Of Fire and Night

The Barnes & Noble ReviewKevin J. Anderson’s super-sized space opera, the Saga of Seven Suns, continues in Of Fire and Night, the fifth installment of the shelf-bending science fiction series that has been compared to Frank Herbert’s Dune chronicles and Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy.

Of Fire and Night begins with the all-out extermination of humankind looming. The Terran Hanseatic League’s war with the hydrogues (aliens that live at the core of gas-giant planets) is going badly — and, with a tyrannical leader like Basil Wenceslas, the situation is only getting worse, especially after he alienates all of the powerful aliens who might have helped the League. As these once-reliable allies secretly plot humankind’s eradication with the hydrogues, entire factions of humanity are making plans for individual survival. At the same time, Soldier compies (competent computerized companions) have rebelled and taken most of Earth’s military. With Armageddon imminent, does humankind have any chance of survival?

When Anderson’s Saga of Seven Suns (Scattered Suns, Horizon Storms, et al.) is eventually concluded — a projected seven-volume story arc, according to the author’s web site — it will be remembered as one of the most ambitious science fiction narratives ever undertaken. Featuring numerous sentient alien races, complex political machinations, mind-blowing technological advances, and literally hundreds of integral characters, this apocalyptic series can be described properly in only word — epic! (A word of advice to Seven Suns neophytes: This is definitely not a series where readers can just pick up any volume and dive in. Beginning with Book One, Hidden Empire, is highly recommended.) Paul Goat Allen