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The Saga of Seven Suns #3
Horizon Storms: The Saga of Seven Suns - Book #3
Caught in the middle of a titanic struggle between two alien superpowers, the factions of humanity and their allies, the Ildirans, are under siege. Can they resolve their differences to fight a common threat?
For the leader of the Roamers, survival means extending a helping hand to others, while the chairman of the Terran Hansa plans to use a new, untested alien weapon regardless of the consequences. And for the new Ildiran Mage-Imperator, survival involves throwing off the choking traditions of the Empire - even if it might trigger a civil war.
As old intrigues and dark secrets come to light, a man who is believed to be long dead returns with an ally who may save mankind. But this new fragile hope will be threatened by a fresh betrayal - the most bitter and brutal of them all...
For the leader of the Roamers, survival means extending a helping hand to others, while the chairman of the Terran Hansa plans to use a new, untested alien weapon regardless of the consequences. And for the new Ildiran Mage-Imperator, survival involves throwing off the choking traditions of the Empire - even if it might trigger a civil war.
As old intrigues and dark secrets come to light, a man who is believed to be long dead returns with an ally who may save mankind. But this new fragile hope will be threatened by a fresh betrayal - the most bitter and brutal of them all...
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First published July 1, 2004
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About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,038 books3,104 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
December 20, 2021
3.5 Stars
This series is so bingeable and easy to read. The writing and characters probably aren't the strongest, but I can't stop burning through these books. There are probably too many storylines which makes the narrative hard to follow, but that just makes me want to reread this series in the future.
This series is so bingeable and easy to read. The writing and characters probably aren't the strongest, but I can't stop burning through these books. There are probably too many storylines which makes the narrative hard to follow, but that just makes me want to reread this series in the future.
December 2, 2021
At this point I'm not even sure why I'm still reading. Curiosity is probably the only reason I'm tolerating this painfully sluggish series; I just want to know why the Hydrogues wiped out the Klikiss, I want to know why the Ildirans helped, and I'm also curious about the Saga of Shadows (the sequel to The Saga of The Seven Suns).
I often find myself skimming through large sections of the book and even skipping entire chapters...especially those that involve King Peter, green priests, Celli, Estarra, and also romance and flashback segments; they play absolutely no part in the development of things.
Secondly, I feel, the dynamics that define socioeconomics and politics in an interplanetary civilization (human or otherwise), are seriously underplayed in this series; leaving the reader with an odd feeling of pre-industrial feudal societies that just happen to be living on different planets and can somehow zip through the galaxy at will. The reader has to settle with mushroom farmers, priests, monarchies and religion coexisting with FTL travel, telepathy, eugenics and teleportation; a weird combination.
I often find myself skimming through large sections of the book and even skipping entire chapters...especially those that involve King Peter, green priests, Celli, Estarra, and also romance and flashback segments; they play absolutely no part in the development of things.
Secondly, I feel, the dynamics that define socioeconomics and politics in an interplanetary civilization (human or otherwise), are seriously underplayed in this series; leaving the reader with an odd feeling of pre-industrial feudal societies that just happen to be living on different planets and can somehow zip through the galaxy at will. The reader has to settle with mushroom farmers, priests, monarchies and religion coexisting with FTL travel, telepathy, eugenics and teleportation; a weird combination.
November 10, 2019
As I have settled more into the authors writing style I’m definitely beginning to enjoy it more, this book features the same incredibly detailed storytelling that the previous entries displayed but also shows the various threads beginning to knit themselves together. This is definitely not a story that you could pick up anywhere but at the beginning but if you are only interested in the action there are quite a few passages and paragraphs you could skim, paying a little attention to the details and searching for the next big piece of action and still enjoy the story.
April 1, 2024
I read 2 and 3 three in one go basically, recovering from knee surgery. It's still a fun story, it's a got grand sweep and some wonderful tidbits. But it's not really my kind of sci-fi when I get right down to it. A lot of hand waving and plot elements that are just clear setups for further development etc. He's not an amazing writer. But it's still entertaining and the story is pretty cool. I think after book 3 I'll take a break
August 19, 2010
(Every time I read the character name, Basil Wenceslas, I want to sing "looked out"... I know, but my mind must be a little weird.)
This is another one of those books where the rating tended to slide between 3 and 4 as I went along. This book does tend to ramble a bit, but then the author has given himself quite a task as he's spun the story out into a half dozen points of view (at least, maybe I should say "major points of view") and possibly a few dozen threads all to keep track of and braid together into a coherent tale. He's doing a fairly credible job.
I personally find the book (books) a bit to...detail oriented for my taste. There are huge swaths of this that you could completely miss and still not lose track of the story. the trick of course would be knowing, as our UK readers might say, "which bits you could miss". It reminded me a few times of my wife's complaints about some soap-operas she watched at one time. They would go on and on for weeks at a time and little would change at all. Then she'd get fed up, miss the thing for a week and when she came back the baby that had been new born a week before was off at college and everyone had switched spouses. You can miss a lot, just don't miss the wrong paragraph.
Not to give any spoilers here, we are following the humans (divided as we always are, but with those who are totally sure that they can, should and must run things for all humans also) in their struggle to spread through space. And, as seems to happen in a lot of science fiction epics, we've gotten ourselves involved in a war with other alien races that are so powerful the only thing we seem to be able to do mostly is keep our heads down and try not to draw too much attention to ourselves lest survival cease to be an option. There are of course people who refuse to recognize that...but that's okay as we've also managed to split up and various groups of humans at each other's throats. Then there are the various groups of aliens the aforementioned very alien ones some of whom want us gone. The sentient robots...who also want us wiped out...the Ildiran empire, these aliens are very close to human. They are treacherous, conniving, and untrustworthy and their political machinations would make Machiavelli proud.
Need I go on? We see a lot happening here and the story is still spinning out. I wasn't aware when i started this that the series would run out to 7 volumes... At least the story does move forward here. It's not one of those books where you get the same event related to you a dozen times from a dozen different characters.
Many people will love what I found tedious in this book. They will see it as added background and color. The universe is built well here and I'm glad you'll enjoy this. As for me I only dropped the rating to a 4 as it's a good novel in an interesting series...just too full of fluff for my taste. Too often I found my mind wandering off away from the story at hand. Will I continue the series? Possibly. I have a lot of books already "to read" so i won't be running out right away to get them nor reserving them at the library. If the story stays with me I may go back and get the next volume later.
This is another one of those books where the rating tended to slide between 3 and 4 as I went along. This book does tend to ramble a bit, but then the author has given himself quite a task as he's spun the story out into a half dozen points of view (at least, maybe I should say "major points of view") and possibly a few dozen threads all to keep track of and braid together into a coherent tale. He's doing a fairly credible job.
I personally find the book (books) a bit to...detail oriented for my taste. There are huge swaths of this that you could completely miss and still not lose track of the story. the trick of course would be knowing, as our UK readers might say, "which bits you could miss". It reminded me a few times of my wife's complaints about some soap-operas she watched at one time. They would go on and on for weeks at a time and little would change at all. Then she'd get fed up, miss the thing for a week and when she came back the baby that had been new born a week before was off at college and everyone had switched spouses. You can miss a lot, just don't miss the wrong paragraph.
Not to give any spoilers here, we are following the humans (divided as we always are, but with those who are totally sure that they can, should and must run things for all humans also) in their struggle to spread through space. And, as seems to happen in a lot of science fiction epics, we've gotten ourselves involved in a war with other alien races that are so powerful the only thing we seem to be able to do mostly is keep our heads down and try not to draw too much attention to ourselves lest survival cease to be an option. There are of course people who refuse to recognize that...but that's okay as we've also managed to split up and various groups of humans at each other's throats. Then there are the various groups of aliens the aforementioned very alien ones some of whom want us gone. The sentient robots...who also want us wiped out...the Ildiran empire, these aliens are very close to human. They are treacherous, conniving, and untrustworthy and their political machinations would make Machiavelli proud.
Need I go on? We see a lot happening here and the story is still spinning out. I wasn't aware when i started this that the series would run out to 7 volumes... At least the story does move forward here. It's not one of those books where you get the same event related to you a dozen times from a dozen different characters.
Many people will love what I found tedious in this book. They will see it as added background and color. The universe is built well here and I'm glad you'll enjoy this. As for me I only dropped the rating to a 4 as it's a good novel in an interesting series...just too full of fluff for my taste. Too often I found my mind wandering off away from the story at hand. Will I continue the series? Possibly. I have a lot of books already "to read" so i won't be running out right away to get them nor reserving them at the library. If the story stays with me I may go back and get the next volume later.
July 30, 2025
3.5/5
Not as strong as the first 2, but still very curious to see where this story is going. Will for sure be continuing the series.
Not as strong as the first 2, but still very curious to see where this story is going. Will for sure be continuing the series.
October 24, 2011
I have an occasional love affair with the books in this sprawling space yarn. I also have an occasional hate affair with them. By God, but they polarise me! I tackle one of them every year or so, and as was the case with the previous two volumes, I got about a third of the way in and wanted to fling the damn thing across the room because the plot felt so damned somnambulistic. But I persevered because, well, there are lots and lots of robots in it, and I'm a sucker for those. Then I got two thirds in and was totally hooked once more, and would have been even if there weren't robots tearing up the scenery. Kev Anderson's vision for this saga is so gobsmacking, I can't deny it. It's goddamn VAST and I love it for that. I also love that humanity is but a speck in a galactic conflict that transcends time, physics, and yes, sheer comprehension. But this is why I also occasionally hate it: SO MANY PLOT LINES. I hesitate to say 'too many', because it's not as if any of them ultimately fail to deliver, but some of them do feel like they're treading water in places. Especially in the first third of the book when they're all being established once again. Just as something exciting happens, the book invariably shifts to another plot, and too often the exciting thing isn't touched upon again for another fifty pages. This is a tension killer, make no mistake. What this volume lacked: poor, hapless, put-upon Nira, long suffering in green, who broke my heart in Book Two with all her dreadful maltreatment on Dobro. Sure, we find out her fate here, but that's about all. What I loved in this volume: Jora'h's lipstick lezzo daughter with the cats - fantastic addition; Benito coming back as a tree - inspired; the evil Klikkiss robots finally showing their true colours and getting down to some good old fashioned annihilation. Poor little whats-her-name as the sole survivor of the apocalypse on Corobus was WONDERFUL. What I HOPE I will get when I read the remaining four volumes: chapters told from the point of view of both the hydrogues and the faeros. If I reach the end of the saga none the wiser about these ghastly aliens' points of view I shall be very annoyed. My theory as to why Kev has given his saga the same name as the Ildirans' ongoing historical record: we shall eventually learn that the seven books are, in fact, from that self same record and that humanity has united with the Ildirans, their long lost brothers, and won a place in their hearts. Call me an old softy, but I WANT that to happen to make it all seem worthwhile.
July 26, 2023
This was a good book, and an interesting sequel to the previous two that continues to ratchet up the tension and break down all the existing status quo's. We have civil wars kicking off, lots of characters dying and others stepping up, a final twist from the world-forest that looks to be an interesting development, and the klikiss robots beginning their plans - there's no lack of action.
For some reason though, I really flagged on this one and took more than a year from picking it up to finishing it. I'm not really sure why, other than perhaps because it overuses and really cranks up to 11 a technique I always think of as the "American Sitcom method". Essentially this is ramping up anticipation by taking advantage of the fact that the audience, be they viewer or reader, is in a position to witness events from multiple perspectives, and by doing generally have a broader view of what is going on than the characters within the stories themselves. In a sitcom this is (over)used constantly to set up jokes in advance, where the audience can see a misunderstanding or potential accident is likely to occur, and feels a sense of anticipation as the unknowing character wanders gormlessly into it.
This series, and especially this book, has really cranked up this technique, foreshadowing the and the as well as many other ongoing conflicts well in advance, by giving us time in the head of many characters on alternate sides of the series many conflicts - whether we are reading the thoughts of the mage-imperator, the plans of the hansa chairman, or the somewhat naive supposed-worldliness of his Theron lover, or the plans of the klikiss robots as explained to a poor kidnapped little compy - we see a broader picture and then watch as the invisible wheels crush people beneath them.
This can be used to good effect. Weber made excellent use of it in the Honor Harrington series to explain the actions (and mistaken logic) behind the Haven wars against Manticore for instance. Generally though, I only like this in small doses. Whilst some people obviously love the effect it produces in sitcoms, I can't stand them, and it became overwhelming in this book that I struggled to keep interest up.
Going to take a break before continuing with the series, perhaps with some crime novels - which use the polar opposite technique in order to engage a reader's curiosity, rather than anticipation.
For some reason though, I really flagged on this one and took more than a year from picking it up to finishing it. I'm not really sure why, other than perhaps because it overuses and really cranks up to 11 a technique I always think of as the "American Sitcom method". Essentially this is ramping up anticipation by taking advantage of the fact that the audience, be they viewer or reader, is in a position to witness events from multiple perspectives, and by doing generally have a broader view of what is going on than the characters within the stories themselves. In a sitcom this is (over)used constantly to set up jokes in advance, where the audience can see a misunderstanding or potential accident is likely to occur, and feels a sense of anticipation as the unknowing character wanders gormlessly into it.
This series, and especially this book, has really cranked up this technique, foreshadowing the and the as well as many other ongoing conflicts well in advance, by giving us time in the head of many characters on alternate sides of the series many conflicts - whether we are reading the thoughts of the mage-imperator, the plans of the hansa chairman, or the somewhat naive supposed-worldliness of his Theron lover, or the plans of the klikiss robots as explained to a poor kidnapped little compy - we see a broader picture and then watch as the invisible wheels crush people beneath them.
This can be used to good effect. Weber made excellent use of it in the Honor Harrington series to explain the actions (and mistaken logic) behind the Haven wars against Manticore for instance. Generally though, I only like this in small doses. Whilst some people obviously love the effect it produces in sitcoms, I can't stand them, and it became overwhelming in this book that I struggled to keep interest up.
Going to take a break before continuing with the series, perhaps with some crime novels - which use the polar opposite technique in order to engage a reader's curiosity, rather than anticipation.
March 20, 2018
This story is really starting to pick up! I still have some issues with KJA's writing, but I think his ability to craft a story that I enjoy ranks up there pretty highly, despite what others may say about his books.
November 17, 2015
Waar een paar dagen vakantie allemaal goed voor zijn: het gaat vooruit, boeken lezen als er niets anders te doen is. Het helpt ook dat ik 's morgens niet moet wakker worden, en dat ik dus tot een stuk in de nacht kan lezen.
Dit is wat ik genoteerd had toen ik het de eerste keer las:
Yep inderdaad. Dit was zelfs niet meer uit op een avond en een nacht, maar gewoon op een nacht. Beginnen lezen als ik in bed gekropen ben, en doorgelezen, en toen was het uit.
Zeer vreemde ervaring wel: ik herinner met niets meer van de details van het verhaal, en ook niet echt meer iets van de grote lijnen. Wat is blijven hangen, zijn een aantal evoluties in een aantal personages.
Ik herinner me vaag dat een zekere arrogante aristocratische piloot tegen zijn eigen verwachtingen verliefd wordt op een mevrouw van bij de zigeuner-achtige Roamers, en dat het wederzijds is, maar hoe en wat juist: geen idee.
Ik herinner me zeer levendig dat ik enorm meeleefde met een ander personage, en ik dénk dat dat tegen mijn verwachtingen tragisch afliep -- maar of dat in boek vier of vijf of zes gebeurt, geen idee. Ik weet wel nog zeer duidelijk waar ik was toen ik dat voor het eerst las: op weg naar mijn ouders, en de dramatische gebeurtenis gebeurde net toen ik aan de voordeur kwam gewandeld, ergens in de winter jaren geleden.
Geheugen is iets raars.
Voor de rest: met het verstand op nul en de blik op oneindig is dit een zeer aan te raden reeks. Op een Star Trek meets Dune-voor-tieners soort manier.
Dit is wat ik genoteerd had toen ik het de eerste keer las:
Deel drie, en meer van hetzelfde laken als deel twee. Leest als een TGV.
Nog altijd niets verrassends, of beter; écht verrassends, maar hey, dààr lezen we Kevin J. Anderson toch niet voor?
Yep inderdaad. Dit was zelfs niet meer uit op een avond en een nacht, maar gewoon op een nacht. Beginnen lezen als ik in bed gekropen ben, en doorgelezen, en toen was het uit.
Zeer vreemde ervaring wel: ik herinner met niets meer van de details van het verhaal, en ook niet echt meer iets van de grote lijnen. Wat is blijven hangen, zijn een aantal evoluties in een aantal personages.
Ik herinner me vaag dat een zekere arrogante aristocratische piloot tegen zijn eigen verwachtingen verliefd wordt op een mevrouw van bij de zigeuner-achtige Roamers, en dat het wederzijds is, maar hoe en wat juist: geen idee.
Ik herinner me zeer levendig dat ik enorm meeleefde met een ander personage, en ik dénk dat dat tegen mijn verwachtingen tragisch afliep -- maar of dat in boek vier of vijf of zes gebeurt, geen idee. Ik weet wel nog zeer duidelijk waar ik was toen ik dat voor het eerst las: op weg naar mijn ouders, en de dramatische gebeurtenis gebeurde net toen ik aan de voordeur kwam gewandeld, ergens in de winter jaren geleden.
Geheugen is iets raars.
Voor de rest: met het verstand op nul en de blik op oneindig is dit een zeer aan te raden reeks. Op een Star Trek meets Dune-voor-tieners soort manier.
June 30, 2010
Though this is only book 3 of 7, things are still disastrous for humanity.
That is just the worst for my ego tied to humanity. It would be as an American reading the history of WWII in real time, in the Pacific. Sometime in the middle of 42, when things looked bleak. Pearl Harbor hurt, Wake Island fallen, the Philippines lost.
But we know, living so far from the events that things will be turning around. The drama that they aren't, though is painful to watch. Painful to have seen the train wreck of one of the enemies that we know of, revealed and destroyed a very young person's world.
it is painful to watch the leader of the majority of humanity be the anti FDR, or Winston Churchill, and the leader we root for still not think of a way to usurp control. To watch this anti leader of mankind make mistakes and be an egomaniac of his own.
The book moves the plot along. The timing of scenes again is all over the place. The issues of short chapters are still a detriment to the story. The book would help with a plotted timeline by the author and longer chapters that develop scenes. Less plot lines for some new secondary characters are being fleshed out to have their own sagas.
Still a read once. But, an example taken from a true master, I read all the Palliser novel shrunk to a one volume book once. I think this would have been much better if the author followed Trollope's example.
That is just the worst for my ego tied to humanity. It would be as an American reading the history of WWII in real time, in the Pacific. Sometime in the middle of 42, when things looked bleak. Pearl Harbor hurt, Wake Island fallen, the Philippines lost.
But we know, living so far from the events that things will be turning around. The drama that they aren't, though is painful to watch. Painful to have seen the train wreck of one of the enemies that we know of, revealed and destroyed a very young person's world.
it is painful to watch the leader of the majority of humanity be the anti FDR, or Winston Churchill, and the leader we root for still not think of a way to usurp control. To watch this anti leader of mankind make mistakes and be an egomaniac of his own.
The book moves the plot along. The timing of scenes again is all over the place. The issues of short chapters are still a detriment to the story. The book would help with a plotted timeline by the author and longer chapters that develop scenes. Less plot lines for some new secondary characters are being fleshed out to have their own sagas.
Still a read once. But, an example taken from a true master, I read all the Palliser novel shrunk to a one volume book once. I think this would have been much better if the author followed Trollope's example.
March 8, 2015
I'm done with the series. I'm tired of the feeble dialog, the disconnected and obvious plots, the unrealistic characters, and a story that should have been wrapped up in volume 1.
The universe is almost ideal for the type science fiction I enjoy. Humanity is still earth-based with far-flung and independent offshoots. There is interaction between the humans but mostly negative and deceitful.
Let's see - a race of robots you don't trust offers one of their own for dissection so humans can build their own robots to fight for them. The King who is a figure head and previously a poor kid from the city asks the engineers if they are using code from the dissected robot without fully understanding the code. The scientist says "of course!" Hmmm. Not so realistic. Forget the fact a dissection has to occur to get code from a robot (why can't he just do a data dump and go on his merry way). The situation is just unrealistic and crazy.
So... I'm finished with the series. Too many better possibilities to explore. Heinlein? Well maybe not.
The universe is almost ideal for the type science fiction I enjoy. Humanity is still earth-based with far-flung and independent offshoots. There is interaction between the humans but mostly negative and deceitful.
Let's see - a race of robots you don't trust offers one of their own for dissection so humans can build their own robots to fight for them. The King who is a figure head and previously a poor kid from the city asks the engineers if they are using code from the dissected robot without fully understanding the code. The scientist says "of course!" Hmmm. Not so realistic. Forget the fact a dissection has to occur to get code from a robot (why can't he just do a data dump and go on his merry way). The situation is just unrealistic and crazy.
So... I'm finished with the series. Too many better possibilities to explore. Heinlein? Well maybe not.
November 14, 2015
The saga continues, with the secrets of respective factions becoming exposed, but full scale conflict is yet to come. The inability to resolve grievances seems a bit contrived though. Would the human race really choose petty squabbles instead of some sort of alliance in the face of such an overwhelming opposing force? Indeed, the super-power and complete strangeness of the elemental aliens is an interesting speculation on the deduction of some exobiologists that concludes any aliens out there are likely to be far superior to is in technology. These are just that, with some magic physics thrown in.
Not sure I got much more out of this one. Still a good ride, and still looking forward to the next one.
Not sure I got much more out of this one. Still a good ride, and still looking forward to the next one.
January 3, 2013
As in any soap opera, there are some plot lines I prefer over others. Some are interesting to me, while others are not so much. Though entertaining and enjoyable enough, it is long and drawn out. Well, that is, in essence, what a soap opera is, isn't it. So, since I have signed up for this thing, I will carry on.
May 7, 2017
L'histoire n'est pas inintéressante (malgré de nombreux passages risibles), mais on dirait que c'est écrit pour des lecteurs de 12 ans, par un auteur de 15 ans... Étonnant qu'un auteur avec autant de métier écrive avec aussi peu de maturité.
May 7, 2008
this was even better than the second. one of the best books in the series, i think. there were a lot of interesting new developments and plot twists introduced.
July 9, 2008
It is an interesting study into the insignificance of man in the universe.
January 30, 2017
For this review most of it will be contained in the list of characters, once you see the list you will see why. Also part of my review is copied from my review of the previous installment. If the author can do it then I can as well.
Notes:
Humanity has split into three separate groups. The three groups have trade agreements and other connections to each other but the peace between them is tenuous.
Terran Hanseatic League: Centered on earth this government represents most of the humans. Think of Rome mixed with America with spaceships capable of laying countries to waste...wait no that sounds a bit too much like predictions for a Trump America.
Roamers: An independent collective of spacers. They are industrious and work in all of the places and jobs that most humans and aliens do not want. That friend who once said “I think I want to go gold mining,” then got drunk grabbed some TNT and walked off into the snowy arctic...only to show up two years later with a bag of gold, six barrels of oil, a ton of steel and ready to do business.
Theroc: An aristocracy consisting of one planet with a lot of trees. These people are the descendants of a generation ship that found a planet that was covered in forest. Rather than raze the ground they decided to work in harmony with nature. It helps that the trees can talk to them. The trees are also telepathic and can instantaneously talk across any part of the galaxy. They can also keep all the information given to them and can process it in ways humans can't even comprehend. They also have priests who go through a ritual where they get turned green and can live off of sunlight if needed. The priests are the ones who speak to the trees. They also turn get absorbed into the trees if they die near them.
There are Five alien races.
The Klikiss: An ancient race of beetle people, it is thought. They are extinct and the only things that remain of them are abandoned cities and thousands of robots that they built.
The Ildrians: They all follow the Mage-Imperator, who has the ability to sorta feel/see what any other Ildrian is doing. He knows all the history of his people and is all powerful, seems like a good job except for the ritual castration thing he has to go through to get the power. The Ildrians come in many shapes and sizes bred to do specific jobs, called Kiths. Need to build a ship, there is a kith for that, need to remember history, remembrance kith, taken a shit and now need wiping...I wish I was joking, there seems to be a kith for that, at least for the Mage-Imperator.
The Hydrogues: A race of creatures that live inside gas giants. They live under UN-imaginable pressure and can best be described as silver mercury. They have war globes of immense power and are very hard to take down. They declare war on the races that live on planets because humanity turned one of their worlds into a star (and humanity couldn't find the right card to apologize for that at the hallmark store.)
The Faeros: A race of fire beings that live in the stars. Currently they are against the Hydrogues and seem to be the best bet on defending everyone else. But in the last war they changed sides often and it is unknown if they will do the same.
The Verdani: A race of tree beings, these are the trees of the forest of Theroc, once they existed across a large part of the universe, but they were nearly wiped out by the Hydrogues.
The Wentals: A race of water beings, thought to be destroyed in the first interstellar war, but have been found to be still alive, just frozen.
Celli Theron: Theroc. The youngest of the Theron children. She has spent most of her life just exploring the world forest and tree dancing. She spends most of this book exploring the world forest and tree dancing. She is rewarded with finding wreckage of a Hydrogue Warship and her dead brother's zombie.
Mage-Imperator Jora'h: Ildrian. Now the ball-less leader of the Ildrians, he has found that the past actions of the Mage-Imperators that he argued against are now his responsibility to continue. In addition he is delayed from going to the planet Dobro and saving his beloved Nira. Before he can find the time he is informed that she is dead.
Tasia Tamblyn: Roamer. She is given a promotion for all her work and then put in charge of deploying the Klikiss torch as a weapon for the first time. The deployment is successful but she is almost killed by the Hydrogues, only to be saved in the last moment by the Faeros.
Jess Tamblyn: Last book he got blown up. But it turns out that right before being exploded he was told to drink the container of Wental water that he had on his ship. It turns out that this is not some strange sex trick but instead the way the Wentals bond to people. After the explosion he finds himself stranded on a mostly water planet and with vast powers, also he glows blue. Using his powers and the water that is now inhabited by the Wentals he builds himself a flying aquarium and gathers roamers to help him spread the Wentals to other water worlds. Also, he finds that Cesca is still available, unfortunately, the blue glow he has means that if he touches anyone they will die.
Davlin Lotze: Terran. After finding the Klikiss portal he is given the job of exploring where the different destinations of the portal go to. He is among a group of people who are working on this. Basically they give them a bag of food, press one of the buttons randomly and have the person step through the portal. If they come back the next day they turn in their star charts and planet conditions. If they do not return the tile for that destination is marked off. The Hansa plan on using the portals as a way to quickly expand their colony's without massive use of star-drive fuel. After a really bad trip Davlin decides to retire to the farming community of Crenna. His retirement is cut short when Hydrogues snuff out the planet's sun. It is only through him that all the planets inhabitants are saved until he can reach help.
Patrick Fitzpatrick III: Terran. One of the survivors of the attack on Osquivel he is now being held in indefinite detention by the Roamers. They do not want to keep them, but if they let them go then they can let the Hansa know about their secret ship building facility. They spend most of their time eating, complaining and thinking of a way to escape. He adds to that falling in love with Zhett Kellum. The fact that he blew up a Roamer vessel will make this romance tricky if she ever finds out.
DD: Terran. The friendly little robot is still refusing to kill humans but has no choice but to be dragged around by the Klikiss robots to see their plans. He meets a group of humans being held by the Hydrogues for experimentation. Among them is Tasia's lover Robb. He promises them to get them help if he can, he cant.
Yarrod: Theroc. One of the 20 green priests who volunteered to assist the EDF so that they can coordinate their attacks. After the attack on Theroc he returns home and hugs trees.
Orli Covitz: Terran. She is the daughter of a settler on Dremen. Their farm is failing and when they hear about the Hansa's offer to resettle people to new Klikiss planets her father jumps at the chance. They are assigned to XXX and at first things go well. However one day while out of the settlement Orli watches in horror as EDF ships fire upon it. After leveling the settlement the ships land and compys and Klikiss robots search the wreckage killing any survivors. She is left as the only person on the planet and the portal which would allow her to go home is destroyed.
Rlinda Kett: She is now full of jobs ferrying to the new Hansa planets any equipment that will not fit through the portals. She get's the Chairman's permission to allow her ex-husband Branson to come out of hiding from deserting the EDF and fly missions as well. But the permission comes with the warning that if he is found by the EDF the Chairman will not pardon him. During one of her runs she finds Davlin on a planet that is refusing to help him send help to Crenna. She and Branson return with Davlin and rescue the people.
Anton Colicos: Terran. With Remember Vao'sh he is on the planet Maratha helping the skeleton crew survive the long night that lasts half a year. Things are going find until during an excavation to add new power conduits tunnels are found underneath the domed city. Shortly after the power generators are sabotaged and they are all left in the dark. The Ildrians are a race that evolved in a world with no light and still to this day are very uncomfortable in the dark. They decide to risk going to the sunny side of the planet to where the Klikiss robots are building another habitation zone. Split up into three groups two of the transports explode and it's only Anton's quick thinking that saves his group. Left on the dark side of the planet the small group of survivors start walking towards the day side.
Cesca Peroni: Roamer. As the leader of the roamers she is responsible for delivering an ultimatum to the Hansa. Until they admit to piracy and turn over those who are responsible they will not deliver any more star drive fuel. The Hansa use this and some ancient law books as a basis to attack the Roamers. She barely survives the destruction of Rendezvous, the home asteroid of the Roamers.
Dobro Designate Udur'h: Ildrian. It is revealed that he did not kill Nira but instead stranded her on a deserted island on Dobro with the idea of using her as a bargaining chip if needed with the Mage-Imperator. He also continues the breeding program and preparing his star pupil Osira'h.
Basil Wenceslas: Terran. After the Roamer's cut off the star drive fuel he orders them subdued and brought into the Hansa empire. He offers Theroc a token gesture of help in recovering from the Hydrogue attack and ignores warnings from King Peter that the new Klikiss inspired solider compys might be dangerous.
OX: Terran. The compy that taught King Peter on how to be a king is now teaching King Peter's “Brother” in the same manner. The intention is that this young prince, Daniel, can be used as a threat against Peter in order to keep him in line. If Peter disobeys Basil too much then he will be killed and Daniel will be elevated. Unfortunately, Daniel is a terrible student and human being and is not learning.
Chief Scientist Howard Palawu: Terran. One of the two scientist who took part in the Klikiss Robot dismantlement and implementation of their parts into the new solider compys. He is ordered to study the Klikiss portal to see if he can improve upon it and set up new access points. During one of his nights of studying he decides to take a chance and randomly picks one of the unknown destinations and walks through. He finds himself in a nightmarish world where he is met by Margaret Colicos.
Sullivan Gold: Terran. In the last book through a suicidal run the Adar clears a gas giant of Hydrogues. The Hansa send a star fuel mining complex and Sullivan is put in charge of it. Unknown to him the Hansa did not ask the Ildrian if they could mine on the Ildrian world. When confronted by the Ildrian Navy he manages to broker a deal.
Adar Zan'nh: Ildrian. He is elevated to the head of the Ildrian Navy. After brokering the deal with Sullivan he participates in the rescue of Ildrians on another planet attacked by the Hydrogues.
King Peter: Terran. The figurehead of the Hansa league he tries to reason with Basil to temper his responses to the Roamers. He is ignored.
Nira: Theroc. After five years in a breeding/work camp she finds being abandoned on a wooded island to be paradise. As a green priest she just needs the sun to supply nutrients and the fresh water surrounding the water is all she needs. She uses the time alone to begin to heal from her five years of captivity and the brutal beating that separated her from her daughter.
Engineering Specialist Swendsen: Terran. The other scientist who dismantled the Klikiss robot, he is still in charge of building soldier compys and investigating the personal compy of Tasia. Last book it had been caught after successfully warning the Roamers of the invasion of Osquivel. When questioned it deletes it's memory. Swedsen is unable to retrieve the memory but under the orders of Basil he adds audio bugs into the little robot before returning it to Tasia.
Nikko Chan Tylar: Roamer. One of the Roamers who volunteered to disperse the Wentals. He witness the first attack of the Hansa on the Roamer's territories.
Designate-In-Waiting Pery'h: Ildrian. He is next in line to rule Dobro. During one of this training sessions a Klikiss Robot vessel lands and informs him that this planet along with the finding of the tunnels on Martha violate a treaty that the Ildrians had with the Klikiss robots and that their deal is now off.
Osira'h: Ildrian. After the announcement from the Klikiss Robots that they will no longer intervene on the Ildrian's behalf to the Hydrogues, her preparation is intensified. However, having learned the whole truth about her heritage from her mother she has doubts and begins to wonder if she can actually stand up for the Ildrians when the time comes.
Roberto Clarin: Roamer. Manager of the Hurricane Depot, his is the first facility taken over and then destroyed by the EDF.
Hyrillka Designate Rusa'h: Ildrian. Leader of Hyrillka during a Hydrogue attack he was left in a coma with brain damage. Now awake he can now no longer feel the thism, mental control and connection, to the Mage-Imperator. During the coma he saw visions and decides to act on them. Declaring himself the true Mage-Imperator he orders all his planet to ingest Shiing, a drug that gives a high and temporarily loosens the binds of the thism. While they are high he is castrated and uses the moment of pain to take over the thism of his planet. Thus starts the second rebellion in all of Ildrian history.
Sarein: Theroc. She returns from Earth to Theroc in the wake of the Hydrogue attack. To her surprise she finds not Hansa ships helping with the rebuild but instead the Roamers. Refusing to believe that the Roamers intentions are good she verbally attacks their leader.
Kotto Okiah: Roamer. After failing to start a mining operation on an asteroid unbelievably too close to a sun he sets up a mining facility on a planet that receives no heat. Before long he is called to go investigate a intact Hydrogue Sphere found on Osquivel.
Prime Designate Thor'h: Ildrian. Slated to be the next Mage-Imperator he instead willing joins his uncle Rusa'h in the rebellion.
Admiral Lev Stromo: Although he prefers to lead from an armchair on the moon, he is in charge of the EDF attack on the Roamers. He is vastly incompetent.
Notes:
Humanity has split into three separate groups. The three groups have trade agreements and other connections to each other but the peace between them is tenuous.
Terran Hanseatic League: Centered on earth this government represents most of the humans. Think of Rome mixed with America with spaceships capable of laying countries to waste...wait no that sounds a bit too much like predictions for a Trump America.
Roamers: An independent collective of spacers. They are industrious and work in all of the places and jobs that most humans and aliens do not want. That friend who once said “I think I want to go gold mining,” then got drunk grabbed some TNT and walked off into the snowy arctic...only to show up two years later with a bag of gold, six barrels of oil, a ton of steel and ready to do business.
Theroc: An aristocracy consisting of one planet with a lot of trees. These people are the descendants of a generation ship that found a planet that was covered in forest. Rather than raze the ground they decided to work in harmony with nature. It helps that the trees can talk to them. The trees are also telepathic and can instantaneously talk across any part of the galaxy. They can also keep all the information given to them and can process it in ways humans can't even comprehend. They also have priests who go through a ritual where they get turned green and can live off of sunlight if needed. The priests are the ones who speak to the trees. They also turn get absorbed into the trees if they die near them.
There are Five alien races.
The Klikiss: An ancient race of beetle people, it is thought. They are extinct and the only things that remain of them are abandoned cities and thousands of robots that they built.
The Ildrians: They all follow the Mage-Imperator, who has the ability to sorta feel/see what any other Ildrian is doing. He knows all the history of his people and is all powerful, seems like a good job except for the ritual castration thing he has to go through to get the power. The Ildrians come in many shapes and sizes bred to do specific jobs, called Kiths. Need to build a ship, there is a kith for that, need to remember history, remembrance kith, taken a shit and now need wiping...I wish I was joking, there seems to be a kith for that, at least for the Mage-Imperator.
The Hydrogues: A race of creatures that live inside gas giants. They live under UN-imaginable pressure and can best be described as silver mercury. They have war globes of immense power and are very hard to take down. They declare war on the races that live on planets because humanity turned one of their worlds into a star (and humanity couldn't find the right card to apologize for that at the hallmark store.)
The Faeros: A race of fire beings that live in the stars. Currently they are against the Hydrogues and seem to be the best bet on defending everyone else. But in the last war they changed sides often and it is unknown if they will do the same.
The Verdani: A race of tree beings, these are the trees of the forest of Theroc, once they existed across a large part of the universe, but they were nearly wiped out by the Hydrogues.
The Wentals: A race of water beings, thought to be destroyed in the first interstellar war, but have been found to be still alive, just frozen.
Celli Theron: Theroc. The youngest of the Theron children. She has spent most of her life just exploring the world forest and tree dancing. She spends most of this book exploring the world forest and tree dancing. She is rewarded with finding wreckage of a Hydrogue Warship and her dead brother's zombie.
Mage-Imperator Jora'h: Ildrian. Now the ball-less leader of the Ildrians, he has found that the past actions of the Mage-Imperators that he argued against are now his responsibility to continue. In addition he is delayed from going to the planet Dobro and saving his beloved Nira. Before he can find the time he is informed that she is dead.
Tasia Tamblyn: Roamer. She is given a promotion for all her work and then put in charge of deploying the Klikiss torch as a weapon for the first time. The deployment is successful but she is almost killed by the Hydrogues, only to be saved in the last moment by the Faeros.
Jess Tamblyn: Last book he got blown up. But it turns out that right before being exploded he was told to drink the container of Wental water that he had on his ship. It turns out that this is not some strange sex trick but instead the way the Wentals bond to people. After the explosion he finds himself stranded on a mostly water planet and with vast powers, also he glows blue. Using his powers and the water that is now inhabited by the Wentals he builds himself a flying aquarium and gathers roamers to help him spread the Wentals to other water worlds. Also, he finds that Cesca is still available, unfortunately, the blue glow he has means that if he touches anyone they will die.
Davlin Lotze: Terran. After finding the Klikiss portal he is given the job of exploring where the different destinations of the portal go to. He is among a group of people who are working on this. Basically they give them a bag of food, press one of the buttons randomly and have the person step through the portal. If they come back the next day they turn in their star charts and planet conditions. If they do not return the tile for that destination is marked off. The Hansa plan on using the portals as a way to quickly expand their colony's without massive use of star-drive fuel. After a really bad trip Davlin decides to retire to the farming community of Crenna. His retirement is cut short when Hydrogues snuff out the planet's sun. It is only through him that all the planets inhabitants are saved until he can reach help.
Patrick Fitzpatrick III: Terran. One of the survivors of the attack on Osquivel he is now being held in indefinite detention by the Roamers. They do not want to keep them, but if they let them go then they can let the Hansa know about their secret ship building facility. They spend most of their time eating, complaining and thinking of a way to escape. He adds to that falling in love with Zhett Kellum. The fact that he blew up a Roamer vessel will make this romance tricky if she ever finds out.
DD: Terran. The friendly little robot is still refusing to kill humans but has no choice but to be dragged around by the Klikiss robots to see their plans. He meets a group of humans being held by the Hydrogues for experimentation. Among them is Tasia's lover Robb. He promises them to get them help if he can, he cant.
Yarrod: Theroc. One of the 20 green priests who volunteered to assist the EDF so that they can coordinate their attacks. After the attack on Theroc he returns home and hugs trees.
Orli Covitz: Terran. She is the daughter of a settler on Dremen. Their farm is failing and when they hear about the Hansa's offer to resettle people to new Klikiss planets her father jumps at the chance. They are assigned to XXX and at first things go well. However one day while out of the settlement Orli watches in horror as EDF ships fire upon it. After leveling the settlement the ships land and compys and Klikiss robots search the wreckage killing any survivors. She is left as the only person on the planet and the portal which would allow her to go home is destroyed.
Rlinda Kett: She is now full of jobs ferrying to the new Hansa planets any equipment that will not fit through the portals. She get's the Chairman's permission to allow her ex-husband Branson to come out of hiding from deserting the EDF and fly missions as well. But the permission comes with the warning that if he is found by the EDF the Chairman will not pardon him. During one of her runs she finds Davlin on a planet that is refusing to help him send help to Crenna. She and Branson return with Davlin and rescue the people.
Anton Colicos: Terran. With Remember Vao'sh he is on the planet Maratha helping the skeleton crew survive the long night that lasts half a year. Things are going find until during an excavation to add new power conduits tunnels are found underneath the domed city. Shortly after the power generators are sabotaged and they are all left in the dark. The Ildrians are a race that evolved in a world with no light and still to this day are very uncomfortable in the dark. They decide to risk going to the sunny side of the planet to where the Klikiss robots are building another habitation zone. Split up into three groups two of the transports explode and it's only Anton's quick thinking that saves his group. Left on the dark side of the planet the small group of survivors start walking towards the day side.
Cesca Peroni: Roamer. As the leader of the roamers she is responsible for delivering an ultimatum to the Hansa. Until they admit to piracy and turn over those who are responsible they will not deliver any more star drive fuel. The Hansa use this and some ancient law books as a basis to attack the Roamers. She barely survives the destruction of Rendezvous, the home asteroid of the Roamers.
Dobro Designate Udur'h: Ildrian. It is revealed that he did not kill Nira but instead stranded her on a deserted island on Dobro with the idea of using her as a bargaining chip if needed with the Mage-Imperator. He also continues the breeding program and preparing his star pupil Osira'h.
Basil Wenceslas: Terran. After the Roamer's cut off the star drive fuel he orders them subdued and brought into the Hansa empire. He offers Theroc a token gesture of help in recovering from the Hydrogue attack and ignores warnings from King Peter that the new Klikiss inspired solider compys might be dangerous.
OX: Terran. The compy that taught King Peter on how to be a king is now teaching King Peter's “Brother” in the same manner. The intention is that this young prince, Daniel, can be used as a threat against Peter in order to keep him in line. If Peter disobeys Basil too much then he will be killed and Daniel will be elevated. Unfortunately, Daniel is a terrible student and human being and is not learning.
Chief Scientist Howard Palawu: Terran. One of the two scientist who took part in the Klikiss Robot dismantlement and implementation of their parts into the new solider compys. He is ordered to study the Klikiss portal to see if he can improve upon it and set up new access points. During one of his nights of studying he decides to take a chance and randomly picks one of the unknown destinations and walks through. He finds himself in a nightmarish world where he is met by Margaret Colicos.
Sullivan Gold: Terran. In the last book through a suicidal run the Adar clears a gas giant of Hydrogues. The Hansa send a star fuel mining complex and Sullivan is put in charge of it. Unknown to him the Hansa did not ask the Ildrian if they could mine on the Ildrian world. When confronted by the Ildrian Navy he manages to broker a deal.
Adar Zan'nh: Ildrian. He is elevated to the head of the Ildrian Navy. After brokering the deal with Sullivan he participates in the rescue of Ildrians on another planet attacked by the Hydrogues.
King Peter: Terran. The figurehead of the Hansa league he tries to reason with Basil to temper his responses to the Roamers. He is ignored.
Nira: Theroc. After five years in a breeding/work camp she finds being abandoned on a wooded island to be paradise. As a green priest she just needs the sun to supply nutrients and the fresh water surrounding the water is all she needs. She uses the time alone to begin to heal from her five years of captivity and the brutal beating that separated her from her daughter.
Engineering Specialist Swendsen: Terran. The other scientist who dismantled the Klikiss robot, he is still in charge of building soldier compys and investigating the personal compy of Tasia. Last book it had been caught after successfully warning the Roamers of the invasion of Osquivel. When questioned it deletes it's memory. Swedsen is unable to retrieve the memory but under the orders of Basil he adds audio bugs into the little robot before returning it to Tasia.
Nikko Chan Tylar: Roamer. One of the Roamers who volunteered to disperse the Wentals. He witness the first attack of the Hansa on the Roamer's territories.
Designate-In-Waiting Pery'h: Ildrian. He is next in line to rule Dobro. During one of this training sessions a Klikiss Robot vessel lands and informs him that this planet along with the finding of the tunnels on Martha violate a treaty that the Ildrians had with the Klikiss robots and that their deal is now off.
Osira'h: Ildrian. After the announcement from the Klikiss Robots that they will no longer intervene on the Ildrian's behalf to the Hydrogues, her preparation is intensified. However, having learned the whole truth about her heritage from her mother she has doubts and begins to wonder if she can actually stand up for the Ildrians when the time comes.
Roberto Clarin: Roamer. Manager of the Hurricane Depot, his is the first facility taken over and then destroyed by the EDF.
Hyrillka Designate Rusa'h: Ildrian. Leader of Hyrillka during a Hydrogue attack he was left in a coma with brain damage. Now awake he can now no longer feel the thism, mental control and connection, to the Mage-Imperator. During the coma he saw visions and decides to act on them. Declaring himself the true Mage-Imperator he orders all his planet to ingest Shiing, a drug that gives a high and temporarily loosens the binds of the thism. While they are high he is castrated and uses the moment of pain to take over the thism of his planet. Thus starts the second rebellion in all of Ildrian history.
Sarein: Theroc. She returns from Earth to Theroc in the wake of the Hydrogue attack. To her surprise she finds not Hansa ships helping with the rebuild but instead the Roamers. Refusing to believe that the Roamers intentions are good she verbally attacks their leader.
Kotto Okiah: Roamer. After failing to start a mining operation on an asteroid unbelievably too close to a sun he sets up a mining facility on a planet that receives no heat. Before long he is called to go investigate a intact Hydrogue Sphere found on Osquivel.
Prime Designate Thor'h: Ildrian. Slated to be the next Mage-Imperator he instead willing joins his uncle Rusa'h in the rebellion.
Admiral Lev Stromo: Although he prefers to lead from an armchair on the moon, he is in charge of the EDF attack on the Roamers. He is vastly incompetent.
March 22, 2020
(Extracted from 2005 blog post)
A mere continuation of Kevin J Anderson’s style and plot development. Roamers are marginalized. Hansa is demonized. Peter is glorified. Theron is rasterized. Jess Tamblyn is transformed into a motif of Wental power. Klikiss robots continue to lug DD around everywhere. Robb Brindle is not dead! Beneto (in a move of dubious wisdom and tact) is resurrected. As a golem. Kevin, why? Why?
As always, Anderson continues in his distinctive writing style, which is rather irritating in the way that each sentence always ends of with an unnecessary expansion, or interjected by extraneous outgrowths. Transmuted to a tape recorder, Anderson can be said to ramble. The sheer superfluidity of his prose and the resulting awkwardness in his structuring cause a sort of empty feeling in the reader.
Maybe a small part of the issue can be explained by the fact that that’s exactly what Anderson does. He goes off on treks in the mountains, alone, carrying a tape recorder, and rambles storylines into it while he walks.
The phenomenon becomes doubly bad when it comes to passages describing tragedy. The rambling profuseness of his dialogue and the painful lengths that the prose goes in stating tragic events again and again, without any attempt at masking it with poetic window-dressing, coupled with the insufficient graphicity of the said tragedies, turns the tragedy so-called into an unwitting farce that has no emotional impact on the reader. Anderson would have done well with clipped, brusque statements and broken, incomplete sentences, arranged in artfully exquisite fashion to compound agony for agony, graphic detail for graphic detail, instead of the superfluous and precariously arranged prose with not a dose of poetic drapery.
Anderson also likes separating sentences with commas, bringing out their meaning, thinking that this gives a surreal atmosphere, a veritable life, to his sentences, and ending them by trailing off…
Because of this writing style, characters like Celli, Nira, and many Therocs come across as naive and innocent. And the corresponding dialogue is embarrassingly stilted (because it, too, contains elements of extraneity).
“Embarrassed by their gratitide, her newly green skin flushed dark. Nira said, “I’m glad I could do one last thing to help my family before I embark on my great adventure.” Or, “His shoulders slumped. “That is who we are, though sometimes it is a difficult thing.””
Those two were extracts from Hidden Empire, where the effects of this style were most pronounced. Thankfully, its less apparent in the following novels.
Anderson’s plotting, world-creation and sheer ambition overcome this predilection. Three books already and Anderson’s saga spans epic proportions and has a sense of primal scale. The aliens, modelled after the Elements, are purveyors of an ancient conflict which has destroyed worlds. For a space opera, Anderson has been successful in portraying the historical depth of the Saga of Seven Suns world. This world is carefully crafted, and conceived as a very plausible future scenario with realistic enough economic and political undercurrents. Anderson has a proclivity for making Deus Ex Machinas that work. Faeros at Theroc, for example. And he is not afraid to let his characters die, even if some of them do come back afterward. Like they do in Horizon Storms, much to my chagrin. His plot is a complex tapestry of survival, betrayal, love, and danger, set in a brilliantly realized universe that seethes with new concepts.
If only he could improve that writing style of his, that has plagued all his works, he would truly shine.
A mere continuation of Kevin J Anderson’s style and plot development. Roamers are marginalized. Hansa is demonized. Peter is glorified. Theron is rasterized. Jess Tamblyn is transformed into a motif of Wental power. Klikiss robots continue to lug DD around everywhere. Robb Brindle is not dead! Beneto (in a move of dubious wisdom and tact) is resurrected. As a golem. Kevin, why? Why?
As always, Anderson continues in his distinctive writing style, which is rather irritating in the way that each sentence always ends of with an unnecessary expansion, or interjected by extraneous outgrowths. Transmuted to a tape recorder, Anderson can be said to ramble. The sheer superfluidity of his prose and the resulting awkwardness in his structuring cause a sort of empty feeling in the reader.
Maybe a small part of the issue can be explained by the fact that that’s exactly what Anderson does. He goes off on treks in the mountains, alone, carrying a tape recorder, and rambles storylines into it while he walks.
The phenomenon becomes doubly bad when it comes to passages describing tragedy. The rambling profuseness of his dialogue and the painful lengths that the prose goes in stating tragic events again and again, without any attempt at masking it with poetic window-dressing, coupled with the insufficient graphicity of the said tragedies, turns the tragedy so-called into an unwitting farce that has no emotional impact on the reader. Anderson would have done well with clipped, brusque statements and broken, incomplete sentences, arranged in artfully exquisite fashion to compound agony for agony, graphic detail for graphic detail, instead of the superfluous and precariously arranged prose with not a dose of poetic drapery.
Anderson also likes separating sentences with commas, bringing out their meaning, thinking that this gives a surreal atmosphere, a veritable life, to his sentences, and ending them by trailing off…
Because of this writing style, characters like Celli, Nira, and many Therocs come across as naive and innocent. And the corresponding dialogue is embarrassingly stilted (because it, too, contains elements of extraneity).
“Embarrassed by their gratitide, her newly green skin flushed dark. Nira said, “I’m glad I could do one last thing to help my family before I embark on my great adventure.” Or, “His shoulders slumped. “That is who we are, though sometimes it is a difficult thing.””
Those two were extracts from Hidden Empire, where the effects of this style were most pronounced. Thankfully, its less apparent in the following novels.
Anderson’s plotting, world-creation and sheer ambition overcome this predilection. Three books already and Anderson’s saga spans epic proportions and has a sense of primal scale. The aliens, modelled after the Elements, are purveyors of an ancient conflict which has destroyed worlds. For a space opera, Anderson has been successful in portraying the historical depth of the Saga of Seven Suns world. This world is carefully crafted, and conceived as a very plausible future scenario with realistic enough economic and political undercurrents. Anderson has a proclivity for making Deus Ex Machinas that work. Faeros at Theroc, for example. And he is not afraid to let his characters die, even if some of them do come back afterward. Like they do in Horizon Storms, much to my chagrin. His plot is a complex tapestry of survival, betrayal, love, and danger, set in a brilliantly realized universe that seethes with new concepts.
If only he could improve that writing style of his, that has plagued all his works, he would truly shine.
May 1, 2022
Kevin J. Anderson has always produced consistently good books. He rarely turns in an amazing book, but it does happen. He sometimes turns in a bad book, but it is also pretty rare. The majority of the books of his that I've read have been pretty good. This one is no different.
While the primary villians of the series are the Hydrogues, they definitely take a back seat in this book. This book is mostly about the internal tensions among the various peoples of the Spiral Arm. Theroc, the Hansa, the Roamers, the Ildirans, and the Klikiss Robots take aim at each other as virtual civil wars erupt between them. An excellent plot for a middle book!
As with all books in the series thus far, the character development isn't great, but the plot is. However, several characters begin taking steps forward here that will be important later in the series. It is obvious from this book that the end of the series will pay off character development from the series as a whole, and I cannot wait to get there!
Two of the standouts of this book are DD and OX. One of them is a Klikiss Robot, the other is a Compy robot, both of which get several viewpoint chapters which show their compassion toward humanity and the beginnings of their decisions to take actions into their own hands. I was surprised to enjoy their chapters as much as I did.
A new character, Orli Covitz, takes a leading role, despite her young age. She provides a fresh new perspective for the audience as a member of the colonists. There were three or four main new characters introduced, but she was the one with the most page-time and she also left quite the mark on the reader. You definitely feel for everything she is going through.
I made a few realizations while reading this book. One of them is that Basil Winceslas is THE primary character...despite being a villian. It's kind of like how Thanos was the villain of Infinity War, but was the "protagonist". Winceslas isn't so brutal or as obviously villainous, but he certainly gets more pagetime than any other character in the book.
I also realized that the royal family of Theroc is this series' version of the Starks from Game of Thrones. The family of Father Ildris and Mother Alexa, including Celli, Beneto, Saerin, Reynald, Estarra, and Nira (who isn't techinically a part of the family but I count her as one in my mind) are parts of all the main plot threads in the story. They really are the characters that the reader should be rooting for, as well as King Peter and Mage Imperator Jora'h.
The fight against the Roamers was perhaps the best part of this book, even if it wasn't the most exciting. This plotthread explores the moral questions around internment camps and fighting against people who are similar to you. Even though Tessa Tamblyn is on the side of the Hansa, she is still treated poorly because her family is Roamers. This really made me think of the Japanese during World War 2, especially those who were in the military.
The plot thread of rebuilding Theroc was brief but an enjoyable plot, as it brought several of the main characters together. I also thought that the Mage Imperator plotline was exciting, but par-for-the-course as that kind of plot has been happening a lot in this book.
Overall, an excellent book! I think it is better than the first two books, although I have certain plotthreads from the first two books that I enjoy more. Still, this book gets an 8.3 out of 10! Good job Kevin!
While the primary villians of the series are the Hydrogues, they definitely take a back seat in this book. This book is mostly about the internal tensions among the various peoples of the Spiral Arm. Theroc, the Hansa, the Roamers, the Ildirans, and the Klikiss Robots take aim at each other as virtual civil wars erupt between them. An excellent plot for a middle book!
As with all books in the series thus far, the character development isn't great, but the plot is. However, several characters begin taking steps forward here that will be important later in the series. It is obvious from this book that the end of the series will pay off character development from the series as a whole, and I cannot wait to get there!
Two of the standouts of this book are DD and OX. One of them is a Klikiss Robot, the other is a Compy robot, both of which get several viewpoint chapters which show their compassion toward humanity and the beginnings of their decisions to take actions into their own hands. I was surprised to enjoy their chapters as much as I did.
A new character, Orli Covitz, takes a leading role, despite her young age. She provides a fresh new perspective for the audience as a member of the colonists. There were three or four main new characters introduced, but she was the one with the most page-time and she also left quite the mark on the reader. You definitely feel for everything she is going through.
I made a few realizations while reading this book. One of them is that Basil Winceslas is THE primary character...despite being a villian. It's kind of like how Thanos was the villain of Infinity War, but was the "protagonist". Winceslas isn't so brutal or as obviously villainous, but he certainly gets more pagetime than any other character in the book.
I also realized that the royal family of Theroc is this series' version of the Starks from Game of Thrones. The family of Father Ildris and Mother Alexa, including Celli, Beneto, Saerin, Reynald, Estarra, and Nira (who isn't techinically a part of the family but I count her as one in my mind) are parts of all the main plot threads in the story. They really are the characters that the reader should be rooting for, as well as King Peter and Mage Imperator Jora'h.
The fight against the Roamers was perhaps the best part of this book, even if it wasn't the most exciting. This plotthread explores the moral questions around internment camps and fighting against people who are similar to you. Even though Tessa Tamblyn is on the side of the Hansa, she is still treated poorly because her family is Roamers. This really made me think of the Japanese during World War 2, especially those who were in the military.
The plot thread of rebuilding Theroc was brief but an enjoyable plot, as it brought several of the main characters together. I also thought that the Mage Imperator plotline was exciting, but par-for-the-course as that kind of plot has been happening a lot in this book.
Overall, an excellent book! I think it is better than the first two books, although I have certain plotthreads from the first two books that I enjoy more. Still, this book gets an 8.3 out of 10! Good job Kevin!
August 8, 2025
Ultimately, there is not lot to say about this third book. It doesn't really do anything revolutionary or dramatically expanding the lore. It very much left like a simple extension of the story, trying to move the plot along even if very basically and slowly. The major plot pointa feel to be blending into each other, I am struggling to differentiate if an event happened in second book or this one.
One thing I initially liked about the book was its short chapter, but now as the story unfolds I'm wanting them to be a lot longer as they don't really have any steaks and are more descriptive half the time. So few events is happening in these chapters. I want more to be elaborated on, it often has such potential as so much interesting things could happen to so many people and I'm driven to so many theories and predictions I want to know in detail and immediately how each plot unfolds, but I am left wanting every time. I feel like these short chapters have really impaired characters development often characters getting 4-5 character for an entire book, and all events are happening in a short period without much new innovation.
This is not so much a dig at the book , but so many plots lines developed that infuriated me and made me want to pause reading because I was so angees by the path taken. I am saddened that I'm so angered by how the plot is unfolding. I feel that there was enough conflict and controversy within the story at least 2 of these new ones feel unnecessary. Everything infuriating was almost like it was conveniently added to mess with the plot and story and to annoy me. They don't feel organic, I feel like the book already set up enough plot to be able to go somewhere unique with and they just don't . instead they go these new routes .Ultimately, I hate when my books become stressors in my life.
I was simply disappointed by such a promising start of the series
One thing I initially liked about the book was its short chapter, but now as the story unfolds I'm wanting them to be a lot longer as they don't really have any steaks and are more descriptive half the time. So few events is happening in these chapters. I want more to be elaborated on, it often has such potential as so much interesting things could happen to so many people and I'm driven to so many theories and predictions I want to know in detail and immediately how each plot unfolds, but I am left wanting every time. I feel like these short chapters have really impaired characters development often characters getting 4-5 character for an entire book, and all events are happening in a short period without much new innovation.
This is not so much a dig at the book , but so many plots lines developed that infuriated me and made me want to pause reading because I was so angees by the path taken. I am saddened that I'm so angered by how the plot is unfolding. I feel that there was enough conflict and controversy within the story at least 2 of these new ones feel unnecessary. Everything infuriating was almost like it was conveniently added to mess with the plot and story and to annoy me. They don't feel organic, I feel like the book already set up enough plot to be able to go somewhere unique with and they just don't . instead they go these new routes .Ultimately, I hate when my books become stressors in my life.
I was simply disappointed by such a promising start of the series
September 17, 2025
In an attempt to mine more ekti, the fuel essential for interstellar travel, the Earth Defence Forces (EDF) have employed an alien weapon known as the Klikiss Torch to convert a gas giant into a small star. Unbeknownst to the humans the gas giant was inhabited by intelligent aliens called hydrogues, and they are not happy with the attempted genocide. They are an ancient and inimical enemy and devastating to the EDF. Meanwhile Ildiran archeologists have discovered Klikiss portals left by the extinct race that lead to (mostly) inhabitable planets. This could make the whole ekti problem irrelevant and the free market Roamers’ monopoly on it pointless. The Klikiss robots, remnant technology from the extinct race, have decided that humans have become a nuisance and declared the equivalent of a pogrom on humanity, infiltrating secret software into the human robotic crew members. Desperate for ekti, the EDF resorted to pirating Roamer transports and the Roamers have embargoed Earth. Incensed, the Earth leaders open a clandestine war with the Roamers, while still trying to fight off the hydrogues. The other race involved politically, the Ildiran, have their own internecine strife. A secret cross-breeding program between humans and Ildiran, to create a true telepathy, has been uncovered and a schism is occurring in their leadership. The worldtrees, used by the green priests for instant communication, have entered the war against the hydrogues, and have lured the sun-dwelling faroes into the fray. A stunning ability of the worldtrees however, may yet save humanity. Third book of The Saga of the Seven Suns by Kevin J. Anderson, this is a fast-paced and complex tale well worth reading. Probably need to have read the first three books though.
December 24, 2024
(2 Stars)
As before, I will not discuss this book at length, but I will briefly discuss one particular aspect. This series has me thinking a lot about the craft of writing. One notable question I have is, what is the difference between subverting expectations and the author lying to us? Note that I am not considering an unreliable narrator (though I suppose if one were motivated to, they could claim that's what happens in the specific plot points I have in mind).
If we are told (via omniscient viewpoint) that a character cannot be lied to, but then in the next chapter the character is lied to, how are we to reconcile that? Do we assume that whatever assumptions held in the earlier chapter no longer hold, i.e. do we assume that something has changed? Should the author get the benefit of the doubt here?
If I suspend my doubts about (observed) physics, biology, humanity, and politics to buy into the world presented, must I also grant the world of the story the ability to shift its own foundations as needed? Or is that just bad writing?
As I'm not a writer and have done very very little analysis of literature, I'm assuming that the fault lies with me.
I did not enjoy this book.
As before, I will not discuss this book at length, but I will briefly discuss one particular aspect. This series has me thinking a lot about the craft of writing. One notable question I have is, what is the difference between subverting expectations and the author lying to us? Note that I am not considering an unreliable narrator (though I suppose if one were motivated to, they could claim that's what happens in the specific plot points I have in mind).
If we are told (via omniscient viewpoint) that a character cannot be lied to, but then in the next chapter the character is lied to, how are we to reconcile that? Do we assume that whatever assumptions held in the earlier chapter no longer hold, i.e. do we assume that something has changed? Should the author get the benefit of the doubt here?
If I suspend my doubts about (observed) physics, biology, humanity, and politics to buy into the world presented, must I also grant the world of the story the ability to shift its own foundations as needed? Or is that just bad writing?
As I'm not a writer and have done very very little analysis of literature, I'm assuming that the fault lies with me.
I did not enjoy this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2020
At last I've finished this, only another four to go. My criticisms of previous books stand. The Ildirans have become a space faring race, despite living on a world in perpetual daylight. How did they become aware of the cosmos? The author uses old European descriptions like Hansa, hanseatic, Manila, imperative etc. Very lazy. The Wentals and the Trees managed to build space vessels, despite apparently having no limbs - and the same goes for the Hydrogues and the Faeros. As the books are taking up a lot of space on my shelves, I'll grit my teeth and try and finish them all - some day. Edit, is it my imagination or does the glossary get longer with each book. It's a weakness that the author has to provide the reader with this as it's very easy to forget who is who.
January 4, 2022
Horizon Storms was the entry in the series where I started to become very bogged down and tired. I think that main problem that I had was the "treading water" - by which I mean very little of consequence was taking place in many chapters except for a recap. And there were plenty of recaps. Add on top of this the sprawling story lines and character arcs, and it started to get tough to digest. Whilst the scope is vast and I did appreciate that, some narrowing down on a subset of the characters would have been preferable. The excitement does build back up with the Klikiss robots and other events which in turn makes this book essential for what is to follow and it therefore (rightly) should be seen as a part of a grander whole.
February 28, 2019
Kevin Anderson is a skilled master of his craft (no pun intended). It would be interesting to know if the lengthy arc plots were all thought out in advance or simply evolved as his journey developed. Whichever his books certainly appeal to me. I particularly like the way he keeps his chapters short, making it an easier put down and pick up, rather than 20 page chapters where it is very easy to loose the plot if you don't finish a chapter in one sitting. The individual stories and characters are well formed and looking forward to reading what happens to Orli amongst others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 25, 2019
Part 3 in the series. It picks up the stories seemlessly from part 2, so I was glad that there was a recap at the start to familiarize again with all chatarcters. It is a lot of people to keep track of. I quite like the series, very large in scope but it deels like a set up of things to come. The momentum picks up drastically two thirds in, with lots of action all over the place. Of course nothing is concluded and certain stories are not continued in this book. Wait for the next to further everything. Recommended for those that like big space opera, more fantasy than hard SF.
April 20, 2022
Another strong entry.
The large cast of characters and plotlines is balanced successfully through the use of a simple technique: very short chapters. So you don't have to wait too long, and stop caring, about any single one.
And, again, something important happens in every chapter. More than that, events move on and dramatically alter. Political happenstances create all sorts of consequences, and new things come to emerge from the wreckage of war, new and unpredictable events.
Carefully put together and well-maintained pacing.
The large cast of characters and plotlines is balanced successfully through the use of a simple technique: very short chapters. So you don't have to wait too long, and stop caring, about any single one.
And, again, something important happens in every chapter. More than that, events move on and dramatically alter. Political happenstances create all sorts of consequences, and new things come to emerge from the wreckage of war, new and unpredictable events.
Carefully put together and well-maintained pacing.
April 26, 2023
This is the third book in a series of seven. This is an epic series and this book just adds more twists and turns to a wonderful story. The human puppet king is at last showing some spirit and he may yet become the saviour of the human race. Whilst other species within the spiral arm are either falling apart or engaging in all out war with everyone else. How this will all end I have no idea. I am less than half way through this series and I am sure it has a lot more to give.
May 14, 2023
I have to say, the Roamers and Therons have been clear favourites of mine all along. It was shocking to see both of them have their homes destroy, even while it was heartening to see them fumbling towards friendship.
Not sure what to think of Jor'ah's ascension, or the changes since. The storyline with his brother and his drug schemes is pretty left-field.
Looking forward to see how this series continues, especially with Peter, Tasia and Jess.
Not sure what to think of Jor'ah's ascension, or the changes since. The storyline with his brother and his drug schemes is pretty left-field.
Looking forward to see how this series continues, especially with Peter, Tasia and Jess.
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