Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Judas Unchained
Book Review: Excellent, excellent, conclusion to Pandora's Star
Summary: 5 Stars
With his gripping plots using very, very, rich backgrounds, Peter Hamilton is one of my favorite SF authors.
Judas Unchained hits the ground running and picks up the plot effortlessly from Pandora's Star. The formula here is pretty much military space opera + cyberpunk with humanity engaged in an epic war against annihilation. There is plenty of action to satisfy the most jaded fan and it meshes in very well with the plot. The Prime(s) is a very nice idea for an alien race, with its singular consciousness. I kind of missed seeing more of its POV chapters in Judas though.
The background civilization, history, and technology for the Commonwealth is extremely detailed and very well thought out, a joy to behold. Lesser SF authors struggle to achieve a fraction of the elegance displayed in the Night's Dawn (Confederation) and Fallen Dragon backstories, but Mr. Hamilton just picked up his boots and staked out a brand new world, again. It is his best yet and I hope to see it again. My pet suggestion: pick up the re-life thread and explore the shortcomings and motivations of technological reincarnation while suffering death and personality termination in your current body. This is, I think, what Wilson Klime briefly alludes to near the end.
Like Pandora, Judas is a big book and there are lots of characters running around in a complicated plotline, but still a joy to read throughout.
Best of all, unlike Fallen Dragon and, most painfully, Night's Dawn, Mr. Hamilton really did a very good job wrapping it all up and Judas keeps you on the edge of your seat (well, bed probably) all the way to the finish. There are two cliffhanger threads at the end, one of which includes a whodunnit.
One little remark : I couldn't quite empathize fully with everyone's concerns about genocide. Yes, MorningLightMountain happens to be a species, but it is most of all presented as an awesomely aggressive _individual_. So, you could argue that the genocide is an unfortunate byproduct of the need to remove one aggressor, rather than the needless destruction of an entire race. Granted, this only applies to the people to whom the Dudley Bose motile has been talking, but still...
Book Review: Feel good book that makes you long for the future
Summary: 4 Stars
There are times when the story drones on and there are times you can't put the book down because the story line sucks you in. If you want to envision what the future might look like, sit back and enjoy Peter's book.Book Review: Good epic story, a bit long and wordy.
Summary: 4 Stars
Good story. Characters are developed although a lot of the issues were not resolved. It could be considered consistent on a vibrant large universe where everything does not end in a happy ending or we follow everyone's story.
The technology seem to be too obscure in the details. We are just expected to assume that the technology is there and that people re-life in a normal and regular basis, etc. I guess, in a way, this is what we already do in modern life in our world, where we just assume that technology works and sometimes forget the marvels that were discovered before all of this has become everyday mundane things. Things like electricity or the internet and vehicles for instance.
In conclusion, I liked the story but it wasn't the best. It's still recommended to be read.
Book Review: Good story poorly executed
Summary: 3 Stars
A few things....
The editing is very poor. There are numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the book that make the 800+ page read a little annoying.
You ABSOLUTELY MUST read "Pandora's Star" before reading this book. While it is clearly evident what "Pandora's Star" is, it is a little bit more difficult to figure out who "Judas" is or how he/she/it was "Unchained."
I absolutely loved Pandora's Star, and pre-ordered Judas Unchained a month before it was published. I was very eager to learn more about MorningLightMountain and Ozzie's quest with Orion and Touchee. However, these two plot trails were not well expounded on in the second book. Judas Unchained spends most of it's words exploring sabotage and the politcs of genocide. The sudden death of certain key characters adds to my frustration with this book.
In conclusion, the book seems as though it were written on contract terms, and finished under a deadline. It does not seem like Peter Hamilton really poured his best creative ability into this one. It comes across as though this book were a chore to write. That makes it a chore to read as well.
Book Review: Great Ending to a Saga, but will there be more?
Summary: 5 Stars
Pandora's Star quickly became one of my most favourite SF books of the year. So when my boyfriend and I found Judas Unchained we fought over who got to read it first. I did. I was unapproachable for days. Lost in the book. Completely taken in by the story.
In reality there should not have been two books It should have been one gigantic one. It is hard to start without having Pandora's Star fresh in your memory, but if you do, boy it starts of in the middle of the action.
Again nothing is what it seems at first. People are not what they themselves think they are. The story is massively complex yet at the same time can remind of fairytales. Fairies in this case being the Silfen. Strange illusive creatures that seem to comunicate in riddles.
The story between Adam and Paula is intense. Due to all the years Paula has tried to capture Adam she knows him very well and the final parts of their strange intimate relationship read as a love story, but in a strange and macabre way. Then there are the real love stories, touching and cynical.
Politically it is not clear anymore who the enemy is and who is not. Who can be trusted? What is true? Starflyer who and what is it? Several options pop up through the book and you are often put on the wrong foot by Hamilton. You almost feel like the detective yourself. The endresult may be surprising but is also very logical.
At the end of the book wraps up the main plots, but there are loose ends and I think Peter Hamilton left those in place for obvious reasons. Most strikingly; what happened to senator Burnelli's lovechild? I suspect we will see the return of this child. I would also like to read more Silfen threads. Those creatures are very enthralling.
As with Pandora's Star you get it all: hard core SF mixed with fantasy, action, crime, love and betrayal. A worthy sucessor.