Of Fire and Night

Starred review from May 22, 2006
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.

June 1, 2006
The ruler of Earth, Basil Wenceslas, is not so slowly going mad, and in trying to suppress all opposition to his rule, he is alienating both other factions of humanity and nonhuman races. Throughout human-inhabited space, opponents are rallying to equip themselves with bioengineered weapons (e.g., spacefaring trees) to fend off Wenceslas and the nonhumans he may be making willing to annihilate humanity in general. The fifth volume of the Saga of Seven Suns (after " Hidden Empire" , 2002; " A Forest of Stars," 2003; " Horizon Storms" , 2004; and " Scattered Suns" , 2005) has the same distinct flavor of space opera about it. No surprise, that, since Anderson cut his literary teeth on Star Wars fiction. But his collaborations with Brian Herbert on the extension of " Dune" and, perhaps, the passage of years and books have given him more sophistication in characterization and world building. Seven Suns is a large canvas being filled with notable skill, sure to please lovers of action sf, even though by now the appended glossary is definitely necessary. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)