TEST
Planet X by Evangeline Anderson starts out with great promise. The author gets everything right – plotting, pacing, and two absolutely terrific protagonists who simply leap off the pages. Unfortunately, things took a downhill turn and my predominant feeling when I finished the book was great disappointment.
Beautiful 21-year-old Krisa Elyison from Capellia, also dubbed the Bride Planet, is the futuristic, posh version of a mail-order bride. Groomed and educated in the prestigious Briar Rose Finishing Academy, she is on her chaperoned way to her husband-to-be, the powerful Lord Radisson, who picked her from Briar Rose’s intergalactic catalogue when she was just thirteen. Everything about her first off-planet trip fascinates Krisa, particularly the two antagonistic men she meets on board the starship: a heavily chained and blindfolded, darkly dangerous prisoner and his fair, handsome warden. According to the warden, Captain Owen Ketchum, Kurt Teague is evil incarnate, an unscrupulous convict with countless kills to his name.
Naive Krisa gets the shock of her life when the seemingly chivalrous Ketchum attempts to rape her and takes cruel delight in telling her what awaits her by Lord Radisson’s side. Once married, her husband will activate her Briar Rose implant, which is not, as she always believed, an identification chip, but rather serves to control the bearer by inducing maddening pain upon the slightest transgression, even if only in mind, effectively transforming her into a true Briar Rose Bride, the epitome of “honor and obey.” But Krisa gets unexpected help from Ketchum’s prisoner Teague, who points out a possible escape from her frightening fate. Shortly thereafter, the starship crashes and strands Krisa and Teague on the infamous, inhospitable Planet X. Suddenly, Krisa’s survival in Planet X’s dangerous pastel jungle depends entirely on an enigmatic, unaccountable convict.
Planet X was an uneven read that put me through a wide-ranging spectrum of emotions – sadly, not all of them good. I didn’t find Krisa to be overly interesting at first and her little rebellion against her uptight chaperone was juvenile and annoying. Luckily, what follows is a convincing portrayal of Krisa’s gradual maturation and coming of age as her world disintegrates. Although privileged, Krisa’s life has always been rigidly shaped. Starved for new experiences beyond the dull world of Briar Rose, Teague’s dark charisma immediately captures her imagination, even as she is unnerved by the emotions he evokes. However, when she realizes what her future as a Briar Rose bride holds, she not only proves to be resourceful and courageous, but also refreshingly pragmatic, looking for a way to keep her independence of mind without losing her social status.
The story is told entirely from Krisa’s point of view and so is colored by her inner conflicts. As the plot unfolds, her perception of Teague quickly differed from my own. No doubt about it, Teague could be a ruthless killer if necessary, but he has his own code of honor and sense of justice, and is protective of the vulnerable Krisa. His tragic past shaped him, as he’s lead a life on the run. It is soon obvious to the reader how the self-reliant Teague feels about Krisa, but it’s equally clear that Teague won’t persuade Krisa to anything against her will, even if not claiming her goes against his possessive, dominant nature.
Krisa, as the prejudiced, unreliable narrator, didn’t entirely work for me in this book. While I felt sympathy for her, I would have loved to peek into Teague’s head, who is, frankly, a much more complex character than Krisa. In addition, the way the author set up both main characters also means she has outmaneuvered herself in regard to the pace of Krisa and Teague’s romantic relationship. Their motivations might be understandable and engrossing, but they also add up to an exasperating, interminable standoff to an already struggling romance.
The physical consummation of Krisa and Teague’s relationship doesn’t take place until very late, but several sexual scenarios are inserted early in to tide the reader over. What really bugged me were Krisa’s graphic erotic dreams – they often just felt awkward, detached from the mood of the moment and at odds with Krisa’s character. I can’t help thinking the author mainly stoked up the fire to meet Ellora’s Cave’s erotic quota.
As to the world building, apart from Teague’s interesting home planet, the author just transferred historical mores and fashion into a slightly alienated future world. Planet X’s flora and fauna are banally colored in all shades of pastel, while its inhabitants reminded me of the countless primitive tribes populating old B-movies.
All in all, even though Evangeline Anderson’s writing and characterization ability shines, and her challenging, difficult characters and their real-paced growth are intriguing, the same strengths unfortunately resulted in an agonizingly slow, ultimately unsatisfying romance, while the world building, an essential ingredient in any futuristic, was overall unremarkable.
Grade: C
Book Type: Erotic Romance|Science Fiction Romance
Sensuality: Burning
Review Date: 07/04/06
Publication Date: 2005
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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.