OK. Page 88 is enough.
So, I picked up Peter F. Hamilton’s “Pandora’s Star” at Hastings the other day. The prologue was an interesting little vignette, a bit abrupt for a short story.
I just finished chapter three (3), and I can’t tell you how many short stories there have been in these 88 pages. And I do not care for the book. 88 pages, out of 988, is more than enough for me to be sure - I can trash or trade this book and never miss it. I have no interest in finishing the book.
This story (collection?) is science fiction. I can’t tell if the world-building is consistent or entertaining - the story skips from wold to world so rapidly, that there are myriad snippets about this character on that world.
I should have realized what kind of dry, social agenda-related, redeeming social value package I picked up. I mean, right there on the cover Nancy Pearl commends the book, writing for National Public Radio, “Should be high on everyone’s reading list … you won’t be able to put it down.” I do not listen to NPR, nor have I heard of Nancy Pearl.
Hamilton has been writing a long time, I can recall seeing a number of his titles, so I know there are people that enjoy what he writes. Evidently I am not one of those people. If someone that enjoys Peter F. Hamilton novels, please leave a list of other authors you enjoy in the comments. I can be wary about buying books from those authors, too.
There is a story line. Probably. It may take reading the whole book to discover where the start was, or understand the progression - but I don’t care enough to find out. Hamilton is casual about killing characters. There are many, many bit-characters, instances of George Carlin’s infamous “I told you that story so I could tell you this one.”
I guess this joins my short pile of books I didn’t care to finish. I know others have enjoyed “Household Gods” by Judith Tarr. But. I found the historical accuracy and details of living cross-time in barbaric Rome, but I found the story line (you know, the people acting and striving and contending and experiencing) overwhelmed. Occasionally a book that I don’t care for seems interesting after six months or three years. Most of my novels are appealing at any time, some few only rarely appealing. I am not interested in this book enough to score it on the ‘maybe later’ scale.
And, no, I don’t anticipate picking up “Judas Unchained.” the conclusion of this author’s sequence.