Lords of the Seventh Swarm

The Golden Queen #3

by Dave Wolverton

When the Sixth Swarm of the insectoid Dronons began their invasion of human worlds, three fugitives were thrown together as they fled before the wave of alien destruction. Gallen O'Day, a human bounty hunter, Orick, a sentient bear, and Maggie Flynn, a beautiful orphan, made a desperate stand. In an attempt to stop the attack, they challenged the queen of the invading forces. Against all hope, Gallen defeated the Dronon Lord protector in ritual combat, piercing its exoskeleton. Only an ancient system of transport gates has kept the desperate trio one world ahead of the Dronon probes and scout ships. But now, out of worlds and out of hope, they are stranded on a planet called Ruin, far beyond the gates and off the star charts. The desolate rock and its hundred inhabitants are ruled by Lord Felph, an ancient gentleman of inestimable wealth and eccentricity. The four-thousand-year-old Felph has dedicated six hundred years to a search for a mythic alien relic said to give its bearer power over Time and Space. This relic lies in the ultra-dense jungle called the Tangles, where down in the darkness dwell predators of unimaginable ferocity. Nothing human or machine that Felph has sent into the Tangles has ever returned, but with the Dronons closing in, Gallen and Orick must attempt to fulfill this madman's centuries-old dream. For without that relic, nothing will stop the Seventh Swarm.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction

348 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Dave Wolverton (born 1957) is a science fiction author who also goes under the pseudonym David Farland for his fantasy works. He currently lives in St. George, Utah with his wife and five children.

(Wikipedia entry: Dave Wolverton)

Reviews

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are sometimes books that I finish where I absolutely loved the book, thought it was just delightful...but I don't believe that most people will enjoy. This is definitely that type of book.

First of all, this book takes a marked departure from previous books, as it largely takes place on a single planet, Ruin. Our trio, Gallen, Maggie, and Orick (along with the newcomer Tallea) all are running from the Dronon. In this book they encounter Lord Felph and his "family". They are tested by this family, and realize that they must resolve the situation with the Dronon once and for all.

One one hand, this book is too small scale for the ending of a big trilogy. While the characters go on a journey and finish their arc here, the scope of the story is too small. Everynne, the "Golden Queen" from book 1, should absolutely have been involved in this book, either as a major character or as the hero at the end sweeping in to save the day. We also should have seen more of resistance to the Dronon. However, Wolverton decides to focus smaller scale with the characters.

One of the controversial decisions in this book is to focus on Orick the Bear focus on his goal of becoming a Priest, or at minimum focusing on spreading the gospel. We see him struggle with his relationship with Tallea as he wants to marry her, but he doesn't feel that he can do that and serve God. Many people have complained about this plotline, feeling it is too much of a "Bible study". I actually thought it was really fascinating and fit the character journey of Orick perfectly. I also liked seeing him argue with Zeus.

We also have the plotline of Lord Felph and his "family". They are all horrible, disgusting people, but they are strangely compelling. Several of the sequences had "Game of Thrones" vibes to them. However, one sequence where Zeus tries seducing Maggie felt straight out of "Shadows of the Empire" by Steve Perry...to the point that I'm sure that Wolverton read that book because the chapter seems so OBVIOUSLY similar...but I loved reading this plotline.

The ending is certainly controversial. Wolverton has two traditional endings, where he can have all the characters live or have several die. I won't spoil what path he takes, but it is certainly an issue that will divide readers. I would have absolutely done it differently, but I absolutely get why Wolverton went in this direction.

My only problems are that the third act should have been "bigger" and should have resembled the final act of book 1 but on a greater scale. I also didn't love everything about the action climax. That being said, I LOVED the falling action at the end of the book! Boy did I love the falling action.

Overall, I actually really loved this book. I figured I'd dislike it with how the reactions from other readers were, but I actually think its my favorite of the trilogy. Book 1 was great and book 2 was bland, but this book really does a great job for me. 9 out of 10!

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

i actually didn't start reading David Wolverton. I began with his other writing persona, David Farland and the epic fantasy series the Runelords. Since then, I've had the chance to interview him for a book column I once had. He's a delightful fellow, and very unassuming, but also very business-like.

For the record, I've never read his first breakthrough book, the Courtship of Princess Leia.

I've thoroughly enjoyed his Golden Queen trilogy. Fast-paced and exciting, but like all of his books, also looking at profound human issues. These books are in the I-can't-put-down category. Once you start, you don't want to stop. He easily pulls you along.

One of the things that struck me about this book is how similar this book is a western. Hear me out. One of the unique aspects of westerns is how the land and landscape are almost characters in an of themselves. (One of the best examples I can think of is Louis L'amour's Man from the Broken Hills.) In Lords of the Seventh Swarm, the planet itself and its landscape function as a character, almost.
There are some who say that he overdoes religion in the book, but if you're followed the series, it is true to that particular character and plays a vital role in the story.
It would be fantastic to have more adventures, but Wolverton always knows when to rein it in, and ends the series perfectly.

[Charles Bush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great conclusion

The best conclusions are the ones where you can't help but with there was another book coming. Id forgotten how good this series was until I realized I hadn't read this one. Got lost in the series once again.

[Krystian Mortka · Rating 5 out of 5]

That ending was unexpected!

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

At long last, we come to a conclusion about the lives of our reluctang heroes: Gallen, Maggie, Orick, and Tallea. This time, rather than being sent on some Tharrin's mission, they are on an artifact quest. Lords of the Seventh Swarm (The Golden Queen, #3) is the final tome in the Golden Queen series, and gives somewhat of a clue as to what it is going to be about in its title. Reminder: Gallen and Maggie become lords of the SIXTH swarm in The Golden Queen. These seventh swarmers have never encountered humans but have gotten themselves some ambition and so are gunning for Maggie and Gallen to go ahead and take the Lord of The Sixth and Seventh Swarm headband.

Meanwhile, Maggie is pregnant.

Even more meanwhile, there are some people with ancient Greek names.

So, why the rating? I came to this novel expecting an adventure book, but instead it appears that a bible study broke out. Don't believe me? Read my book notes (spoiler alert: these are notes written as I read the book and they do reveal things that happen in the book) @ http://www.scribd.com/doc/176317900/B... . As a non-Christian, I wasn't threatened but it got a little old very quickly. I get that Orick is religious, but I've also studied the bible in an academic manner and what happened in this book was entirely too basic to be academically interesting but entirely too directly-quoting-from-the-bible-and-then-discussing-it to be entertaining.

Thanks to GoodReads's new policy change where we cannot talk about authors, let me just say that looking in to the biography of the author might provide insight into why there is a bible study novel that repeatedly mentions "missionary". I suspect that this novel was supposed to serve as a mission, and perhaps it does to some, but not to me. It comes far short of selling Christianity to my heathen self because it offers a worse situation. (Though that said, this has been my experience with all Christian missionaries of all stripes; they don't seem to get that my current religion actually would be an upgrade from their current religion.)

The flow of the novel is good, though.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book had way too much religious preaching in it. When I read sci-fi, it's for the excellent story, and the great thrill of reading about distant worlds, great technologies, and imagination that make the book all worthwhile. I do not read them for religious preaching, that's what I go to church for. It's an unfortunate thing that so many authors get on a soap box while telling an excellent tale, and throw so much preaching into it, that it just becomes a pulpit instead of a fantastic story. I'm sure some don't mind this, and that's ok, but for me, when you throw religion into the mix, it just brings the whole story to a screeching halt, and unfortunately, in this volume, the preacher bear just got to be too much. Without, I think I could have given it more stars, but 3 is all I could offer here. Add to that the fact that this was a copy of the book published by Wordfire Press, that looks like it was scanned from paper originals, and someone forgot to check the book for scanned typos, and you can get an idea for how tough this book was for me to get through. I read it anyway, and although it turned out ok, It's definitely not going on my to read again list, nor will it go on my recommend series to others, it's just not that good as a whole. But, if you have an original version without the ocr errors, and you don't mind the heavy sermons in the text, then you should find this an excellent read, and perhaps you can see it in your heart to give this otherwise excellent story more than three stars.

[Chuck Dexter · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the book being the last of a trilogy, we would expect that the flow of the book would go as the previous versions...it does not. This book take an extreme left and then an extreme right. Things the reader would never consider are in this story and they mesh well. No spoilers here, but the religious aspect is well covered and well written. It is not over done and give a flow to the secondary story line. There is just a lot of common sense written into this story and I for one have enjoyed the trilogy. I did tear up in the last chapter as the end comes...and then goes....read it for yourself!

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series is highly entertaining and I read through all three books pretty quickly. Parts are a little slow and repetitive, but overall, I liked the characters and the adventures and the fact that the endings were not completely predictable. I'd recommend these as a light spring break, poolside, or beach-type read.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK end to a series with an interesting premise. Each of the books could have used some trimming, but they were not bad. The ending was unsatisfying and there seemed no real point to it. Despite the length, a lot was left undeveloped.

[Ryan Martinsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little put off by the beginning, but then got into it. I was then put off by all the religious preaching, but it ended up serving a purpose. Enjoyed the book.

[Kenneth Flusche · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dry (oddly religious) not really sure but did not flow as well as books 1 & 2 in the series.