Countdown to the Seven Suns

I first read Kevin Anderson in the Dune books he wrote with Frank Herbert's son Brian. Even though none of the add-on Dune books had quite the mystique and intrigue of Frank Herbert's original writing, I really thought that Brian and Kevin wrote more realistic characters and better dialog than the original Dune books so I read a little more by Kevin Anderson and found this seemed to be standard for him. Anderson isn't the top in scientific creativity, fabulous prose, or the tightest plot lines, but he is one of the few sci-fi authors to give me characters I really love, love to hate, wish I could meet, or wish I could be. So, I was really excited when Hidden Empire: The Saga of Seven Suns, Book 1 was released. I bought the book immediately and then...Never Read It. I was in a super stressed period of my life and could not get past the first few pages - too tired to concentrate. Now that my life is semi-sane and I've become an audio-phile, I started to pick up Hidden Empire on audio, but saw this prequel and thought this might be a better start (and Nurlip's reviewe confirmed - thank you, Nurlip). I was right - this is a great place to start The Saga. This novella is a series of vignettes designed to give you some near history prior to the opening of Hidden Empire. Since I've now started Hidden Empire, I can attest to the fact that Veiled Alliances makes it much easier to latch onto the many new concepts and character intros that come thick and fast when the The Saga really begins.

David Colacci is OK as the narrator, but he has a kind of sing-song rhythm in some of the narrative sections that I don't care for. However, this book is short and he is not the narrator for The Hidden Empire so not a big deal.

Veiled Alliances is interesting and entertaining in its own right, but it really is designed to be an introduction to a much bigger world, The Saga of the Seven Suns world. I would recommend Veiled Alliances to anyone considering taking on The Saga.

9 people found this helpful

A good Beginning For The Series, But a Bit Rushed.

I LOVE Kevin J. Anderson's writing. LOVE it. And the Saga Of Seven Suns is hands down my favorite of his efforts. Anderson labels this work a "prequel," and it lays a tremendous amount of groundwork for the entire series. Roamers, the Klikiss, the green priests, you name it, you get the origin or discovery of these great elements that make the entire series such a wonderful listen. His rich universe detailed in the series comes alive in this audiobook. That being said, this very good audiobook is somewhat rushed, and brief. It should have been two or three books, to give it more depth, and perhaps cover the stories more thoroughly. This isn't a complaint. It's just that the author is so good at the craft, that you're left wanting for more. And ultimately, that's a GOOD thing.

Whether you've never read the series, or are a rabid fan, as I am, you'll enjoy this audiobook. It's storytelling on a level far above so many other authors.

8 people found this helpful

Solid intro to a 'classical' sci-fi saga

I listened to this book before any other book in the series so that probably affected my review versus others. However, i think this intro was very well done. I'm only about half way through book 1 of the saga of the seven suns but this book has already helped greatly in understanding exactly what's going on in that story. Overall i consider this story to be more of a 'classic sci-fi' series akin to Asimov's universe since the concepts are not as abstract as other, more contemporary works. However, that is not a bad thing b/c it allows the author to focus on the characters and their society which always makes for great story-telling.

I was drawn to this series for two reasons: i like long series and I like the books Anderson co-wrote with Brian Herbert surrounding Frank Herbert's original Dune series. This book is better than some of those books in terms of writing and i'm confident Anderson's writing will only get better in the rest of the series.

The narrator is pretty good and does a good job providing a variety of different voices to help differentiate the characters. I also felt this narrator did a good job enhancing the voices/story by playing up the emotion the characters were feeling.

2 people found this helpful

Maybe these are notes left over from the most brilliant sf series I've ever listened to?

Mr. Anderson's Series was one of the very best I have ever enjoyed. It is thoughtful, well thought out without overwhelming the reader.

But,as best I can guess, this is a collection of left over notes from throughout the series. It adds painfully little to the story.

I cannot recommend that you purchase this.

1 person found this helpful

excellent series with characters ready for a movie

This is an excellent series ready with characters for a movie set . This series can be compared to Gene Roddenberry or George Lucas work stands on its own with unique intrigue.

1 person found this helpful

Start with Book One

This series is probably the most original writing that Anderson has ever done. He has made a living expanding on other peoples work. I am not saying that is good or bad. I especially like his Captain Nemo book and the first prequel of Dune. Even in this book he seems to borrow form Asimov (Nightfall), Bester (Demolished Man), Niven (Man-Kzin Wars), Card and F. Herbert. I have read all but one of the books in this series and I like all of them and hope to read the last book soon, and move on to the sequel series he is just coming out with. This prequel will mean more to you after you have read at least the first book in the series. He sets the series up well enough, that this book is not needed. It is more enjoyable for those already familiar with the series.

Anderson does not over complicate his books with lots of techno talk. You can just enjoy the story. Although do not expect lots of character development. Most of his characters are black and white and they don't seem that important to the story.

This series has green priests, fire beings, water beings, telepathic beings, gas giant beings, you name it, you will find it here and it will all be easy to understand. There is some politics, genetics, robots, insect type beings, etc...

17 people found this helpful

Some great back story

I enjoyed reading this as it gave some great back story on several of the plot lines in the future books. It does contain some spoilers, IMHO, but nothing that will ruin later books for new readers. I loved the story on how the first green priest came to be as well as how the Klickis(sp?) are discovered.

1 person found this helpful

good story but narrator has an odd lilt

the narrator has a tendency to put a little at the end of his sentences that can be a bit distracting. otherwise the story is great

Intriguing and Enticing Pre-quel Novella

Been a fan of Kevin Anderson for a while and added the Saga of Seven Suns to my TBR pile a while ago. This novella nicely sets up the series and plants enough intriguing plotlines that I am eager to move on to the main full-length novels. The himan characters are all believable given the situations in which they are raised and the non-himan characters are understandable, but different enough to spark introspection on their viewpoints, motivations and the meaning of intelligent life.

love this series

I was worried about the change in narrator, and there where some pronunciation changes, but it wasn't hard to adjust to. other than that the narrator does a greatjob. The story keeps getting more and more interesting, love this series.