About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has over 20 million books in print in 30 languages worldwide. He is the author of, among others, the X-FILES novels, GROUND ZERO and the JEDI ACADEMY trilogy of STAR WARS novels - the three bestselling SF novels of 1994. He has also co-written the international bestselling prequels to Frank Herbert's monumental DUNE series. He has won, or been nominated for, many awards including the Nebula Award and the Bram Stoker Award. Visit his website www.wordfire.com

Reviews

Anderson's fifth installment (after Scattered Suns) of the "Saga of the Seven Suns" space opera is feeling limber and rejuvenated. Though the thrill of the series' newness is diminished, more action helps to centralize dozens of story lines revolving around multispecies interstellar war. Klikiss robots ally with the hydrogues to exterminate humans (nomadic Roamers, gentle Therons, and earth-based Hansa) and force their cousin soldier "compy" robots to rebel viciously against humankind. Meanwhile, the Therons strengthen their alliance with the verdani (trees with networked consciousness) and, with the help of the water-based wentels, create treelike battleships that can defeat hydrogue warglobes. In all, it's not going well for the humans, particularly because super-controlling Hansa chairman Basil Wenceslas continues to shoot humankind in the foot by creating enemies both human and nonhuman. Though narrator David Colacci's agreeable voice lends itself well to the action, both the repetition required of such a long tale and the publisher's annoying 99 tracks per disc detract. Recommended for libraries where the earlier installments did well.-Douglas C. Lord, Connecticut State Lib., Hartford Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Bestseller Anderson's fabulous fifth volume in his Seven Suns saga (after 2005's Scattered Suns) combines glitzy space-opera flash with witty, character-driven action on a cosmic scale. In retaliation for the destruction of a gas planet's hydrogue inhabitants, the surviving hydrogues join forces with human-hating Klikiss-created robots to exterminate all Terrans, including Hansa colonists, gypsy Roamers and Therons of Theroc, the forested planet that's home to sentient verdani. Vast verdani organic battleships unite with fiery, star-dwelling faeros, Earth Defense Forces and humanoid Ildirans in "elemental synergy" to fight the hydrogues. Expertly juggling a huge cast and multiple story lines, Anderson unleashes major firepower as he sets the scene for the sixth and final chapter in an SF series more entertaining than a 3-D superstar game of outerspace Twister. (July) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.