Kevin J. Anderson's super-sized space opera, the Saga of Seven Suns, continues inOf 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 Nightbegins with the all-out extermination of humankind looming. The TerranHanseatic League's war with the hydrogues (aliens that live at the coreof gas-giant planets) is going badly -- and, with a tyrannical leaderlike Basil Wenceslas, the situation is only getting worse, especiallyafter he alienates all of the powerful aliens who might have helped theLeague. As these once-reliable allies secretly plot humankind'seradication with the hydrogues, entire factions of humanity are makingplans for individual survival. At the same time, Soldier compies(competent computerized companions) have rebelled and taken most ofEarth's military. With Armageddon imminent, does humankind have anychance of survival?When Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns (Scattered Suns, Horizon Storms,etal.) is eventually concluded -- a projected seven-volume story arc,according to the author's web site -- it will be remembered as one ofthe most ambitious science fiction narratives ever undertaken. Featuringnumerous sentient alien races, complex political machinations,mind-blowing technological advances, and literally hundreds of integralcharacters, this apocalyptic series can be described properly in onlyword -- epic! (A word of advice to Seven Suns neophytes: This isdefinitely not a series where readers can just pick up any volume anddive in. Beginning with Book One,Hidden Empire,is highly recommended.)~Paul Goat Allen