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A review by clambering
Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
3.0
Pandora's Star and this book should really be considered as a single story - neither is complete without the other. The first is a good introduction to the universe and what humans are up to, lets you get familiar with the characters, and sets up the stage for the Judas Unchained.
This book essentially ties up all of the stories of the characters which were followed in the first. Despite being with the characters for 2400 pages, I am rather disappointed to say that I couldn't really empathise with any of them. The story, which was, I think, a genuinely interesting one is somewhat marred by the lack of a true sense of character development. The large number of different interlinking storylines certainly made for an interesting ride, and Hamilton's attempt to tell a story from many different perspectives is commendable, but I found that even in parts of the book at which I should be feeling some sort of emotion, there was none. One thing that I did appreciate was the number of female characters which played important roles in the story, and their portrayal as independent entities, not just some attachment to the male characters was pleasantly surprising.
The universe in which the story is set is certainly an interesting one, and while I enjoyed it there are parts that I feel could have been dealt with better. The different planets of the Commonwealth provide a good platform for exploring what humans would do should they suddenly become able to colonise planets. The problems, however, again come in the shallowness of the world. Although upon first encounter planets are described in some detail, apart from a few cases the environment has little to do with the events which occur there. In a similar sense, the technology is left relatively unexplored, with only an ambient sense of some sort of high-tech developments. The development of ships is marginally more interesting as it plays a somewhat pivotal role in the story, but even that is lacking in detail. Perhaps in these cases detail is not actually a necessity however. It seems that progression of the story is prioritised over other aspects.
The story itself is long and winding, and one wonders whether the end result is worth the length. It is probably not a good idea to judge the books based solely on the ending, but after so much I feel like it could have been a little more satisfying.
This book essentially ties up all of the stories of the characters which were followed in the first. Despite being with the characters for 2400 pages, I am rather disappointed to say that I couldn't really empathise with any of them. The story, which was, I think, a genuinely interesting one is somewhat marred by the lack of a true sense of character development. The large number of different interlinking storylines certainly made for an interesting ride, and Hamilton's attempt to tell a story from many different perspectives is commendable, but I found that even in parts of the book at which I should be feeling some sort of emotion, there was none. One thing that I did appreciate was the number of female characters which played important roles in the story, and their portrayal as independent entities, not just some attachment to the male characters was pleasantly surprising.
The universe in which the story is set is certainly an interesting one, and while I enjoyed it there are parts that I feel could have been dealt with better. The different planets of the Commonwealth provide a good platform for exploring what humans would do should they suddenly become able to colonise planets. The problems, however, again come in the shallowness of the world. Although upon first encounter planets are described in some detail, apart from a few cases the environment has little to do with the events which occur there. In a similar sense, the technology is left relatively unexplored, with only an ambient sense of some sort of high-tech developments. The development of ships is marginally more interesting as it plays a somewhat pivotal role in the story, but even that is lacking in detail. Perhaps in these cases detail is not actually a necessity however. It seems that progression of the story is prioritised over other aspects.
The story itself is long and winding, and one wonders whether the end result is worth the length. It is probably not a good idea to judge the books based solely on the ending, but after so much I feel like it could have been a little more satisfying.