Judas Unchained
Ratings155
Average rating4.3
Much better pacing than the first part, but given the scale of the story, I would have hoped for some more “impact”, instead of the fairy like ending.
I like it. But also think some passages are hard to keep focus during. Even though I love to follow the overarching storyline. I will read the next but will take a break in between as each book has felt long.
Way too long, but in the end a pretty good read. Hamilton finally pulls all the threads together for a solid finish.
3.5 stars rounded up.
This second book in the Commonwealth Saga reveals that the Starflyer alien entity from the ancient crashed ship, named the Mary Celeste and found on the planet Faraway, actually exists. It is this hidden-in-the-shadows enemy that has infiltrated the Commonwealth's galactic society for centuries and through its controlled human agents, has brought about the mutually destructive war between the released Dyson Alpha Prime species and the Commonwealth. Old Commonwealth enemies must now come together in the fight to stop the Starflyer from returning to its refurbished spacecraft on Faraway and escape to continue its own deadly quest to conquer known inhabited space.
While sometimes slow in parts, this huge book, with an almost overwhelming cast of characters, was able to keep my interest until the spectacular, action-packed conclusion. Peter F. Hamilton has created a very imaginative and descriptively detailed version of a far-off multi-planet spacefaring society in which interactions between enhanced humans and other alien species is a given. Part detective story, part Sci-Fi action-packed thriller, and with just a hint of fantasy, the Commonwealth saga is well worth the read for those who enjoy well-written space opera fare.
This is very much the second half of one very long story of nigh on 2000 pages. The thing is, after the first 1500 odd pages you really know these characters - so when all hell breaks loose in the second half of this volume. you end up turning pages at speeds that risk starting a blaze due to simple desperation to find out are they OK?.
I know this story is very very slow to start, but words fail me to describe the sheer epicness of the action in the vast climax of this story - it has everything.
So, it's great.
If I could ask anything of the author it would be - give me a whole series of Paula Myo investigations. She is a fantastic character and I would dearly love to read more detective stories based around her and the Paris Office.
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 ReviewThis is a long one, but overall I enjoyed it. I think this works best in audio because Mr. Hamilton can sometimes go overboard on the details and I found it easy to miss a little here and there and still not seem to miss any plot points. If I were reading it, I might start skimming or something.This book picks up right where [b:Pandora's Star 45252 Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1) Peter F. Hamilton https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347952635s/45252.jpg 987015] leaves off, so you'll want to read that first before jumping into this one.We're introduced to a few new POV characters in this one, to go along with some old favorites (of mine anyways) like Ozzy and Paula Myo.I think Mr. Hamilton does a good job in not only tying up all the loose ends but merging the various story lines together into a cohesive finale.There were some parts of [b:Pandora's Star 45252 Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1) Peter F. Hamilton https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347952635s/45252.jpg 987015] that felt superfluous (I'm looking at you Hang Gliding scene!) or just more background and depth that felt necessary (like the whole murder/disappearing bodies subplot) that suddenly clicked in with this book.The real enjoyment for me wasn't necessarily the space battles, the politics or the aliens, but just the Commonwealth itself and the people we meet. Don't get me wrong all that stuff was cool (not to mention I had a hankering for some Starcraft after the scenes with the soldiers in badass armor suits going to toe to toe with aliens that remind me a lot of the Zerg).The Commonwealth feels very much like our world today, only with a lot more fun toys to play with and near-immortality to allow one to experience them. That is if you're lucky enough to be part of the right family/born on the right planet.I think Mark really became one of my favorite characters because he uses his intelligence and hard work to get ahead, albeit thanks to taking advantage of some timely opportunities.I'm excited to check out other stories the Commonwealth, even if they are with a whole other cast of characters. I happened to snag [b:The Dreaming Void 866136 The Dreaming Void (Void, #1) Peter F. Hamilton https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388208500s/866136.jpg 851537] as part of an end of year BOGO sale too. I'm hoping some of the characters from this are still alive and kicking and make a cameo or two at least.
Long. Very long. And should have been read immediately after [b:Pandora Star 45252 Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1) Peter F. Hamilton http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170278188s/45252.jpg 987015] as it is essentially the second half of that book rather than a sequel. Having said all that the action, plot twists and pacing of the book more than made up for the fairly two dimensional characters. Would I recommend it to anyone? Sure, if you have the time and the energy to dive into a complex, sweeping SF novel that is engaging and has a fantastic world to live in for a considerable amount of time.
Wow, I enjoyed this volume a LOT more than the first half of the duology. As the war against the Prime aliens continues, in this volume we learn about the history of the treacherous Starflyer alien, it's relationship to both the Commonwealth and the Primes, and humanity faces its darkest hour.
What's amazing about this book, though, is that Hamilton manages to bring together almost every branch of science fiction literature in existence. Within the scope of the one story there's interstellar war, alien invasion, possession by unseen forces, body modification and implantation, cloning, memory transfer, time travel, wormholes, and consciousness singularity, but all combined in a way that seems naturalistic and understandable. If you're a sci-fi fan there's no doubt something in here for you.
