Review: Forest of Stars by Kevin J Anderson

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*
This is the second book in the Saga of Seven Suns.
This was a good book, even if a little repetitive in places. The plot between Jora'h and Cyroc'h was possibly the most intriguing of all of the threads, and one that is actually closed at the end of the novel. Anderson is brutal in this book, brutally murdering characters throughout. The existence of the Verdani, Wentals and Faeros adds more unpredictability in the epic war, especially with the Faeros: it is implied that they are extremely treacherous. We find out what the Klikiss robots are all about; a great agenda, which you could see coming from a mile off. The characters were great, with a lot of changes in the five year gap between this and Hidden Empire. Initially, this gap is daunting; not much seems to have happened in these years, and none of the characters seem to have changed in that time. The EDF's battle against the Hydrogues is starting to get a bit stale by the end of the book; the reader knows that the EDF will be defeated and when it happens over and over, it starts to lose impact. Although, Adar Kori'hn's sacrifice near the end of the novel helped to pave the way for a kamikaze tactic for the EDF to use against the Hydrogues. Unfortunately, the EDF have no idea what the Klikiss Robots have in store for them...
King Peter has an interesting and dangerous plot, which I really enjoyed, especially his contrast to the HANSA Chairman and love for his new arranged wife.

FOREST OF STARS

+Continued great characters
+The new players in the war
+Most of the plot threads are intriguing and great
-Repetitive in places regarding the EDF
-Predictable plot with the Klikiss

6/10

Thanks for reading! The next review will be the third book in the Saga of Seven Suns, Horizon Storm. I just finished that, and I can tell you, it was great. Expect the review at the weekend.

Review: Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*
This is the first book in the Saga of Seven Suns.
 This was a great book. From the start, the pacing is brilliant and all of the plot elements are put into place. The "strange" spheres that emerge from Oncier  at the very beginning of the novel sets up for the fearsome and terrifying reaction of the Hydrogues. There are a lot of different plot threads and a lot of characters. The characters are all unique and none of them get blurred at all, unlike in some other novels. The plot is great, even if some characters arcs get a little predictable about half-way through the novel, especially the Colicos's predicament with the Klikiss robots. While I never expected them to die, I did suspect that the Klikiss robots knew a lot more about their past than they let on, and that they would stop the Colicos couple from finding out whatever they had done.
Unfortunately, while the death of Ross Tamblyn was a huge catalyst of the novel, I felt absolutely no emotion at that point.
The Ildirans are mysterious throughout, and the Worldtrees of the Therons moreso, although these mysteries are pretty much revealed throughout the second novel. Pretty much every relationship is changed throughout, most rather dramatically, especially Raymond Aguerra, a young street-urchin-type, whose family is murdered and he ends up becoming King of the Terran Hanseatic League.
But the Hydrogues and their ruthless attacks on Humans and Ildirans alike are the best parts of the novel. Anderson really captures the desperation and helplessness of the situations that the Hydrogues create. This is made even worse by the manner of their introduction; they destroy four moons when they first appear properly, and the foreshadowing there was great at building the tension when the Hydrogue Warglobes (great name!) finally make their full appearance, sacking human colonies.

HIDDEN EMPIRE

+Fantastic characters
+The Hydrogues are great
+Mysteries, mysteries everywhere
+Develpoment of character and relationships
-Ross Tamblyn's death

9/10

Thanks for reading! The next review will be the second book in the Saga of Seven Suns, A Forest of Stars. I just finished that, and I can tell you, it was great. Expect the review at the weekend.

Review: Ultimatum by Simon Kernick

*This review will not be as in-depth as the previous reviews*
*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

"Ultimatum" is the sequel to Kernick's previous novel, "Siege", both of which are pretty great. Although it can function as a stand-alone novel, it is best read after reading "Siege". Else you may be asking questions such as "Why is Tina back on the force?" and "Who the hell is Fox?". These things are explained briefly, but it may leave a reader dissatisfied with the explanations, especially if they've read any other of Simon's books with Tina Boyd in them. Speaking of Tina, I felt her character was toned down somewhat, even from her appearance in "Siege". I'm not sure why this was, and I'm not complaining; it made her, to me at least, more compelling and likeable rather than some super-cop who won't follow the rules. There is still an element of that in there, but it is very much subdued. The villains of the book are pretty great and can be legitimately terrifying at times.
However, there are a couple of negatives. The name of the super-secret "evil organisation" was the oh-so cliched "The Brotherhood". This literally made me cringe, and I couldn't take it seriously without imagining either Marvel's "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants" or DC's "The Legion of Doom". Also, the target of the terrorist attack was pretty obvious, due to the constant references to the Shard. While this can be disappointing, it does build tension really well. And the fallout of this disaster is amazing, with a section devoted to the destruction of part of the Shard and the damage control.
Overall, this is a pretty good book.

Ultimatum

+Great characters and relationships between them
+Plot twists everywhere
+ Everything you expect from a Simon Kernick book
- "The Brotherhood"
- Obvious target

8/10

Thanks for reading, and apologies for this shorter review; it has nothing to do with the book, just my  current workload. The next book review will not be, as said before Prador Moon by Neal Asher, but Hidden Empire by Kevin J. Anderson.