In book three of The Saga of the Seven Suns, the plot
thickens. As the hydrogues and faeros continue their
vicious war, the humans and their allies, the Ildrians, at
times have become almost an afterthought to the
superpowers. The Kilkiss robots, however, harbor a grudge
against the humans of the Spiral Arm and vow to completely
destroy them.
On earth, Basil Wenceslas, chairman of the Terran Hanseatic
League, orders another Kilkiss Torch deployed. This time to
a hydrogue gas planet called Ptoro. Unbeknownst to the
human attackers, Ptoro is being used to house human
prisoners of war. The compy DD is also on Ptoro with his
captors the Kilkiss robots. As the gas giant explodes,
hydrogue war ships attack the EDF (Earth Defense Forces).
Before the EDF is wiped out, the faeros appear and engage
the hydrogues, allowing the EDF time to escape.
On Theroc, the world forest has been attacked and is
gravely wounded. Many of the Green Priests, who are
telepathically linked to the trees, leave the EDF and
return home to comfort and to rebuild.
The wentals, ancient water entities and enemies of the
hydrogues, are finally able to leave their prison by
integrating into the body of a Roamer they've saved. The
wentals will be carried by human volunteers to new worlds
so they can spread and prepare to fight the drogues.
Jora'h has become Mage-Imperator of the Ildrians.
Unprepared for his thism knowledge, which includes a secret
breeding program, Jora'h longs for change but realizes he
must except the status quo -- up to a point. Complicating
things, his brother, Rusa'h, wakes from his coma. Rusa'h
convinces Jorah's son that he, Rusa'h, is the rightful Mage-
Imperator. The two eventually commit an act of unparalleled
treason, bringing the empire to the brink of civil war.
Discovering that their ships have been attacked and
destroyed by the Hansa, the Roamers rebel and refuse to
turn over the precious ekti, which the Hansa demand and
depend on. This only prompts more attacks by the Hansa on
the Roamers.
Now the various human coalitions and their allies are at
each others' throats. The Spiral Arm is no closer to a
workable plan for defeating the hydrogues. Treachery and
treason infest and contaminate the human and Ilidrian
worlds. Although not quite on the brink of extinction, they
cannot hope to win the great battle they must eventually
face.
Wow! Lots going on here! HORIZON STORMS, like all the books
in this series, is a space opera of epic proportion. It has
a large cast of characters, almost nonstop action and it's
a lot of fun. Anderson's world keeps expanding -- layers
upon layers. We learn more about these people, their worlds
and their customs with each new book. The next book,
SCATTERED SUNS, will be out in hardcover in July. So, no,
the journey isn't over yet. But who cares! The trip can be
as much fun as the final destination. And what a ride it's
been.
By deploying the Klikiss Torch to ignite a gas giant, the
humans of the Hansa earned the enmity of the alien
hydrogues. Taking swift revenge, the hydrogues attacked not
only the Hansa, but the other humans, the independent
Roamers and Therons, as well. Even the Ildirans, mankind's
alien allies, were helpless to resist. Then another alien
race appeared: the star-dwelling faeros who ferociously
fought the hydrogues.
Now caught in the middle of a titanic
struggle between the two alien superpowers, the three
factions of humanity and the Ildirans are desperate to
survive. Can they band together to fight a common threat?
Or will their differences lead to civil wars?
For Cesca Peroni, leader of the Roamers, survival means
extending a
helping hand to others, beginning with the Therons, whose
planet of telepathic worldtrees is a smoldering ruin. For
Basil Wenceslas, ruthless chairman of the Hansa, survival
means using technology supplied by the mysterious Klikiss
robots to subject the Roamers and Therons to Hansa
authority - whether they like it or not. For Jora'h, the
new Ildiran Mage-Imperator, survival means throwing off the
traditions that have crippled the Empire. And for Jora'h's
mad brother, it means restoring those traditions - even at
the cost of a deadly internecine war.
As long-hidden intrigues and dark secrets come to light, a
man who is
believed to be long dead returns. Transformed beyond
imagining, he introduces an ally who may save humanity: the
wentals, ancient enemies of the hydrogues. But this new
fragile hope will be threatened by a fresh betrayal - the
most bitter and brutal of them all.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy