Based on the legendary science-fiction series The Saga Of Seven Suns,Veiled Alliancesis a revelatory prequel, in which long-term fanswill discover the origin of the green priests on Theroc, the first Roamer skymining operations on a gas-giant planet, the discovery of the Klikiss robots entombed in an abandoned alien city, the initial Ildiran expedition to Earth, the rescue of the generation ship Burtonand the tragedy that led to sinister breeding experiments. In this volume the human race begins its expansion into outer space, only to discover that for centuries a multitude of other races has already been interacting on a cosmic scale. Eleven exploratory ships carrying humans escaping a degenerating Earth are discovered by a more advanced space-faring civilization, the Ildaran Empire. The empire helps the refugees - by now the several-generations-later offspring of the original voyagers - settle suitable planets and sends diplomats with a few of them to Earth to establish trade and diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, both Terran and Ildaran authorities bring hidden agendas to their first-contact discussions, and asEarth attempts to become a player in this new arena, its ambassadors are thrust into a foreign world of alien life forms, backstabbing politics, bitter feuds, and a deadly struggle to become the supreme force in the universe.

In the far future, Ildirans give Earth the stardrive. Two archaeologists glean forbidden knowledge from the ruins of a dead world. Robot servants of ruling insectoid Klikiss guard the Klikiss Torch, which has the power to create suns. The reasons for the fall of the Klikiss empire may return.

Five years have passed since humans set fire to the gas-giant planets, unwittingly committing genocide of the Hydrogues—an infinitely powerful species of aliens—and igniting a war of epic proportions. Meanwhile, as humans struggle to fight against increasing hostilities from the Hydrogues, they learn from the Worldforest that they have awakened an ancient, fearsome, and merciless enemy in the Hydrogues. And when the water-based Wentals and the sun-dwelling Faeros are found, will humans finally have the allies they need? Or will they be caught in the middle of a war that could break apart the galaxy....This thrilling, multi-volume chronicle of a legendary war that spans the galaxy is written in the vein of the best works of Peter F. Hamilton, Dan Simmons, and Frank Herbert. - Hidden Empire (Aspect, 7/02) has won acclaim from many popular Science Fiction writers, including Margaret Weis, R.A. Salvatore, and Kate Elliot. Its 7/03 Aspect mass market publication will tie in with the hardcover publication of A FOREST OF STARS. - Kevin J. Anderson has sold millions of copies of his Star Wars, Dune, and X-Files novels, making him one of the best known writers in the genre today. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and the SFX Reader's Choice Award. - Foreign rights to A FOREST OF STARS have already been sold in the U.K.

The third novel in the New York Times bestselling author's sci-fi epic. Crackling with energy and buzzing with action . . . A Nebula Award nominee, Anderson may well win one on the strength of this series.—Publishers Weekly, starred review.

The war between the alien hydrogues and the faeros ravages the Ildiran Empire, dividing humanity. New Mage-Imperator Jora'h must quash the rebellion launched by his mad brother before the hydrogues destroy what is left of the empire. He sends his beloved half-human daughter on a desperate mission to make peace with the hydrogues. Jess Tamblyn seeds worlds with the watery wentals, the mortal enemies of the hydrogues. On the ravaged planet of Theroc, home to a telepathic worldforest, a dead man is resurrected for mysterious new allies. Chairman Basil Wenceslas, in a vendetta against the free-spirited Roamers, ignores the soldier machine backbone of the Hansa fighting force. King Peter has long suspected that the compies, built with the help of the ancient Klikiss robots, cannot be trusted. In the coming war, humans and Ildirans will both face their darkest choices yet.

The Barnes & Noble Review Kevin J. Anderson's super-sized space opera, the Saga of Seven Suns, continues in Of Fire and Night, the fifth installment of the shelf-bending science fiction series that has been compared to Frank Herbert's Dune chronicles and Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Of Fire and Night begins with the all-out extermination of humankind looming. The Terran Hanseatic League's war with the hydrogues (aliens that live at the core of gas-giant planets) is going badly—and, with a tyrannical leader like Basil Wenceslas, the situation is only getting worse, especially after he alienates all of the powerful aliens who might have helped the League. As these once-reliable allies secretly plot humankind's eradication with the hydrogues, entire factions of humanity are making plans for individual survival. At the same time, Soldier compies (competent computerized companions) have rebelled and taken most of Earth's military. With Armageddon imminent, does humankind have any chance of survival? When Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns (Scattered Suns, Horizon Storms, et al.) is eventually concluded—a projected seven-volume story arc, according to the author's web site—it will be remembered as one of the most ambitious science fiction narratives ever undertaken. Featuring numerous sentient alien races, complex political machinations, mind-blowing technological advances, and literally hundreds of integral characters, this apocalyptic series can be described properly in only word—epic! (A word of advice to Seven Suns neophytes: This is definitely not a series where readers can just pick up any volume and dive in. Beginning with Book One, Hidden Empire, is highly recommended.) Paul Goat Allen

The alien hydrogues have been defeated, driven back into the cores of their planets by an alliance of the Earth Defence Forces, the ancient Ildiran Empire, the Roamer clans and water elemental beings as well as gigantic living 'treeships'. But as the various factions try to pick up the pieces and recover, the wounds may be fatal.

The culminating volume in Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns weaves together the myriad storylines into a spectacular grand finale. Galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and the factions of humanity are pitted against each other. Heroes rise and enemies make their last stands in the climax of an epic tale seven years in the making. The Saga of Seven Suns is one of the most colorful and spectacular science fiction epics of the last decade.