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800slim's review against another edition
3.0
The ekti must flow...
Short plot description:
Mankind has made it to the stars (with some help from the alien race called "Ildirans"). In the process they have divided into three major fractions, the Terran Hanseatic League and their colonies, the priests of Theroc with their telepathic link to the world forest and the free-living Roamers.
What holds everything together is the fuel "ekti" which allows faster-than-light travel and to a lesser extent the telepathic abilities of the priests which allows instantaneous communication between worlds.
Another alien species, the Klikiss, are long extinct but left some technology behind, including some robots.
The novel starts with the THL converting (for terra-forming purposes) a gas giant into a sun, killing million members of the hitherto unknown alien species "Hydroques" which in turn declare their gas giants off-limits for every one else and enforcing their demands with overwhelming force.
Since the gas-giants in the galaxy are the source of the fuel "ekti", a conflict on a galactic scale is inevitable...
My thoughts:
This is the first book in the "Saga of the Seven Suns"-series and so by necessity includes lots and lots of info dumps, making the pace rather slow.
I felt the book was more or less all exposition, with some action thrown in now and then to get the plot moving forward.
The events are told from the perspective of various members of the different factions, ranging from faction leaders through mid-level ranks down to ordinary people swept up in the events.
This also helps to keep the novel going but can be overwhelming since lots of different characters are introduced which felt overwhelming at some points.
Nevertheless the setup is quite intriguing and leaves room for lots of good books to follow.
My one major problem with the world-building and the novel in general: I can't think of one part of this universe which I haven't read before in other novels. Space travel depending on one resource, telepathic communications, political tensions between the different factions (human and alien), extinct alien races leaving technology behind, everything here has been done before and feels familiar.
It will be interesting to see how Anderson develops the setup in the consecutive novels.
recommended for: everyone who likes space opera
Short plot description:
Mankind has made it to the stars (with some help from the alien race called "Ildirans"). In the process they have divided into three major fractions, the Terran Hanseatic League and their colonies, the priests of Theroc with their telepathic link to the world forest and the free-living Roamers.
What holds everything together is the fuel "ekti" which allows faster-than-light travel and to a lesser extent the telepathic abilities of the priests which allows instantaneous communication between worlds.
Another alien species, the Klikiss, are long extinct but left some technology behind, including some robots.
The novel starts with the THL converting (for terra-forming purposes) a gas giant into a sun, killing million members of the hitherto unknown alien species "Hydroques" which in turn declare their gas giants off-limits for every one else and enforcing their demands with overwhelming force.
Since the gas-giants in the galaxy are the source of the fuel "ekti", a conflict on a galactic scale is inevitable...
My thoughts:
This is the first book in the "Saga of the Seven Suns"-series and so by necessity includes lots and lots of info dumps, making the pace rather slow.
I felt the book was more or less all exposition, with some action thrown in now and then to get the plot moving forward.
The events are told from the perspective of various members of the different factions, ranging from faction leaders through mid-level ranks down to ordinary people swept up in the events.
This also helps to keep the novel going but can be overwhelming since lots of different characters are introduced which felt overwhelming at some points.
Nevertheless the setup is quite intriguing and leaves room for lots of good books to follow.
My one major problem with the world-building and the novel in general: I can't think of one part of this universe which I haven't read before in other novels. Space travel depending on one resource, telepathic communications, political tensions between the different factions (human and alien), extinct alien races leaving technology behind, everything here has been done before and feels familiar.
It will be interesting to see how Anderson develops the setup in the consecutive novels.
recommended for: everyone who likes space opera
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a bit to get used to the multiple POVs and storylines. By the halfway, I was familiar enough with the characters that I started to feel comfortable with the format.
The story starts out with archeologists Margaret and Louis Colicos watching a test of ancient technology they had discovered that created new suns. The test was successful, but they barely noticed what had escaped during the test.
The story starts out with archeologists Margaret and Louis Colicos watching a test of ancient technology they had discovered that created new suns. The test was successful, but they barely noticed what had escaped during the test.
lorune's review against another edition
4.0
Really solid SF story, alot of different angles.
The only downside for some people might that the first book takes ages to really get going, due to so many characters being introduced.
I personally like that im a sucker for long story's.
The only downside for some people might that the first book takes ages to really get going, due to so many characters being introduced.
I personally like that im a sucker for long story's.
lycheeteareads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jmoses's review against another edition
4.0
Ugh, sometimes I hate reading the first book in a longer series. There's quite a few story lines here, and they all take a while to get going. I had to work to get through this because of that. The writing, characters, setting, etc are all good, but just...it's a slow start, and some of it is kind of boring. About halfway through it picks up, and from there it was a good read. The setup for the rest of the series is good, and I'll certainly be reading the rest.
nick_27's review against another edition
5.0
This is the third time I have read this novel. First time I was 12 years old and in the sixth grade, I fell in love. Second time I was 14 years old and in the eighth grade, I then read the rest of the series and loved the opera even more. Now it is the third time and I am 17 years old, and I am still amazed. The story is so beautiful and edge of your seat worthy throughout all of the story lines. This book will always hold a place in my heart as the first "adult" novel I had ever read, and I am looking forward to digesting its pages again in the future.
branch_c's review
2.0
Well, I thought it was only fair to try something else by Anderson since Clockwork Angels was kind of a special case.
This one has some promising SF concepts and lots of detailed world building, but I'm afraid I was less than thrilled with the writing style. Clearly Anderson has a lot of fans and must be doing something right to appeal to so many readers. But for me, it read more like a detailed synopsis than an engaging story - lots of careful plotting and plenty of stuff happening, just not in a way that really held my interest. A multitude of characters, each meticulously described and with a couple of emphasized traits, but lacking that spark of realism. The dialog, which should have been able to liven things up, instead came across a bit stiff.
So yeah, while I applaud the author for the inventiveness and obvious effort that went into creating this future world, I don't think I'll be following up with the rest of the series.
This one has some promising SF concepts and lots of detailed world building, but I'm afraid I was less than thrilled with the writing style. Clearly Anderson has a lot of fans and must be doing something right to appeal to so many readers. But for me, it read more like a detailed synopsis than an engaging story - lots of careful plotting and plenty of stuff happening, just not in a way that really held my interest. A multitude of characters, each meticulously described and with a couple of emphasized traits, but lacking that spark of realism. The dialog, which should have been able to liven things up, instead came across a bit stiff.
So yeah, while I applaud the author for the inventiveness and obvious effort that went into creating this future world, I don't think I'll be following up with the rest of the series.
typesetjez's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars instead of 4 because I'm not terribly fond of the narrator in the audiobook.
I've already read what's been released of the Saga of Shadows, so coming to this series was an interesting experience. There's a lot of world building, which actually explains some things that aren't covered in such depth in the later series, and of course, the "new" characters are familiar and already established in the roles later. It's funny because I know where most of these characters end up later in life and know parts of their story already, but I don't feel spoiled, rather, I like to be able to anticipate and theorize what could happen to get them to that point later on.
This book is enormous. Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but this audiobook took me a full month to listen to and really seemed to drag in some places and there were plenty of scenes that could have been left out without affecting the overall story. Part of the drag could be that I much prefer the narrator from the Saga of Shadows audios, admittedly. Still, I think this shows Anderson's growth as a writer, that he's able to distill a "saga" into 3 books later instead of 7 and is able to focus on what's important to the plot.
Looking forward to book 2...but I think I'll need to get through a few more pressing books on my TBR shelf first (namely the 2 for book clubs due this month).
I've already read what's been released of the Saga of Shadows, so coming to this series was an interesting experience. There's a lot of world building, which actually explains some things that aren't covered in such depth in the later series, and of course, the "new" characters are familiar and already established in the roles later. It's funny because I know where most of these characters end up later in life and know parts of their story already, but I don't feel spoiled, rather, I like to be able to anticipate and theorize what could happen to get them to that point later on.
This book is enormous. Normally, that wouldn't bother me, but this audiobook took me a full month to listen to and really seemed to drag in some places and there were plenty of scenes that could have been left out without affecting the overall story. Part of the drag could be that I much prefer the narrator from the Saga of Shadows audios, admittedly. Still, I think this shows Anderson's growth as a writer, that he's able to distill a "saga" into 3 books later instead of 7 and is able to focus on what's important to the plot.
Looking forward to book 2...but I think I'll need to get through a few more pressing books on my TBR shelf first (namely the 2 for book clubs due this month).
futuregazer's review against another edition
3.0
Good, but slow and predictable. Still, George Guidell on audio makes it quite tolerable, especially if one has a lot of driving to do.