Judas Unchained

By: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 40 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Peter F. Hamilton's superbly imagined, cunningly plotted interstellar adventures are conceived on a staggeringly epic scale and filled with fully realized human and alien characters as complex as they are engaging. No mere world builder, Hamilton creates entire universes - and he does so with irresistible flair and intelligence.

His previous novel, the acclaimed Pandora's Star, introduced the Intersolar Commonwealth, a star-spanning civilization of the 24th century. Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy.

Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next.

Nor are the Prime the only threat. For more than 100 years, a shadowy cult, the Guardians of Selfhood, has warned that an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist - the Starflyer - has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth. Branded as terrorists, the Guardians and their leader, Bradley Johansson, have been hunted by relentless investigator Paula Myo. But now evidence suggests that the Guardians were right all along and that the Starflyer has placed agents in vital posts throughout the Commonwealth - agents who are now sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage?

Caught between two deadly enemies, one a brutal invader striking from without, the other a remorseless cancer killing from within, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before. This will be humanity's finest hour - or its last gasp.

©2006 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"For flat-out huge widescreen all-engines-at-full I-dare-you-not-to-believe-it space opera, there is no one quite like Peter F. Hamilton." (Richard K. Morgan, author of Market Forces)
"Richly satisfying.... In more ways than one, this...work is monumental." ( Publishers Weekly)

Good but long. <br />

Good hard core Sci fi but way too many characters to keep track of. The story was sometimes hard to follow but overall it was a good book. you definitely get your monies worth. I feel like I just conquered mount everest.

Better than Pandora. Would make a dynamic movie!

Would you consider the audio edition of Judas Unchained to be better than the print version?

The audio had technical difficulties. My download would seem to, after a pause, increase on it's own to uncomfortable volume. Enough that I had to turn it down. Then it would be too low and I would have to turn it up. It was not my i-pod it did the same when I played it on my computer.

What did you like best about this story?

So much is going on. The 'visual' stimulation is phenomenal and creative. It is most definitely thought provoking. But I did need to listen to it twice. I plan on going through the series a third time. I seem to get more each time.

Have you listened to any of John Lee’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Not sure. Again there is an auditory issue after he takes a break.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Riveting. Cohesive twists that puts the pieces together and you didn't know they were apart.

Any additional comments?

Looking forward to seeing the movie and listening to book 3

Wonderful story but the narrator is horrible.

Would you listen to Judas Unchained again? Why?

I'll listen to it again, because the story is so good. The narrator should never read another audio book ever again though.

What didn’t you like about John Lee’s performance?

John Lee is an awful narrator. One of the worst I have EVER heard. The volume levels are all over the place - the audio is either too low to hear or in some parts it blows your ear drums. His voice is VERY boring and lacks emotion. The production quality of the recording is very bad also. At one point there was so much background noise I thought the narrator was doing dishes or something. John Lee sucks.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Dune meets Firefly

Any additional comments?

Please please please never let John Lee narrate anything...... EVER. He took such a fantastic book and made it mediocre. Shame on you John Lee. You read this book like its an obituary.

loved it

loved it I've listened to it twice now, Peter F Hamilton had become one of my favorite authors because of these books

I misjudged the first book

Would you consider the audio edition of Judas Unchained to be better than the print version?

I gave the first book in the series a lukewarm review mostly because I did not realize there was second book and after 28 hours, I wanted a resolution. Hamilton goes to great lengths...like Turtledove...to develop his characters. They are so complex and the story line so twisted that you never really know where the truth is at any one time. Nothing is as it seems and after finishing this 2nd book, I can appreciate why the author took us on this convoluted route to the conclusion. My advise is to sit back and enjoy the landscape that Hamilton creates for you. His attention to detail is amazing....so much I am not sure how he keeps it all straight. Every scene is painted in detail, which could be seen as annoying but really ends up immersing you in the characters and the storyline.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ozzie.....hands down....and the clone detective

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Wilson's awakening with the Sylvan

I could listen to John Lee all day.

Any additional comments?

Oh yeah, and the story was good too. Seriously, this is one of Hamilton's best stories. Exploring several possible outcomes of emergent technologies, and keeping my interest level consistently high. Very good stuff.

Judas unchained

Enthralling and Entertaining. I would heartily recommend this book and series to anyone who is interested in exploration of the human condition.

Wow...just wow

loved it. ..what a great pair of books. Great performance in the narration. A+ well done!

the end to a long but good story

I finally heard all of it. between the two books, it was loooong, but I had to hear the end of the story. This is the end of the story begun in Pandora's Star. Like it, the narrator was good but had terrible sound mixing in that the volume was all over the place from very quiet (almost inaudible) to quiet loud... needing frequent manual regulation of the volume while I listened to it.

It is a good story, and most of the characters' loose ends are tied up by the end of the story. I am not going to tell you how it turns out, but I liked it ;)

One thing to consider... IF you are a sensitive listener and are easily offended by sex scenes and/or swearing, there are parts of these books which may bother you. Some of the characters swear a lot... and morality is different in the world the author describes.

Just so ya know .

Good long story; women OK not great

I enjoyed how Hamilton tied in so many ideas with all the characters and worlds and whatnot. I actually LIKE how the narration just flows from one scene to the next, and it is actually less monotone then I would think for reading 70 hours of the same story. The narrator changes how he says the name of a lake he has been talking about for the last book and s half partway through which was weird and there's the occasional misplaced emphasis, but like I said, not bad at all for 70 hours!The thing that lees me from giving it a 5 is that even with all these pages and this time the female characters are all just a little lacking. I can tell Hamilton is trying for strong women, which I appreciate, but all the main action/power players really are men. The women--all have some "reason" they are special and cool: Genetics/family power/sex appeal etc. He doesn't even bother to tell you what happens to one of the main women at the very end. After 70 hours I want a wrap up for everyone. I felt like he just got too tired to care by the end. Or maybe his editor made him cut it. Anyhow, I did enjoy it, but this bothered me when it was all over.