Judas Unchained (Commonwealth Saga, #2)
Peter F. Hamilton
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. Nor are the Prime the only threat. 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 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...
Publication Year: 2006
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03.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed this a lot more than the first book. The plot felt a lot more cohesive in this book. The original book followed a dozen different characters who were all doing their own things that were barely related or not at all related to each other’s stories. I found it really hard to be invested in some of the characters when they seemed irrelevant to the plot. This book finally brings all those characters together with the same goal and is a lot more satisfying.
I think all of the set up of the first book paid off well but it was a lot of set up. Probably too much set up. This is an extremely slow book. I wasn’t really invested in the story until just under halfway through this book or about 1300 pages of this world's story to feel like I cared. After that point there was tons of mystery and “who can you trust” sort of drama that I loved.
I think this world is very interesting but the writing is so slow and overly descriptive that I find a hard time staying engaged. The combat and action sequences especially are very hard to read. They will be fighting or building up to this highly awaited intense scene but spend 2-5 pages describing the beach and the mountains or the engine in the cars they are driving. I DON’T CARE ABOUT HOW THE SUN LOOKS NEXT TO THE WET DESERT AT THIS POINT. It really destroys the momentum when I am forced to skim through description after description of irrelevant things. It ruined the climax of the story for me which was unfortunate since I was really looking forward to it.
I still enjoyed a lot of the build up in this story and I connected with a lot of the characters. They were all very flawed but it showed the highs and lows of the human race in a realistic and compelling way. Mellanie and Ozzie in particular are my favorites.
I’m glad I read it but unless you are a die-hard sci-fi fan I would skip this series.
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