Kevin Anderson Books

This is the best of the Tales of the Jedi series. Before you read it, you should at least read the first volume, titled simply Tales of the Jedi (sometimes with the subtitle Knights of the Old Republic, but that name now belongs to a video game series and a new monthly comic). It would also be good to read the short TotJ: The Freedon Nadd Uprising. The Golden Age of the Sith and the Fall of the Sith Empire predate this volume in the story chronology, but aren't necessary for understanding Dark Lords. (In fact, they should probably be avoided.)

Why is this the best? Veitch and Anderson's writing plays off each other, presenting the best of each and compensating for their weaknesses. The art in the first five chapters is fantastic, as are Dave Dorman's covers. The early TotJ stories have just enough implied backstory to hint at the larger world but it never leaves the reader confused. Korriban is one of my favorite Star Wars locations, and it was created here in crisp detail with millennia of history only hinted at.

What is lacking? The art in the sixth chapter is not so hot. The narration can be a bit comic-booky. Veitch was not involved in the subsequent volumes of TotJ, which are hit-and-miss. The Sith War is ultimately disappointing, but the Redemption of Ulic Qel-Droma was a fine coda to the series.

Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith is the best Star Wars comic. It details how Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma join the Dark Side. My favorite parts are when Exar battled Master Vodo, Sylvar, Crado and Ulic. The writing and art in issue 6 are terrible. Cay Qel-Droma talks like a hillbilly in issue 6. He says things like, "Me an' Toq are usin' the Force to hold him." The art detierorated as the story progessed. The first issues had great art. Those are the only flaws. I recommend all the Tales of the Jedi series.

probably the best of the tales of the jedi dark horse comics. exar kun makes this series, but the art is terrible and the story in all the TOTJ bland as a whole.

I am reviewing Tales of the Jedi Dark Lords of the Sith, ISBN: 1569710953 A TPB comic published Feb 1996 covering individuals issues 1 through 6 of the Dark Horse comic series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith written by Tom Veitch and KJA. It has the same Hugh Fleming cover as the comic shown in Amazon as Titan books ISBN 1840231297 published nov 1999.

The Art and coloring are still the older style and get about 2.5. the story, as Tom Veitch tells us is intended to reflect what was revealed in Holocrons that are discovered 1,000's of years later. In particular, they foreshadow what happens to Luke Skywalker in dark empire. This is an intense and serious contribution to the star wars Galaxy, and my version is over 100 pages. I think it is worthwhile, and I did like it better the second time I read it, especially if you later read the Jedi Academy Book Trilogy by Kevin J Anderson, I Jedi and Dark Empire by Dark Horse.

There is also an audio tape version of this comic that is a complete dramatization, rather than just a reading; I am reviewing Audio book ISBN: 1565111990 - In short, the dramatization format can be hard to follow at times, but I thought that overall they did a good job - 3 stars.

This interesting book is the second book in the Knights of the Old Republic series. The series is a collection of graphic novels that takes the reader to the Old Republic, thousands of years before the events of The Phantom Menace.

In this graphic novel we are introduced to Exar Kun, a Jedi whose fascination with the ancient Sith teachings is leading him towards the dark-side. Also, with the ascension of a pair of Sith magicians to the throne of The Empress Teta system, the Republic is moving towards war. Ulic Qel-Droma thinks that he can destroy the menace single-handed, and avoid a bloody showdown between the Sith and the Republic, but what will be the cost?

My twelve-year-old son is a big Star Wars fan, and he picked up this series so that he could keep on learning about the Star Wars universe. Overall, we found this to be a great book. The illustration work is very good, and the story is gripping. We enjoyed the action and the many different creatures and races that are the hallmark of Star Wars.

Yep, we both enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it to you. We highly recommend the entire Tales of the Jedi series!

great book!my favorite part is when Em Teedee gets his own repulsor unit.And Zekk completes his first official bounty hunter mission.BUY IT NOW!!!

The book was good but i think it definitly could have been better. For all you Star Wars fans I do recommand this book but only because this book is basically a kind of an understanding book. I mean it helps you understand what is going on but it needs a lot more action. But they definitly get better!So don't think that all of the books are like this.

I've been reading the Young Jedi Knights series from Book One and have always been looking for the next one to come out! I absolutely love how the characters have really come into their own and seem nearly real - almost like you know them! This book was not the best on I've read in the series, but it was good and I can't wait to grab the next one!

Another great installment of the Young Jedi knights in the Diversity set story. Jaina, Jacen, Tenel Ka and everyone are such interesting charactors. There was a new member Lusa who was just as interesting. I also liked Raynor's crush on her. I still find the Diversity Alliance so interest that they are out to kill all of humankind. Its not a story I expected to find in Star Wars but I'm enjoying it.

Though I had read the intire Young Jedi Knights series (except the final trilogy) several times, I was surprised to note as I started reading it once again that this was the only one so far that I remembered virtually nothing about. In it, Jacen and Jaina's old friend Lusa comes to the Jedi Academy desperatly seeking refuge from the Diversity Aliance, an all alien political movement bent on destroying all humans, that she was once a part of. Meanwhile, everyone continues to search for Bornan Thul who is desperately trying to evade capture from the Diversity Aliance and keep from them the information he is protecting, because if they get ahold of it, it could mean the end of humankind... Meanwhile, Raynar gets a crush on Lusa and it moves him to do something for his family while his father (Bornan Thul) is missing. He decides to go to Mechis 3 and take care of his uncles droid operation since he too seems to be missing. As you can probably guess, everyone goes with him and discovers a startling truth. In general, this was a worthy book to continue this fascinating saga that tells of the next generation of Star Wars heroes, though not the best in the series. For one thing I wish they would include Anakin more. He is my favorite of the Solo children (with Jaina as a close second) and it's not as it there is even a big age difference, he is only a year and 1/2 younger than Jacen and Jaina. Another thing that bothers me is that who exactly gave all the kids permision fly around the galaxy by themselves? Just because Tenel Ka has her own ship somehow gives EVERYONE the freedom to go where they please. This does not sound like something that protective parents like Han and Leia would allow. I myself am fifteen, the same age as the kids in this series, and I am not allowed to do these things. Oh well, it is just a book. Oh, and one more thing, I would not advise reading this book before the others in the series, because it will make absolutely no sense on it's own.

Plot line is weak and doesn't make much sense. The young Jedi knights don't seem to catch on to things quickly in this one. I am reading this series to my son who is 7, and he enjoys them. He isn't as annoyed by the out-of-character behavior of the main characters and bounty hunter as I am. Some of the more grusome graphic descriptions are not necessary and detract from the book.

If you've read all of the other books in the series, you'll enjoy reading this one. If you haven't, you may want to read "Shards of Alderaan" first. However, this book is wonderful for leading up to the rest of the Diverstiy Alliance based books. It's a lot of background setting for the rest of the series. You won't regret buying it.

Do you like Star Wars? Well if you do you should read the book the Diversty Aliance part of the Jouner Jedi Kinghts series. Its about after the movies. Its hard to compare to any series because most of the other books are about the movies. The book the Diversty Aliance is about a group of aliens called the Diversty Aliance that are looking for a plague that can kill all human life but aliens are immune to it. There leader has sent allmost every bounty hunter to find it. I think it was a good book for ages 9-13 I read this book in 1day. I liked it because I`m a Star Wars fan and you get to read about some old charters like Han Solo And some new ones like Louwe.

I really didn't expect to like this book after reading Shards of Aldderaan where there was that big error about Luke's birthday but I had liked the other previous Young Jedi Knight books so I gave it a try and was happy I died. Raynar summoned home by his mother to find his father is missing. Aliens (non-humans) are after a plague that could kill humans but not aliens. I found the idea that aleins untying against humans to be very a very creative plot. Once again the charactoriations impress me. I love charactors that are fleshed out.

I have always thought the first series of Young Jedi Knights (Heirs of the Force, Shadow Academy, The Lost Ones, Lightsabers, Darkest Knight, and Jedi Under Siege) to be superior to this series (Shards of Alderaan, Diversity Alliance, Delusions of Granduer, Jedi Bounty, and The Emperor's Plague) simply because the foe was a little more interesting to me, and the characters seemed a bit better fleshed out. Now that I am older however, and reading these again for the first time in several years, I have more of an open mind and I realized that this second series is in fact very good, and, while it doesn't have as much action as the first series, the character development is superb. In this book Raynar's mother calls him to come home and be with her while his father is missing. He does and is accompanied by Jacen , Jaina, Tenel Ka, and Lowie who wish to keep him company and give him moral support while he gets settled but as you can propably guess, things do not go exacly as planned, and soon they are all off on an adventure to Kuar to try and discover where Raynar's father might have gone, with the absence of Raynar, who stays with his mother. Through epic battles with giant combat arachnids and assasin droids, they begin to discover that Raynar's father could be hiding for more reasons than his reputation, and that in fact there is a high probability that he is in fact hiding a secret that could destroy the galaxy... So anyway, this was a great book, though it would make more sense if you have already read all the previous books in the series, including the ones from the first series. One of the few things I don't really like that much about this series, is that everyone has to have someone else to "like". This gets incresingly annoying as the series goes on and the kids get older. And lets face it, Raaba's only purpose of existance is so Lowie will not be left out of all this. Zekk started out that way too, but luckily he now has his own place in the Star Wars world other than The Boy Jaina Likes, so I guess there is still hope. One of the good things is that it only goes as far as mild crushes and never all that boyfriend/girlfriend, breaking up and all that, so that is good thing, especially for someone like me who is not very big on romance at all, especially imature teen romance which seems to be so popular.

I recently listened to the ABRIDGED version of another X-Files novelization called Antibodies and enjoyed it quite a bit (especially the smart dog bits). The ABRIDGED version of Ruins, though, just couldn't hold my attention for any length of time and I found myself doing a lot of rewinding when my mind would drift away. Could be the story was a dud or it could be my frame of mind. Either way I won't be re-reading this again and will be passing it along sooner rather than later.

The story is about an archeological dig gone bad. Throw in an ancient curse, a search for a missing archeologist, possible human sacrifice (yikes!), then add some bad guy standbys like a drug dealer and the leader of a revolution and sprinkle it with bits of Scully and Mulder and you have yourself a story that falls to Ruins (at least for me). I'm sure it'll appeal to folks interested in archeology (there's lots of techie jargon tossed about), super die-hard X-Philes, and fans of Mitch Pilleggi, AKA Agent Skinner who does a decent job of narrating the story excepting a few bits where his tone takes a turn toward the monotonous.

I read this book not long ago and I have to say that it was wonderfully written. The author puts you in Mulder and Scully's shoes (something that I wish I could do in real life :) and you can see everything that is going on. Mulder and Scully are very well portrayed and I love the way she described the-oops! Don't want to give it away! It's a must for all Philes!

I thought this was the best X-Files book I have read. The plot was very exciting and always moving at a very thrilling pace. To summarize, Special Agents Mulder and Scully are investigating a death in Central America, where Mulder uncovers what he believes is an Inca temple made for extra-terrestrials. Excellent insight into both Mulder and Scully.

This is by far the best X-Files book written! I have read all of the except for the newest novelization of our favourite show, and although it was the first I read, it is still the best! Mulder and Scully's relationship is at it's strongest point. They are both witty, and smart. Once again, Scully is skeptical, but Mulder proves her wrong. The entire plot for this book is thick, and the people who you believe are innocent, could really turn out to be either! Despite the fact that some of these Mayan names could be a little confusing, it was definitely worth it. A genuine X-File. You know, the cases filed under X. On a scale of one to ten, I'd give it an 11! Read it! In fact, read everything Mr. Anderson writes!

The Ruins is the best X-Files book I've ever read. Also I read Goblins, Whirlwind, Ground Zero but I find the Ruins BEST of them. Mulder and Scully are presented as they are in the show (I can't say that about Ground Zero). Kevin J. Anderson write really excellent book.

A look at what happens when you set telepaths up to be judge and jury. Said psionics rely on drugs to have strong enough abilities. This, of course, can be manipulated. It is, in the case of one young woman. Forced to go on the run with a luckless city worker.

Fairly ordinary execution, but still somewhat interesting.

All in all the book was involving and left me wanting more. The story line and setting was fairly different and the descriptions and characterizations were well done. The main characters were portrayed a bit weakly at first compaired to the fast action they went through from the middle to the end of the book. My biggest complaint is that it was setup a bit obviously for a sequel - i.e. the denowment left me feeling unsatisfied. So where is the sequel?

After speaking with Kevin Anderson in San Francisco at a German restaurant about his new book with Brian Herbert (Dune: House Atreides), I asked him, if there were any book that he'd ever written before that he would recommend(one that he was very proud of). He told me to pick up a copy of Blindfold, if I could find a copy. Luckily, I was able to thanks to Amazon.com and I read it this fall. It is, in a word, remarkable. The story is put together like a masterpeice and I loved it from beginning to end. I hope that other lovers of Science Fiction will search and find this book as well because it is well worth your reading time. Good luck finding a copy folks. You can't have mine!

BLINDFOLD IS ONE TOUGH NOVEL. ANDERSON TELLS US THE STORY OF A COLONY WORLD WHERE TELEPATHS CAN TELL WHEN A PERSON IS GUILTY OF A CRIME. THIS SYSTEM IS FOOLPROOF UNTIL A MAN IS WRONGLY CONVICTED OF MURDER. WHAT INSURES IS A THRILLER FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS!

After speaking with Kevin Anderson in San Francisco at a German restaurant about his new book with Brian Herbert (Dune: House Atreides), I asked him, if there were any book that he'd ever written before that he would recommend(one that he was very proud of). He told me to pick up a copy of Blindfold, if I could find a copy. Luckily, I was able to thanks to Amazon.com and I read it this fall. It is, in a word, remarkable. The story is put together like a masterpeice and I loved it from beginning to end. I hope that other lovers of Science Fiction will search and find this book as well because it is well worth your reading time. Good luck finding a copy folks. You can't have mine!

From the reviews, I thought this might be a great book for
my 8th grade English class to read, discuss and critique.
Thank heavens I read it first! It is so riddled with grammatical errors, mis-used words and spelling errors that
for me, plowing through it was like listening to a fingernail scratch the blackboard. Both author and publisher should be
ashamed! Rather than having the class read the book, I'm
using it as the basis for a competition. Any student who
wishes to may read the book and make note of all the mistakes.
The one (or ones) who finds the highest number will receive a prize -- a book of course. So I suppose I didn't waste my
money after all.

I read this book last night and just couldn't put it down. The rich family relationships are so visual and full that you really feel you know these people and are feeling with them and for them. If you love animals...and talk to them, as I do, you will really relate to Cappy's "heart to heart" with his herd -his children. I have horses and dogs and tell them my inner most thoughts...and you know, they listen and understand. Pass this book on to your friends. It's a keeper.

I couldn't put the Cowboys of Haddington Moor down. It was absolutely the best story I have read in a long, long time. The author connected with both my wife and myself, so much so, that I told him that I'd love to play the lead role of 'Cappy' when it's made into a movie. Keep your eye on this one!

I'm not particularly fond of fiction but this book was so unique, I made an exception. I loved how the family pulled together to overcome "the odds" against them. It was very moving and I too think we'll see this as a classic motion picture someday.

Paula and I read this book and fell in love with it. It's a wonderful story of family togetherness vividly told by a an inspiring writer.

do u think anybody seriosuly cares how akimas hair got short? or purple? seriously now. ure giving this book 5 stars because it tells u WHY HER HAIR IS PURPLE???!!!

shiazas

now my opinion is that this book is very childish and has lot of plot holes. If you are reading this book beacuse of the original TITAN A.E. then DONT. if you r reading this book for fun DONT.

KJ anderson never fails to dissapoint me

This book is honestly very well done, but u have 2 read it before u read the novel cause then you'll understand the story better... If u r wondering this book is about Akima's life before she went to work on finding the Titan or working with Korso. That is why u should read it before u read the novel. Other than that it is a really good book, and u should also read Cale's story too... You'll find some intresting parts in both stories... Have fun reading! -If u get it, which I mostly recomend, for Titan AE fans or any science fiction fans... =)

"Akima's Story" is a good novel, simple and childish, but good. "Akima's Story" is a prequel to the film "Titan A.E.", and the plot centers around Akima and her friend Ishaq, both of which
reside on a human drifter colony, New Marrakech, until it is attacked by the Drej. The attack leaves Akima and Ishaq's parental guardian dead, and this motivates the two of them to buy a ship and find work. The couple easily find work transporting goods to Solbrecht, and on their first mission they find trouble. After narrowly escaping death from a criminal kingpin's goons Akima and Ishaq team up with Stith to take down Golbus and to locate acient artifacts that Ishaq's father and Sam Tucker had been hiding.

The plot is original, but doesn't seem like it took a lot of thought to develop, and the dialogue is very "childish" and corny. But I just tried to turn off my brain and enjoy it for what it was, and even though it has a lot of plot holes that didn't stay consistant with the film, I just tried to read it as if it were a totally different story, and I think that if you do the same a lot of the plot holes will not be so evident.

I feel that the people who would enjoy this novel the most are those who are fans of "Titan A.E.", for those who enjoy Science Fiction stories, and for young ones, as there is no real offensive language and almost no violence. Though fans of either of the above mentioned may feel that it's to kiddie to be taken seriously and many may want to laugh at some of the dialogue. Overall, I did enjoy "Akima's Story", and you may enjoy it as well if you keep an open mind. Thanks for reading.

This was the best book I have ever read. Akima and Ishaq and Stith are the best. I recommend it a lot. Akima keeps the story going. It tells you a lot about Akima like how her her hair got short and purple,what happend to her mom and dad. You should read it.

Ok, I really liked this book but some aprts are screwed up and I'll go into that later. This book and Cale's story are best read before you see the movie or read the movie novelezation. It gives some great background on why Akima is sort of fiesty and strays away from other people. But some parts of it are jsut not right. Now I read this book AFTER I read the novelezation. First of all, in the beggining of the book, Akima meets Korso. Nope, the novel says she dosn't meet him until years later when she is already a great pilot. Second, the novel says Akima's grabdmother started theaching her how to fly as soon as she was old enough.In this book, she dosn't start training until after her grandmother is dead. Thrid, Akima meets Stith half way through the book. In the novel, Stith is part of Korso's crew and she has never met him. Little things like this take some fun out of the book. This book dosn't have like any swearing or severe violence but in the beggining her mentor is hurt badly and the book goes into deep detail in his injuries. Its a fun read and I think most people will like it.

It is an absolute introduction to understanding the events that shaped the Iranian Revolution (as a revolution from the Right) and the relationship that Foucault's arguments have to international political sphere.

"Foucault and the Iranian Revolution" is by far the most important contribution to critical theory, and to Foucault studies, in years. Coming at a time of a deepening crisis in world politics as well as political philosophy, when the secular liberal ideal is dying and religious fundamentalisms of various stripes--Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Hindu--feed like bacteria on its still moving, breathing corpse, Afary and Anderson's book offers a refreshingly sober and expansive view of the contradictions and aporias of contemporary critical theory. Concentrating on a neglected moment in Foucault's career as a journalist and political commentator, the authors amass a wealth of fascinating details, old and new, to show how Foucault's credulity toward (and even sympathies with) the most reactionary and illiberal elements of the Iranian Revolution, far from being an anomaly or sudden lapse of judgment, was instead the logical outgrowth of his own idiosyncratic theories about modernity, social movements, history, and knowledge. As the authors write: "Foucault's Orientalist impressions of the Muslim world, his selective reading and representation of Greco-Roman texts, and his hostility to modernity and its technologies of the body, led him to prefer the more traditional Islamic/Mediterranean culture to the modern culture of the West."

In short, Foucault was drawn to the radical Islamism of the Ayatollah Khomeini--rather than to the feminist and socialist forces who had helped overthrow the despised Shah--precisely because of his aversion to all modern political institutions and norms, whether liberal or radical. Islamism, which had the appearance of pure, romantic fusion or unity in the will of the people (in essence, an Iranian version of Rousseau's general will), seemed to link the Shi'ite past with a present revolutionary Now. Ironically, just as an unreflexive, orthodox Marxism had blinded an earlier generation of "fellow travelers" to Stalinism, Foucault's own anti-Marxism and anti-feminism--his refusal to identify either with the socialist tradition or with women's liberation--made him blind to the authoritarian strain within Islamism. Although Foucault's defenders, and there are many today, will deny that the great French theorist had any flaws as a social critic, what comes through in Afary and Anderson's narrative is the portrait of an intellectual whose own political isolation and personal arrogance made him susceptible to the worst kind of idealism.

The poststructuralist revolution in theoretical thought, which Foucault more than any other thinker helped lead, has done serious damage to our ability both to comprehend the meaning of historical events and to render sound moral and political judgments concerning their meaning. This, to me, is the implicit lesson of Afary and Anderson's important and indispensable book. This, and the authors' own exemplary conduct as theorists and historians: by scrupulously avoiding polemic, complicating our view of Islam, and maintaining a moral center in their narrative, the authors remind us that, by reaffirming its socialist feminist roots, critical or radical theory can yet serve as an antidote both to Western imperialism on one side and Islamism (or apologia for Islamism) on the other. "Foucault and the Iranian Revolution" is therefore must reading for anyone interested in the state of theory, or the state of the world.

This book has three elements. A full third is a compilation of Foucault's writings and interviews on Iran. It is a valuable addition to the Foucault literature. Second, there is a historical recounting of Islamism as it pertains to the Iranian revolution. I do not have the expertise to comment on this. The third element, which frames the book, is an extended argument that in Foucault's reading of the Iranian revolution his own larger philosophical perspective is revealed. This element, which I do have expertise in, is comically bad.

The authors claim that Foucault values traditional forms of life over modern ones, and thus embraces (like the radical Islamists) a return to the past. In order to make their case, the authors resort to three strategies. First, they neglect Foucault's own statements about his writings. For instance, the authors insist that he saw ancient Greek sexual life as superior to ours, which Foucault explicitly denies. Second, they engage in egregious misinterpretation. For example, they read Foucault's book on the prisons as a plea for earlier forms of punishment. The first few pages of the prison book, detailing the excruciating torture of an attempted regicide, should be enough to convince anyone of the paucity of that interpretation. Finally, they misread Foucault's own sentences, in one case (p. 16) citing a long quote and then interpreting it as meaning something opposed to what it actually says.

Foucault insisted throughout his life that his work sought to deny the view that history naturally progresses from the worse to the better. The authors seem to think that this means that his view of history was that it moved from the better to the worse. It is harder to imagine a more fundamental mistake in the interpretation of Foucault's work.

All of this is unfortunate, particularly since Foucault, normally an astute observer of events, sorely misread the Iranian revolution. This requires explanation. The authors have provided the resources on which to base such an explanation. However, given their inability to understand even the basics of Foucault's work, the explanation itself will have to await another book.

This is a timely publication and an excellent contribution to Foucault studies. If you are interested in anything related to Foucault this is a must read. Also, if Islamic Fundamentalism and it's constant clash with Western Imperialism is your cup of tea then pick this book now.

The Authors, Janet Afary and Kevin Anderson, provide a detail overview of Foucault's writings and interviews on Iran. The authors also recount the historical Iranian revolution. And to connect this two, they offer some analysis and arguments in the context of Foucault's larger work.

Foucault's concern largely dealt with power, knowledge and discourse. I haven't read all of Foucault yet and nor have I read much on Iranian revolution. However, I didn't have any problem following the arguments in the book. What I found fascinating about Foucault is his emphasis on human irrationality. I think _Madness and Civilization_ talks about this in details. That is why the authors found it interesting to talk about Foucault's fascinations with martyrdom. They provide some detail background about Shiite (a sect in Islam) rituals and its connection with the revolution. Some of this practices are regarded as controversial in mainstream Islam.

The authors point out that the Iranian leftist and feminist sects were a major part of the movement. However, as we have seen with past revolutions it didn't turn out as we have expected. Radical Islamism got rid of the secular element pretty easily. The book goes into detail how Foucault "got it wrong" and some other interesting issues related with it.

Political analyst are saying that Ahmadinejad's recent 'landslide' victory can be summed up as a revival of the spirit of the Iranian revolution. I am curious how Foucault would have responded to this. Maybe positively? In a way, Foucault was 'anit-modernist'. He talks about 'political spirituality' to be a alternative to modern democratic institution. It is possible, that Ahmadinejad banked on some anti-American / anit-Western sentiment. What does that mean for radical Islamism which have to deal with compassionate conservatives?

This book is excellent! It is about time someone wrote the real account of how western intellectuals who knew too little about the culture and history of Iran, implicated themselves in a process that had nothing to do with them and helped set into motion a chain of events that has brought terrorism to the world via hardcore Khomeini radicalism that hides itself behind the guise of Islam.

First of all I think Kevin Anderson is one of the best writers of our times. I eat up all his books the day I get them. I thought the books leading up the finally were absolutely riviting and I welcome more in this great universe he built.

However I can't help be be dissappointed with the last book. He wraps everything up too well, too many people happy - by the end I was looking for the Ewoks swinging through the jungle with music playing.

Too many things in this book just "happened" to make everything work out. Things that were not evident in any other book. I think he could have use the previous books to hint at some of these upcoming events or "powers" but he saved it all for last.

So to me it's a little too happy and convienient how everything worked out.

This "epic" saga is one that I really kept reading simply to see how it would end. To be honest, this style isn't my cup of tea.

Having said that, it's an interesting way of writing and gets in a lot of different scenarios and points of view. Also, Kevin Anderson has been very consistent in the way characters act, the storyline and this final volume does wrap things up quite nicely. I've made a point of mentioning consistency because when Anderson co-wrote the final Dune volume, it was very poorly written indeed. I have a feeling Anderson gets involved in too many books at the same time.

I do like the jacket though. Very stylish.

I will have to say that I guessed right about the bugs being taken over by humans, but it was still a surprise how KJA ended the book. It was well done, and a nice ending to a long and superb story.

Overall, this book was a good ending to a long series. This is especially good news in a genre where oftentimes series overstay their welcome or fail to end. KJA wraps up almost every plot thread, however, he wasted a chapter creating a new thread that was never resolved (the staging of a satelite weapon). In addition, the tidbit about the shana rei from book 6 was not developed. Also, the second quarter of the book was fairly boring, depressing and dragged out, reminiscent of the middle third of the final Harry Potter book. In the third quarter of this book, things kick into overdrive and plotlines new and old are methodically resolved. The tone of these endings was often uneven, with some ending with a bang and others a barely noticeble whimper. The final quarter was akin to the ending of Return of the King with a drawn out goodbye to all the characters.

Also, much of the book required a greater suspension of disbelief as the author continued the past trend of having every notable character in the series meet each other at least once. I am happy the series is over but it was definitely not a waste of time to have followed it these past 6 years. Be warned though, the ending definitely leaves the universe open to a sequel.

I've been a fan of KJA since the 90's, and despite cursing his name for a couple of weeks after each installment of the Saga (I really hate cliff hangers!) I was enormously pleased with the way that this book turned out. It ties up almost every loose end (I found one, but it was minor). If you've been a fan of the Saga, then you'll defiantly love this final installment.

You will also be glad to hear that KJA is considering doing further writing in this universe at a later time too.

The author blurb at the back of "Assemblers of Infinity" claims that the writers are almost uniquely well qualified to tackle the scientific aspects of this story. I can't comment about the feasibility of nanotechnology as they describe it since that's not my area of expertise. I can say, however, that their depiction of how the scientific community works and responds to events is completely off base. To begin with, the story is set about twenty years in the future, when researchers on the Moon discover a gigantic construction being built inside a crater. They soon discover that it is the work of alien "nanocritters", tiny self-replicating machines sent by an extraterrestrial civilization. Authorities on earth recruit a scientist and send her to the Moon to investigate. Now here's one major problem. If we ever did encounter a working alien artifact like this, it would be a huge discovery and an enormous group of researchers from around the world would be convened to study it. Many science fiction authors seem to love the idea of a solitary brilliant scientist who single-handedly solves all the major problems in their story but folks, that's just not the way it works. There are other mistakes in this book as well, such as a different researcher who endangers the entire world by inexplicably ignoring basic security measures. Real scientists know better.

Other than that, I wouldn't necessarily say that this is a bad attempt at hard science fiction, just a really mediocre one. Most of the cast of characters is passable, but the writing leaves a lot to be desired. Rather than trying to end each chapter on a high note, the authors instead usually break with a character chatting or brushing their hair or something. Most of the dialogue doesn't really sound like people who are actually facing a dangerous crisis. However, I can't deny that the central idea of alien nanotechnology is pretty cool, and the climactic sequence is well written, although some of the mysteries set forth earlier aren't really explained satisfactorily. I'm feeling generous today, so three stars.

Good physics. Good biology. Solid Science in general. Heck of a story too. Page turner. Could not put it down.

Two bad this isn't in print

It was one of the best books i've read by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason

This was a very fun story. Nanotechnology has always been a fascinating topic.. the potentials are amazing. Harnessing a story around the technology is sure to be a lot of fun.

And Anderson/Beason do not disappoint. Their basic approach is that mankind is on the edge of understanding nanotech, but not there yet.. and this can lead to disastrous consequences. When they are presented with alien nanotech.. and these aliens DEFINITELY know what their doing.. our ignorance and initial fumblings create a uninterrupted tension.

I'm a sucker for conclusive endings.. and this story doesn't have one... and I applaud them for it. It fits the story. You'll
enjoy the story, don't worry.