Judas Unchained is epic, and not just in its length. The scope of the narrative (a sequel to Pandora's Star) is so big, it boggles that such a plot came from the mind of one man. Despite is mammoth page count (it clocks in at 1235 page, a full 100 pages longer than its predecessor), it never strays from the main story threads and is so tightly plotted that you legitimately struggle to find anything to trim.
If Pandora's Star was the elaborate set up, the Judas Unchained is the pay off, and whilst the plot of hostile alien corruption feel lifted from the pages of a contemporary crime novel, the setting of a future galaxy some 300 years away allows for set-pieces on a scale I have never experienced before. When the author casually details the effects of a Quantumbuster Bomb on a star system, it's hard not to be in awe of its magnitude.
Despite being somewhat anti-climactic, especially after the time invested in a book so big, Judas Unchained is one of the most thrilling books I've read in years. Not only does it manages to juggle multiple story arcs in an impossibly dense plot, it also runs forward at mach 10 and rarely slows down. A rollcoaster ride if ever there was one.
5/5
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