TEST
One of the most important elements in a futuristic romance is believability. Unfortunately, The White Sun is lacking in this department. The science is far too much fiction than science. Additionally, the heroine’s behavior doesn’t seem to fit her background. Finally, books in a series should stand on their own – this one doesn’t. I had a hard time keeping up. You will too.
Sierra of Nirvahda disguises herself as a Tseir, a warlike race of clones, in order to infiltrate their society. The Tseir capture Arnoth of Valenwood, a warrior who has lived for 400 years, hoping to clone him. Though it interferes with her mission, Sierra tries to save Arnoth. The rescue fails, and she and Arnoth are imprisoned together.
Arnoth suffers from a dilemma. If his sexual impulses remain dormant, his life will be extended – and the Tseir will be unable clone him. Once imprisoned with Sierra, however, remaining dormant becomes an impossibility. Because the Tseir are monitoring the cell, Arnoth and Sierra don’t dare reveal their secrets, even to each other. Unfortunately, Arnoth hides his feelings by being arrogant and insulting. Why couldn’t they have thought of a way to communicate despite the monitoring device?
Luckily, Arnoth and Sierra escape in an action-packed sequence. Once they get away, they can talk openly, which comes as a great relief to the reader. After they return to Nirvahda, however, the novel goes downhill again. Arnoth spends much of his time bantering with Dane, a character from an earlier book. Sierra’s father threatens Arnoth with bodily harm for “seducing” his daughter, and makes some stupid decisions besides. After more action, the plot is tied up in an annoying epilogue that involved several male characters complaining about their women. I don’t read romances for this type of negative male bonding.
Sierra is supposed to be capable. Yet she keeps doing clumsy things and acting impulsively – risking her life and her mission. For a time, she doubts Arnoth could love her because of her bungling. When we learn that she comes from a powerful family, this attitude doesn’t make sense. From the start, we learn more about Arnoth’s background. Long ago, Arnoth lost his homeworld to the Tseir. He became a warrior, and he is haunted by loss. Because he has been forced to become ruthless, he thinks he can’t love. He also has the unfortunate tendency to call Sierra “woman” and “little alien.”
You know you’re in trouble when the best secondary character is a small, bat-like creature who eats insects and talks a lot. Most of the secondary characters were annoying. Sierra’s father became a cliche because of the way he treated Arnoth with blatant hostility. Meanwhile, Dane’s wife resented Sierra’s relationship with Arnoth. All this conflict detracted from the romance.
Many of the details about cloning are way off base. The author seems to think that because the Tseir are clones, they would act alike. Yet clones aren’t robots; they are copies of people, like identical twins. Anyone who has known identical twins knows they don’t necessarily act or think the same. Also, the cloning technique used in this novel has no basis in reality. The Tseir clone people by cutting off their hands – but you only need a few cells to clone. To me, mistakes like this are the equivalent of an author putting automobiles in Regency London. It’s too bad the cloning idea had so many holes in it. The idea of an organized, aggressive enemy had great potential.
Besides the bad science, this book also suffered from failed attempts at humor. At first, the humor centered on Sierra’s clumsiness. Later, the emphasis was on Arnoth and Dane teasing each other. That sort of humor seemed out of place in a novel written for women. And those names! Sierra of Nirvahda sounded like a mountain range, and Arnoth made me think of Dr. Bob Arnott. I also kept confusing Elena, Aiyana, and Helayna with each other.
I have enjoyed some futuristic romances, such as Jayne Ann Krentz’s Sweet Starfire. On the other hand, like The White Sun, many futuristic romances are full of glaring scientific errors and annoying cliches. Over time, I have learned that the best way to get my futuristic romance fix was to read a science fiction or fantasy novel with a romantic element. The selection is much better.
Grade: D
Book Type: Futuristic Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 13/01/99
Publication Date: 1999
I buy too many books, too many weird heavy metal albums, and too many pulp novel reprints.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.