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)

A fantastic listen

Well worth the 40 hours it takes to listen through this novel. You must listen to Pandora's Star first as this one is the sequel. I don't find myself wishing this book would end already...

Loved it. Overall the story is great

Loved the way characters are developed and connected. Will look for more stories. One of the best of the long books

Good enough to re-listen to repeatably.

A great story, consistent and engrossing. Very original. I look forward to revisiting this universe.

A very good conclusion to Pandora's Star.

If you haven't read Pandora's Star, do so! It's an excellent story, with many interesting plot lines and memorable characters. Judas continues with some exciting conclusions to side plots and story lines. The big reveal wasn't really a surprise for me, (and slightly less dramatic that my own predictions) so the WOW factor wasn't as huge as I expected considering the high calibre of plot development, but perhaps would be for another listener. Still a great series I recommend highly!

the best of the best

Loved it. cloud dancer, orion, toechi, bradley... it's a party from beginning to end. best of.

Great long story.

Very entertaining. Excellent story lines. Very creative universe created by the author. Fun book to listen to while r out for long bike rides.

Better than Pandora’s Star

The characters actually change in Judas Unchained. Especially Melanie. Otherwise, it’s a typical Peter Hamilton book, as much soap opera as space opera.

Narration is better for Judas....

In roughly the same league as Hyperion (well almost)! Fantastic space opera. Interesting characters and concepts. Narration he is much irritating and drop outs less frequent. Give it a whirl. You will not be disappointed.

Tough book to review

Any additional comments?

Of the 140 or so audio books that I have purchased, the Commonwealth series is by far the worst production I've listened to. At first, I gave a scathing review to the reader. Then I returned the first book to audible after only a couple hours of listening. I ended up purchasing the book again and fighting my way through it. He has a habbit of being very loud and then way too quiet and it's a difficult listen. I have come to the conclusion that he is not a bad reader. The production should easily have compensated. If you don't use a quality playback system, this is a lot of work to listen to. The story is worth it though, so what can I say. I do wish the author had cut out about 10 hours of detail that were really not relevant to the story. Mr. Hamilton seemed to get caught up in the world he created and forgot the story at times. I'm glad I fought my way through these two book however. Very good scifi. I would have been sorry to have missed them.

Truly Great!

Best science fiction series I've ever read. Excellent plot. Well developed characters. The kind of science fiction that makes you wonder what it will be like in 300 years. Top notch. Get it.