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Judas Unchained

(Commonwealth Saga #2)

Peter F. Hamilton (Goodreads Author),

Marta García Martínez (Translator)

4.30 · Rating details · 33,050 ratings · 1,218 reviews

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.

The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare. Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who ...more

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Hardcover, 827 pages

Published February 28th 2006 by Del Rey (first published February 28th 2005)

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Jan 17, 2019 Evgeny rated it it was ok

Shelves: scifi

I have a confession to make: the Grumpy Cat is my spiritual animal.

The confession was necessary because seemingly everybody and their brother loved the book. Everybody except for grumpy me that is.

Let me remind you that in the previous book the humans of the future opened a Pandora Box and let some aliens with Highlander motto ("There can be only one")

out in the wild. The latter happily proceed to exterminate our future race. End of book 1. This one picked right where the previous one left. H ...more

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Nov 10, 2008 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, signed-first-or-limited-edition, 2000-2005, epic, easton-press, 6-star-books, all-time-favorites, science-fiction, mind-blowing, cyber-punk-prep-and-post

6.0 stars. On my list of "All Time Favorite" Novels. As has been mentioned before, this book is really the second half of a much larger book began in Pandora's Star. When counting the first book, this story comes in at almost 2000 pages. As daunting as that may seem, I was amazed by how easy it was to stay focused on the story. All of the different plot lines were so interesting and well done that I was never waiting for the pace to quicken. No doubt, Hamilton spends considerable time on details ...more

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Jan 22, 2014 Dara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2014, series, lady-protag, scifi, space-opera, reviewed

“Finally, this book is over!” That was my final thought. After an exhausting total of over 2,000 pages in this saga, I was ready for it to wrap up. I enjoyed the story overall but have a few gripes with Peter F. Hamilton.

Hamilton did an excellent job creating the Commonwealth universe. I really enjoyed the technological advancements yet it was familiar and fun. There are more toys to play with and the concept of rejuvenation is really interesting. The progression from modern day to the 24th cent “Finally, this book is over!” That was my final thought. After an exhausting total of over 2,000 pages in this saga, I was ready for it to wrap up. I enjoyed the story overall but have a few gripes with Peter F. Hamilton.

Hamilton did an excellent job creating the Commonwealth universe. I really enjoyed the technological advancements yet it was familiar and fun. There are more toys to play with and the concept of rejuvenation is really interesting. The progression from modern day to the 24th century feels very natural and organic.

The characters Hamilton created were pretty hit and miss for me. There were a few I really connected with and others that I didn't like. I particularly liked the alien Tochee and wish we got more time with him. Which brings me to my major issue with this saga...

The female characters. I've seen mentioned in other places and I have to agree: Hamilton is not good at writing women. His women are either boring (Paula Myo) or overtly sexual (Mellanie, who couldn't do anything useful without basically whoring herself out). Every female character had to have her looks and sexuality mentioned whereas the men did not. The women seemed to exist for Hamilton to project his juvenile fantasies onto them. It made me groan and roll my eyes repeatedly. I was pretty annoyed and upset particularly about Mellanie and Justine. Justine played a large role in Pandora's Star but, without spoiling anything, after a certain development, Hamilton almost forgot she existed in Judas Unchained. She was barely in the book past the halfway mark.

The main storyline with the Starflyer and war with the Primes was quite fascinating. I enjoyed learning who the Starflyer agents were and the efforts to find them and viewing the war from the Prime point-of-view. The whole thing evolved at a natural timescale and pace until the end.

There are a few things I would have liked to learn more about. Hamilton inroduces a few alien species but never really explores them or their cultures. I would have liked more detail about the SI, Barsoomians, High Angel, and raeil species.

My last issue with this book (both actually) is the length and the pacing at the end. A lot of detail felt superfluous (hang gliding scene, Morton's murder trial in Pandora's Star) and could have been edited out. I understand that it's meant to immerse the reader into the universe and familiarize them but in a 1,000+ page book, that has to be pared down. Because of all of that padding and detail, the end of Unchained felt really rushed and didn't feel like a conclusion. It wrapped up so quickly that there was no room to breath. I would have liked a little more catharsis.

C ...more

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Oct 19, 2011 Apatt rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

If you have read Pandora's Star previously starting on Judas Unchained should feel like coming home, as there would be no need to familiarize yourself with the settings or characters. On the other hand, if you attempt to read this book without having read Pandora's Star first it would be like wandering into somebody else's home by mistake, wondering who changed your furniture, realizing your mistake and make a quick exit before the cops arrive.

Judas Unchained continues the epic story started in If you have read Pandora's Star previously starting on Judas Unchained should feel like coming home, as there would be no need to familiarize yourself with the settings or characters. On the other hand, if you attempt to read this book without having read Pandora's Star first it would be like wandering into somebody else's home by mistake, wondering who changed your furniture, realizing your mistake and make a quick exit before the cops arrive.

Judas Unchained continues the epic story started in Pandora's Star without pausing for breath (because breathing is overrated), I suppose there are people who read "Pandora's" and decided not to bother with the next volume, I further suppose that such people are in the minority. Peter F. must be a very confident author to have the gall to write series that consist of such massive books and expect people to read them. Fat books series are prevalent in modern fantasy epics but rarely found in science fiction. Fortunately for sf readers Hamilton is more than capable to carry it off.

This book is basically about alien invasion and how humanity fend them off whereas the previous volume is more concerned with "WTF is going on?" Like most epic fiction the story features a large cast of characters and several protagonists, the plot is moved forward by switching the narrative between them. Hamilton does this very well for the most part, however the disadvantage of this format is that some characters are more compelling than others and when the reader's perspective is switched to one of the less interesting character it can drag down the pace a little. Still, this is not a major problem because such characters are in the minority and their chapters do not linger on for long. Hamilton's masterful action scenes also compensate for the few instances of drag. My favorite chapter is a deliciously gung-ho scene where a cybernetically enhanced human character faces off an alien modified character. A Marvel/DC style superheroic kickassery ensues with "disrupter pulses" and personal force fields being employed to maximum effect. I do love edifying books but the "F*ck Yeah!" moments are hugely entertaining and make me grin like an idiot ("like" being the operative word). There are also thoughtful passages about existence, humanity, responsibility, redemption etc., with a book this size it is a prerequisite that there is a wide range of elements and moods, nobody likes one single long note that goes on forever, the author does not disappoint here. The whole thing eventually wraps up beautifully and I went to bed in an excellent mood.

A whale of a book, a whale of a time!

_____________________________________

Edit March 30, 2015: After reading this I went on to read Hamilton's famed Night's Dawn Trilogy which is indeed very good (and each book very long), but I find the two Commonwealth Saga books to be more polished. At the moment I am reading The Dreaming Void, first of the Void Trilogy which is a direct sequel to the Commonwealth Saga, so far it is wildly entertaining. ...more

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Apr 27, 2008 Terence rated it it was ok

Shelves: sf-fantasy

I have a love/hate relationship with Peter Hamilton's books. He's very adept at introducing interesting technology and making a faster-than-light society plausible but, as with a lot of these hard-science, libertarian SF authors, he badly needs an editor. I was skipping over multiple pages of irrelevance in both this book and its prequel, Pandora's Star. He also has far too many "main characters" who (despite 800+ pages) never seem to come alive. They all speak with essentially the same voice. A I have a love/hate relationship with Peter Hamilton's books. He's very adept at introducing interesting technology and making a faster-than-light society plausible but, as with a lot of these hard-science, libertarian SF authors, he badly needs an editor. I was skipping over multiple pages of irrelevance in both this book and its prequel, Pandora's Star. He also has far too many "main characters" who (despite 800+ pages) never seem to come alive. They all speak with essentially the same voice. And when he tries to individualize someone they come off as badly stereotyped '60s era hippies -- come on, does anyone seriously say "dude" in the real world much less the imagined future of the 24th century?

And why is Hamilton so obsessed with sex with young (or rejuvenated) women?

Hamilton's treatment of virtual immortality is hit and miss at best. On the one hand, the innate conservatism of an immortal civilization is well developed, represented and believable. On the other hand, the dynamics of the relationship between "old timers" and "first lifers" is unsatisfactory. In four centuries, for example, NO ONE has even attempted to unseat Nigel Sheldon from his position as head of the Sheldon dynasty? Perhaps the Commonwealth's continual expansion is the safety valve but even here, the government (controlled by the eternal heads of these dynasties) controls it. Another point that is brought up briefly is why would anyone want to live forever if their life didn't change -- I mean the characters of a novel (almost by definition) are dynamic, go-get-'em types but most people just plod through their lives and then die. Why would anyone want to do that for lifetime after lifetime?

The aliens are OK. The problem with them (and this is true of nearly every SF story) is that they tend to be one dimensional -- they're all of a singular type and all too often they really do just act like human beings with weird make up. (This is a problem in fantasy stories, too.) On the plus side, I do tip my hat to Hamilton for not allowing the humans to save themselves with an alien "deus ex machina." Ozzie's adventures in "Wonderland" (i.e., the silfen paths) do bring him to the adult silfen and he does find out the origins of the Dyson barriers but the knowledge doesn't really help anyone defeat the Primes.

Overall, if you started with Pandora's Star, you probably should finish the journey with Judas Unchained. If you haven't started down this "silfen path," I recommend Alistair Reynolds, Tony Daniel or Iain Banks. They write similarly grand space opera but are better at it than Hamilton has proven himself to be to date. ...more

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Sep 05, 2018 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-shelf, space-opera, sci-fi, worldbuilding-sf

After reading the first book, Pandora's Star, I was slightly miffed at just how scattered and sometimes ... dull... it seemed. I only felt that way because the alien bits and the big spaceship stuff and the weird alien stuff simply SHONE for me. I didn't really cotton to all the human-only investigation stuff or the politics until it kinda snuck up on me and grabbed me by the neck because IT WAS IMPORTANT.

Well. It became important eventually. But I should mention that each of these books is roug ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Markus rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Close to three months have passed since I started reading this book. Three months of trying desperately to find something captivating enough to go on.

Peter Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga is not a bad little (heh) duology; it has its interesting concepts, its solid characters, its wonderfully described worlds. It is also filled to the brim with page after page, chapter after chapter, of unnecessary filler material that could easily have been removed for the reader's benefit. In Pandora's Star, the ...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Kara Babcock rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: artificial-intelligence, science-fiction, space-opera, 2011-read, owned

After I finished Pandora's Star , I ordered this sequel online and began it soon after it arrived at my doorstep. This is significant, because while I do not adhere religiously to the general order of my to-read list, I try to follow it in good faith. I couldn't wait over a year to read Judas Unchained, so despite my general moratorium on buying books, I made an exception. And I'm glad I did. Judas Unchained is off the frelling chain!

As with my review for Pandora's Star, I'll try to keep this ...more

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Apr 16, 2014 Russ rated it it was ok

Book Review of Judas Unchained (Ass End of The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F. Hamilton)

In a spirit of full disclosure, I think of myself as a rather lazy person. So it should come as a bit of a surprise to me (and you, if you know me) that I am inspired, nay, compelled to submit a review of Judas Unchained (and the Commonwealth Saga of which it is the ass-end). But it does not surprise me. In fact, I’ve been saying for weeks how much I looked forward to finishing this series just so I could get ...more

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Jun 30, 2013 Rob rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, own, read-2013, author-male, own-backlog, commonwealth, audio-book

Executive Summary: An enjoyable conclusion to the Commonwealth Duology. I plan to check out the Void trilogy at some point in the future.

Audio book: John Lee once again does a great job. He doesn't do voices, but he's got a great reading voice that I could listen to for hours and seems well suited to Space Opera. I'm excited to see he reads the Void series for Tantor as well as a few other books I plan to check out.

Full Review
This is a long one, but overall I enjoyed it. I think this works b ...more

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Mar 25, 2010 Kogiopsis rated it liked it

Shelves: space-ain-t-pretty, reviewed

Longer review appearing much later than I anticipated... ah well.

This book picks up immediately after the end of Pandora's Star, and it distinctly benefits from not having to establish as much worldbuilding as its predecessor. Here, instead of introducing the reader to the numerous worlds and characters of the Commonwealth, Hamilton can simply jump right into their stories. With one major exception, the plot feels a lot tighter and less of it seems extraneous to the point. That said, the pacing Longer review appearing much later than I anticipated... ah well.

This book picks up immediately after the end of Pandora's Star, and it distinctly benefits from not having to establish as much worldbuilding as its predecessor. Here, instead of introducing the reader to the numerous worlds and characters of the Commonwealth, Hamilton can simply jump right into their stories. With one major exception, the plot feels a lot tighter and less of it seems extraneous to the point. That said, the pacing is still uneven and too slow for the seriousness of what's at stake, and all of the problems with the (lack of) soft SF worldbuilding are still present.

Starting with the soft SF stuff, because I covered that more in depth in my review of the first book: women remain absent from most positions of power or chances to act with authority, though whether this is an oversight is unclear, as Hamilton at one point highlights the fact that there's only one female Dynasty Head; Mellanie Rescorai briefly moves away from being a character centered around sex, with some serious reflection on what it means for her career, and then goes right back; we see more of Nigel Sheldon's harem and it's exactly as shallow as I expected (and his sexual stamina clearly wish-fulfillment for someone); WE CONTINUE TO NOT TALK ABOUT THE EXPLOITATIVE NATURE OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN 20-SOMETHINGS AND PEOPLE OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD; there are no queer characters really to speak of, etc, etc. At this point I find Commonwealth society actively repulsive, to be honest. The constant modern brand namedrops (especially of cars) don't help with that, as it's just a reminder that in Hamilton's 'ideal' future the rich have continued to get rich and successful, and the poor underclass lives and dies a dozen times in the lifespan of one oligarch.

I want to talk about Mellanie a bit more, because this bothers me on a deep level. Spoilers follow. (view spoiler)

There was, however, one thing related to the female cast that I quite liked. (view spoiler)

The biggest weakness of this book, though, was definitely the pacing. The sense of imminent threat is minimal for most of it, and this was dramatically exacerbated by Ozzie's arc, which is lightyears away from everyone else's and doesn't connect to the rest of the interplay until near the end. When things were happening in the Commonwealth, the Ozzie chapters (mostly just him, Tochee, and Orion wandering around the floating forest and losing track of time) were nigh on useless. Moreover, when he got to the point of actually making it back, it became clear that the most important part of his travels was something that happened halfway through the last book. The interval in between lessens the emotional impact significantly, and makes his motivations at the end seem to come nearly out of nowhere. The rest of his journey, too, seems irrelevant in hindsight, as the answers to his actual questions have no bearing on the resolution of the book. By the time he leaves Commonwealth space for the second time, there's no tension in his story - for everything before to have been worth the page time, he has to succeed in his goal (which is also much, much less dramatic than the events on Far Away, happening concurrently in the narrative).

This is a story that I feel could have been much more engaging had it either a) been presented in a visual medium (where much of the description would be handled by set design/background art/etc) or b) been tightened into one book, perhaps with a compressed timeline that would make the imminent destruction by aliens feel like more of an encroaching threat. As it is, the plot seems to meander solely to make all of the extraneous characters relevant, when they probably could have been cut in the first place, especially as they offer very little in the way of emotional content. ...more

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Sep 19, 2020 Lena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, lovecraft-y, 800-or-more, science-fiction

034-E1756-5-A18-4-FFE-9739-12-C9623-F1-A79

“The fact that it was he who in the end had underestimated the Starflyer gave his situation its wretched poignancy.”

Good endings are are hard, great endings are Peter Hamilton. Oh, I had my doubts, my disagreements, a character I could have done without (Orion), but this blockbuster came through! Dreaming heavens, The Planets Revenge lived up to its name.

I would read a whole book on Paula Myo and dearly hope she appears in subsequent books. Perhaps the Cat too?

*audible note: The narrator i ...more

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Nov 09, 2012 David Sven rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

Wow! What a ride. This is Space Opera at its finest. This second book in the Commonwealth Saga can’t really be described as a sequel as much as a continuation of the same story. If you put both books together you would be unable to discern where the break between the two would be.
As such, a lot of my comments made in my review of the first book still apply http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Some of our characters have decided the mythical Starflyer Alien is a real entity who has been subve Wow! What a ride. This is Space Opera at its finest. This second book in the Commonwealth Saga can’t really be described as a sequel as much as a continuation of the same story. If you put both books together you would be unable to discern where the break between the two would be.
As such, a lot of my comments made in my review of the first book still apply http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Some of our characters have decided the mythical Starflyer Alien is a real entity who has been subverting key government organisations to direct human affairs for its own ends. Who are it’s agents? Who has it recruited? How do you fight an enemy who wears a human mask to hide the Judas within?

All these questions quickly become academic as the human race faces its own genocide when the Prime aliens consolidate their invasion of the Lost23 outer planets of the Commonwealth to prepare for humanity’s eradication.

But if MorningLightMountain thought we were just going to bend over and take it, It was seriously mistaken. A technological race ensues as both sides scramble to be first to launch their final solution. Will it be us or will it be them? And will humanity have to sacrifice its soul to ensure its own survival?

Having said all that, I do have a few gripes. One is the word/page count. As much as I’m ok with big books this story between the two books racked up a 700000 plus word count. It was not a quick read. As much as I loved the story, by the end I was in danger of Hamilton burn out. Then again, there are quite a number of complex story arcs so I’m not sure how it could be smaller without cutting the soul of the book out. Also, some of the story arcs I felt ended too conveniently. There was one death in particular that really left Hamilton off the hook – I guess when you are near the end of a 1000 page book which is the last part of a 2000 plus page story, asking the reader to sit through another 500 pages so you can wrap up all your arcs properly is a big ask.

Also, I would have liked to have known more about the SI, its motives, it's personality, what it's goals are exactly. The same for the High Angel. Then there were the mysterious genetically modified humans, the Barsoomians which I really wanted to know more about and what their specific interest in Qatux was. Of course the Silfen are still very much a mystery. Then again, if I got all that we probably would have ended up with double the word count. I'm hoping Hamilton revisits them all in later books.

Still, overall, the good by far outweighed my gripes. Hamilton really ramped up the action in this half of the story. There were some real epic one on one fights between super enhanced humans, wetwired to the hilt, and packing more hardware than a Transformers movie, leaving absolute carnage in their wake as they battle through (literally) buildings and busy streets. Fantastic stuff.

Of course we also have space battles and political intrigue with some jaw dropping revelations, especially when we uncover some of the traitors. It all comes to a head in the last quarter of the book where the action really heats up and finishes with a killer ending.

I rated the first book 5 stars, but I’m going to give this one a 4. Not because I enjoyed it less – as I said it was really the same story, but I think the overall story is 4.5 stars, deducting the half star for the reasons I mentioned.

4 stars to average out at 4.5 - Locked and Loaded. ...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Shari rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

Dreaming heavens, finished at last! Fascinating read. Hamilton's science is the kind I like to read and immerse myself in: realistic with a good sprinkling of sci-fi magic here and there to keep the reader wondering. In this book there are lots of these without becoming overwhelming. The story starts where it's left off in Pandora's Star, and one surprising thing I noticed was that it pretty much moved forward with only brief reminders of what had happened in the first book (which I liked becaus ...more

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Dec 18, 2019 Cathy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish

Audiobook part 1, 5h 20min, pages 1-159, ★★★☆☆, nothing really stuck with me. It was ok, I guess. Nothing really memorable happened. Or it did, but it was indistinguishable from the end of the last book...

Audiobook part 2, about 1 hour left, DNF on page 334 of the ebook. ★☆☆☆☆

“A ghost in the machine? How appropriate. It is certainly a machine’s ghost.”
“Ah, right. So, what’s it doing?”
The darkness within Dr. Friland’s hood lessened to reveal a row of smiling teeth. “Whatever it wants.”

Boy, ...more

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Aug 13, 2019 Terry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, 2019-book-challenge, audio-book

So, I’ve now completed my two book journey into the Commonwealth that started with Pandora's Star. I have to say, it was a marathon (a combined 78.5 hours of audiobook!), but well worth the run. Being a marathon, I found myself struggling to keep up at a few points in this journey, but I’m very glad to have persevered. I ended up going with 4.0/5.0 stars, and really the only reason for the docked star was the length.

As I noted in my review of the first book, I really enjoyed the glimpse of a po ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 York rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, fantasy, adventure, space-opera

Finally finished, whew!...It's a long one, but it kept my attention throughout...
I will need less complex but great book to wind down after reading this duology (Pandora Star and Judas Unchained)...open for suggestions... ...more

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Sep 28, 2011 Dirk Grobbelaar rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, books-i-own

Don’t approach this book as a sequel to Pandora's Star. It is merely a continuation of the story. The two books form a cohesive whole, and are really just parts one and two of the same story. There is no way, really, that the two books can be read separate from one another.

The war between the Commonwealth and the Prime was always going to reach critical mass in this novel, and this is more or less what happens. However, things didn’t pan out quite how I was expecting. In this novel there is a sl Don’t approach this book as a sequel to Pandora's Star. It is merely a continuation of the story. The two books form a cohesive whole, and are really just parts one and two of the same story. There is no way, really, that the two books can be read separate from one another.

The war between the Commonwealth and the Prime was always going to reach critical mass in this novel, and this is more or less what happens. However, things didn’t pan out quite how I was expecting. In this novel there is a slight shift in perspective, as key figures in the Commonwealth realise that the threat presented by the Prime is not the only threat to humanity. This was already hinted at quite strongly in Pandora’s Star, especially the closing chapters. There is a lot of political manoeuvring in these novels, with the different dynasties reminding me at least a little of the great houses of Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. The greatest difference being that they’re not openly warring against one another. Not openly. At any rate, the bulk of the novel is taken up by strategies devised to root out and address the new threat while the Prime action takes a bit of a back seat. It all connects nicely in the end, of course.

The story has a lot going for it. It’s reasonably fast paced and interesting. There are a lot of really well developed characters, including some really cool aliens. The cliff-hanger ending of Pandora’s Star is addressed fairly quickly. There are lots of cool gadgets and weapons of ridiculous magnitude. It really is Space Opera at its finest, in a world that’s easy to identify with despite having wormholes and FTL spaceflight (people still drive Land Cruisers and Fords, albeit futuristic versions). However, despite all this, I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as Pandora’s Star. Why? Well, two quick reasons. I was a bit irritated by how Hamilton had one of the characters sleep with (almost literally) every other character in the novel at some point or the other. And, frankly, the book is just a bit long, with one or two sections dragging a bit, despite the general good pacing. I’m fairly certain this won’t be a problem for everybody, though, since it is a great story. The high-octane climax makes up for most of the shortcomings anyway. So, four stars it is.

Oh, one more thing: the dramatis personae in the beginning of the book contains spoilers, don’t read it.
As a whole, the Commonwealth Saga is a great achievement. Now, if I can find time for the Night’s Dawn Trilogy….
...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Mike rated it it was amazing

Shelves: scifi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 02, 2010 Frostling rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is the sequel to "Pandora Star", a book I read in 2007. I was not too keen on following up with JU because it's another 1234 pages to go through and on top of it, online reviews weren't exactly brilliant. However in September I came across a copy priced at £2 and couldn't resist giving it a go.

To start with, what is the story about?
The Commonwealth (Humans and all their space colonies) is on the brink of extinction after a violent attack from the Primes (Think Borg without the human shape). This is the sequel to "Pandora Star", a book I read in 2007. I was not too keen on following up with JU because it's another 1234 pages to go through and on top of it, online reviews weren't exactly brilliant. However in September I came across a copy priced at £2 and couldn't resist giving it a go.

To start with, what is the story about?
The Commonwealth (Humans and all their space colonies) is on the brink of extinction after a violent attack from the Primes (Think Borg without the human shape). Thanks to their technology, humans manage to fight back, but they discover they have a deadlier enemy with The Starflyer. So the war continues, with unsuspected allies, spies, criminals becoming heroes and, in the background, several super intelligent alien species, seemingly too evolved to make a move and stop the bloodshed.

I consider Peter F. Hamilton to be my favourite space opera writer, but I found JU rather tedious. Here is why:

* The novel starts with a long series of dialogues, investigation type, and the first real action scene doesn't happen before page 184. It is followed by regular fights (Mexican standoff, battles between the Primes and Humans, hectic chase after the elusive Starflyer). But for all its technicolor explosions, it still felt dull. Probably because the world in JU is exactly like the one described in Pandora's Star. There is nothing new and exciting. It was like eating a favourite rich meal everyday of the week, for 2 months - the time it took me to read this massive novel.

* Another reason for the overall slow pace of JU is that after reading Pandora's Star, readers know that the Starflyer is dangerous (it's even stated on the back cover of JU). Yet by page 465 the Commonwealth is still uncertain of the menace it represents. This incredible doubt is repeated later on when the allies try to unmask the Starflyer spies who have infiltrated their ranks. It is a frustrating search, because there is no way that readers can guess who they are. The take over by the Starflyer is so complete that these spies aren't even aware of their transformation.

* I can't say that I appreciated the various sex scenes either. They give the impression that the book was solely aimed at teenage males who count "Weird Science" as one of their favourite movies.

* I enjoyed reading Ozzie's extensive trek away from the Commonwealth, but even in Pandora's Star it was obvious that he was destined to save the day and it is exactly what happens. So, no spice as far as this subplot is concerned.

* Pandora's Star was also superior because it had a strong character throughout the book: Investigator Paula Myo. She returns in JU, but only as a guest star. In addition, here the plot feels fractured because there is no real central character. Instead, we have soft-porn star Mellanie Rescorai who makes it through 95% of the book, (before being ditched like an old pair of unwanted socks). JU has several abrupt surprises like that, where events happen without any suspense.

My overall opinion is that "Judas Unchained" is more aimed at people who enjoy military SF than the sense of wonder associated with Space Opera titles.

What I have learned from this book:
Despite what writing fiction books like to say, adverbs are not always the public enemy number one. JU is packed with them (here are some of the more exotic ones I've found: xx said hoarsely, breathlessly, bitterly, sagely, brokenly, contentedly, adoringly, etc...). So in SF adverbs don't seem to be the main problem. What is likely to kill it is a lack of original content, something that at least JU isn't suffering from. ...more

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Sep 12, 2016 AndrewP rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2016-bookshelf-clearance, read-in-2016

Combined with 'Pandora's Star' this is by far the longest and most detailed space opera I have ever read. Judas Unchained is listed as the 2nd book of the Commonwealth Saga, but in reality the two books are just one very long story. There's not even a hint of a conclusion at the end of Pandora's Star, so you have to read both together. In paperback, that's 2,000 small type pages.
In terms of content, this book hit's all my particular sweet spots required for the genre. There is so much in here ...more

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Oct 13, 2014 “Gideon” Dave Newell rated it it was amazing

One of the advantages of such a long story, and I include Hamilton’s ‘Pandoras Star’ as part of this story, is that you can revisit forgotten characters and events from the earlier pages to great dramatic effect later on. Quite a few such gems get deliberately buried in the intervening text and are delightfully resurfaced when least expected. After my second reading of this pair of novels, I now hold a greater respect for the structural planning that went into it’s plot line and pacing.

As the pu ...more

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Feb 15, 2020 Eric rated it liked it

I rated the first book of this two book series 4.5 stars, so this is where I will start

Overall, an imaginative saga, which Agatha Christie could relate to. All the remarkable bells and whistles of innovative technological science fiction. However:

a) Sex. For whatever reason the author, Mr. Hamilton, seemed obsessed with his characters having sex and being promiscuous. A prude I am not and at first, I thought the episodes humorous and perhaps lending something to character development. However, e ...more

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Apr 18, 2020 Wick Welker rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi

A creative, innovative and imaginative sci fi setting make for a worthwhile saga albeit it with poor portrayal of women and overall unnecessarily steeped in sex.

This is the conclusion to the duology starting with Pandora's Star. Hamilton does many things well, more than he does wrong. The short of it is that I've never read a sci fi series like this. The Commonwealth is totally immersive. There is an ecology of wormholes, star systems, and inscrutable alien life forms mixed with imminent interst A creative, innovative and imaginative sci fi setting make for a worthwhile saga albeit it with poor portrayal of women and overall unnecessarily steeped in sex.

This is the conclusion to the duology starting with Pandora's Star. Hamilton does many things well, more than he does wrong. The short of it is that I've never read a sci fi series like this. The Commonwealth is totally immersive. There is an ecology of wormholes, star systems, and inscrutable alien life forms mixed with imminent interstellar threat that make for an engaging read. The world building is absolute, dynamic and unforgettable. Dozens and dozens of worlds are described in detail. The culture is well fleshed out to the reader. Hamilton plays with so many sci fi concepts its hard to keep track. This is a veritable cornucopia of cosmology, space travel, AI and alien life that any sic fi fan boy/girl is going to eat with a spoon.

I don't quite know what these books were. Was I reading a space opera, a crime mystery, a tabloid, political brinkmanship, a spy novel, a telenovela or a war of the worlds? This book had all of that and more. Does it work? Yeah. It does. Hamilton weaves together a crazy amount of subplots that contribute to the overall thrust. It works and it's satisfying.

Now to the bad. Hamilton is terrible at writing women. I spent 2000 pages reading this series and it's undeniable. Women are either sterile and calculating or an object of desire. The character of Mellanie was, quite honesty, pretty deplorable. She's supposed to be a heroine but only gains power and influence by using sex. It's not an exaggeration that almost every man she comes in contact with, there is an inevitable sexual encounter. I was constantly rolling my eyes. This was clearly written by a man. This book was also sexist against men: every man depicted sees all woman as a sexual object. As a man, I was bothered by this. Also, uh, the normalization of polygamy? No thanks.

The pacing ran out of steam. Halfway through this, I wanted to be done. There were too many subplots of one dimensional characters. In fact, I can't think of a single character that really leapt off the page for me. If I could wave a wand, I would've taken out about half the characters and spent more time developing a main cast. The upside of this is that the story and plot are absolutely sweeping and broad, something that probably appeals to a lot of readers.

In the end this is a space epic that is far from being a masterpiece but well worth your time. I give it four stars because the sci fi elements are simply awesome. ...more

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Nov 12, 2016 Edwin Priest rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-tbr-challenge

You know that feeling you had in college after you finished your last final before vacation? That happy feeling of relief, of accomplishment, and of finally, FINALLY being done. Well, that’s the feeling I had after finally finishing the Commonweath Saga the other night.

Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained should essentially be viewed as one LONG book, nearly 2000 pages long in fact. It is epic, in scope, in vision, in ideas…….and in bloat. Hamilton really does need a better editor.

There is certai ...more

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Jun 03, 2011 Katy rated it it was amazing

Reviewed in 2007.

My Reaction: I could hardly contain myself to wait for the ending and find out whodunit! This book - sequel to Pandora's Star - defies genres and contains elements of science fiction, space opera and mystery.

My Synopsis: While more and more people are beginning to believe that the Guardians of Selfhood have been correct all along about the existence of the Starflyer, the Prime launch an all-out attack to take over the Commonwealth and wipe out as many humans as possible, and en ...more

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Jul 15, 2008 Joshua rated it it was amazing

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 enti ...more

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Nov 11, 2018 Stuart rated it it was amazing

Shelves: distant-worlds, galaxy-spanning, hard-sf

Pandora's Star: Second Half of a Massive, 2,000 page Space Opera
This is a very long, detailed, imaginative, and sprawling epic space opera that involves dozens of characters, plots, advanced technologies, alien races, ancient galactic mysteries, nefarious plots and counterplots, all told in an engaging narrative that doesn't get bogged down in exposition like a lot of other hard SF stories. It's far more entertaining than the more grim future vision of Alastair Reynolds, to which Peter Hamilton ...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Andreas rated it it was amazing

These two books are simply two volumes of the same novel, dubbed the Commonwealth Saga. In the tradition of the other (even more) massive Hamilton opus, Night’s Dawn, it is a somewhat daunting cornucopia characters and interweaving subplots. This author can get away with it, since even his explanatory filler is eminently enjoyable. A very rich societal backdrop forms the stage for a drama with some very unexpected twists and turns. The most insignificant details come back to haunt the characters These two books are simply two volumes of the same novel, dubbed the Commonwealth Saga. In the tradition of the other (even more) massive Hamilton opus, Night’s Dawn, it is a somewhat daunting cornucopia characters and interweaving subplots. This author can get away with it, since even his explanatory filler is eminently enjoyable. A very rich societal backdrop forms the stage for a drama with some very unexpected twists and turns. The most insignificant details come back to haunt the characters in what is obviously a very finely and meticulously crafted story. The end of Pandora’s Star is a massive cliffhanger and the story picks right back up in Judas Unchained, so I would recommend reading the two volumes back to back.

With the invention of wormhole technology by straight arrow Nigel Sheldon and eccentric Ozzie Isaacs, traditional space exploration (vacuum, spaceships, all that kind of thing) is all but abandoned. Rail lines running between worlds through wormholes are the only means of interstellar transport, and humanity is rapidly expanding to many planets.

Hamilton seems to have been inspired by Morgan’s Altered Carbon when it comes to rejuvenation technology, although there are differences. Practical immortality is available to all but the very poor. Most people pay money into a sort of pension fund which pays for rejuvenation. The more well to do rejuvenate more often, staying forever young. This has brought about a maturing of humanity, where planning is much more long-term. Careers span decades and centuries. The rich can take entire “sabbatical lives”.

These two massive upheavals, longevity and cheap transportation over interstellar distances, have led to an unprecedented period of growth for human society. A commonwealth unites the worlds. The Commonwealth is nominally a democracy, but the reins of power are firmly in the hands of dynasties rich enough to own entire planets. A utopia of sorts, but not really a democracy despite outward appearances.

A mysterious stellar event far outside the human sphere of influences forces the construction of a starship. It is the first one ever built. Former astronaut (immortality remember?) Wilson Kime captains the mission, which leads to the escape of the greatest threat humanity has ever faced from its ancient prison. And it soon becomes clear that the escape was not entirely an accident. There are mysterious forces at work inside the Commonwealth.

The story is peppered with wondrous things such as the Silfen, an enigmatic race of aliens, and their even more enigmatic forest paths, which lead seamlessly from world to world. Even the enemy is fascinating and an example of a true non-human intellect. There are bizarre, enigmatic and just generally cool characters such as the super investigator Paula Myo, slut turned reporter Mellanie Rescorai, the orphan Orion, cult leaders, resistance warriors, criminals and politicians. A tangled web held together elegantly by Hamilton.

The story moves from utopia through gathering storm through all-out chaos and war to a spectacular conclusion, and is finally neatly put to bed in the epilogue. The true genius of Hamilton is that his universe is not populated by 20th Century humans living long lives and using wormholes. Society and its inhabitants are quite different, reflecting the changes in society and culture brought about by technological advances. Motivations, reactions and behaviors are believably described for these “future humans” (and aliens), just as a 17th Century human would behave differently from us.

It should be clear by now that this novel is among the very best I have ever read. Sure, one could criticize the perhaps unnecessarily long road chase in the second volume, or the seeming abandonment of a few supporting characters at the end. But the truth is that it is very very difficult to write something this long, with so many character relationships, and not run into the occasional pacing problem.

So stop reading this and order the books. You will not be disappointed. And if you want more, Hamilton returns to the Commonwealth Universe and many of the characters in the Void Trilogy, set over a thousand years later.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=165 ...more

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Jun 27, 2010 David rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I finished reading Peter Hamilton's Judas Unchained last night, and it was good. This is the sequel/conclusion to Pandora's Star, and it opens pretty much right where Pandora left off.

There were a few surprises: Mellanie becomes a much stronger character, and we finally get an explanation for where the hell Ozzie has gotten himself off to. There is one glaring issue with the book, however: the climactic battle involves whether to use a weapon which will completely wipe out the MorningLightMounta I finished reading Peter Hamilton's Judas Unchained last night, and it was good. This is the sequel/conclusion to Pandora's Star, and it opens pretty much right where Pandora left off.

There were a few surprises: Mellanie becomes a much stronger character, and we finally get an explanation for where the hell Ozzie has gotten himself off to. There is one glaring issue with the book, however: the climactic battle involves whether to use a weapon which will completely wipe out the MorningLightMountain star system - destroying the star itself, and putting a final end to the threat that the Prime had been to all of human civilization, and the option of re-enclosing the system in the Dyson sphere is portrayed as a more-humane, more moral, non-genocidal [sic: properly xenocidal] option.

This is, of course, idiotic frippery.

MorningLightMountain was directly responsible for the deaths of millions of humans, and the destruction of all earth-normative life on 71 planets (via induced solar flare to sterilize the systems). It had already (in the first book) been accidentally released from the Dyson sphere before, and it had successfully seeded other star systems with its spores. So, what precisely is to stop one of the other Prime Immotiles on the outside from re-opening the prison? Further, even if the attempt at containment is successful, how is this more moral? "Successful" containment means that the barrier outlasts the lifespan of the star, and so MorningLightMountain would have a few billion years to steadily run out of resources and starve to death in the eventual inevitable solar decay. That's like viewing life in prison without the possibility of parole as being more moral than execution, and that doesn't withstand much scrutiny.

Further: this isn't a case where there's any accidental punishment involved - MLM, as a singular entity, was responsible for the destruction of all of the other independent Immotiles on Prime, and was personally responsible for the unprovoked assault on the human commonwealth. Is there the possibility of redemption? No, not really - it's given a nod via the Bose motile, but that fails the sniff test: what possible redemption is possible for the murder of millions of people? For the annihilation of whole biospheres? Evil on that magnitude is not within the grasp of the human experience: would we say that a Stalin or a Hitler should be imprisoned rather than executed? Worse, what if the war is still going on, and there is a decent chance that imprisonment might not work?

Consider a related example: the Borg cube, after blowing the hell out of the Federation fleet, has almost made it to Earth, and it intends absolute annihilation of humanity. Should the Enterprise, after disabling the cube, destroy it, killing the organism?

Answer: duh. Of course they should. Orson Scott Card created the hierarchy of exclusion, and MorningLightMountain clearly falls under the category Djur. Communication is absolutely possible, but compromise is not - MLM stated its intention to annihilate all other entities from the galaxy, and was attempting to live up to its threat.

So how in the living hell can imprisonment be an answer here? I'll pull a line from James Cameron: "nuke it from orbit - it's the only way to be sure" (except in this case, that's highly insufficient). ...more

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About Peter F. Hamilton

Peter F. Hamilton

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Peter F. Hamilton is a British science fiction author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide, making him Britain's biggest-selling science fiction author. ...more

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“But to have dreamed the dream is to have flown above the mountains so high in all but deed.” — 15 likes

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"I'd be dead if it wasn't."
"Yes, I suppose that does generate a respectable level of personal confidence.” — 12 likes

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