Immediately finishing this book, I actually thought I had enjoyed. I later realized that I had succumbed to a pathetic form of hero worship that the book expounds fully. Some credit should be given for the creation of the "Psychlo" species, but the book and the author disgust me to no end. First of all, the book is entirely too long, it is not a "saga" as Hubbard claims because the book is too intellectually sterile to deserve such a title. The book praises humanity and the supposed "triumph" of the human spirit incessently, and by the end of the book the reader finds himself simultaneously revolted and bored. Moreover, the author is predictable and the great majority of alien species have little depth. At the end, the alien civilizations follow the human example and adopt a democratic system, as if that has proved even marginally effective. Please, save yourself valuable time and read Asimov or Clarke, just read anything instead of this trash. A tremendous disappointment.