Hidden Empire (the first book in the Saga of Seven Suns) is a rousing, exciting space opera. Kevin J. Anderson has created an interesting, multi-faceted universe with the necessary alliances, relations and political intrigue that any multi-volume epic feeds from. This is a far-future tale, but not so far-future that any vestige of Earth's civilizations have vanished. Humans play the pivotal role in the opening of this epic, but they certainly don't dominate, and while Human culture and institutions have evolved, they are still familiar.

The setting in which the action takes place is as vivid as it is broad. When one has the galaxy to play with, one's palette can be quite broad. Mr. Anderson has done a wonderful job in creating a universe of colour, curiosity and contrasts. Cultures have been drawn with the same care and flair as the worlds in which they inhabit and the machines which they use. This is not, however, hard science fiction. This is unabashed, exciting space opera. Mr. Anderson has worked previously in George Lucas' Star Wars universe, as well as in Frank Herbert's universe of Dune (along with Mr. Herbert's son, Brian Herbert), so he has apprenticed in some of the best-loved space opera settings before creating his own. Aspects of each can be recognized in Mr. Anderson's universe, though moreso, I think, Mr. Herbert's Dune.

The galaxy-spanning trade guild, the secretive, powerful outcast culture that no one really understands and everyone under-estimates, the heir of a powerful father, the secretive religion that acts in concert with the trade guild but, in fact, has it's own agenda--all these mainstays of the Dune stories are to be found in Hidden Empire. Mr. Anderson has added a paternal, not particularly trusting alien race that has helped Humanity reach the stars--not unlike how Vulcans are being presented in the new Star Trek series, Enterprise. These facets of Mr. Anderson's setting have given him the tools he needs and he has crafted a great story with them. The plot is intricate and the story full of twists.

This novel's greatest flaw, in my mind, is the cast of characters. While interesting, none of them were strong enough to really draw me in. I read the book and enjoyed it, mainly because it does have a good storyline and an excellently rendered setting. However, the characters are far too limited. The effort has been made to make them realistic, but like the recent Star Wars prequels, the characterization never reaches into the truly believable. Also, there are so many characters introduced at the opening of the book that a reader can be forgiven for forgetting the importance or world-view of a particular character when that character once again assumes the stage.

And that in itself is telling. No character made an initial impact on me strong enough that when the character re-emerged, I knew the back-story, motivations and importance of the character. I would be tempted to advise readers to make notes, but that would be too much like work. And, quite honestly, the characterization impinged on my enjoyment but did not wholly destroy it. This is an exciting novel, and I look forward to the further chronicles of this universe. I would recommend it to most, however perhaps not all, readers of space opera. If rock-solid characterization is essential to your enjoyment of a book, this may not be the book for you. If you love action and intrigue set in an interesting and intricate universe, you should enjoy Kevin Anderson's Hidden Empire.

This issue of Sword's Edge also includes a preview chapter.