Rating: 
Summary: Good idea done very badly
Review: In the opening of this book, we are treated to the concept of a Jovian planet with both a methane atmosphere and pockets of breathable oxygen. Not anywhere in the universe does this happen, sorry. Chemically impossible, Luke at Bespin not withstanding.At another point we are told that light takes "decades" to cross the galaxy. Thousands of decades, I think. SF requires "willing suspension of disbelief" and stuff like this, every dozen pages or so, will just slap anyone with any kind of education across the face a bit too often for that to succeed. Now, maybe, if Mr. Anderson had the energy of a Doc Smith or the invention of a Larry Niven, or the sheer "sense of wonder" of Edgar Rice Burroughs, one wouldn't notice all the silliness as one raced through the story. But this book is neither fast-paced or inventive. So the errors are the most memorable part of the book. A poor Star Wars wannabe with no characterization or particular literary skill. A good story setup, done very badly. For younger readers wanting a good story, and not too critical of science or writing, try Galactic Patrol, Niven's "Known Space", or A Princess of Mars. There's a reason these are still in print many decades later. This one won't be.
Rating: 
Summary: An engrossing read- good characterization, great plot...
Review: This is definitely one of the better books in the Galatic Empire/Space Exploration saga genres. Kevin Anderson has always been a very entertaining and engaging writer, as evidenced in his Star Wars books. Here again, he tells a complex yet believable story, or rather, the beginning of a story, effortlessly and with a well-paced style typical of him. There are more than a few original ideas in this book, and quite a few fully fleshed out characters that really brings the reader into their minds. It's refreshing to finally see someone do a good job of tackling the concept of a vast (mostly human) galactic empire without peppering it with well-worn cliches or ridiculously irrational circumstances or Forest Gump-like brawny protagonists. Here is an author that respects the intelligence of his readers and takes the time to develope the intricate yet plausible storyline. The only major criticism I have for this novel is that it can be confusing for people who are not as adept at switching perspectives multiple times in the same chapter. Anderson could use a little more polish in keeping the pace up without loosing the readers. All in all, this Book 1 leaves you hungering for more of Anderson's excellent story telling.
Rating: 
Summary: Waited a Long Time
Review: This is a book that I had been waiting for for quite a while. I probably drove Mr. Anderson insane with all the questions I e-mailed to him. I was not disappointed in the least, except the fact that it ended too soon.
The plot behind the book was excellent and well thought out.
The characters were believable and real.
I found myself enjoying the Roamer life more than any other, although I was intrigued by the Green Priests.
Anybody who is looking for big, epic science fiction will find very little fault with this book.
Enjoyable to the extreme!
Rating:
Summary: This is How I like my Space Operas!
Review: This is like I like my space operas:big, brassy beautiful with worlds to explore, villians to hate and maximum excitement! This what I got in this novel. Kevin Anderson who cowrote those awesome dune prequels continues his quality writing in this his first sole endeavor.Hidden Empire introduces us to fabulous 25th century universe where human race has split into three parts:
Earth-based Hanseatic league with it's figurehead King Frederick but is secretly ruled by the ruthless chairman Basil Wenceslas.
Telepathic green priests of planet Theroc and gyspy-like starship dwelling Roamers who produce the starship fuel called ekti.Humanity shares the galaxy with the ancient alien empire of the Ildirans. A decaying realm that has passed it's glory. A experiment using technology of extinct alien race called Klikiss.
A device called Klikiss torch which scientists will use to convert gas giant planets into new life-giving suns.The result of this experiment has a tragic and horrifying side effect. A race of beings called Hydrogues who live in the core of this planet are killed! This accidental genocide results with the Hydrogues launching their vast planet-size armadas with purpose of destroying each and every human in the universe!Anderson's space opera has it all: incredible world-building as he takes you to his worlds of wonder like the beautiful planet of Theroc where green priests use their telepathic links to their worldtrees to communicate to vast parts of the universe. The Ildiran empire, decaying realm filled with centuries old secrets and intrigues and conspiracies.The characters(with are many) come alive in this book like ruthless chairman, Wenceslas who rules the terran empire behind the scenes and who manipulates who ever becomes king. Dr.Margaret Colicos, the scientist who's experiment will usher in a terrible interstellar war! Tasia Tambyn-the roamer woman who will leave her people to join the terran army to avenge the death of her brother.Raymond Aguerra
a young man who will fall in Wenceslas's web of intrigue. Adar Kori'nh, the admiral of the Ildiran fleet who seeks past glory of his people in battle.Jora'h-the soon to be heir of Ildiran empire and who falls in love with human woman. Nira-the young green priest who is Jora'H's lover and who find herself a victim of Ildiran's sinister breeding experiment.Anderson's lyrical prose makes his novel sing and his harrowing battle scenes and plot twists are wonderful. All this leads to shocking cliffhanging conclusion that makes me wait with baited breath for the next novel in this saga!
Rating:
Summary: Kevin Finally Creates His Own Epic
Review: One of Sci-Fi's most prolific writers over the last ten years or so seems to have finally created his own universe with as much depth as those he's been "playing" in. Kevin's best works until now have been arguably those he's done for Star Wars, Dune and X-files, it really seemed to be his strength, going in and writing good stories in other peoples universes. While his own projects at least in my opinion have been of varying degrees of quality. Well that seems to have finally changed. With all the writing that Kevin has done it seems like he's finally gotten enough practice and some of that depth from the other series he's been writing for has rubbed off. It's like kid who's been tearing it up and down the street with his Bike with training wheels finally discovered he can do it without those training wheels, "hey look ma....". You can definitely see the influence of some of the other universes that Kevin has worked on in this book, but make no mistake this one is all his. The characters in this book are both it's biggest asset and drawback both. They are all fully realized and very believable and compelling, but there are so many that sometimes it's hard to keep track of them all. Which leads me to my one "pet peeve" about this book, every chapter is told from a different characters point of view (usually in totally different parts of the universe) and with there being so many different characters it can sometimes lead to "disjointed feel" that disrupts the flow of the book. I really do enjoy the concept, story and universe Kevin has created here though. I really do applaud Kevin for his ambitiousness with this book (and continuing series) and the fact that he's proving that he's "writer enough" to actually pull it off. The one bit of advice I would give to anyone reading the book for the first time though, don't read the story synopsis on the dust jacket (hard-cover) or back cover (paperback), because it does reveal something in the story that doesn't happen at least until halfway through the book. So I found myself reading and just waiting for "it" to happen sometimes instead of just enjoying the story. For years now Kevin has been that key role-player that every good solid team needs, finally though it seems Kevin has decided to become the leader of his own team and seems more than capable of doing the job. Good job Kevin and keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: It's depressing that a writer with the obvious lack of talent of Kevin Anderson is obviously making a mint of money. It's also depressing that the hard science fiction scene is at such a low ebb that I, a sci-fi fan for more than 40 years, picked up this book to satisfy my habit although being well aware of the level of Mr. Anderson's talents from the abominable Dune sequels.
Despite some interesting plot concepts, this novel is truly awful. The numerous faults of this novel have been previously mentioned: dialogue that could be bettered by Doc Smith, characters that are (almost to a man, woman, or alien) denser than Forrest Gump, and chapters that cut faster than an MTV video. And while I have never required (and actually tend to dislike) the elaborate scientific explanations for future technology that often accompanied Golden Age sci-fi (when many authors were moonlighting scientists), the utter ridiculousness of an open decked ship in the atmosphere of a gas giant made my eyes goggle.
Rating:
Summary: Good concept/Poor Execution
Review: I loved the ideas and thoughts put into this book, especially the green priests and the different alien cultures. The problem I had came from the naiveté of everyone in the book. It is not reasonable to think that no one would have caught on immediately that creatures from a gas planet start attacking you right after turning a gas planet into a sun. What the hell? It is obvious they are ticked off about the whole planet destruction thing. No one gets this till the aliens tell them point blank. I hope they destroy all of humanity for turning into such idiots.
Then with the subtly of a sledgehammer Kevin proceeds to setup the betrayal of the green priests by the Ildirans. It is like he setup plot points on a board and drew straight lines to everything in this book so that all the points would be in the book. Things just happen because the book needs it happen that way so the book can get to the next point.
After the way the whole book was going, I expected King Peter to never figure out the obvious coincidences of his apartment getting blown up. I mean Basil is supposed to be a great man in charge of many things and he couldn't even cover his tracks in something that would have been incredibly easy for him. Like the destruction of said complex.
I read the Dune novels he worked on and I liked them. I bought this book because of them. This whole book was a disappointment. I will not be buying the second book. I won't even borrow it from the library. In fact I am throwing this book in the trash as I type this.
Rating:
Summary: Huge Plot Hole!
Review: Jus finished this book. Not impressed. The characters were not very fleshed out and you really didn't feel anything for them.
The good thing about this book was the universe it's set in. It's pretty interesting, especially the green priests and the Klikiss robots. The one thing I found odd about the universe was the skymine that flies around on a gas giant with an open deck? I didn't think any gas giants had a breathable atmosphere.
I'm not usually a nit picker when it comes to plots, HOWEVER, there's a glaring error in the plot here. The Ildrians (or at least the Mage-Emporer) know about the hydrogues and they still let the humans destroy the gas giant, causing the whole war? What? Even if they did that on purpose for some strange reason I found it laughable that the Humans and the Roamers can't figure out what caused the war. Duh, could it be you blew up a gas giant and the enemy lives on gas giants AND you saw some of their ships escape when the gas giant blew up?
Good idea for a story poorly done.
Rating: 
Summary: Takes Along Time for the Stardrive to Kick In
Review: The Saga of the Seven Suns book one takes along time to get going. I suppose one can forgive the author as he introduces character after charater as he begins to build the story but the reader is left juggling alot of threads, without any emotional attachment to keep him tuned in. Unlike Robert Jordon's "Wheel of Time" or Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule which grabs you right off the mark and hangs onto to you all the way through, Anderson, tries to set up too much of the story with out any gripping action. However half way throught he book, things begin to roll.
Anderson's theme of a race of Aliens that live exclusively in large gas planets has alot of merit. When an experiment using a technology from another extinct Aliens race wipes out a whole planet of beings the conflict begins to pick up.
My favourite characters in the book are the three Klikiss Robots, whose haunting presents is really quite spooky.
There are many sub plots interwoven into the intersellar conflict set off by the the Terran Hanseatic League. The green priests of Theroc with their telepathic link through the World forest, the independent minded Roamers and the Ildirans an ancient alien race that has befrended the Humans, all effected by the new alien threat, all begin to develop very different strategies to meet the threat.
By the end of the novel I am ready to read the next book in the saga. Now the Stardrive has kicked in, the ride should be gripping.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly, I enjoyed this book.
Review: As the title of my review implies, I am not Kevin Anderson's biggest fan. I have been thoroughly dissapointed with his work in the Dune prequels. BUT, I am a big enough man to admit that in this case he did a fine job. Its not a ground breaking work of literature, its not a deep or profound work of literature. Its just a fun read. A good adventure story. If you want an entertaining story to take you away from a boring day. I definitely suggest you pick this book up.
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