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A review by buildhergender
Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson
4.0
Great book and the beginning of what looks to be a very epic wide sprawling series.
Short summary.
Humanity is rescued from slow space travel by the Ildrians. As a thanks humans take up a lot of worlds and start an interstellar war. Ildrians who should have warned them were dicks and didn't. And the green tree people just like the green Hulk just want to be left alone, why does no one leave the Hulk alone?
Spoilers Ahead
For this review most of it will be contained in the list of characters, once you see the list you will see why.
Notes:
Humanity has split into three separate groups. The three groups have trade agreements and other connections to each other but the peace between them is tenuous.
Terran Hanseatic League: Centered on earth this government represents most of the humans. Think of Rome mixed with America with spaceships capable of laying countries to waste...wait no that sounds a bit too much like predictions for a Trump America.
Roamers: An independent collective of spacers. They are industrious and work in all of the places and jobs that most humans and aliens do not want. That friend who once said “I think I want to go gold mining,” then got drunk grabbed some TNT and walked off into the snowy arctic...only to show up two years later with a bag of gold, six barrels of oil, a ton of steel and ready to do business.
Theroc: An aristocracy consisting of one planet with a lot of trees. These people are the descendants of a generation ship that found a planet that was covered in forest. Rather than raze the ground they decided to work in harmony with nature. It helps that the trees can talk to them. The trees are also telepathic and can instantaneously talk across any part of the galaxy. They can also keep all the information given to them and can process it in ways humans can't even comprehend. They also have priests who go through a ritual where they get turned green and can live off of sunlight if needed. The priests are the ones who speak to the trees. They also turn get absorbed into the trees if they die near them. Fuck, it's the force, the trees are the force from Star wars (I guess Kevin got tired of writing Star Wars spin off novels and created it for his own novels)
There are two alien races.
The Klikiss: An ancient race of beetle people, it is thought. They are extinct and the only things that remain of them are abandoned cities and thousands of robots that they built.
The Ildrians: They all follow the Mage-Imperator, who has the ability to sorta feel/see what any other Ildrian is doing. He knows all the history of his people and is all powerful, seems like a good job except for the ritual castration thing he has to go through to get the power. The Ildrians come in many shapes and sizes bred to do specific jobs, called Kiths. Need to build a ship, there is a kith for that, need to remember history, remembrance kith, taken a shit and now need wiping...I wish I was joking, there seems to be a kith for that, at least for the Mage-Imperator.
Characters:
Margaret Colicos: Terran. Part of a husband and wife team, she is an archaeologist. She begins the book by helping invent the death star. Seriously she found a Klikiss invention that turns gas giants into suns, look Kevin, I like the book you don't have to bring in every Star wars convention to get me to keep reading it. Unfortunately the universe finds out that there is a third race of sentient. The Hydrogues and they live in gas giants. After starting an interstellar war and committing genocide she goes to another Klikiss planet to find even better inventions. Betrayed by the Klikiss robots she is last seen stepping into a star-gate to an unknown destination.
Basil Wenceslas: Terran. The Terran league is really just a front for a giant business. Greed and corruption has a name and that name is Basil. He runs the league. His biggest turn on is profit, his biggest turn offs are drinking and pissed off Hydrogues. The book starts with him running the league and ends with him still running it.
Old King Frederick: Terran. The figurehead of the Terran League, really has no power. Starting to go senile and wants to retire. It's amazing he was named Old King Frederick as it fits him now, but must have been a bummer being in college with a name like Old. Meets a delegation of a lone Hydrogue Ends up as a meat pancake. Applying for name Dead King Frederick
Beneto Theron: Theroc. Child of the king and queen of Theroc. He is a green priest who is working as a communication line for the Terrans. After finishing his assignment on the Klikiss Torch...aka starkiller, he decides to change jobs. Growing up on a lush jungle planet full of trees and with the ability to literally live anywhere he wants or take any job he wants, the priests are in high demand because of the instant communication thing, he decides to go live in an backwater desert planet...Kevin we do not need OBI WAN KENOBI
Arcas: Theroc. He never wanted to be a green priest but inconveniently for him his dad died in front of him and a group of people. His dying words were to ask his son to be the Green Priest he couldn't be. Rather than saying “I am not sure what he said, did anyone catch what he said...'be a green priest', no I'm pretty sure he said be happy” he becomes a Green priest. He goes on Margaret's expedition. Becomes worm food after the Klikiss robots do Hotel California on him...The stabbed him with their steely knives.
Raymond Aguerra: Terran. It's Aladdin from Disney's Aladdin. He's a semi street rat with a large family of starving kids and a mother working two jobs to try to feed them. Unfortunately, Basil's men are watching him and have picked him to be the next King of the Terran League. His family dies in a barbecue that he's not invited to, he is kidnapped, given cosmetic surgery to look more like the King and then locked away in a palace to be taught which fork is the right one to eat space squid with.
Estarra Theron: Theroc. One of the children of the queen and kind of Theroc. She is the fourth born so there is no set job for her to grow into. She spends the days running around the forest and having fun, seriously that is all she does in this story, but she manages to get like four chapters.
Prime Designate Jora'H: Ildrian royalty Kith. He is the first royal born of the current Mage-Imperator. His job at the moment is to have sex with as many women as possible with all the Kiths in order to bless their line with his genetic heritage, and considering he is one day going to be castrated he is doing as much as that while he can. He also travels doing assignments the Mage-Imperator gives him. Falls in love with a green priest.
Adar Kori'nh: Ildrian naval officer Kith. He is leader of the whole Ildrian space navy. Through the whole history of the Ildrian there has been only one war. It happened when one of the leaders of a planet got hit in his head and lost his connection to the Mage-Imperator. This was the only time the space navy has been used. His job until they hydroges show up is to fly the ships in pretty formations.
Rlinda Kett: Terran. A big black woman who loves her food. She is the owner of five spaceships four she leases out to people for trading while she trades with the fifth. She hasn't meet a piece of food, or a man, she didn't like. Loses four of the ships to the Terran League when they militarize most spaceships for the war.
Jess Tamblyn: Roamer. Second child of Bron Tamblin first in line to inherit as his brother has been disowned. Loves the future Speaker for the People, Cesca, but she is betrothed to her brother. After a large personal loss he leads the first Roamer strike against the Hydrogues Broods a lot
Cesca Peroni: Roamer. She is being trained to become the Speaker for the People, sort of like loose head of the Roamers and also the arbitrator. She is betrothed to Jess's brother but loves Jess.
Nira Khali: Theroc. Green priest who loves her job. She is given an assignment to go to the Ildrian home world and read their great saga/history, the Saga of Seven Suns (roll credits) to the trees. She falls in love with Jora'H. Unfortunately the Mage-Imperator has other plans. After she has a brief fling with Jora'H she is kidnapped by forces of the Mage-Imperator.
Berndt Okiah: Roamer. Leader of a sky mine. Sky mines mine hydrogen to make a special fuel that allows ships to do FTL speed. Quick question. How do you think an alien race who had a world turned into a sun with no warning would react to people mining on another of their worlds. Yeah about as you would expect. He gets electrocuted and killed.
Sarein Theron: Theroc. Daughter of king and queen of Theroc. She was born second so she was raised in the roll to be diplomat between Theroc and the Terran League. She is tired of her planets old ways and wants them to get more modern. Has love affairs with Basil. Wants more power. (She's kind of a bitch)
Ross Tamblyn: Roamer. Brother of Jess and betrothed to Cesca. He has worked long and hard and soon will have the money and stability to get married. Works as the head of a sky mine. So like a cop one day before retirement he dies. He falls far enough to run out of breath from screaming, take a deep breath and then start again.
Rememberer Vao'sh. Ilandria rememberance Kith. The Ildria have a story/ballad called the Saga of Seven Suns. It is treated as concrete word of the history of the Illdrians. His job is to remember parts of it, it is far too large now to be totally read by any one person, and then give performances of the history. He is safe and firmly comforted by the solidity of his job and it's truthfulness.
Davlin Lotze: Terran. A spy for Basil he spends the book on a planet named Crenna. This planet was recently abandoned by the Ildrians and taken over by the Terran. His job is to see if they left anything behind, there is no way that the Ildrians are as peaceful as they look.
Dr. Gerald Serizawa: Terran. He is the scientist that made the Klikiss Torch become reality. That is all he did in the book, yet he gets a chapter.
General Kurt Lanyan: Leader of the Terran Navy. He is always preparing to go to war against the Roamers or the Ildrians. Has plans to beat them all. Unfortunately, he was not planning on fighting Hydrogues Loses every battle against them.
Tasia Tamblyn: Roamer. After her brother Ross is killed by the Hydrogues she runs away to join the Terran Navy, this causes her Father to have a stroke and die. Despite the racism/xenophobia? She faces for being a “Roacher” she is quickly promoted.
Talbun: Theroc. A green priest he lives in the desert backwater planet that Beneto. His job in this book is to get old and die so Beneto can move. He also gets a chapter.
DD: Terran A robot that was made to help people. He works for Margaret. He watches her husband get killed by the Klikiss robots and is kidnapped by them. Learns that the Klikiss were exterminated in a war against the hydrogues and that the Klikiss robots betrayed the Klikiss and joined up with the Hydrogues. The Klikiss try to convince him he is a real boy.
OX: Terran A robot that was made to help people. He is very old. Was sent out on the first generation ship and when they were rescued by the Ildrians he came back to earth. His job since them is to teach each of the future Kings of the Terran. Is teaching Raymond. Almost gets blown up by the Hydrogues, he's too old for this shit.
Mage-Imperator: Ildrian. He is the only one who really knows what is going on. He has full access to the Saga of Seven Suns and knows about the Hydrogues, why he didn't warn the Terran's about the torch is unknown. Despite being castrated he is a really big dick. Is hoping to use the war as a way to kick his declining empire back into being the supreme rulers of the galaxy.
Otema: Theroc: Theroc. The previous diplomat to the Terrans from Theroc. Once replaced she travels with Nira to Ildria to help study the Saga for the trees. Full of wisdom and experience I am sure she will be a large influence to Nira in the upcoming series. Oh never mind she was just stabbed to death by forces of the Mage-Imperator.
Branson Roberts: Terran. Former husband of Rlinda Kit. She is still her favorite ex husband. He is in charge of one of her ships. He and the ship are conscripted to the Terran Navy and he runs high risk sensor sweeps of gas giants.
Louis Colicos: Terran. Husband of Margaret he is with her on the ill-fated archaeological trip. When the Klikiss robots turn on them for turning evil he figures out how to turn on the star gate. Plans on following his wife. But as he doesn't read Klikiss he has no way of knowing that apparently one of the signs said “Warning this star gate is only for the real heroes of this series.” It closes before he can go through and he is stabbed to death.
Wow that is a lot.
Short summary.
Humanity is rescued from slow space travel by the Ildrians. As a thanks humans take up a lot of worlds and start an interstellar war. Ildrians who should have warned them were dicks and didn't. And the green tree people just like the green Hulk just want to be left alone, why does no one leave the Hulk alone?
Spoilers Ahead
For this review most of it will be contained in the list of characters, once you see the list you will see why.
Notes:
Humanity has split into three separate groups. The three groups have trade agreements and other connections to each other but the peace between them is tenuous.
Terran Hanseatic League: Centered on earth this government represents most of the humans. Think of Rome mixed with America with spaceships capable of laying countries to waste...wait no that sounds a bit too much like predictions for a Trump America.
Roamers: An independent collective of spacers. They are industrious and work in all of the places and jobs that most humans and aliens do not want. That friend who once said “I think I want to go gold mining,” then got drunk grabbed some TNT and walked off into the snowy arctic...only to show up two years later with a bag of gold, six barrels of oil, a ton of steel and ready to do business.
Theroc: An aristocracy consisting of one planet with a lot of trees. These people are the descendants of a generation ship that found a planet that was covered in forest. Rather than raze the ground they decided to work in harmony with nature. It helps that the trees can talk to them. The trees are also telepathic and can instantaneously talk across any part of the galaxy. They can also keep all the information given to them and can process it in ways humans can't even comprehend. They also have priests who go through a ritual where they get turned green and can live off of sunlight if needed. The priests are the ones who speak to the trees. They also turn get absorbed into the trees if they die near them. Fuck, it's the force, the trees are the force from Star wars (I guess Kevin got tired of writing Star Wars spin off novels and created it for his own novels)
There are two alien races.
The Klikiss: An ancient race of beetle people, it is thought. They are extinct and the only things that remain of them are abandoned cities and thousands of robots that they built.
The Ildrians: They all follow the Mage-Imperator, who has the ability to sorta feel/see what any other Ildrian is doing. He knows all the history of his people and is all powerful, seems like a good job except for the ritual castration thing he has to go through to get the power. The Ildrians come in many shapes and sizes bred to do specific jobs, called Kiths. Need to build a ship, there is a kith for that, need to remember history, remembrance kith, taken a shit and now need wiping...I wish I was joking, there seems to be a kith for that, at least for the Mage-Imperator.
Characters:
Margaret Colicos: Terran. Part of a husband and wife team, she is an archaeologist. She begins the book by helping invent the death star. Seriously she found a Klikiss invention that turns gas giants into suns, look Kevin, I like the book you don't have to bring in every Star wars convention to get me to keep reading it. Unfortunately the universe finds out that there is a third race of sentient. The Hydrogues and they live in gas giants. After starting an interstellar war and committing genocide she goes to another Klikiss planet to find even better inventions. Betrayed by the Klikiss robots she is last seen stepping into a star-gate to an unknown destination.
Basil Wenceslas: Terran. The Terran league is really just a front for a giant business. Greed and corruption has a name and that name is Basil. He runs the league. His biggest turn on is profit, his biggest turn offs are drinking and pissed off Hydrogues. The book starts with him running the league and ends with him still running it.
Old King Frederick: Terran. The figurehead of the Terran League, really has no power. Starting to go senile and wants to retire. It's amazing he was named Old King Frederick as it fits him now, but must have been a bummer being in college with a name like Old. Meets a delegation of a lone Hydrogue Ends up as a meat pancake. Applying for name Dead King Frederick
Beneto Theron: Theroc. Child of the king and queen of Theroc. He is a green priest who is working as a communication line for the Terrans. After finishing his assignment on the Klikiss Torch...aka starkiller, he decides to change jobs. Growing up on a lush jungle planet full of trees and with the ability to literally live anywhere he wants or take any job he wants, the priests are in high demand because of the instant communication thing, he decides to go live in an backwater desert planet...Kevin we do not need OBI WAN KENOBI
Arcas: Theroc. He never wanted to be a green priest but inconveniently for him his dad died in front of him and a group of people. His dying words were to ask his son to be the Green Priest he couldn't be. Rather than saying “I am not sure what he said, did anyone catch what he said...'be a green priest', no I'm pretty sure he said be happy” he becomes a Green priest. He goes on Margaret's expedition. Becomes worm food after the Klikiss robots do Hotel California on him...The stabbed him with their steely knives.
Raymond Aguerra: Terran. It's Aladdin from Disney's Aladdin. He's a semi street rat with a large family of starving kids and a mother working two jobs to try to feed them. Unfortunately, Basil's men are watching him and have picked him to be the next King of the Terran League. His family dies in a barbecue that he's not invited to, he is kidnapped, given cosmetic surgery to look more like the King and then locked away in a palace to be taught which fork is the right one to eat space squid with.
Estarra Theron: Theroc. One of the children of the queen and kind of Theroc. She is the fourth born so there is no set job for her to grow into. She spends the days running around the forest and having fun, seriously that is all she does in this story, but she manages to get like four chapters.
Prime Designate Jora'H: Ildrian royalty Kith. He is the first royal born of the current Mage-Imperator. His job at the moment is to have sex with as many women as possible with all the Kiths in order to bless their line with his genetic heritage, and considering he is one day going to be castrated he is doing as much as that while he can. He also travels doing assignments the Mage-Imperator gives him. Falls in love with a green priest.
Adar Kori'nh: Ildrian naval officer Kith. He is leader of the whole Ildrian space navy. Through the whole history of the Ildrian there has been only one war. It happened when one of the leaders of a planet got hit in his head and lost his connection to the Mage-Imperator. This was the only time the space navy has been used. His job until they hydroges show up is to fly the ships in pretty formations.
Rlinda Kett: Terran. A big black woman who loves her food. She is the owner of five spaceships four she leases out to people for trading while she trades with the fifth. She hasn't meet a piece of food, or a man, she didn't like. Loses four of the ships to the Terran League when they militarize most spaceships for the war.
Jess Tamblyn: Roamer. Second child of Bron Tamblin first in line to inherit as his brother has been disowned. Loves the future Speaker for the People, Cesca, but she is betrothed to her brother. After a large personal loss he leads the first Roamer strike against the Hydrogues Broods a lot
Cesca Peroni: Roamer. She is being trained to become the Speaker for the People, sort of like loose head of the Roamers and also the arbitrator. She is betrothed to Jess's brother but loves Jess.
Nira Khali: Theroc. Green priest who loves her job. She is given an assignment to go to the Ildrian home world and read their great saga/history, the Saga of Seven Suns (roll credits) to the trees. She falls in love with Jora'H. Unfortunately the Mage-Imperator has other plans. After she has a brief fling with Jora'H she is kidnapped by forces of the Mage-Imperator.
Berndt Okiah: Roamer. Leader of a sky mine. Sky mines mine hydrogen to make a special fuel that allows ships to do FTL speed. Quick question. How do you think an alien race who had a world turned into a sun with no warning would react to people mining on another of their worlds. Yeah about as you would expect. He gets electrocuted and killed.
Sarein Theron: Theroc. Daughter of king and queen of Theroc. She was born second so she was raised in the roll to be diplomat between Theroc and the Terran League. She is tired of her planets old ways and wants them to get more modern. Has love affairs with Basil. Wants more power. (She's kind of a bitch)
Ross Tamblyn: Roamer. Brother of Jess and betrothed to Cesca. He has worked long and hard and soon will have the money and stability to get married. Works as the head of a sky mine. So like a cop one day before retirement he dies. He falls far enough to run out of breath from screaming, take a deep breath and then start again.
Rememberer Vao'sh. Ilandria rememberance Kith. The Ildria have a story/ballad called the Saga of Seven Suns. It is treated as concrete word of the history of the Illdrians. His job is to remember parts of it, it is far too large now to be totally read by any one person, and then give performances of the history. He is safe and firmly comforted by the solidity of his job and it's truthfulness.
Davlin Lotze: Terran. A spy for Basil he spends the book on a planet named Crenna. This planet was recently abandoned by the Ildrians and taken over by the Terran. His job is to see if they left anything behind, there is no way that the Ildrians are as peaceful as they look.
Dr. Gerald Serizawa: Terran. He is the scientist that made the Klikiss Torch become reality. That is all he did in the book, yet he gets a chapter.
General Kurt Lanyan: Leader of the Terran Navy. He is always preparing to go to war against the Roamers or the Ildrians. Has plans to beat them all. Unfortunately, he was not planning on fighting Hydrogues Loses every battle against them.
Tasia Tamblyn: Roamer. After her brother Ross is killed by the Hydrogues she runs away to join the Terran Navy, this causes her Father to have a stroke and die. Despite the racism/xenophobia? She faces for being a “Roacher” she is quickly promoted.
Talbun: Theroc. A green priest he lives in the desert backwater planet that Beneto. His job in this book is to get old and die so Beneto can move. He also gets a chapter.
DD: Terran A robot that was made to help people. He works for Margaret. He watches her husband get killed by the Klikiss robots and is kidnapped by them. Learns that the Klikiss were exterminated in a war against the hydrogues and that the Klikiss robots betrayed the Klikiss and joined up with the Hydrogues. The Klikiss try to convince him he is a real boy.
OX: Terran A robot that was made to help people. He is very old. Was sent out on the first generation ship and when they were rescued by the Ildrians he came back to earth. His job since them is to teach each of the future Kings of the Terran. Is teaching Raymond. Almost gets blown up by the Hydrogues, he's too old for this shit.
Mage-Imperator: Ildrian. He is the only one who really knows what is going on. He has full access to the Saga of Seven Suns and knows about the Hydrogues, why he didn't warn the Terran's about the torch is unknown. Despite being castrated he is a really big dick. Is hoping to use the war as a way to kick his declining empire back into being the supreme rulers of the galaxy.
Otema: Theroc: Theroc. The previous diplomat to the Terrans from Theroc. Once replaced she travels with Nira to Ildria to help study the Saga for the trees. Full of wisdom and experience I am sure she will be a large influence to Nira in the upcoming series. Oh never mind she was just stabbed to death by forces of the Mage-Imperator.
Branson Roberts: Terran. Former husband of Rlinda Kit. She is still her favorite ex husband. He is in charge of one of her ships. He and the ship are conscripted to the Terran Navy and he runs high risk sensor sweeps of gas giants.
Louis Colicos: Terran. Husband of Margaret he is with her on the ill-fated archaeological trip. When the Klikiss robots turn on them for turning evil he figures out how to turn on the star gate. Plans on following his wife. But as he doesn't read Klikiss he has no way of knowing that apparently one of the signs said “Warning this star gate is only for the real heroes of this series.” It closes before he can go through and he is stabbed to death.
Wow that is a lot.