The war between the hydrogues and the civilizations of the
Spiral Arm continues. The Hansa, Roamer and Ildrians strike
out not only at their common enemy, but also turn against
each other. Culture against culture, brother against
brother, and so they begin to weaken.
The Ildrians engage in a bloody civil war. Jora'h, the
legitimate Mage Imperator, battles his brother and eldest
son, who've banded together in an effort to defeat and
replace him. Meanwhile, Jora'h's young daughter has
successfully made contact with the hydrogues. The hydrogues
have agreed to end hostilities with the Ildiran Empire, but
demand a terrible price in return.
The Roamers are scattered. Branded outlaws by the Hansa,
their outposts have been destroyed and their people
imprisoned.
On Theroc, the Worldforest has suffered crippling blows,
but help has come at last in the form of the wentals, water-
based entities long thought extinct. Now the Therons face
the future with a new confidence and determination.
Chairman Basil Wenceslas is still in control of the puppet
monarchy and the media on Earth. Increasingly unbalanced,
Basil has declared open war on the Roamer clans, turning
them into convenient scapegoats by focusing attention on
the hapless clans and away from the government and the war
effort. King Peter realizes Basil is more of a threat than
ever and contemplates replacing him...in the most extreme way
possible. The Soldier compies betray the EDF and openly
join the Klikss robots in their insidious plan to
exterminate mankind once and for all. Earth has never been
more unpopular with the rest of the galaxy. With all the
peoples of the Spiral Arm lining up against them, can there
be any hope for the future?
As the fourth installment unfolds in Anderson's ambitious
and compelling The Saga of the Seven Suns series, some
story arcs are tied up and new arcs begin. Communication
with the hydrogues opens a whole new can of worms. Jora'h's
daughter has lived up to the hopes of her people. The
wentals and the verdani are allied and the Roamers have
joined their team. The Ildrian civil war seems to be over,
but the fate of the usurper raises even more questions.
Everything is coming together nicely, but there are still
big arcs to be explored in book five and probably more than
enough story for a book or two after that. Anderson's
storytelling is fast-paced and exciting. A wild roller
coaster ride through the universe of the Spiral Arm.
The war between the alien hydrogues and the faeros rages,
reducing suns to blackened shells-including one of the
fabled seven suns of the Ildiran Empire. Instead of
protecting themselves, the Ildirans engage in bloody civil
war and the many factions of humanity are bitterly divided.
Can mankind and Ildirans overcome their own internal
fighting to face a deadly new enemy that is ready to
annihilate them?
Newly ascended to the Ildiran throne, Mage-Imperator Jora'h
must quash the rebellion launched by his mad brother before
the hydrogues destroy what is left of the empire. Assailed
from all sides, Jora'h turns to his beloved half-human
daughter, dispatching her on a desperate mission to make
peace with the hydrogues.
Hope for humanity now rests with Jess Tamblyn, who
continues to seed worlds with the watery wentals, the
mortal enemies of the hydrogues. And on the ravaged planet
of Theroc, home to a telepathic worldforest, a dead man is
resurrected to prepare for the arrival of mysterious new
allies in the fight. But Chairman Basil Wenceslas's
vendetta against the free-spirited Roamers has blinded him
to a danger closer to home-the soldier machines that make
up the backbone of the Hansa fighting force. King Peter has
long suspected that the compies, built with the help of the
ancient Klikiss robots, cannot be trusted. Now the shocking
proof comes when the Klikiss launch their long-planned
extermination of all things flesh and blood. And in the
ensuing battle, humans and Ildirans alike will face their
darkest choices yet...