From Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Anderson turns up the heat in his second Saga of the Seven Suns installment (after 2002's Hidden Empire), proving he has firepower to burn. He weaves action, romance and science with a rousing plot reflecting the classic SF of Clarke and Herbert and the glossy cinematic influence of Lucas and Spielberg. Five years after the events in Hidden Empire, hydrogues, gas giant aliens, continue to plague the Terran Hanseatic League in retaliation for the Hansa's "accidental" destruction of a hydrogue planet. This time they're also eager to destroy their ancient enemy, the Verdani, an interconnected, semi-sentient worldforest far more dangerous to the quicksilver aliens than mere humans ("The roots of a tree can shatter mountains, given time"). EDF (Earth Defense Forces) have hidden enemies in the Klikiss robots, whose resolve to reprogram "compies" (short for "Competent Computerized Companions") into human-killing robots is just as alarming as covert alien experiments on humans. Anderson's well-drawn cast includes spy Davin Lotze, an exosociologist who discovers a new method of space travel; earthy space-trader Rlinda Kett; King Peter, a reluctant "puppet" who challenges power-mad Basil Wenceslas; and DD, the terrified friendly compy kidnapped by a ruthless Klikiss robot. Sparked with surprises, enriched by ecological issues that laypersons can appreciate, this saga soars as it exposes the inner and external roots of war. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Forest of Stars FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
In A Forest of Stars, the second book in Kevin J. Anderson's sprawling science fiction epic Saga of Seven Suns, an experiment involving an ancient technology accidentally wipes out an entire colony of powerful aliens (hydrogues) and ignites an intergalactic war, placing the very survival of the human species at risk.
Now, several years after the event, the hydrogues have absolute control over the galaxy's gas-giant planets -- the only source of ekti (stardrive fuel) -- and the subsequent embargo is slowly squeezing the life out of human colonies across the galaxy. But there are other, less-apparent dangers facing humanity: The supposedly peaceful humanoid race of Ildirans is secretly conducting heinous breeding programs on human captives, and sentient alien robots are programming their human-created counterparts to overthrow their masters.
Like Anderson's Dune prequel novels (coauthored with Brian Herbert), the Saga of Seven Suns is epic in every sense of the word. With hundreds of characters (human, alien, and robotic), dozens of plotlines unfolding on just as many planets across the Spiral Arm, and diverse thematic threads involving ecology, religion, mythology, xenophobia, and sentient rights, this saga is easily Anderson's best work to date. Paul Goat Allen
FROM THE PUBLISHER
"Five years after attacking the human-colonized worlds of the Spiral Arm, the enigmatic hydrogues maintain absolute control over the galaxy's gas-giant planets. Jovian atmospheres are the only source of vitally needed stardrive fuel - and the embargo on harvesting is strangling human civilization." "On Earth, the government is tightening its iron grip on rebellious colonies while seeking to dominate humans throughout the galaxy. Reeling from renewed attacks by the hydrogues, the Terran rulers don't realize the other dangers they face. Earth's alien "friends," the seemingly gentle Ildirans, are abducting humans for breeding experiments. And Earth's government is using military robots to build cybernetic legions to fight the war, robots that have secretly exterminated their own makers - and may soon turn on mankind." "Five years ago, humans thought they ruled the cosmos. Today they're the galaxy's most endangered species. But the sudden appearance of incredible new races of elemental entities destroys all known balances of power." Now for the humans and the myriad alien factions in the universe, the real war is about to begin...and genocide may be the result.
SYNOPSIS
The second novel in an exciting new science fiction series by the author of the New York Times bestsellers Dune Butlerian Jihad, Star Wars: Darksabre, and X-Files: Antibodies, among many others.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Bestseller Anderson turns up the heat in his second Saga of the Seven Suns installment (after 2002's Hidden Empire), proving he has firepower to burn. He weaves action, romance and science with a rousing plot reflecting the classic SF of Clarke and Herbert and the glossy cinematic influence of Lucas and Spielberg. Five years after the events in Hidden Empire, hydrogues, gas giant aliens, continue to plague the Terran Hanseatic League in retaliation for the Hansa's "accidental" destruction of a hydrogue planet. This time they're also eager to destroy their ancient enemy, the Verdani, an interconnected, semi-sentient worldforest far more dangerous to the quicksilver aliens than mere humans ("The roots of a tree can shatter mountains, given time"). EDF (Earth Defense Forces) have hidden enemies in the Klikiss robots, whose resolve to reprogram "compies" (short for "Competent Computerized Companions") into human-killing robots is just as alarming as covert alien experiments on humans. Anderson's well-drawn cast includes spy Davin Lotze, an exosociologist who discovers a new method of space travel; earthy space-trader Rlinda Kett; King Peter, a reluctant "puppet" who challenges power-mad Basil Wenceslas; and DD, the terrified friendly compy kidnapped by a ruthless Klikiss robot. Sparked with surprises, enriched by ecological issues that laypersons can appreciate, this saga soars as it exposes the inner and external roots of war. (July 17) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
Five years after a scientific experiment aroused the anger of the hydrogues, a previously unknown race native to giant gas planets, the war between humans and hydrogues has resulted in a faltering economy for Earth and its colonies. With fuel for interstellar travel strictly controlled, the Terran Hanseatic League faces rebellion from some of its colonies. When Jess Tamblyn, an enterprising pilot of a nomadic group of spacefaring humans known as the Roamers, stumbles upon yet another new alien species, he discovers a potential ally against the hydrogues. Following the actions of a varied group of individuals, including the King of the Hanseatic League, a pair of archaeologists specializing in ancient alien civilizations, and a captive priestess of the World Trees, Anderson continues his epic tale of interstellar war and politics begun in Hidden Empire. Rapid-fire action and panoramic plotting make this a first-class space opera suitable for most sf collections. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Ultraprolific Anderson has penned a forest of novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune, not counting entries with L. Ron Hubbard, Doug Benson, and the solo effort Hopscotch (2002). Most recently, Anderson kicked off his own SF series with Hidden Empire (2002), of which A Forest of Stars is volume two. Humans of the Terran Hanseatic Federation of Earth start a galaxy-wide war in the year 2427 when they ignite the gas-planet Oncier, a pastel globe of hydrogen five times the size of Jupiter, to illuminate and help power colonization of Oncier's four moons, with Oncier as a new sun. Unbeknownst to humans, Oncier is populated by the Hydrogues, whose home the Terrans have inadvertently wiped out, thus displeasing the Mage-Imperator of the dying-out Ildirans, who falsely intuit that Terrans want to take over a whole spiral arm of the galaxy. Thus war vibes arise between Ildirans and Terrans. Also on hand are the gypsy Roamers who mine ekti, the dwindling universal stardrive fuel, the Worldtrees and Green Priests of Theroc, all of them spelled out in Anderson's glossary of really weird words and titles, his Command Structure of the Earth Defense Forces, the Noble-Born Children of Prime Designate Jora'h (the Mage-Imperator's son), the Known Klikiss (insectoid robots), Planets in the New Hansa Colonization Initiative, the Ruling Family of Theoric, and Clan Tamblyn-all very necessary. Five years pass after the unwitting implosion of the home of the Hydrogues. Priests symbiotic with the Worldforest, a sentient computer with data stored in trees, warn that the Hydrogues have indeed turned mercilessly hostile toward Terrans. As all-out war looms, the Terrans join forces with water-based Wentals andsun-dwelling Faeros. Anderson models his darkening epic on Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series-now in its 11th volume. Quo vadis, Kevin? Agents: Matt Bialer, Robert Gottlieb, Kim Whalen/Trident Media Group
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