Metal Swarm

October 15, 2007
Bestseller Anderson’s super-size mosaic of intergalactic, Darwinian conflict has been compared to some of the genre’s grandest epics with good reason, but the breakneck sixth book (after 2006’s Of Fire and Night
) of this shelf-bending space opera fails to satisfy on its own merits. The quickly deteriorating Terran Hanseatic League (Hansa), the formidable Ildiran Empire and the newly created Confederation of Hansa’s ex-colonies and rivals are in a fight for their very existence, battling not only each other but rogue robots, sentient fire entities and an ancient insectoid race, thought long extinct, which plans to eradicate all life on the planets it claims to own. Although Anderson brings all of his considerable skill to bear, much of the action-packed conflict remains relatively predictable, perhaps due to the unwieldy cast of characters, tapestry of intertwining subplots and eon-spanning backstory. A sparse conclusion leaves readers hanging in anticipation of book seven.

December 1, 2007
With the alien Kilkiss defeated and apparently extinct, humanity is about to sigh with relief and resume its agenda, which includes several internecine quarrels. But the Kilkiss left behind a multitude of robots that have professed alienation from their masters and willingness to serve humanity. That all suddenly disappears, and the robots exact a considerable toll in death, disruption, and demoralization. Lo and behold! the Kilkiss aren?t extinct, just hiding in places from which they emerge with hostility to humanity and control of the ?metal swarm? of the robots. A cliff-hanger ending promises two or more further volumes of Anderson's very well-sustained Saga of the Seven Suns.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)