TEST
Wow, once this book grabs hold of you, it doesn’t let go. I read the first book, Song of Scarabaeus, and enjoyed it, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this second in the series. While you can still enjoy this book as a stand alone, I believe reading the first gives you a better understanding of the hero and heroine’s relationship and the obstacles that they have already faced.
In order to make sustain life on an inhospitable planet, The Crib, one of the superpower interstellar governments seeds undeveloped ecosystems with biocyph performing technology to transform the planet into terran ideal which can be inhabited. Once inhabited, the population must pay the Crib a crippling price for annual renewal keys called keystones for BRATS, biocyph retroviral automated terraforma seeds that fine tune the environment yearly or their planet will die. Because of the Crib’s harsh rule, the Saeth, and other rebel fringe colonies have rebelled. One of those rebels, Finn, a Saeth, is captured and sentenced to five years living as a serf, even though a treaty was signed days before.
Orphaned Edie Sha’nim is living in her people’s settlement, when her affinity for biocyph is discovered. She is removed from the settlement at age 10 by Liv Natesa and submerged in full time training by 13 at the Crai Institute. When she is 16, she starts working for Crib Colonial Unit and on her first mission sabotages it, because the planet is not suitable for terraforming. The ecosystem is too advanced, supporting life such as marine vertebrates,vascular plant analogs, and insects like the beetle. In her mind she names the planet Scarabaeus, after the beetle. Edie feels disillusioned, longs for freedom, and to be valued for more then just her ability. She is more or less a slave herself, because her life depends on a substance native to her planet and controlled by the Crib.
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In book one, rebels kidnap Edie, wanting her to develop a way to bypass the renewal key. Finn is promised his freedom, but after capturing Edie, the rebels leash Finn’s boundary chip to Edie. If they get more then two thousands meters apart, he dies, thus insuring that Edie is protected.
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With the start of book two, Finn and Edie are recaptured by the Crib. Ecosystems are failing rapidly around the Central World, causing widespread famine, since the biocyph can’t maintain the terran ideal for more then a few centuries. With her career on the line, Liv Natesa needs Edie, and she has no problem doing what ever it takes to ensure her own success, even if it means killing or using young children again. However, changes on Scarabaeus have come to the attention of Colonel Teron, in charge of the weapon research division, who also has his own interest in Edie.
In the beginning, the author devotes a lot of focus to the technical worldbuilding and it did take a little time for me to be pulled into the story even having read the first book. However, once Finn and Edie are recaptured, I was glued to the pages. The characters are fascinating and out of the ordinary. Edie has honor and a sense of responsibility, combined with an almost mystical connection to Scarabaeus. She is horrified to discover that children of Talasi are being put into servitude like she was. Along with the concern of doing the right thing for the children and for Scarabaeus, her relationship with Finn has become one of the most important things in her life. Finn, a professional soldier, has a sense of vigilance and guardedness that served him well during his time as a prisoner. However, Edie is slowly breaking through his barriers. He has his own goals, but those are undisputedly being replaced by his concern for Edie.
Since this book is more science fiction with a hint of romance, not much emphasis is placed on the physical relationship. Book one begins the development of the emotional relationship between the hero and heroine, and as a romance fan, I was left wanting more. With book two, the emotional relationship is bumped up a level but the sexual relationship remains undeveloped. However, in all honesty, this didn’t bother me a bit because the emotional side of the relationship was done so well.
The worldbuilding, the characters, and the plot all make this a very engrossing read. I can definitely recommend this book for readers looking for something out of the ordinary.
Grade: B
Book Type: Science Fiction
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 11/04/11
Publication Date: 2011/04
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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.