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Title/Author

Metal Swarm

Kevin J. Anderson

Average Review Rating Average Rating 9/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : Simon & Schuster

Published : 2007

Copyright : WordFire, Inc. 2007

ISBN-10 : PB 0-7432-7543-8
ISBN-13 : PB 978-0-7432-7543-9

Publisher's Write-Up

The alien hydrogues have been defeated, driven back into the cores of their gas-giant planets by an alliance of the Earth Defence Forces, the ancient Ildiran Empire, the gypsy-like Roamer clans and fantasic water elemental beings as well as gigantic living 'treeships'. But as the various factions try to pick up the pieces and recover, the deep-seated wounds may be fatal. The Hansa's brutal Chairman Basil Wenceslas struggles to crush any resistance even as King Peter breaks away to form his own new Confederation among the green priests on Theroc, the Roamer clans and an ever-growing number of breakaway colonies who have declared their independence. Like jackals smelling wounded prey, swarms of ancient black robots built by the lost insectoid Klikiss race continue their depredations on helpless worlds with stolen and heavily armed Earth battleships. A race of capricious and terrifying fiery elementals, the faeros, has joined with an Ildiran madman to declare war against all life. And the original, voracious Klikiss race - long thought to be extinct - have returned, intent on conquering their former worlds and willing to annihilate anyone who happens to be in the way.

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Reader Reviews

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Review by Paul Lappen (060408) Rating (9/10)

Review by Paul Lappen
Rating 9/10
This book, part 6 in the series, takes place in the far future, after a brutal galactic war. Klikiss robots pretended to be humanity’s friend, building soldier compies (battle computers) for the Earth Defense Forces in their war against the hydrogues. The compies were all programmed to turn against their human hosts at a particular moment, killing thousands and stealing many Earth battleships. Sirix, the leader of the robots, uses these Earth battleships to attack undefended Earth colonies.

The leader of Earth, Chairman Basil Wenceslas, is forced to abandon all of Earth’s colonies, to concentrate whatever forces he has left on Earth’s defense. The figurehead monarchy, King Peter and Queen Estarra, escape to a forest world called Theroc, to set up a rival confederation, which the former Earth colonies gladly join. Now that the war is over, Chairman Wenceslas wants those former colonies back under his leadership. He makes an example of an average, undefended farming colony, by sending a fleet with orders to flatten and destroy everything. The whole event is filmed, and is to be shown to all other former Earth colonies.

Meantime, the original Klikiss are a black, insectoid race that live in colonies (like a bee hive). They have an overwhelming desire to fight and destroy all other colonies, called breedexes. They attack breedexes on other planets through transportals, teleportation portals spread all over the galaxy. When there is only one breedex left, it grows until critical mass is reached, and that breedex spreads to other planets via the transportals, when the fighting resumes. The original Klikiss were thought to have been extinct thousands of years ago, leaving their mark on many, now inhabited, planets. They’re back, and they want their planets back. The Klikiss have no problem at all with annihilating anyone, or anything, that gets in their way.

When reading a series, I am one of those who must do it in order, so the summary in the front of this book is a big help. It also helps because there is a lot going on in this book, perhaps too much. Having said that, if the rest of the series is as good as this volume, it is very much worth checking out. It is a very interesting story that will certainly keep the attention of the reader.
Paul Lappen (6th April 2008)

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