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)

Fantastic, imaginative, great characters

Fantastic sci-fi adventure, technology is imaginative and believable in the way it's described. I wish there had been more space battles! The societies in the Commonwealth are described so well, I found myself easily visualising these beautiful futuristic worlds that seemed within reach. The characters were developed well enough that I was genuinely interested in their fate. John Lee is a good narrator but there were times when it was hard to distinguish between characters having a conversation, as his voice did not change very much for some of them (dropped in and out of an accent for Ozzie a few times, was a bit confused) but this was a rare occurrence. Overall he did a very good job! The story moves along steadily between each person, not too slow, not too fast. It's such an inviting and colorful story; the plot, technology, worlds and characters were well done. I definitely recommend it :)

best Hamilton book I've read.

this is the best Hamilton book I've read, and I've read most of them. I've heard it said that Hamilton didn't know how to end a book to save his life, but this one made me happy. I also like the tie in (relatively loose) to the next series. good show.

Hooked line and sinker!

Great funtastic adventure, intrigue and glorious outbursts of cliffhanger resolution! A definite, absolute must read.

Completely engrossing

A wonderfully complex story with characters that grow and change, and language that ranges between poetic and stark. I'm in awe of both the author and the narrator for bringing this to vivid life.

Great book, atrociously bad production.

This book was good enough to make me endure the narration. Inconsistent volume had me constantly rewinding to figure out what was said. The narrator has an awful style of ending sentences at a fraction of the volume at which they began. He also refused to make any sort of pause between scene changes, making following the story difficult.

Another Fantastic Book by Hamilton!

Hamilton continues his intricate tale about the Commonwealth and morning light mountain, weaving together complex story arcs as only he can. Very well narrated!

Brilliant sequel

Any additional comments?

If you made it through Pandora's Star, you will definitely need to keep going with Judas Unchained. If they had tacked Chapter 1 of Judas Unchained onto the end of Pandora's Star, you wouldn't tell the difference. And in Judas Unchained, you get all the benefits of Pandora's Star without the confusing three hundred pages of introduction.

Judas Unchained continues the story of the Commonwealth as they battle against aliens both in and outside of their civilization. It basically felt like this entire book is one humongous climax as things start falling into place, you start discovering the enemies, and things come to a focal point. Things get exciting because no one is safe. Fear of killing of main characters? Nah... not this guy. There's enough of them to keep things going. So, when someone is in danger, you start to get nervous for them.

This was the end of a very interesting two part book and I would recommend it for anyone who has the time to listen. But, even at a total of 80 hours for both books, I would say it is worth it.

Wow what a sequel!!!

The story gets really good in this book the first was enjoyable but this one was great. both books are a little long and a little detailed for me, but that wont hold me back enjoying this book. Im downloading the next in this series. i hope he writes more. i think the narrator does a great job. although i wish there would have been a little more ozzy in this one.

Wild Sci-Fi Ride

I absolutely loved both books in this character driven & masterfully written series, Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained.

Multiple intertwined story lines & numerous memorable characters in this futuristic, space travel, murder mystery, alien invasion, technology driven Sci-Fi epic will keep you hooked regardless of its length of 37 hrs (PS) & 41 hrs (JU). In fact, I hated to see the books end.

Humans now inhabit planets throughout the universe via wormhole travel, and are not alone. They can also, theoretically, live forever. So needless to say, all sorts of intrigue and adventure ensue. Great fun. Highly recommend!

Incredible book; terrible production

Firstly the narration: Generally I like the performances of narrator John Lee. I have listened to a number of others of his books including White Tiger, Pillars Of the Earth, Count of Monte Cristo. But the narration in this series leaves much to be desired. This production, while not as bad as Pandora’s Star, is a hopelessly flawed engineering fiasco. One can never tell when there is a change in chapters unless it is stated in the literary context. When there is a change of scene or arc, the narrator just connects the end of the one with the beginning of the next and we are left wondering, where in the universe we are. The variations in modulation are unnatural, distracting and just plain horrible.

However, despite all that Audible has done to detract from the greatness of this selection, it is almost without peer in its greatness. Hamilton creates a world of places, people, aliens and events unlike any I have read. The stories, and there are many, are complex and they all come together in multiple, exciting conclusions. Unlike the series Wheel of Time which seems to go on for several volumes and have very little new to add than what we discovered in the first volume, every part of these two books is fresh, interesting and surprising.

This masterpiece of literature deserved better than the treatment it received by Audible. All of that being said, I could not recommend a selection more highly. It is too good to miss even with all of its detractors.