Once you start it, you won't be able to switch it off!
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Not applicable
Advantages:
Extremely well written and thought out, hooks you and keeps you
Disadvantages:
Can be quite broken, no defining ending
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Never judge a book by it's cover. Sound advice, though sometimes it just pays off. A few weeks ago I was browsing the Sci-Fi section of the bookstore, and this little gem caught my eye. I picked it up, and I wasn't able to put it back down.
Kevin J. Anderson is a hugely talented writer, he's written books in the Dune series, Star Wars series, X-files and even Starcraft, he's won numerous awards and serves as a judge in the writers of the future contest.
Hidden Empire is book one of a planned seven book series, the seventh due out later this year (2008). The sheer scope of it is breathtaking, the amount of characters and settings are almost countless. The book spans an entire galaxy, so you can easily imagine the possibilities for character development and plot lines. The book is well written and the character development is excellent, allowing you to really get to grips with the characters, eventually coming to recognize their different and unique personalities. The way the different civilizations interact with each other is nothing short of genius, allowing for interstellar politics, yet never becoming too in depth and complex that you start to lose interest.
The basic storyline follows the actions of humans using salvaged technology from a now extinct race to create a sun. Little do they realize they have now awakened a much more dangerous race. The book follows this central storyline, yet branches off in many many smaller subplots, some of which carry on to the second book, and are simply a staging area at this point for a much larger plots in the following books.
The format of the book is almost that of a soap opera, each chapter follows a single character and describes that characters thoughts and interactions in a particular situation, quite often involving other important characters from the story, yet never telling the same situation from a different viewpoint. This make its very easy to read in short bursts, each chapter is typically a few pages long, and is almost it's own tiny story within a much larger one, although they all come together to tell a much grander tale. This is also possibly where the book will not appeal to many people, with so many breaks and separate plot lines, it can sometimes become difficult to remember whats happened where and to who. Some people may also feel put off by the "lack of direction" although the book knows where it is going and how to get there, it defiantly takes the scenic route, and some people may end up feeling frustrated, wanting to know what happens next, but having to wait for the story to come back to that character.
All in all it's a fantastic book and a fantastic read. It pulled me in from the very first chapter, and I never felt like the book was dragging, waffling on in an attempt to make itself look bigger as so many books tend to these days. If you like science fiction and space settings, then you will quite simply love this, however you had better expect to be in it for the long run, and this is perhaps what will put people off the most. The book has no defining ending. Certain events come to somewhat of a close, but they continue almost immediately in the second book which is set just 5 years down the line. Having the second book to hand I was able to continue immediately from one to the next without feeling like I had changed titles. Personally I think this is a great thing, but many people will find it impossible to read just the one book and feel satisfied at the end.
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How does it compare to similar audio books?
Excellent
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