Kevin J. Anderson, Scattered Suns

Would only recommend to fans of space opera.

Scattered Suns

Kevin J. Anderson

Aspect, July 2005, $24.95, 476 pp.

ISBN 0446577170

When Chairman Basil Wenceslas used a device to ignite a gas giant he unknowingly destroyed the beings known as the hydrogues in it. The hydrogues declared war on the Terran Hanseatic League and nothing in the league's arsenal seems able to stop them. The hydrogues also declare war of the Hanseatic's ally the Illdira, the only other major civilization in the Spiral Arm.

Instead of uniting against a common enemy, the worlds of the Hansa and those of the IIdira are sinking into internal chaos. There is a civil war taking place among the Ildira while the leader's daughter was specially bred to negotiate with the hydrogues but nobody can guarantee her success. Basil is descending into madness, acting the tyrant to people, worlds, and colonists who don't agree with his orders. The only hope to defeat the enemy lies with the verdani, an organic based sentience similar to the Theron world forest which was destroyed in a hydrogue attack. It means working together if civilization hopes to survive the almost unbeatable hydrogues.

Anyone who loves a good space opera will want to read SCATTERED SUNS the fourth novel in the Saga of the Seven Suns. This work moves the story further along but leaves the audience with a feeling of anticipation as they wait for the next edition to be published to see what happens. Kevin J. Anderson is a talented storyteller and his ability to create characters both human and alien that are believable make his novels very special.

Harriet Klausner