Judas Unchained

De: Peter F. Hamilton

Narrado por: John Lee

Peter F. Hamilton's superbly imagined, cunningly plotted interstellar adventures are conceived on a staggeringly epic scale and filled with fully realized human and alien characters as complex as they are engaging. No mere world builder, Hamilton creates entire universes - and he does so with irresistible flair and intelligence.

His previous novel, the acclaimed Pandora's Star, introduced the Intersolar Commonwealth, a star-spanning civilization of the 24th century. Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy.

Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next.

Nor are the Prime the only threat. For more than 100 years, a shadowy cult, the Guardians of Selfhood, has warned that an alien with mind-control abilities impossible to detect or resist - the Starflyer - has secretly infiltrated the Commonwealth. Branded as terrorists, the Guardians and their leader, Bradley Johansson, have been hunted by relentless investigator Paula Myo. But now evidence suggests that the Guardians were right all along and that the Starflyer has placed agents in vital posts throughout the Commonwealth - agents who are now sabotaging the war effort. Is the Starflyer an ally of the Prime, or has it orchestrated a fight to the death between the two species for its own advantage?

Caught between two deadly enemies, one a brutal invader striking from without, the other a remorseless cancer killing from within, the fractious Commonwealth must unite as never before. This will be humanity's finest hour - or its last gasp.

©2006 Peter F. Hamilton (P)2008 Tantor

Reseñas de la Crítica

"For flat-out huge widescreen all-engines-at-full I-dare-you-not-to-believe-it space opera, there is no one quite like Peter F. Hamilton." (Richard K. Morgan, author of Market Forces)
"Richly satisfying.... In more ways than one, this...work is monumental." ( Publishers Weekly)

Better than the first book

Because Hamilton has already built much of his commonwealth galaxy, the second book is focused more on actually telling the narrative and less on world building.

Overall a satisfying conclusion.

Enjoyed it a lot

John Lee does a fine job of narrating a long and complex story, working hard to keep his characters consistent throughout. I hope Audible will consider adding to the Peter Hamilton items in the library.

Great story, audio had some annoying problems

I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I’m writing this at 3am after finishing the last couple of riveting chapters. I can’t recommend this story enough!

The only problem I had was the hugely annoying audio issues in the first parts. The audio was recorded with incorrect compressor settings, which resulted in the first syllable of each sentence being incredibly loud followed by it rapidly becoming quiet. With every volume knob at maximum, I would suffer between a shouted word, followed by the trailing off audio that required rewinding several times to catch what was said throughout several chapters.

Excellent hard sci-fi

This is a long, convoluted story spanning a large cast of characters and many worlds but it still manages to keep me sitting in my car after my commute completely enthralled. The Sci-Fi feels very plausible and the author seems to really understand how technology changes society. The reader does a great job, occasionally slipping up on an accent or doubling up several characters with the same voice but given the huge cast and great length that's not surprising.

excellent plot and well developed characters

I love the vision of the world the author created and how he uses it to explore challenging ethical questions that are critical to the evolution and resolution of this story. Aspects of the story are somewhat formulaic, but much is extremely original. Very well crafted overall....

very imaginative

it really ends the story nicely, following all the characters in the first book.
if you hear this book while driving, tha readers voice is terrible. his low tone is to low to be understood in conjunction with the noise given by the tires on the road.

A geat story with a great reader

A very well written book definitely worth your time. The author developed all the characters, the plot was outstanding, and new ideas in science fiction were introduced...the reader did an excellent job...

Quite an epic tale

Really long but damn is it worth it. The narrator has a Captain Kirk style of speaking but if that doesn't bother you he did a good job.

good story. hard to follow at times

good atary but hard to follow at times. the readers volume went up and down a lot ao it was tough ro listen to in the car without volume really high. i will liaten to the next one in the series for sure.

Goes E.E. Doc Smith one better

This sequel to Hamilton's Pandora's Star continues the saga of the Commonwealth battles with the alien Primes, and does so in an even more expansive and space-operatic form (it is essential to read Pandora's Star first or you'll be lost). Hamilton uses the old E.E. "Doc" Smith tactic of introducing ever more powerful and fantastic technologies in every other chapter, coming very close to overdoing it at times. In that respect, and because the story is not quite as focused, this novel ranks a notch below its predecessor, but it's still a really compelling story (set of stories, really) about the many different ways in which people have to adapt to an increasingly large and dangerous universe, not to mention their own technology with its AI, biological enhancements, rejuvenation, and galaxy-spanning transportation system. It has the same strengths of detailed character development and a serious effort to make the science plausible (still too much hand-waving at times) as Pandora's Star, but it is long and does require a commitment of time and attention to get all the subtleties. It's not a great book for casual listening. But if you're looking for a good old-fashioned space epic full of interesting ideas and characters, this one is tough to beat. Narration is just okay, but does not detract.