- Mass Market Paperback: 1024 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey Books; Reprint edition (27 Mar 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345461673
- ISBN-13: 978-0345461674
- Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 3.6 x 17.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,364,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Judas Unchained: Part Two of the Commonwealth Saga
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Reviews
Peter F. Hamilton's flair for huge, star-spanning SF adventures continues with Judas Unchained. This concludes the single long novel--over 1,800 pages in all--whose first half is Pandora’s Star.
Humanity's interstellar Commonwealth is in serious trouble. Thirteen of its hundreds of worlds (linked by wormholes and high-speed trains) were lost to a first mass attack by the insanely hostile alien Primes. The controlling Prime intelligence, MorningLightMountain, can imagine no way of dealing with first contact but genocide--and has the resources to do it.
Amid political and personal chaos, it's becoming clear that the war was arranged by a third party. For centuries, only the fanatical, outlawed Guardians cult believed in this mysterious influence called the Starflyer. New evidence emerges, only to vanish again. Key figures are destroyed by near-invincible assassins crammed with inbuilt "wetwired" weaponry. One determined detective is on the track, but she faces massive political opposition.
The multi-stranded action follows many criss-crossing human stories, with fights, pursuits, quests, deaths, resurrections, exotic landscapes and armaments, good sex, and several interesting aliens. Betrayals are frequent, thanks to brainwashed Starflyer agents in positions of trust. Only the Guardians have a scheme to deal with the Starflyer itself--a grandiose strategy known as "the planet's revenge"--but no one trusts those crazy cultists…
In space, the arms race becomes dizzying, with Prime doomsday weapons used against suns while frantic human research leads to "quantumbusters" so appalling that there's serious moral debate about their use. Can we face the guilt of total genocide, even against a horror like MorningLightMountain? Or is there some way to force this psychopathic genie back into the bottle?
The action climaxes in a long, exhilarating chase sequence spiced with ultra-violent skirmishing as the Starflyer comes into the open at last. Stormgliding, an extreme sport introduced in book one, becomes vital to the race against time. Meanwhile, rival starships with different plans chase one another to the Prime system. Hamilton delivers the expected multiple payoffs with suitable pyrotechnics and a satisfying scatter of happy endings. A long, colourful, suspenseful example of modern British space opera. --David Langford --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"'The best book Hamilton has written in years' GUARDIAN 'Anyone who begins this won't be able to put it down... Hamilton proves that "intelligent space opera" isn't an oxymoron' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm a Yank, and, having read Pandora's Star a few months earlier, I simply could not wait for the American edition to finally come out on February 28, 2006. So I bought Judas Unchained as soon as it was first published, directly from the UK. (You Brits are fortunate to have this fine author so conveniently at hand!)
I'm glad I didn't wait. The many charcters and very complex storylines begun in Pandora's Star are difficult to hold in one's mind for months on end. These two books are essentially one very long novel, with many parallel plot lines through which Hamilton rotates. I strongly recommend that people read them in (of course) the proper order, and one right after the other. As it was, I had some difficulty recalling who several of the protagonists were, and I had become vague about some of the events depicted in Pandora's Star as well. But I hasten to say that my problems in this regard were not the fault of Peter F. Hamilton, but more a matter of my aging mind's somewhat declining memory capacity. (I did have a compensating pleasure as I finally remembered various events and characters.) Do be forewarned: These are complex novels, so reading them straight through is probably best for all readers.
As for what happens in Judas Unchained, I will only say that all the storylines of Pandora's Star are appropriately and logically resolved. Hamilton has put even more of his rollicking, gee-whiz action into this concluding book, and the ending of the saga is both intellectually and emotionally satisfying. These two volumes are "space opera" at its very finest, and in the best sense of the term.
Hamilton just gets better with time. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.
34 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The first volume in the Commonwealth Saga, Pandora's Star, ended on a humdinger of a cliffhanger. The Commonwealth has been invaded by the alien Primes. 23 planets have been conquered, 30 million humans have died. The Commonwealth responds by building a huge fleet of warships and equipping them with new super-weapons, only to find the Primes responding with devastating weapons of their own. As both sides continue to up the ante, it becomes clear that the war can only end in the genocide of one species or the other. Meanwhile, key Commonwealth personnel have accepted the existence of the hostile alien Starflyer, which has orchestrated events for its own reasons. However, the number of Starflyer agents at large in the Commonwealth is far higher than was suspected and soon betrayals start piling up, culminating in a lengthy, exhausting chase sequence as the Starflyer is finally forced into the open and tries to flee to its crashed starship on Far Away. Elsewhere, Ozzie Isaacs' quest to find an alien intelligence which might be able to shed some light on the situation reaches a conclusion with some very unpalatable answers being revealed.
Judas Unchained is a fitting conclusion to the story begun in Pandora's Star. It carries on Hamilton's enviable talent for juggling multiple character viewpoints and complex storylines with flair and verve. Complaints are minor: the lengthy chase sequence with vehicles and running battles is perhaps a little too reminiscent of Hamilon's earlier work (particularly The Neutronium Alchemist) and the conclusion, although arguably more successful than the deus ex machina ending of The Night's Dawn Trilogy, leaves whole string of loose ends. These are minor threads only, but the vague sense of loose ends being deliberately left for Hamilton's next project, The Void Trilogy (which will be set in the same universe 1,000 years later), is slightly irritating.
But these are minor niggles. Judas Unchained cements Hamilton's place as the most readable and enjoyable SF writer working in the field today.
Judas Unchained is a fitting conclusion to the story begun in Pandora's Star. It carries on Hamilton's enviable talent for juggling multiple character viewpoints and complex storylines with flair and verve. Complaints are minor: the lengthy chase sequence with vehicles and running battles is perhaps a little too reminiscent of Hamilon's earlier work (particularly The Neutronium Alchemist) and the conclusion, although arguably more successful than the deus ex machina ending of The Night's Dawn Trilogy, leaves whole string of loose ends. These are minor threads only, but the vague sense of loose ends being deliberately left for Hamilton's next project, The Void Trilogy (which will be set in the same universe 1,000 years later), is slightly irritating.
But these are minor niggles. Judas Unchained cements Hamilton's place as the most readable and enjoyable SF writer working in the field today.
42 of 45 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Despite reading a lot of it, I'm not actually a massive fan of Sci-fi, especially Space Opera. Although as a genre it's produced some greats (for example, Clarke, Brunner, Dick and Bear), the vast majority is easy-reading brain candy which helps me relax after a long day at work without making me think.
I've read a fair amount of Peter F Hamilton with this in mind - I wasn't overly smitten with the 'Night's Dawn' Trilogy, and Fallen Dragon was also very ho-hum. The first book in this series, 'Pandora's Star' was interesting enough to make me look forward to the sequel, but I still wasn't singing it's praises.
Judas Unchained starts unexceptionally enough with the usual SciFi and Fantasy staple of two dense pages naming the major characters and then the plot gets cracking.
About four hundred pages in I realised something. Despite dozens, if not hundreds of named characters and at least a half-dozen seperate plot threads which cross and weave at no point had I got confused as to who was who, what was going on or where the story was. As a feat of storytelling and authorial skill this is remarkable.
I've never doubted Hamilton's imagination, but in the past his writing has left much to be desired. With Judas Unchained he seems to have overcome his former limitations and this book is, undeniably, the work of a tremendous writer at absolutely the top of his game. Yes, there are criticisms. Other reviewers have pointed out that his characterisation of women is poor and that is his big weakness as a writer. Beyond that, though, Judas Unchained is a remarkable work of the imagination and of writing and whatever your views of SF, this is a book I'd heartily recommend.
Five Stars.
I've read a fair amount of Peter F Hamilton with this in mind - I wasn't overly smitten with the 'Night's Dawn' Trilogy, and Fallen Dragon was also very ho-hum. The first book in this series, 'Pandora's Star' was interesting enough to make me look forward to the sequel, but I still wasn't singing it's praises.
Judas Unchained starts unexceptionally enough with the usual SciFi and Fantasy staple of two dense pages naming the major characters and then the plot gets cracking.
About four hundred pages in I realised something. Despite dozens, if not hundreds of named characters and at least a half-dozen seperate plot threads which cross and weave at no point had I got confused as to who was who, what was going on or where the story was. As a feat of storytelling and authorial skill this is remarkable.
I've never doubted Hamilton's imagination, but in the past his writing has left much to be desired. With Judas Unchained he seems to have overcome his former limitations and this book is, undeniably, the work of a tremendous writer at absolutely the top of his game. Yes, there are criticisms. Other reviewers have pointed out that his characterisation of women is poor and that is his big weakness as a writer. Beyond that, though, Judas Unchained is a remarkable work of the imagination and of writing and whatever your views of SF, this is a book I'd heartily recommend.
Five Stars.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Highly Recomend
This is the sequal to Pandora's Star. It's a bit faster paced than the first book and it ties up all the loose ends with plenty of twists along the way. Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. Axelson
If you are a Hamilton fan then you will probably like this
I personally think this book was seriously lacking something. While there were some great battles along the way I found that I got nearly to the end of this book and was wondering... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Dannystaples
Nice book
The book is well made, didn't have time to read it yet, but it looks great. That is what i wanted to say.
Published 4 months ago by Krzysztof
Overlong and dull for large portions
Don't get me wrong, at its heart there is a decent ( if somewhat familiar) story in Pandoras Star and Judas Unchained. Read more
Published 5 months ago by M. King
Great second and last book of the series
This book is the second and last of the Commonwealth Saga. It continues the story from Pandora's Star and is awesome. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Enthusiastic Student
Best one yet
For whatever reason, I connected the most with the characters and the plot in this book compared to other books by Peter F Hamilton. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Sharon
Happy customer
I got what I expected and it was on time. Although the parcel fell a part, the book was good as new.
Published 8 months ago by Roland
Loss of belief in the characters
Loved Pandora's Star, and loved the beginning of Judas Unchained.
However, somewhere around 2/3 of the way through Judas Unchained, I lost belief in the characters. Read more
However, somewhere around 2/3 of the way through Judas Unchained, I lost belief in the characters. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Mal_GT
Don't encourage him
I trudged through Pandora's Star, occasionally excited as to how this would all pan out, but mostly weary of the pointless, overblown and inane dressing/padding (Hamilton should... Read more
Published 10 months ago by The Great Attractor
Epic space opera at its best.
Ive been reading Peter Hamiltons books since he first released Mindstar rising. His books just get better and better. Read more
Published 11 months ago by D. J. Ketchin
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