In the future, the human race has expanded out among the stars, with colonies on numerous planets, and have aligned with the Ildirians, an empathic alien race, following a terrible and costly war.
Orli was at a loss. “Captain? I’m just submitting my application. I haven’t been–”
An exploratory ship leaving the galaxy encounters an unknown cloud, which causes their systems to malfunction. When contact is lost, a fleet is sent to find the ship and determine its fate. What they find will shake the galaxy to its very core, and threaten the very existence of the universe.
In another corner of the galaxy, Roamers, a nomadic people, split over the inability to reconcile the desire to stick with the “old ways” and the need to embrace the galaxy as it is. The Retro-Roamers, as they come to be known, head off to ancient alien city drifting amongst the stars. What they find when they arrive, though, will be more important to the fate of the universe than any of them could guess…
Why is this on our bookshelf?
I’ve always loved sagas…stories that last for several books and give the author time to build the universe and tell the story. Of course, this finds me in the midst of reading several different sagas, A Song of Ice and Fire, the Kingkiller Chronicles, now I have to go back and read Kevin J. Anderson’s first saga set in the Seven Suns universe, and find a copy of the second book from this series.
Anyway, I digress. There are big stories being told here, and I can’t wait to read the end.
The Dark Between the Stars is one of the finalists for the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Rating (5 stars)
The author’s writing style is engaging and dramatic without being overly narrative. While it took me a little work to get started, once I was reading it, I couldn’t put the book down. Written in the same format as A Song of Ice and Fire, the story follows multiple characters, sometimes briefly, as events unfold. Historical events are introduced and explained without making you feel like an idiot for not reading the Seven Suns saga, and plotlines are left unresolved where necessary to carry into rest of the trilogy.
Read this book:
if you like epic tales where the fate of the universe hangs in the balance.
Don't Read this book:
if you have a hard time with new ideas.
Once you're done, do this:
Read up on alternative energy.
