Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1

By: Kevin J. Anderson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

An explosive new science fiction series by New York Times best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson, Hidden Empire is the first volume in The Saga of the Seven Suns, modeled after the Star Wars and X-Files universes. Anderson has become the foremost science fiction writer of the century, bringing to life vivid characters and worlds that delight his fans across the galaxy.

The Klikiss, a now-extinct alien civilization, left behind vast technological information that has been discovered by two xenoarchaeologists. One discovery, a device that converts gas planets into life-giving suns is quickly put to the test with unimaginable results. Arising out of the test is a new alien species that threatens every human. Mankind is left with the dim reality, either fight the new alien life form or face humiliation, death, and extinction.

This riveting adventure swings you from one wonderous realm to another as the Hidden Empire is sought after and exposed. Anderson has created a gripping beginning to what will surely be his best series yet. George Guidall has returned a stellar performance and brought these characters to life in vivid detail.

Don't miss a minute of the action in Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns.

©2002 WorldFire, Inc. (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"In this stellar launch of a new series, bestseller Anderson...delivers action, engaging characters, and credible fantastic worlds." (Publishers Weekly)
"Full of battles, chases, and hairbreadth escapes...this is also an intelligently conceived and executed nailbiter." (Booklist)
"Anderson's skill in delivering taut action scenes and creating well-rounded human and alien characters adds depth and variety to a series opener that belongs in most sf collections." (Library Journal)

Slow start, powerful finish

I kept trying to get into the characters and their worlds, but had some dissonance with the beginning. Things started picking up and making more sense in the middle, and the last 10 chapters had me riveted. I just downloaded the 2nd book and am looking forward to learning more about the fate of the beings in the spiral arm.

Long on Fiction, Short on Science

Since I've read Kevin Anderson before, I was prepared to blow off the science issues and just enjoy a good plot and great characters when I picked up Hidden Empire, but the problems in the science bothered me more than expected. I don't remember enough of my college physics/chemistry to know if the star drives or Klikiss torch will work right; I'll take more informed reviewers word for the fact that there may be flaws. However, science covers a lot more ground than just physics. A good science fiction writer ought to be able to incorporate some decent projections into the future based on current knowledge about many sciences like political science, sociology, biology, archaeology, agricultural science, information technology, etc., Kevin Anderson's plotting incorporates many of those scientific fields and fails on most counts.

Note: I will give a few examples to avoid just making wild claims and if you have read the Prequel to The Saga, Veiled Alliances, these will not be spoilers. If you haven't read the prequel, you may want to avoid reading this section.
1. Political - There are no democratic or representative governments in spite of 500 years of human history trending toward self governance.
2. Societal/Communications - We already live in a world where it is nigh impossible for the government to keep massive secrets (hard as they all try), there is NO WAY that in 400 years people would be fooled (for more than 100 years) into believing in a puppet monarchy and no one who knew about the machinations would ever tell. What happened to WikiLeaks, Twitter, Facebook, and The Enquirer (or their descendants)?
3. Animal Husbandry - While I can accept that immoral or amoral people could actually develop a forced breeding program for humans, I cannot accept that people that are logical and intelligent enough for star travel would be so stupid as to treat prized breeding stock badly. Breeding animals subjected to rape, torture and manhandling, bad food, and hard labor will be stressed in the extreme - very bad for fertility rates and healthy pregnancies. In fact, most larger animals aren't even bred through intercourse, but through artificial insemination to protect both breeding partners from injury and increase the number of matings possible. If we can harvest eggs and sperm now surely they would be able to 400 years from now.

To be fair, I will give credit to Anderson for some creative use of biological science. Since we already have a species of animal (the green sea slug) that has chloroplasts and many more examples of symbiotic combinations of animals and plants and successful gene splicing of animal genes into plants and vice versa, the Theron green priests might be a scientific possibility.

Ultimately, Kevin Anderson uses whatever devices serve his plot even if it is really bad science. So, I can't really recommend The Saga of the Seven Suns as good science fiction to anyone. To be totally honest, however, I have personally already heard the second in the series and I have the third in My Library. What can I say? As a critical reader this just isn't good sci-fi, but as someone who likes a good story, it's very entertaining. If I were reading it, I probably would have stopped at Hidden Empire, but George Guidall makes the audiobooks a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Guidall isn't the narrator for the whole series so even I may not finish this thing. Science rating = 1 Star, Entertainment Rating = 4 Stars.

A Snowball that Rolls Downhill

I picked up this book because the author is up for the Hugo Award for a new series that follows this series. I was curious. Ultimately, I was very happy with experience and if there is proof in actions, I added books 2-7 to my wish list.

I was really glad I read many of the other reviews that caution the reader to give this book some time, it is a slow starter. My experience is consistent. I noted that at the 1/3 mark the first real action occurs, before that it is stage setting and some very repetitive explanation of the world forest. Be patient, good listener, if you make it that far, the snowball does roll down hill.

In the second third of the book the action picks up. The character intrigue becomes interesting and there is a nice balance of plot and character.

In the last third the book roars as betrayal, schemes and conflicts errupt everywhere and the plot twists and pace really pick up. I listened to the last four hours straight while on a flight and even the flight attendent was wondering what I was doing.

In some ways this book has a parallel structure to the wildly popular Game of Thrones series by Geroge RR Martin. There are many characters on a vast sweeping stage, each chapter is told from the point of view of one character and there are several tribes/clans/federations scheming for power that are similar to the warring families of the GOT. So if you like that style, think of this as sort of a sci fi version.

The narration was good quality. The voices are distinct without being too far out of the range of the reader. The tone is deep and rich and the quality is clear. No issues with the profesional reader.

And with that, dear listener, enjoy!

Fun Imaginative Start FIZZLE Ending

Really enjoyed the ideas and constructs in the book but the ending was a total physical.

Don't let the slow first 1/3 of the disuade you

Would you consider the audio edition of Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

1st book was quite slow in the beginning. The introduction of myriad characters doing very little was tough to tolerate. However, when the plot begins to coalesce and the characters begin to form, things pick up and become quite enjoyable.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

Guidall did a fine job. During the 1st 1/2 of the book, I was having difficulty enjoying the narrative, however, I believe this was mostly due to the story rather than Guidall. As I progressed into book 2 and 3, I really liked his performance.

Genus!

I just finished the complete saga. Kevin J. Anderson is a genus. After listening to the Dune novels I needed to see what Anderson could do and he did not disappoint. You will love these novels!

Great read

I got this because George Guidall is such a great story teller, and stayed for the great story. This is the beginnings of a great saga.

Took a bit to get going, rolling at the end.

Would you consider the audio edition of Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

Did not read

What other book might you compare Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1 to and why?

Game of thrones, less complicated but good story none the less.

What about George Guidall’s performance did you like?

George is my favorite, rarely find fault with his work, did well on this as expected

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

None set apart from others

Any additional comments?

A slow start, took me a while to sort out and place all characters. Liked enough to get 2nd book and just finishing 3rd. I like to listen to multi books in a series and I'm always pleased when after the first I look forward to the next ones.
Spend a lot of time in the car so 20+ hours gave me value for my credit as well.

it was okay

I didn't feel like I need to turn the page with this one. it wasn't boring but it left a lot of questions. it was a good time waster

Hidden Empire-Saga of The Seven Suns Book 1

Fantastic book series. Full of imagination and unique characters. As the first book in the saga it jumps around a lot to introduce the characters. It is a little daunting to keep up with at first but stick with it. It is all worth it and everything falls into place as the Saga of the Seven Suns progresses. I have completed right through book 5 and pre-purchased book 6 due to be released in December 07. My hat is off to the author Kevin J Anderson! Great story! The saga is suppose to encompass 7 volumes. I hope it goes beyond that! (Note: Audible currently only carries through book 3. You will have to search the net for "Saga of the Seven Suns" to find the other books once you get hooked!)