Judas Unchained
by Peter F. Hamilton · first published 2005
83% recommend11% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Gripping, big-scale space opera that concludes Pandora's Star, with an unsettling alien threat, a tense chase, and rich worldbuilding. Suits readers who like long, immersive, page-turning sci-fi.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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 twenty-fourth century. Robust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, on
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I very much like the 2 part epic space opera "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" by Peter F Hamilton. In it, an Astronomer spots a star that disappears. This star is 1,500 light years away. He travels to another star system (Humanity is a multi-system species) and observes the star…
on “Researchers have identified 100 mysteriously disappeared stars in the night sky” ↗If all the dimming star headlines are piquing your interest, you must read Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Alexander Hamilton. It's about the same event being observed but a couple hundred years from now in a post FTL society, so naturally they have to wander out and see what's up. The pair is one of…
on “Dyson sphere” ↗There's a great pair of novels by Peter F Hamilton, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. In them, there's an alien, MorningLightMountain, that expands by creating copies of itself. If it can't maintain the neural link to those copies, they diverge. A problem that in its early spaceflight…
on “Teletransportation Paradox” ↗Definitely read the sequel Judas Unchained. Those books are probably my favourite novels. For more Peter F Hamilton optimistic future of humanity, see the Night's Dawn trilogy.
on “The possible disappearance of a massive star in the galaxy PHL 293B” ↗…Pandoras Star is well worth it - Morninglightmountain is one of the most original, minblowingly awesome all time alien baddies, and the trepidation and sense of impending doom in that book and its's sequel Judas Unchained are superb. Would also recommend the Void Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton too - strong mix of scifi and an alternate fantasy world. Missing in my view would be: Greg Bear - Eon (as people have mentioned,…
on “The Best Science Fiction Books (According to Reddit)” ↗I randomly picked up Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained when they were first published in the mid 2000's, and was pleasantly entertained. I was a very upset teenager when I got to the end of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained hadn't been published yet. It…
on “Ask HN: What are the greatest modern space-opera style sci-fi books?” ↗…Expeditionary Force audio books (there are 5 of them so far), read by R. C. Bray. Very funny, one of the few books to make laugh out loud while listening to it. My other favourites are Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Peter F Hamilton (and the rest of the books in the Commonwealth series).
on “Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?” ↗Pandora's Star - Peter Hamilton Judas Unchained - Peter Hamilton Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite sci fi audiobooks?” ↗…anyway. - Children of Time/Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Hyperion by Dan Simmons - Accelerando by Charles Stross - House of Suns/Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds - Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained by Peter Hamilton - The Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor Cheers EDIT: also, here's a good website to track the winners for most sci-fi awards: https://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_index.asp
on “Ask HN: What are less known hard Sci-Fi books to read?” ↗Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained - Peter Hamilton Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson Neuromancer - William Gibson Foundation - Isaac Asimov Altas Shrugged & The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand 1984 - George Orwell We Are Legion (We Are Bob)…
on “Ask HN: What is your favorite fiction book?” ↗…Guard books, starting with Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy fiction satire, hilarious and comforting. Highly, highly recommended!! Peter F Hamilton sci-fi adventure books: Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are a duo of great space opera stretching across multiple planets and people. Don't spoil yourself by reading any descriptions of Judas Unchained before you read Pandora's Star. Also by the same author,…
on “Ask HN: What books have been worth your time?” ↗Yeah I was going to say the same thing. Pandora's Star/Judas unchained is the best scifi I've ever read. Peter F Hamilton's worldbuilding is unmatched.
on “What 'Project Hail Mary' teaches us about the PlanetScale vs. Neon debate” ↗I don't mind taking a long time to complete a book if the story is good. I just re-read a couple of Peter F Hamilton 1200 page tomes that took me over a month to complete (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained). However they were fun and I was immersed in the world building. There are other far shorter novels I have abandoned after 70-80 pages because they're just not very good.
on “The Essential Question: "What should I read next?"” ↗…while since I last read his books so I can't off-hand remember what moral/social aspects of immortality he focused on. If you want to read his books I would recommend you start with Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Those have to be some of the best books I've ever read. Speaking of which, I'm off to re-read them a third time.
on “Ask HN: Which scifi authors to interview about immortality?” ↗I'd just like to add how terrific Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained are! And the following Void Trilogy was pretty good as well, though the latter two books got little weird.
on “When Ramjets Ruled Science Fiction” ↗