#62 in Science fiction
Judas Unchained
- 856
- Pages
- about 16 h
- Reading time
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About the book
The previous novel, Pandora's Star, introduced the Intersolar Commonwealth, a star-spanning civilization of the twenty-fourth 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. The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare. 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. Against this backdrop, Captain Wilson Kime confides to Paula Myo, chief investigator at the Intersolar Serious Crimes Directorate, his belief that humans are being manipulated. For more than a hundred 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 Paula. 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.
Reading order · Commonwealth Saga
- Pandora's StarStart here
8.28.2 / 10 - Judas UnchainedThis book
8.38.3 / 10
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.6 across 388 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 72% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Science fiction average of 7.8. That is how 8.3 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 7 | 2% |
| Hardcover | 8.6 | 381 | 98% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“Eh, I was curious to see how it all came together in the end, but I had to skim a lot of exposition to get there. Even in the theoretically climactic parts.”
“I hesitate only slightly with the five-star review. This is primarily because there are some faults with this novel–Hamilton suffers a little from over descriptive writing, and while he does create an incredibly vivid world, I found myself at times skimming the more dense prose.…”
Frequently asked
How long is Judas Unchained?
It has 856 pages — longer than 97% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.3 and 8.4, closest to this book.
