. Their unique backgrounds, their individual talents, their humanity, and fuck me the raw power of the group when they exist together.
You learn about the characters in their individual settings, and through their own story, then BAM. They are together saving the world.
The Commonwealth universe is outstanding, a world where you can easily see how humanity would get there. Every story told in this universe is fantastic and unique. And so creative, Peter is a true sci-fi visionary.
The best bit? THESE CHARACTERS CONTINUE TO EXIST IN THE NEXT STORY HELLO??? There's something so cool about knowing the history and capabilities of a character when they pop in to a new story line, becuase you followed their story 1000 years ago???
June 9, 2021
Really fun book to get immersed in.
I really enjoyed the complex world building. Always get drawn into rich fantastic environments and I like consistent logic. Also, lots of really good action built in. One tip for reading this is that if a certain description of some piece of technology or alien landscape or plant or something bogs you down just skim it. You won't get punished for it.
One thing I really think should have been edited out was in the end of the story where the pay off is coming together and your flipping pages really quickly he really shouldn't have done more world building or introducing random technologies. It seemed to taper off as you went further into the book which makes sense as plot starts to take over but at the end when all the strings start hitting the same ending he had some random superfluous plants to describe or how some pants worked and it was kind of hilarious and dumb. By then my skimming sense was pretty good so I just glossed over quickly.
Also, some of the sex scenes were a bit cringe but you can gloss over those too and they don't take up that many words.
Anyways though. Really recommend if you like sci fi related to technological philosophy stuff but also fun cheesy action.
I really enjoyed the complex world building. Always get drawn into rich fantastic environments and I like consistent logic. Also, lots of really good action built in. One tip for reading this is that if a certain description of some piece of technology or alien landscape or plant or something bogs you down just skim it. You won't get punished for it.
One thing I really think should have been edited out was in the end of the story where the pay off is coming together and your flipping pages really quickly he really shouldn't have done more world building or introducing random technologies. It seemed to taper off as you went further into the book which makes sense as plot starts to take over but at the end when all the strings start hitting the same ending he had some random superfluous plants to describe or how some pants worked and it was kind of hilarious and dumb. By then my skimming sense was pretty good so I just glossed over quickly.
Also, some of the sex scenes were a bit cringe but you can gloss over those too and they don't take up that many words.
Anyways though. Really recommend if you like sci fi related to technological philosophy stuff but also fun cheesy action.
June 4, 2022
This was my first audiobook epic (over 120 hours for the two books) and first book by Peter F. Hamilton. Based on the hefty number listening hours / pages per book, I was expecting perhaps to become bored part way through, but wow, what an ride - absolutely loved it from start to finish. Every time I picked up my headphones I was transported into a blockbuster and couldn't wait see what unfolded next.
Enjoyed so much I started on The Dreaming Void series.
Enjoyed so much I started on The Dreaming Void series.
July 27, 2021
Excellent storytelling! I thoroughly enjoyed the pacing, character development, and all of the interesting twists and turns as the story developed. The Commonwealth Saga delivered beyond expectations. (Note: when reading the combined volume, do not read the blurb for book 2 before completing book 1, it has plot spoilers for book one.)
July 4, 2022
At times it was a fun read but in the end felt superficial and too full of all too convenient plot twists and deus ex machina
Read
February 1, 2023Just too long.
July 6, 2025
Just moved waaaay too slow.
July 27, 2025
Loved multiverse trains
Lost me a little on the second book through the travels of iggy
Lost me a little on the second book through the travels of iggy
August 2, 2020
The 90s Never Ended in the Commonwealth
This book has an interesting premise, but it's oddly trashy. Imagine a Tolstoy who worked at the National Enquirer for thirty years before trying to write Space Opera War and Peace. So many of the characters are Donald Trump writ variously small and large. I don't know if that was a deliberate choice on the part of the author--that is, if it was done ironically to demonstrate the cultural debasement that would result from 300+ years of unfettered capitalism--or if it's an effect of the time when the books were written / a reflection of the author's personality.
The setting is fascinating in that it posits a sociopolitical stasis from the late 20th century until well into the 3rd millennium. That makes a degree of sense, as radical life extension technology seems to have rapidly diffused starting in the mid-21st century, so there's a much lower rate of population turnover. (As the old saying goes, progress occurs one funeral at a time.) The effect is that, in this world, Fukuyama was right about the end of history: the human race peacefully coalesced into a interstellar plutocratic semi-democracy in the Clintonian mold which continued and expanded for hundreds of years.
The political economy of the Commonwealth is fascinating in that, although all of the same corporations are still around (you can buy a 23-whatever Ford) it's dominated by a number of pseudo-aristocratic families, whose vampire-like founders lived in the right place and time to take full advantage of life-extension (which rather empowered compound interest and rendered estate taxes obsolete). The result is a late-medieval scenario of a theoretically powerful (democratishly elected) executive that is constrained by a powerful, semi-autonomous aristocracy. Nevertheless, most of the population appears to be affluent enough to tolerate this concentration of wealth--or at least they're content enough to not risk doing anything about it, as evidenced by the existence of exactly one socialist in the universe (it really is still the 90s).
The real flaw of the books is that, having created this fairly plausible setting, the author doesn't explore that happens when it's subjected to a stress test. That's a telling scene about midway through books in which a Commonwealth war council is debating what single-digit percentage of their GDP the government should commit to the war effort--with heads of families threatening to pull up stakes and take their dynasties to the far end of the galaxy if their taxes go up--while the hive-minded enemy is evidently dedicating a large majority of its (probably larger) productive capacity to its war machine. They never pay for their myopic complacency. There is no knock-down, drag out war of attrition, of mass battles and mass death; the human race is saved by a superweapon developed in short order by an ingenious entrepreneur. (This doesn't even make thematic sense: if you're trying to highlight the advantages of an open society vs. a literal hive mind, at least make that society an actual meritocracy of talent rather than a plutocratic oligarchy!) I suppose there's a kind of nostalgia to that sort of optimism, but now we all know that the 90's ethos couldn't survive its own contradictions, much less an invasion by the Primes, and so the resolution rings hollow. That said, Ozzie's chapters were fun and worth reading.
This book has an interesting premise, but it's oddly trashy. Imagine a Tolstoy who worked at the National Enquirer for thirty years before trying to write Space Opera War and Peace. So many of the characters are Donald Trump writ variously small and large. I don't know if that was a deliberate choice on the part of the author--that is, if it was done ironically to demonstrate the cultural debasement that would result from 300+ years of unfettered capitalism--or if it's an effect of the time when the books were written / a reflection of the author's personality.
The setting is fascinating in that it posits a sociopolitical stasis from the late 20th century until well into the 3rd millennium. That makes a degree of sense, as radical life extension technology seems to have rapidly diffused starting in the mid-21st century, so there's a much lower rate of population turnover. (As the old saying goes, progress occurs one funeral at a time.) The effect is that, in this world, Fukuyama was right about the end of history: the human race peacefully coalesced into a interstellar plutocratic semi-democracy in the Clintonian mold which continued and expanded for hundreds of years.
The political economy of the Commonwealth is fascinating in that, although all of the same corporations are still around (you can buy a 23-whatever Ford) it's dominated by a number of pseudo-aristocratic families, whose vampire-like founders lived in the right place and time to take full advantage of life-extension (which rather empowered compound interest and rendered estate taxes obsolete). The result is a late-medieval scenario of a theoretically powerful (democratishly elected) executive that is constrained by a powerful, semi-autonomous aristocracy. Nevertheless, most of the population appears to be affluent enough to tolerate this concentration of wealth--or at least they're content enough to not risk doing anything about it, as evidenced by the existence of exactly one socialist in the universe (it really is still the 90s).
The real flaw of the books is that, having created this fairly plausible setting, the author doesn't explore that happens when it's subjected to a stress test. That's a telling scene about midway through books in which a Commonwealth war council is debating what single-digit percentage of their GDP the government should commit to the war effort--with heads of families threatening to pull up stakes and take their dynasties to the far end of the galaxy if their taxes go up--while the hive-minded enemy is evidently dedicating a large majority of its (probably larger) productive capacity to its war machine. They never pay for their myopic complacency. There is no knock-down, drag out war of attrition, of mass battles and mass death; the human race is saved by a superweapon developed in short order by an ingenious entrepreneur. (This doesn't even make thematic sense: if you're trying to highlight the advantages of an open society vs. a literal hive mind, at least make that society an actual meritocracy of talent rather than a plutocratic oligarchy!) I suppose there's a kind of nostalgia to that sort of optimism, but now we all know that the 90's ethos couldn't survive its own contradictions, much less an invasion by the Primes, and so the resolution rings hollow. That said, Ozzie's chapters were fun and worth reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 18, 2020A well filled universe painted with colourful language. Easy to read, yet filled with details. It's like visiting your grandpa in the future, the stay is cosy and interesting, but in the end it drags out a tiny bit too long.
August 13, 2015
love long books
September 5, 2015
Un peu décu par la fin. Dommage pour un cycle de 4 gros bouquins.Sinon, en effet c'est très bien dans le genre de SF, cohérent et tout. Mais la fin… :(
January 29, 2016
not too boring, not too exciting - very nice "go-to-bed" lecture :)
June 11, 2015
Great story. Predictable and rather weak ending
June 14, 2015
thought provoking, deep, well written
April 21, 2017
Uno de los libros de Scifi mas interesantes que he leido este año. El comienzo es bastante pesado y dificil de digerir, pero luego de unas paginas comienzan a tomar forma el plot y vas teniendo una idea mas clara del universo en donde se refleja esta historia, haciendote leer solo unas paginas mas para poder saber que mas ocurrira.
Una lastima que esta saga solo sean 2 libros, realmente me gustaron los personajes y queria seguir leyendo mas sobre ellos.
Una lastima que esta saga solo sean 2 libros, realmente me gustaron los personajes y queria seguir leyendo mas sobre ellos.
January 3, 2018
Absolutely fabulous. Took a break between books one and two as they are a very detailed and absorbing read. It is one of those books where you find yourself dragging out the last few chapters to remain in the book and with the story.
The character are believable and the science almost understandable, and the concurrent story lines so enthralling.
This is the second large space opera style book I have read by this author and I continue to be a fan. You just have give yourself time and no pun intended “space” to read it. So it took several holidays to finish. Just Fab!
The character are believable and the science almost understandable, and the concurrent story lines so enthralling.
This is the second large space opera style book I have read by this author and I continue to be a fan. You just have give yourself time and no pun intended “space” to read it. So it took several holidays to finish. Just Fab!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews