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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Plenty of Surprise Remaining in this Saga, July 1, 2006
This review is from: Of Fire and Night (The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 5) (Hardcover)
*** SEE THE INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN J. ANDERSON ON THE WUAT WEBSITE! ***
The Ildiran Empire is about to betray the human race. In a Faustian deal, hydrogues have pledged not to exterminate the Mage-Imperator's people, as long as they help destroy all of humanity.
On Earth, the Terran Hansa is crumbling. King Peter and Queen Estarra are mere figureheads, and the real leader, the Chairman, grows more erratic by the hour. Terrified for the safety of their unborn child, and the Hansa at large, the King and Queen must find a way to survive.
Two elemental forces, the verdani (sentient forest) and wentals (sentient water) are drawn together in an awesome merging of power, while the unpredictable faeros (sentient fire beings) hassle the hydrogues. In an unholy alliance, the hydrogues and Klikiss robots move forward in their plans to eradicate "rock dwellers." The robots have succeeded in infesting the Hansa's space fleet with the deadly soldier compies. Entire grids of the fleet may be lost.
Betrayal, subterfuge, and espionage may give way to hope if humanity can pull itself together. After the ruthless measures taken by the Hansa military against outlying colony worlds, the mysterious Roamers, as well as the lack of aid to other allies, planet Earth is in grave danger. Can Hansa "allies" and victims forgive the corrupt government in time to help save the birthplace of humanity? If not, all is lost.
By maintaining the high standard of writing for which he is known, Kevin J. Anderson continues to thrill and astonish readers with the fifth installment of The Saga of Seven Suns. Many "epic" series tend to lull after a few novels, but this Saga thrusts forward in ever-changing ways. While some events are somewhat predictable--perhaps intentionally--there are enough surprises to sustain the level of tension necessary to pull the reader through.
There are a few threads of the tale that will either not make sense, or will seem out of character for a while. Don't let that fool you. Press on, because even though you may think you know what will happen, you don't.
After reading this novel, only two questions remain. The first is whether Anderson can finish out this series with the same caliber of storytelling. One would have to read to the end of this book in order to understand the full impact of this question--to say more would be to spoil a spectacular ending. The Saga is not over by a long shot, but Anderson has a lot to live up to.
The other question: Do we really have to wait another year for the next installment?!
Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
6/21/2006
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Final War with the Hydrogues, April 11, 2007
This review is from: Of Fire and Night (The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 5) (Hardcover)
Of Fire and Night (2006) is the fifth SF novel in The Saga of the Seven Suns, following Scattered Suns. In the previous volume, DD used the Klikiss gate to find Margaret Colicos on an alien planet. Tasia Tamblyn was captured by Klikiss robots. Patrick Fitzpatrick III negotiated a deal with his grandmother for the freedom of all Roamers within the Osquivel system.
King Peter and Queen Estarra found the friendly dolphins slaughtered and realize that they can no longer hold back in their struggle with Hansa Chairman Basil Wenceslas. Mage-Imperator Jora'h converts the thism of most of the rebels back to himself, but Rusa'h escapes to a faeros city within the Hyrillka sun. Anton Colicos reads Homer's epics to Rememberer Vao'sh until he recovers from his thism withdrawal. The verdani battleships finally reach Theroc.
In this novel, the Osquivel survivors return to be welcomed by enthused crowds. The scientists push through the crowds, impatient to begin investigating the hydrogue derelict vessel. Dignitaries pose for the cameras in front of the small ship.
King Peter and Queen Estarra are there to greet the rescued EDF soldiers. Chairman Wenceslas is also there, although the survival of these men and women was a surprise and embarrassment to the EDF and himself. He wants the public ceremony over as soon as possible.
Admiral Lev Stromo commands the forces sent to rescue the "dunsel" commanders of the EDF rammer fleet, but they find no escape pods and no debris around Qronha 3. Headquarters sends further instructions and his communications techs pick up a faint hidden signal that shows them lost EDF crewmembers and Klikiss robots. Unfortunately, the soldier compies serving on the bridge also receive a signal to take over the ship.
Mage-Imperator receives a visit from hydrogue warglobes at the invitation of his daughter Osira'h. Still, the hydrogue emissary is not interested in negotiating with the Ildirans. First he threatens to destroy the entire race, but mental prodding by Osira'h causes him to provide the Mage-Imperator with a choice: exterminate the Terrans or die.
In this story, the Roamers are definitely not cooperating as ordered. The Terran Hanseatic League is also losing control of its colonies. Meanwhile, Chairman Wenceslas is losing control of his judgment and temper; he starts indulging himself with paranoiac fantasies and planning the death of Peter, Estarra and their unborn child.
Elsewhere, the various enemies of the hydrogues are gathering forces to terminate the ten thousand year old war. The Terran colonies and Roamers are allying with the faeros, the verdani and the wentals to take the war to the hydrogue planets. The Ildirans have an incidental role in this war, but the Hansa government is mostly unaware of the allied offensive.
This novel concludes one phase of this story, but the series does not end with this volume. Stay tuned for Book 6.
Recommended for Anderson fans and for anyone else who enjoys old fashioned space opera with a cast of billions. If you have not read any of the previous books in this series, start with Hidden Empire.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of Twists and Turns, December 31, 2007
Another great book (5th) in the series by Kevin Anderson. While the series takes a bit to get going, in that you're introduced to a lot of different plot lines immediately, by this time they're all easy to follow. The thing I like most about this series is STUFF ACTUALLY HAPPENS. There are many other multi-book series where when you finish a book you feel like not much has happened even though you just read 600 pages. Not so with The Saga of Seven Suns. This fifth book, in my opinion, harbors the most change from start to finish, and left me amazed at where he's taken the story. Anderson isn't afraid to shake up the plot into entirely new directions, or to kill off characters where it makes sense...
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