Belarus

I loved Belarus and the follow-up Enemies. I'm dying for a third book to complete or complement the many fantastic ideas the author created. It's so silly that anyone would have anything bad to say about these books. Don't put a lot of faith in the goofy criticism, especially the one from the squeamish person who said "yuck"... please, a yuck comment about a SciFi book, they must not read much SF or good SF. Hogan brings new ideas into the book and are what I crave in SF. I read several books a month and one is always a SF. I've read hundreds, including Dune, the Foundation series, Lovecraft, Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, the Revelation Space series from Alastair Reynolds. All amazing and captivating. But I'm rarely so interested that I can't put a book down for a while in order to read a little of something else. I couldn't put this book down. Maybe it was just timing, but I read it straight through. I enjoyed the intricate weaving of characters and story. I felt I was in Hogan's world, felt the characters struggles, desires, fears, and I want more! I've waited for more and finally researched the author to beg for more. It turns out the author writes under several pseudonyms including Lee Hogan , Maggy Thomas and Emily Devenport. I believe her real name is Emily Hogan. Emily, in case you read these, I'm begging you please write more of this series.

I certainly hope the author is still writing stories from the Belarus universe! It has been at least 25 years since I have been so engrossed in a book. It delivers and delivers and delivers.

I bought this book and one other at the dollar store, the other buck was a miss, but I really liked this sci-fi book. It's a great page turner, the author gives you a vision of what the future may be like when humans reach for the stars, lots of nano tech. This book tries to cover a lot of ground, and i think it succeeds very well, it kept me up all night. At the end, there is a hint of a sequel, which I hope gets written.

This was a very awesome book, I've read it three times (I haven't even read the Hobbit that much). This book keeps you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very end. I'm looking forward to the sequel. :)

In the far distant future, wealth and power is concentrated in a few families who use their money to buy and shape whole planets according to their whims. Andrei Mironenko has opened the planet Belarus to colonization and he intends to be the czar of the new and improved Russia before the Bolshevik revolution destroyed the nation. Andrei has no time to enjoy his dream because his kingdom is beset from without and within. The republic is falling into chaos, with each planet going its own way. With no central government and therefore no trading, the way of life deteriorates. On a smaller, but no less devastating note a super serial killer is on the loose and he always seems to stay one step ahead of the authorities. Andrei is determined that no matters what happens to him or the rest of galaxy, Belarus will go on. This means another war with the planet's former occupants who went into hiding. BELARUS is an entertaining work that will attract readers who like cutting edge speculative fiction. The different life forms that author Lee Hogan describes so vividly feel very real and believable. There is plenty of action in this novel but it is the characters that make this book several steps above the mundane.Harriet Klausner