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)

Continuing an unparalleled epic

Peter Hamilton's mind must be a huge supercomputer! The interweaving of personalities, alien races, plots and subplots is like reading a symphony written by one of the classics masters. This is the second half of The Pandora Star and should be read as such. The characters are richly developed, the story lines are well thought out and deep, and the mysteries are deeply thought provoking. It just doesn't get much better than this.

Excellent series.

I really enjoyed reading this series. Just enough technology to be believable, very complex plot, and great characters.

Master of science fiction

These books are entirely enthralling. Some might say Hamilton is too long winded in his descriptions, but for those people I would recommend Harry potter. If you live for good complex interesting science fiction, the commonwealth series is for you.

An epic continuation!

What did you love best about Judas Unchained?

That it continued on with the fantastic worlds of Pandora's Star

Any additional comments?

If you enjoyed Pandora's Star, then you'll love this... Aliens, wormholes, fights in space, sex, lies and all things in between! I honestly just wanted the book to keep going... but alas, all things must end.

Loved this audio book

This was a fantastic journey to get through these two books loved the series look forward to what is to come in the commonwealth saga.

Voice actors vs readers

Would you listen to another book narrated by John Lee?

Audiobook narrators come in two categories: readers and voice actors. Readers simply read the words on the page. Their voices quickly fall into a measured cadence, rising and falling according to the location of commas and periods. I can't help hearing the droning "wah wah wah" of the adults in a Peanuts cartoon. Readers generally anesthetize my brain cells.

Voice actors actually *perform* the text as a drama - not only modulating the inflection, emotion, and volume of their words, but often providing separate "voices" for each character. The major ones, anyway.

John Lee is a voice actor, and did an adequate job. I couldn't give him 5 stars, because he kept forgetting which "voice" to use with which character. For the most part, I didn't really care, but I was distracted by his portrayal of Ozzie. Either he's a hippie with Jamaican influences, or he's nondescript British. Annoying, that.

loved the series.

I loved this series it was recommended by a friend and I was not let down.

Excellent science fiction

I didn't like John Lee's reading of "A Feast for Crows" but his narration style seems much better suited for Peter F. Hamilton's characters. As a 2 book series, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained continue to ramp up the tension and conspiracies, and keep you locked on the page to see what happens next. The characters are well written, and you will find yourself cheering for them. His "Night's Dawn" trilogy is better than this one, but this new universe he has created is one you can believe in, and Hamilton has an uncanny talent for making technological innovations real.

Best sci fi since Dune series

Absolutely the best sci fi author since Frank Herbert. I can't say enough good things. I did almost fall off my treadmill during one of the goofy sex scenes I was laughing so hard. So I wouldn't let my kids listen to it, but I loved the book as a whole! Huge universe, immense cast, great dialogue, political intrigue, mysterious events. Amazing stuff. I'll be sad when I run out of Hamilton books.

Better than the first one

Extremely epic space opera here, very reminiscent of E.E. Doc Smith, but with more humor and sex. Titanic space battles, species ascending to godhood, space marines, alien menaces, and all your favorite stuff! Contrary to many people's opinion, this one is better than the first volume in the 2-book sequence. Still, the ending is a bit rushed and contrived...welcome to the world of Peter F. Hamilton.