The novel “Pandora’s Star” by Peter F. Hamilton was published for the first time in 2004. It’s the first book in the Commonwealth Saga.

When astronomer Dudley Bose discovers that two stars have disappeared, he sees the possibility of becoming famous in the Intersolar Commonwealth. Observations suggest that the stars have been surrounded by Dyson spheres, and this would indicate the presence of a sentient species.

The two stars are far beyond the borders of the Commonwealth, so there’s no wormhole nearby that allows humans to get there quickly. A starship capable of interstellar travel at speeds greater than the speed of light is designed to be sent to explore the area. Wilson Kime is one of the very few humans with experience in space travel even though his last trip was a few centuries earlier and he’s chosen to command the mission.

Technically, the first novel set in the Commonwealth fictional universe is “Misspent Youth” (2002), set from 2040. In this novel, some of the technologies still present in 2380, when “Pandora’s Star” begins, are introduced but you don’t need to read it. The protagonist Jeff Baker is mentioned and all the technologies are explained.

At the end of the 24th century, technologies that allow the creation of wormholes led to the colonization of over 600 planets by permanently connecting them. In that situation, the train is the most used means of transport because wormholes allow it to be used to make interstellar travel with the transport of people and goods.

The story of the mission to the two Dyson spheres represents a sort of backbone to which other stories connected to it are linked more or less closely. Peter F. Hamilton develops several subplots to offer a very complete vision of the Intersolar Commonwealth with many characters.

A subplot directly connected to the mission of the starship Second Chance concerns a terrorist group whose leader Bradley Johansson claims that there’s a conspiracy by aliens who infiltrated the institutions of the Commonwealth. An attempt to prevent the departure of the Second Chance is led by an associate of Johansson who has spent years fighting for socialism only to fall into disgrace within the Socialist Party after a sabotage had caused many victims.

This attack on the Second Chance is used to tie the subplot on the starship mission to the one about Paula Myo, the investigator who has been trying to capture Bradley Johansson for over a century. This part is a thriller, albeit with strong science fiction elements, in which the psychological side of some characters is also developed.

Paula Myo’s story also involves a mystery in a subplot where she has to investigate a murder in which the culprit used extremely advanced technologies to cover his tracks. This subplot is also used to introduce Mellanie, another character who becomes important later in the novel.

There’s even a subplot that has fantasy connotations in which Ozzie Isaac undertakes a quest in which he follows the Silfen, aliens who are compared to elves for their appearance. Like any quest, it’s also an inner journey but with connections with the rest of the novel.

This narrative structure offers a sophisticated plot that shows a rich fictional universe and allows for the development of important characters. Inevitably, it’s a choice that significantly lengthens the novel with parts that are very different from each other since they even seem to belong to different genres. The pace is also uneven since there are parts full of action and others much slower, even telling moments of daily life. This makes the appreciation and preference for one part or another very subjective.

Peter F. Hamilton generally writes very long novels and “Pandora’s Star” falls within his standards. Like many novels by this author, it’s not autonomous and in this case, it’s the first of two novels and ends with some important events that will continue in its sequel. For this reason, an overall judgment can only be given after reading both books, and for now I recommend it to readers who appreciate very long and complex stories. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.