Author Topic: Saga of the Seven Suns split from EP100: Nightfall (Read 11122 times)

stePH · **on:** May 21, 2008, 02:47:32 PM

I've been "reading" (listening to audio version of) Kevin Anderson's "Saga of the Seven Suns", and the Ildiran homeworld reminds me of this story. The world has seven nearby stars and is in perpetual daylight, so the Ildirans have an ingrained fear of the dark.

I don't think there's ever been a "Nightfall" situation; Ildiran history goes back many millennia and the narrative has made no reference to a time when all of the suns set. But there is an Ildiran resort world where daylight lasts half a year, and a city is being constructed on the far side of the planet so that the residents can move there for the half-year that the older city is in darkness (currently they just go off-planet during the night-cycle.)

wintermute · **Reply #1 on:** May 21, 2008, 03:03:12 PM

Seven Suns rocks. I'm pretty sure that the Ildira was inspired by Lagash, but I don't know for sure.

Roll on Ashes of Worlds...

DKT · **Reply #2 on:** May 21, 2008, 03:36:12 PM

Oh, cool. I've always been curious about those Seven Suns books. I may have to check them out...sometime. After I make a BIG dent in my TBR shelf.

stePH · **Reply #3 on:** May 21, 2008, 03:42:23 PM

Quote from: DKT on May 21, 2008, 03:36:12 PM

Oh, cool. I've always been curious about those Seven Suns books. I may have to check them out...sometime. After I make a BIG dent in my TBR shelf.

The first book contains the unforgettable line:

"The civil war had left deep psychological scars on the Ildiran psyche."

Even this normally uncritical reader did a triple-take at that

wintermute · **Reply #4 on:** May 21, 2008, 04:51:55 PM

DKT: It's the rockingest space opera I've read in a long time. Which probably means that the soon-to-be-published final volume will be terribly disappointing. But I'm looking forward to it.

Seriously. It has everything you can want from space opera: Vast battles, space gypsies, instantaneous telepathic communication, space-travelling trees, elemental golems, skymines floating in the atmospheres of gas giants, millennia-long secret eugenics programs, genocidal robots...

Ripping fun.

DKT · **Reply #5 on:** May 21, 2008, 11:29:24 PM

Thanks, stePH and Winter. I will definitely be seeking them out in the future. I wonder if they're on audible...

wintermute · **Reply #6 on:** May 21, 2008, 11:52:59 PM

I really wouldn't know. My DAP is unable to play Audible files, and I really have problems giving money to companies that insist on treating their customers like thieves. If they made downloads available in mp3, I'd be on it like misogyny on a Heinlein novel.

stePH · **Reply #7 on:** May 22, 2008, 12:25:29 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 21, 2008, 11:52:59 PM

I really wouldn't know. My DAP is unable to play Audible files, and I really have problems giving money to companies that insist on treating their customers like thieves. If they made downloads available in mp3, I'd be on it like misogyny on a Heinlein novel.

Public libraries are your friend.

Heradel · **Reply #8 on:** May 22, 2008, 03:22:07 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 21, 2008, 11:52:59 PM

I really wouldn't know. My DAP is unable to play Audible files, and I really have problems giving money to companies that insist on treating their customers like thieves. If they made downloads available in mp3, I'd be on it like misogyny on a Heinlein novel.

A Zune, in the wild?

I seem to recall hearing that they'd recently added Zune support, so try again. And it's not Audible's fault there's copy protection, they're required to by the publishing houses.

DKT · **Reply #9 on:** May 22, 2008, 04:49:26 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 21, 2008, 11:52:59 PM

I really wouldn't know. My DAP is unable to play Audible files, and I really have problems giving money to companies that insist on treating their customers like thieves. If they made downloads available in mp3, I'd be on it like misogyny on a Heinlein novel.

Interesting. I haven't had much experience with Audible -- only took part of one of the EP promos they did here and then canceled. So maybe it's a good thing I didn't stick with it.

wintermute · **Reply #10 on:** May 22, 2008, 10:27:20 AM

Quote from: Heradel on May 22, 2008, 03:22:07 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 21, 2008, 11:52:59 PM
I really wouldn't know. My DAP is unable to play Audible files, and I really have problems giving money to companies that insist on treating their customers like thieves. If they made downloads available in mp3, I'd be on it like misogyny on a Heinlein novel.

A Zune, in the wild?

I seem to recall hearing that they'd recently added Zune support, so try again. And it's not Audible's fault there's copy protection, they're required to by the publishing houses.

No, not a Zune. What kind of crazy man do you think I am? An iriver H320 running Rockbox. Open-source firmware means no DRM support, which relies on security through obscurity.

And do you know why Doctorow's Little Brother is not available on Audible? Because they refuse to release non-DRM'd books, even if the publisher specifically requests it. At least, according to Doctorow's blog. So, no, I'm not going to blame this on the publishers, most of whom probably know that people being able to share books is good for their business.

stePH · **Reply #11 on:** May 22, 2008, 01:27:23 PM

Quote from: wintermute on May 22, 2008, 10:27:20 AM

Quote from: Heradel on May 22, 2008, 03:22:07 AM
And it's not Audible's fault there's copy protection, they're required to by the publishing houses.

No, not a Zune. What kind of crazy man do you think I am? An iriver H320 running Rockbox. Open-source firmware means no DRM support, which relies on security through obscurity.

And do you know why Doctorow's Little Brother is not available on Audible? Because they refuse to release non-DRM'd books, even if the publisher specifically requests it. At least, according to Doctorow's blog. So, no, I'm not going to blame this on the publishers, most of whom probably know that people being able to share books is good for their business.

Public libraries are still your friend. I have yet to encounter a DRM'd CD audiobook; they rip just fine to my computer, from which they are transferred to my Nano.

wintermute · **Reply #12 on:** May 22, 2008, 01:45:50 PM

Quote from: stePH on May 22, 2008, 01:27:23 PM

Public libraries are still your friend. I have yet to encounter a DRM'd CD audiobook; they rip just fine to my computer, from which they are transferred to my Nano.

Oh, I agree. I just don't like going to the effort of ripping from CD. If I'm going to do that, I might as well transcode from Audible. And besides, I feel a little guilty keeping something from the library permanently. Even if they do get it back the next day...

I like audiobooks, but I really don't want the hassle (or expense, as I prefer buying, in general) of an actual physical medium. I want to just be able to download the book I want, and be able to listen to it. Audible has decided, in their infinite wisdom, that they want to limit their customer base to people with a specific list of players. So, basically, they've decided they don't want my custom and there's really not much I can do to change their mind, no matter how much I want to pay for and listen to audiobooks.

stePH · **Reply #13 on:** May 23, 2008, 01:16:11 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 22, 2008, 01:45:50 PM

Quote from: stePH on May 22, 2008, 01:27:23 PM
Public libraries are still your friend. I have yet to encounter a DRM'd CD audiobook; they rip just fine to my computer, from which they are transferred to my Nano.
Oh, I agree. I just don't like going to the effort of ripping from CD. If I'm going to do that, I might as well transcode from Audible. And besides, I feel a little guilty keeping something from the library permanently. Even if they do get it back the next day...

So "return" the book when you're done, by wiping it from your player and your computer. It needn't be permanent. And even if it's just as much effort to transcode from Audible, at least you're not supporting a company whose business practices you disagree with; you're just borrowing from the library.

Tango Alpha Delta · **Reply #14 on:** May 23, 2008, 11:05:11 AM

Quote from: stePH on May 23, 2008, 01:16:11 AM

Quote from: wintermute on May 22, 2008, 01:45:50 PM
Quote from: stePH on May 22, 2008, 01:27:23 PM
Public libraries are still your friend. I have yet to encounter a DRM'd CD audiobook; they rip just fine to my computer, from which they are transferred to my Nano.
Oh, I agree. I just don't like going to the effort of ripping from CD. If I'm going to do that, I might as well transcode from Audible. And besides, I feel a little guilty keeping something from the library permanently. Even if they do get it back the next day...

So "return" the book when you're done, by wiping it from your player and your computer. It needn't be permanent. And even if it's just as much effort to transcode from Audible, at least you're not supporting a company whose business practices you disagree with; you're just borrowing from the library.

That's pretty much what I do... when I really like something, though, I'll keep it and buy the CD when they put it in the $2 withdrawal bin.

wintermute · **Reply #15 on:** May 24, 2008, 05:00:34 PM

Make sure you don't skip over Trantor.

stePH · **Reply #16 on:** May 24, 2008, 11:11:54 PM

And you're almost to Planet P

stePH · **Reply #17 on:** July 25, 2008, 01:11:04 AM

Resurrecting this thread, since I've resumed the series with book 4, Scattered Suns.

The story is interesting enough to keep me listening, but Anderson has this habit that I find quite irksome: He finds it necessary to reiterate each character's major backstory points each time the narrative returns to them, as if I hadn't read the previous books. Sometimes he'll even reiterate plot that has happened earlier within the same book. Yes, I know Wenceslas tried to assassinate King Peter and Queen Estarra, and that he had Peter's whole family killed back when Peter was still Raymond Aguerra. Yes, I remember that Margaret Colicos went missing on an archaeological dig. Etc., etc., etc.

My memory and attention span are much better than you give me credit for, Mr. Anderson.

stePH · **Reply #18 on:** September 21, 2008, 02:21:12 PM

OMG ... does Anderson even read his own work?

Even I can write better than this.

Now 46 chapters into book 6, Metal Swarm. Each chapter on "Faeros Incarnate Rusa'h" has the same horrible gaffe. For those not in the know, Rusa'h is a member of the Ildiran race. This means he's extraterrestrial ... alien ... not human. After fleeing into a sun and being taken in by the mysterious Faeros, who seem to be made of fire and live inside stars, he's even less so. Got it? Okay, here we go:

Chapter 26:

Quote

As an avatar of the flaming elemental beings, he retained all of his human memories, passions, and ideas ....

Chapter 46:

Quote

Back in his human incarnation, he had done holy work all around the Horizon Cluster.

Keep in mind that the chapters in question are written from Rusa'h's point of view, so the use of the word "human" in each case is even more ludicrous than if it had been written from an "omniscient" POV.

From what I've read, folks on rec.arts.sf.written seem to love shredding Anderson and this series. I'm beginning to understand them.

wintermute · **Reply #19 on:** September 22, 2008, 12:35:20 PM

Yeah, it's not the greatest literature ever, but it's a great romp.

I just finished Book 7, The Ashes of Worlds, and I have a few questions about the wental/verdani interactions that occur: mainly that it doesn't seem reasonable that there are such effective tactics that they never used in their last war against the hydrogues and faeros. But it's fun enough for me to skip over such questions.

I wasn't entirely pleased with the ending, though. It just seemed to get to the point where KJA simply ran out of words...