• Judas Unchained

  • By: Peter F. Hamilton
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 40 hrs and 58 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (7,476 ratings)

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Judas Unchained  By  cover art

Judas Unchained

By: Peter F. Hamilton
Narrated by: John Lee
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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)

What listeners say about Judas Unchained

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Story
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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

great book okay performance

if you are on the second book you already know how good PFH is. this book continues to be really good.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

♡ prequels to Chronicles of Fallers&Void Trilogy ♡

I spend a lot of time with these characters. I love how they work together to solve cosmic problems, and how their dynamics are so familiar, realistic. I love to hate some of them, some of them I eventually come to respect, but the character arcs are phenomenal when looking at humanity along this time scale. Peter F. Hamilton got me through the most difficult part of my life. In a way I owe him my future. Cheers!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great conclusion to an epic tale

Loved every minute of this epic. Really a fun read. It's always a please to read Mr Hamilton, really like the future he paints. can't wait to see some of it coming alive

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Overlong

I’ve enjoyed other works by Mr. Hamilton… but this one spends way too much time foreshadowing the “planet’s revenge” and then reiterating again and again what’s coming. There’s also no grand resolution, no great characters with interesting growth arcs. The overall concepts are good, but too much is left hanging and after slogging through too long and unsatisfying books that fail to address the more interesting aspects of the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Whew! It's a long one!

This 2 book series is really good, but be ready for a long ride! The world building and science is impressive! There is a lot of substance and sub plots that seem to go all over the place but tie up nicely in the end. When I first started it got confusing due to no real breaks in chapters when it suddenly switches to another character in the story. Well worth the hours of investment!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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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.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book despite some awful hard left delusions.

The idea of leaving something malevolent and murderous alive contained only by something that already failed is terribly selfish and cowardly. What needed to be done goes against their insane ideology, in true left wing fashion they went ahead and ignored the facts in front them.

If you’re impatient with character and world building in books I suggest that you move on. Otherwise it’s worth the time.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

tedious

so slow. So many unnecessarily tedious explanations and tangential subplots thay went nowhere. ugh.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

An 80 hour story that should have been told in 30.

There are so many branches in this story that simply could, and should, have been trimmed. They simply aren't necessary beyond pumping up the word count. While droning on about the minutia of the world the author created might be appealing from an artistic POV, listening to a detailed dissertation of plant life and its evolution every time a scene changes gets tedious very fast. I must have skipped past at least 20 hours of characters and scenes that I had no interest in, and can say with confidence I did not miss much if anything.

That being said, the story (the main one at least that occupies only 15% of the actual book) is very interesting. The narration is excellent. If you enjoy the ponderous, overly-detailed classic sci-fi, then you will likely enjoy this.

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