Review: ‘Of Fire & Night’ Is Fast-Paced Storytelling (Saga of Seven Suns, #5)

By Cynthia Ayala ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Contributor

After many years of struggle in the war with the Hydrogues, the humans are finally on the winning side, with weapons from the Roamers, the wentals, and the doorbells, and the Verdani warships from the Theroc. The Hydrogues are falling.

A centuries-old battle is coming to a conclusion, but old enemies have risen from the depths of oblivion while allies have become enemies. As the battle reaches its final climax, the Spiral Arm will be left changed forever.

Of Fire and Night by Kevin J. Anderson is the fifth novel in the Saga of Seven Suns. Published on July 13, 2006 by Aspect, this sci-fi space opera continues to take readers on an adventure through a universe on the brink of destruction.

The fifth novel in the Saga of Seven Suns continues the momentum of the series, even five books into the series. It’s impressive how energetic the novel remains with the mass of characters and plot points the novel takes. Anderson devotes so much time to the story and the characters, submerging the reader in the material. There is a myriad of information within the novel but none of it loses the reader. Every element used in the novel wraps the story up into a neat little onion, with layer upon layer of detail that creates a story full of depth and evolution.

Onion is wrong symbol; a rose is a better symbol because this story has all the beauty of a rose with all the delicacy of one as well. The story is beautifully written because it’s one where each character has one defining moment that resonates throughout the story with each plot twist.

That’s another thing that makes the story so good. While the characterization is amazing, the plot twists are remarkable. Each plot twist catches the reader off guard yet fits into the story. The story thus far has spun several threads with their own inner plots, but here they all converge perfectly into a mass of perfectly. It’s a challenge met with excitement because like aforementioned, it all flows perfectly. It’s a tight story even though there is a lot going on and on the outside it looks as though it could be a convoluted mess. But the talent in writing it is what makes this novel so great. It has enormous structure to it that allows for some fluidity and an allowance of development to it. Anderson keeps the chapters short and sweet, using every word and sentence with the utmost precision to make a large impact while also encompassing as much of the story as he wants to tell the audience, turning it into a fast paced novel.

But with everything put together, the best thing that makes this novel incredible is the fact that the novel is so fast paced and delivered so well that it’s almost impossible to put down. It’s an enthralling and enlivening space adventure that is sure to suck the reader in. This is story telling at its finest.