I Read Books: Judas Unchained
In part one of this duology* the Commonwealth – an interstellar human civilisation connected by wormhole railways – accidentally unleashed an alien threat. Now, after suffering a crippling defeat, it becomes clear that it was no accident; they are being betrayed from within.
All the characters and pieces from Pandora’s Star return**, remixed and facing more danger and higher stakes. In turn, this begins to turn the series into a series of ethical questions. How far are people willing to go, what compromises will they make with their morality when species extinction is a possibility, and it may be that anyone could be an enemy agent?
Hamilton likes a bit of deus ex machina in his endings and this doesn’t quite go as far as some of his novels. Still, there’s some knight’s moves and unexpected twists coming from almost outside the context of the story.
Read This: Because you read the first half and need the conclusion
Don’t Read This: If you didn’t read the first half
* I like duologies as a format. Trilogies tend to have a weak instalment – traditionally the middle section in which nothing can be resolved, though a strong second act can then lead to anticlimax in the third – and longer series can drag. Especially if you’re reading them while they’re being published at whatever rate that turns out to be.
** Including some that appeared to be taken entirely off the board.
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