18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Enemies Appear, April 16, 2008
Metal Swarm (2007) is the sixth SF novel in the Saga of Seven Suns series, following
Of Fire and Night. In the previous volume, the soldier compy revolt stripped the Earth Defense Forces of warships. When the hydrogues and Klikiss robots invaded the Terran system, General Kurt Lanyan gathered his remaining ships for a last stand. During the battle, King Peter and Queen Estarra fled to Theroc to escape the threats of Hansa Chairman Basil Wenceslas.
The Ildiran Solar Navy turned against the hydrogues and assisted the EDF ships. Then verdani treeships, Roamer vessels and faeros fireballs arrived and fought against the hydrogues. The hydrogue diamond ships were totally defeated. Soon wentals were dropped into the atmospheres of known hydrogue planets to drive away the aliens.
In this novel, King Peter begins to organize the new confederation of Hansa colonies, Roamer groups and the forest planet of Theroc. He starts by refusing the services of green priests to the Big Goose, thereby reducing their message traffic to lightspeed or courier ships. Then the surviving verdani treeships leave Theroc to spread worldtrees throughout the galaxy.
Mage-Imperator Jora'h begins to rebuild his damaged cities and worlds. Yet his consort Nira reminds him that he has unfinished business with the humans. He decides that the Mage-Imperator should personally inform the humans of the evil done against them by himself and his ancestors.
The Roamers begin to rebuild their installations destroyed by the EDF and the hydrogues. Jess Tamblyn and Cesca Peroni assist the Roamers and also begin to gather disassociated wentals for transport to Charybdis. Patrick Fitzpatrick III begins to search for Zhett Kellum.
In this story, the Confederation seems to be doing well, but its enemies have not all disappeared. Chairman Wenceslas is still making bad decisions that hurt the Hansa colonies within the Confederation and his orders have led General Lanyan into still further atrocities. But Wenceslas is also steadily turning his friends into enemies.
Moreover, the Klikiss have returned. They are definitely searching out their robots and destroying them. Yet they are also killing humans when they get in the way.
The Klikiss robots are using the captured EDF warships to attack their former masters, but the insect-like aliens are fighting back. The number of irreplaceable Klikiss robots, subverted compies and captured weapons is steadily being reduced. Sirix is beginning to question his own plans.
The faeros have become more aggressive since the insane Rusa'h has been incarnated as a fire elemental. Rusa'h incinerates Udru'h on Dobro, but lets Prime Designate Daro'h return to the Mage-Imperator. Then Rusa'h tours the Horizon Cluster, consuming the soulfires of Ildiran splinter colonists.
This story produces more threats against the Confederation. Naturally, these threats are also sources of danger to the Big Goose, but Wenceslas ignores them in his plans to destroy King Peter and all his allies. How many new threats will come in future volumes?
The author has invented some strange concepts and names, but the storyline drags. The overall plot is getting somewhat old. Still, the story itself is rather interesting.
Recommended for Anderson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of interstellar empires, exotic dangers, and a bit of romance.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
How long is Anderson going to milk this "saga", December 6, 2007
This book is consistent with it's predecessors. It's well written, the characters well developed, and fairly unique in the world it describes. However, is anything ever going to happen in these books? They drag on and on...becoming boring in parts when Anderson spends so much time on one small scenario. These books have been compared to Frank Herbert's Dune series. That's absurd. More happened, with a much greater level of excitement, in the single first Dune novel, than ALL of these installments of the Saga. As with the Ildiran story that this series refers to, it's a never ending story.....which might be positive in some ways, but is growing increasingly frustrating as this current installment grinds on...and on.....and on....
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