A FOREST OF STARS: THE SAGA OF THE SEVEN SUNS, BOOK 2

Kevin J. Anderson revises the Dune Universe

By Chris Wyatt     July 21, 2003

Kevin J. Anderson, a very skilled writer, is at bat with the latest in his epic science fiction series SAGA OF THE SEVEN SUNS. Poetically called A FOREST OF STARS the book is a valuable follow up to the first book, HIDDEN EMPIRE. Anderson is no stranger to epic SF, having co-written the new DUNE books with the late Frank Herbert's son Brian.

As much fun as the book is there are some flaws with it. Anderson sometimes has a kind of joyful over-reliance on comic book plot logic, coupled with a great love of complexity for complexity's sake. Anderson keeps lots of balls in the air, but he doesn't pull off the balancing act very well, dropping whole plotlines for so long that the reader has to backtrack to remember who the hell is who.

If one thing's certain it's that Anderson does have a deep love of Frank Herbert's work, because he has, perhaps subconsciously, copied many elements straight from DUNE. For example, the entire saga is set into motion because of the scarcity of a substance that can fuel space travel (much like DUNE's "spice"), and there is a class of priests who others consult for their spiritual insights (much like DUNE's "Bene Gesserits") and there are puppet governors and political intrigues (much like the squabbling among the houses in DUNE.)

Noting these similarities, Anderson might be wise to point out that all epics share certain motifs. And besides, Anderson's brightly colored, graphic novel take on DUNE does not feel unoriginal. The most notable bright spot are the "Hydrouges," a race of threatening aliens. Despite the silly name (hydro-rogues?) Anderson's mysterious, unpredictable bad guys are truly scary.

Despite the headache of sorting out who's who all the time (some readers might resort to taking textbook-style margin notes) the novel is interesting and rewarding, as is the vast majority of Anderson's work. Let's just hope the next one comes out soon so that we don't have to re-read to keep track.

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