Customer Reviews

Judas Unchained

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(24)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

"Judas Unchained" is the third volume in Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga, following immediately upon the events detailed in "Pandora's Star". (The earlier "Misspent Youth" is set much earlier in this universe's timeline.) In fact, the reader is plunged immediately into this volume without the slightest recap of what has gone before. Under no circumstances should you read this without picking up the prequel, and if you expect the author to refresh your memory upon any point whatsoever, you will be sadly disappointed. You had best be equipped with a phenomenal memory, since Hamilton is not above referring to events that were mentioned once some seventeen hundred pages ago and which now come to be seen as absolutely critical.

Yes, these books are massive, and possibly hundreds of pages could've easily been trimmed. The author is a little too fond of turning a simple sentence such as "The road climbed to the top of the hill" into "The glittering ribbon of enzyme-bonded concrete, laid down 175 years ago by automated Tarmac Master 3170 roadbots imported from the Big15 world of Cyborgia, wound its way upward to the crest of the ancient hill, which was composed of an agglomerate of metamorphic gneiss and basalt and which had been puked up by a volcanic eruption geologic epochs ago in the planet's tormented evolutionary past." Indeed, I can assure you that you will very soon be sick of the phrase "enzyme-bonded concrete", which I can only conclude must be set up on a macro on Hamilton's keyboard.

I also hate the amateurish cover, which is an abomination.

With that said, this is a worthy if bloated conclusion to the tale of humanity's struggle for survival against the Primes and the manipulative Starflyer. Can the Commonwealth stop MorningLightMountain? Will the fabulously wealthy and brilliant but amusingly dude-like Ozzie ever escape from the Silfen paths? Who are the Starflyer's agents, and can the Starflyer itself be stopped from escaping into the interstellar void? Will Mellanie find true love? There are dozens of characters, a few of them sketched out in some depth, and many introduced with a few quick descriptive strokes so that they serve the same purpose as the Fat Guy, the Country Bumpkin, and the Brooklyn Hustler in old WWII movies--which is to say, so that you feel a minor twinge of regret when they take a hyper-rifle shot to the head during the epic battle at the end.

By "the end", I mean roughly the last third of the book, which becomes an ultra-supra-mega-extended climax, sort of like the final chase scene in "The Road Warrior", but spanning thousands of miles, multiple worlds, and several weeks, and with 100% less Feral Kid. (In my opinion it's a bit ludicrous that in over a century, the Starflyer never bothered itself to import a flippin' plane to Far Away so that it could get back to the "Marie Celeste" in a couple of hours instead of two weeks.) Basically every form of transport gets involved, except for tuk-tuks and rollerblades. And enough firepower is unleashed to blast opponents so hard that not only are they atomized, but all of their parallel universe incarnations get wuss-slapped as well.

It's actually fairly gripping stuff and there's plenty of variety for everyone and a truly gigantic cast. As others have noted, the key figure of Paula Myo gets short shrift, and to the end she remains a cypher, and almost literally genetically incapable of real growth. Others get their opportunity for change, particularly Wilson Kime, Oscar Monroe, and Alic Hogan. Still others just drop out well before the end, particularly Justine Burnelli, and despite anvil-like hints dropped left and right, there's ultimately no wrap-up for Tiger Pansy and Qatux. And plenty of characters just get exploded into a fine red mist. Others that seemed quite minor originally end up seizing center stage, such as Mark Vernon and Morton.

Overall, I rather liked it, although I'm disappointed that the author was so exhausted at the end that we get only 20 pages or so to see what happened to everyone in the wake of Armageddon. I also had a bit of a problem with Ozzie's insistence that Nigel Sheldon's plan to eradicate the Primes was a horrifying crime that would destroy the soul of humanity for all of eternity. Let's see...MorningLightMountain has occupied and devastated dozens of planets, killed millions, and has refused all negotiation and compromise, and his only goal is literally killing every single form of non-Prime life in the entire galaxy. His race, which has already obliterated an entire alien species centuries ago, is so feared that they'd been forcibly quarantined by some now-vanished self-appointed galactic guardians, and everyone admits that if MLM is not stopped, he'll completely destroy every man, woman, and child. I dunno...I guess under those circumstances, I'd...fight back? And try to kill this implacable enemy? Ozzie's insistence that we should risk our own extermination on a long-shot alternative does nothing more than boggle the mind. However, he's Ozzie, and therefore probably right.

At any rate...the story continues, 1,500 years or so later, in the Void trilogy, the first volume of which, "The Dreaming Void", is now available. From what I've heard, some beloved characters from this present duology are just mentioned in passing, while some are still around and active, and there are surprising revelations about the Raiel. I'll probably run the risk of serious back injury in picking up the latest titanic tome, but I'll be there nonetheless.

Before you read this review, consider my prior review of James Hamilton's superb "Pandora's Star" to which I awarded five stars. "Pandora's Star" blew me away with its deft juggling of numerous plots and sub-plots, and creation of a universe consisting of near-immortality, stable wormholes, hundreds of human populated planets, the "Silfen Paths," the released "Primes," and numerous other relatively sophisticated sci-fi concepts. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same way -- not even close -- about the ponderous "Judas Unchained," though I still think its worthy of 3 stars since Hamilton is such a talented writer in the space opera genre.

First, I have to say that it took me about 100 pages to get back into this universe since Hamilton decided to begin the book with sub-plots even in the face of alien invasion and potential human extinction. Second, well over 100 tedious pages towards the end are devoted to a bizarre futuristic "Road Warriors" sequence, where the Navy and Guardians in vehicles (Toyotas and Volvos no less!) are chasing down the Starflyer and its entourage. Third, even though I wanted the book to end already, I thought that the concluding chapter felt sought of like Hamilton was trying to meet a deadline, and to conclude everything on an optimistic note.

Along the way, I was puzzled over the following [spoilers!!!]:

1. While Hamilton thankfully provided a "Dramatis Personae," why not also give us a glossary with locations, technology, space ships, etc. ala Tolkien or Robert Jordan? I found the jumping around of locations was especially confusing.

2. Hamilton should read Arthur C. Clarke's "Superiority." In that short story, an alien race, way behind humans in military space technology, nevertheless win the war, because while the aliens kept making multitudes of small mobile spaceships, the human leaders insisted on developing increasingly elaborate weapons. Clarke's point seemingly was that you can't always rely on developing futuristic technology -- there's no substitute for brute manpower. You might say that "Judas Unchained" is the anti-"Superiority."

3. Why in the world would Ozzie, or anyone else, think that restoring the Barrier around Alpha Prime would solve anything? The Barrier was opened once, and it could be easily opened again, especially with all those Primes on the loose. Remember, MorningLightMountain's technological know-how continues to grow, especially with humans around who all have implanted memory chips (all that has to happen is an advanced weapons human scientist falls into the hands of the Primes). Wasn't it the Starflyer who figured out how to shut the barrier down? So tell me why Ozzie thinks that this won't happen again sooner rather than later?

4. If a train or a truck, protected by a force-field, is carrying your enemy, why not bomb the track or road in front of it? Or, for that matter, bury some bombs in the ground (i.e. powerful land mines) where the train or truck is headed, wait until it passes over, then KABOOM!! (The force field can't cover the entire bottom because the wheels are in contact with the ground).

5. Why exactly couldn't a wormhole be opened near Far Away, and a serious weapon be used on The Institute and/or the Marie Celeste? What was all that nonsense about the weather and "The Planet's Revenge?" What exactly did Wilson accomplish when he reached the top of that tall mountain on Far Away in the hyperglider? Did he have some sort of special equipment that Oscar and Anna also must have had? None of this really made any sense to me.

6. What did we learn about the SI in "Judas Unchained?" How about Tochee or the Barsoomians, or the aliens who built the High Angel? O.K. I guess Hamilton isn't obligated to explain everything.

7. When Bradley finally gets near the Starflyer, did Hamilton really have to so closely rip off the scene where Captain Janeway and co. infiltrated the Borg, from Star Trek Voyager?

8. Does the gorgeous, intelligent, talented, SI-protected Mellanie have to fall in love with every man she sleeps with? I guess this isn't so important, I just want to know.

In conclusion: "Pandora's Star" was excellent; "Judas Unchained" not nearly as good. But, if you're like me, you really need to see how everything from the first book turns out.

"Judas Unchained" is the sequel to "Pandora's Star" and make no mistake, the two of these novels are really one big story. Don't even think about trying to read "Judas Unchained" before reading "Pandora's Star."

It is nearly impossible to review "Judas Unchained" without the risk of spoiling "Pandora's Star" for those who have not read it; if you have not yet read the latter novel, do not continue on reading this review.

These novels are essentially a prognostication of mankind's future starting about 70 years from now, at which time humanity discovers cheap and practical interstellar travel. This is accomplished both by means of "wormholes" (instantaneous gateways to distant locations) or by faster-than-light starships which are powered by the same wormhole principle. The gateways are so practical that mankind initially builds no starships, but quickly colonizes hundreds of planets that are linked electronically and physically by wormholes, and the Intersolar Commonwealth comes into being, which is a loose government comprised of Earth and most of the colonized worlds. The strength of these novels is that author Hamilton's speculations along these lines is ingenious, mostly not implausible, and really does represent an optimistic and indeed dazzling vision of the future. The Commonwealth really does behave about the way a modern technological republican (small "r") society would behave, and Hamilton's speculations about technology are for the most part fascinating even if the reader is skeptical about some of them.

"Pandora's Star" is about the Commonwealth's discovery of a distant star that is suddenly enveloped in a force field (i.e. a "Dyson Sphere") which contains--something. "Judas Unchained" is about the Commonwealth's conflict with this intelligence, (the "Prime" entity) and how it is resolved.

Hamilton's approach to writing these stories is to have numerous, seemingly disconnected, storylines and characters, which gradually come together as the story reaches its climax in "Judas Unchained." This approach both succeeds and fails. It succeeds because this technique really does acquaint the reader with the Intersolar Commonwealth and the technology and society that it represents, and this is a fascinating trip for the reader. This approach was probably essential in "Pandora's Star" which, after all, sets the stage for the conclusion in "Judas Unchained." Unfortunately, "Judas Unchained" does not seek to profit from the reader's familiarity (after reading "Pandora's Star") with this setting. Instead, it continues the disconnected storyline approach, and in my opinion Hamilton's writing in most of the novel becomes jumbled, and downright hard to follow at times--a tedious hard slog.

In fact, in "Judas Unchained" rarely has a good writer (and Hamilton is that) needed a ruthless editor more. Much of this novel should have been cut, condensed, or thrown out as overlong, wordy, and unnecessary. Hamilton is quite capable of writing in a clearer and more engaging style--this is shown repeatedly in the novel; for example, the second big space battle where the Prime entity seeks to overrun the second group of Commonwealth planets. This battle makes for fascinating reading, and was quite interesting.

My other main criticism of this novel is that in parts it degenerates into slapstick. There are parts where Hamilton is not taking his own story seriously, and I have no idea why he suddenly resorts to this kind of humor. This is a story about man's expansion into the galaxy, and what we find there (prosperity, conflict, and friends, among other things) and it stands very well on that basis. My attitude in reading "Judas Unchained" was that once the unserious humor started (mostly unlike "Pandora's Star") my commitment to the novel waned. And this is a long, wordy, complicated story that requires commitment on the part of the reader, and Hamilton's humor is much less skillful than his speculations as to future technology and its effect on mankind and our society.

Overall, this is worth reading, essential, really, if you read and enjoy "Pandora's Star" but it could have been much better.

A couple years back, in an effort to expand my science fiction horizons, I picked up Peter Hamilton's Pandora's Star. Based on the back of the book description and its hefty size, I felt this would be a good, substantial read. When I got home, however, I realized that this was actually just volume one in a two part story, and the second volume - Judas Unchained - was not due out for a while, even in hardcover. Since it was an incomplete story, I shelved Pandora's Star and went on to other things until I could, at last, pick up the sequel. Was this 2000-page, two-book science fiction saga worth the wait? Overall, yes.

In the broadest terms, the plot of this story involves a war between the human Intersolar Commonwealth and a race of vicious aliens known as the Prime. As Pandora's Star concluded, the Commonwealth had beaten back the Prime but at great cost: a number of destroyed human worlds. Even then, the Prime was hardly defeated, merely stalled temporarily. Also, as Pandora's Star ended, it was becoming clear that a mysterious alien known as the Starflyer - previously only believed in by a fringe group called the Guardians of Selfhood - was a real entity, and through its human agents was manipulating the war to its own advantage.

In Judas Unchained, much of the first half of the volume deals with the efforts to come up with conclusive proof of the Starflyer's existence while other characters prepare for the next battle with the Prime. Eventually the Prime do strike back, much more savagely than before, and even as this peril is being dealt with, the Starflyer makes its own move and needs to be stopped.

But just as a rope, from a distance, looks like a single line, but up close is shown to have intertwined fibers, so too is this story actually made up of a number of different plotlines featuring dozens of characters. While there is no single main character, the principal protagonists include: Wilson Kime, last of the old-time NASA astronauts who is now the Admiral in charge of stopping the Prime; Paula Myo, the Commonwealth's greatest detective who is congenitally unable to allow crime to occur without punishment; Mellanie Rescorai, a news reporter who's superficially a beautiful bimbo but is actually much slyer than is immediately evident; Bradley Johannson, the leader of the Guardians whose preparations for the Starflyer's return may be the only thing that saves the human race; and Ozzie Isaac, an eccentric genius who has wandered the paths of the alien race called the Silfen and, in his quest for answers, has wound up on a planet that defies the laws of physics.

Judas Unchained is not a standalone book and should not be read unless you've already finished Pandora's Star. In one way, however, it does feel standalone: like a single volume story, Judas Unchained starts rather slowly (a change of pace from Pandora's Star's conclusion), but picks up considerably by the halfway point of its thousand pages; the last 300 pages or so are almost all relentless action.

Hamilton knows he's not writing the great American novel with grand themes about the human condition, but instead a great science fiction novel. His straightforward style, clear with dashes of humor, goes well with his subject. He is a very good plotter and is able to bring all his plotlines together rather neatly. You'd think that in a 2000 page story, there'd be some excess that could have been trimmed away, but this isn't the case. If you have the fortitude to deal with a true space opera epic, Judas Unchained, like its predecessor, is worth the effort.

First off: I'd like it better if we had 1/2-star options. Judas Unchained really doesn't deserve a 2, more a 2-1/2 or 2-3/4.

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 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.

Have any of you Amazon readers out there ever read Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" series? If you have, then you must have been completely swept up in the universe he created. The characters, cultures and plot just sizzled from the very beginning of the novels right up until....Well, right up until the last half of the last book and then whole thing fell apart. Why did it fall apart? Well, the author had a great plot but I think he wrote himself into a corner and couldn't get out, so he came up with a simplistic, unrealistic and really stupid way to get out of it and it ruined the whole novel.

I was deeply afraid of the same thing happening in Pandora's Star and its sequel, Judas Unchained. Imagine my surprise when I read both these huge tomes, enjoyed every minute of them and was totally satisfied with the conclusion. As in the "Night's Dawn" series, Hamilton creates a wholly believable, wonderful interstellar culture and comes up with a very original alien species. (It's hard to find original aliens anymore, isn't it?) Also, it's an alien invasion story and I have always been a sucker for a good alien invasion story. I mean, in all of science fiction, what's better then a good old-fashioned alien invasion story? This one doesn't disappoint. Hamilton writes excellent action sequences and he keeps them coming, although in a book this size there's bound to be some downtime. His characters are interesting, fun and he is able to mix genres throughout his complex universe, whether writing a war story, a love story, a travelogue or a crime thriller. (This book contains all of these.)

I enjoyed both these books all the more so because they actually ended and left you wanting more. I look forward to Hamilton's next work. There are so few true Sci-Fi authors left nowadays that the good ones must be appreciated.

I'm a big fan of Peter Hamilton's novels. I went through his works ever since I bought Reality Dysfunction: Emergence. I was awed by how much detail and "heart" was put into creating the rich, memorable characters, the awesome technologies, and of course, the grand settings that populate his novels. After *experiencing* the Night's Dawn trilogy and Confederation books, the Greg Mandel series, Fallen Dragon, and his short stories, I was anxiously waiting for his next big project; and so came the Commonwealth Saga. In a way, it rivals Night's Dawn in ambition and breadth. At the same time, it provided a more solid compact story, clearer writing, and most definitely a much more satisfying conclusion. I just wished the "experience" could have lasted longer. In fact, at the time Pandora's Star came out, I was hoping it would be as grand as Night's Dawn. In a way, it is. But part of me is wishing for more.

In terms of providing magnificent science fiction / space opera, Hamilton's work is highly recommended; and the Commonwealth Saga is no exception. In fact, it is Hamilton's best so far.

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. 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 enslave the remainder. At the same time, agents of the Starflyer continue to do their best to cover up any evidence of their existence and since the sabotage continues to come out at the highest of levels, no one is certain who they can trust anymore. Nigel Sheldon has created a weapon that can cause a sun to go nova instantly - he calls is a quantumbuster - and consideration is given to using it on all star systems where Prime have settled. Is genocide the option humans will take? Or will another route be found? Will the Guardians of Selfhood be able to stop the Starflyer from taking off in its starship? What *is* the Starflyer? You need to read the book to find out - and you will not be disappointed in the ending - you may be shocked, but you will not be disappointed!

I enjoy Mr. Hamilton's books, and particularly enjoyed Pandora's Star. I was looking forward to this sequel, but found it somewhat difficult reading. comments with spoilers follow

1) was anyone sympathetic to Ozzie's and other characters' moral concerns about taking out alpha prime (MLM) with the weapon? In the context of an immediate and clear threat to human existence, it just didn't make sense. Maybe for the SI, which presumably has other interests, but not for any human.

2) The entire Starflyer aspect of the story was interesting in the first book, but for it really seemed to drag here in places. I have seen it compared to the chase of Dracula, but darn that didn't take half of Stoker's book.

3) this may not be a quibble, but the author left a realistic number of loose ends which could not have been expected to be resolved anyway (tens of thousands of prime ships in human space, hundreds of prime seedships sent out). Maybe Mr. Hamilton is considered writing more in this universe?

4) My big complaint is the Star Trek Plot Device which resolved the contamination of human worlds by radiation without killing all the people - using wormhole tech for time travel! Has anyone thought through the implications of this? Even if he writes in a special 'reason' why you cannot open a wormhole into the past, within a fairly short period of time you will have wormholes opening FROM the past into present time and all kinds of possibilities emerge. How convenient Sheldon just had this sitting on a shelf and never did anything with it.

I guess it is less all-encompassing than a naked singularity, but at least the naked singularity was clearly alluded to and the target of a large search in 'the naked god.'.

OMG, what went wrong? After reading PANDORAS STAR, which I loved (overlooking the excessive exposition), I looked forward to the follow up in JUDAS UNCHAINED, but what I found was a long suffering, boring book. Hamilton goes on and on and on and on about the naval security force investigation that turns this non-science fiction into a tired police story. If I wanted to read a mystery I would have bought a mystery. I wanted science fiction that stimulated my imagination. This didn't do it.
After 900 pages of PANDORAS STAR and getting into 600+ pages of this 1000 page thick excuse for a sci-fi novel, I realized I had to press on to the end since I already had so much time invested. I wish I hadn't.
Like some reviewers have stated, both books waste entirely too much time with description of useless minutia and not enough story. Who cares about the breeze in the trees or the color of the sidewalk, GIVE ME STORY and not endless exposition! This seems to be the way of most authors today who are so in love with their words, they loose sight of just telling a good story, that the reader and ultimatly the paying audience, can enjoy.
What the author has done here is take one good story and strech it into two books, maybe in the attempt to make twice the money. This story would have been better served in one 600 or 700 page book, then he really would have had something here worth reading.