A more recent post from my SFF blog
http://sciencefictionfantasy.blogspot.co.uk :
I have just re-read
Primary Inversion for the first time since it was published in 1995 as it is one of the monthly reads for the
Classic Science Fiction discussion group. It features a few critical months in the life of Sauscony (Soz) Valdoria, a formidable heroine who is one of the rare Rhon psions on which the Skol-Net (the Skolian Empire's unique instantaneous communications network) depends and is also a Jagernaut Primary - a surgically enhanced warrior with a rank equivalent to a fleet admiral. She is also the half-sister of the Skolian Imperator, Kurj, and his potential heir.
The author includes a lot of infodumps in the first few chapters to bring readers up to speed with the background setting, in the form of explanations by the main characters to others. This could be tedious but is handled well, being broken down into manageable chunks and interspersed with a lot of action, including a ferocious space battle.
The story begins with Soz on leave with her Jagernaut team on a neutral planet where they meet a group from the Eubian Concorde, the deadly enemies of the Skolian Empire. The man they are guarding (Jaibriol) is a Highton, the highest caste of the sadistic Eubian Aristos, and Soz discovers two things about him; he is the previously unknown heir to the Eubian Emporer, and his appearance is a sham - he has been selectively bred and genetically engineered to be a Rhon psion with the aim of defeating Skolia by taking over the Skol-Net. He has lived a protected life and is unaware of his intended role or of the true nature of the Aristos, and the mutual attraction between Jaibriol and Soz is immediate and powerful.
Soz has her own psychological problems dating back ten years to when she was briefly captured by the Eubians and used as a "provider"; someone who was tortured for an Aristo's pleasure. Her struggles to maintain her sanity, outwit the cold and calculating Kurj and resolve her relationship with Jaibriol - who by rights should be her deadliest enemy - take up most of the book.
Primary Inversion is an exciting thriller on its own and also acts as a scene-setter for the rest of the series. Many of the characters we meet here - including Kurj and Soz's parents - plus some who are only mentioned, feature much more strongly in subsequent novels. I will conclude my review with the same words I used at the end of my 2007 series review:
"This is a very good modern version of the traditional space-opera, and recommended to anyone who enjoys this sub-genre."
And on another occasion I posted this:
The Ruby Dice [the twelfth book of the series] focuses on two individuals: Kelric, the Rhon psion Skolian Imperator, and Jaibriol III, the Eubian Emperor. As leaders of the two great and fundamentally opposed interstellar empires, they personify the constant struggle between the slave-owning Eubians and the Skolians. All is not as it seems, however; unknown to the Eubians, Jaibriol is the son not just of the previous Emperor but also of the former Skolian Imperator, and he is a powerful psion - a fact which would lead to his instant deposition and death or slavery if it became known. Kelric also has a major secret; that in a previous period of his life (recounted in
The Last Hawk, the seventh book of the series) he had been held as a prisoner on the restricted planet Coba, where he had not only learned to play the culture-dominating dice game of Quis to its highest level, he had also fathered two children.
The plot of
The Ruby Dice starts a decade after both Kelric and Jaibriol had inherited their respective titles. Both men are separately determined to try to agree a peace treaty despite powerful internal opposition, and the viewpoint alternates between them as they scheme and take major risks to achieve this. The story makes a rather slow start, as it contains numerous infodumps to apprise new or forgetful readers of the background to the series and the events so far. Personally, I would much rather have this contained within a prologue which could be skipped if not needed, allowing the story to plunge straight into the plot. As it happens there is a prologue, but this has a different function, recounting some events a year before the plot starts. Once underway, however, Asaro's story-telling skills drew me in as usual.
For me, the scenes set in the Eubian court are far more fascinating than the Skolian episodes. Jaibriol is under intense pressure, not just from the normal deadly intrigues but also in trying to maintain the mental defences which prevent the Eubians from realising that he is one of the despised Rhon psions. A marvellous major character is his wife Tarquine, vastly older than himself and a ruthless and brilliant manipulator of the court on his behalf. The author has a lot of fun with the oblique and coded use of court language, direct speech being considered acceptable only among lovers - or to slaves. For instance, the comment "Paris is a decadent city, I have no desire to tour France again" actually means "the incomplete Treaty of Paris with the Skolians was a bad idea and not worth pursuing". Similarly, "Corbal values the dawn. He would never let its radiance dim" means "Corbal will stand by his slave mistress (named Sunrise) and would never abandon her".
I mentioned in my previous review that the later novels were beginning to show signs of the fatigue which almost always afflicts such a long series of novels set in the same universe. Certainly the pace has slowed somewhat as the author selects different facets of her creation to examine in more detail. However, the variety which her approach permits is ably used to maintain interest and prevent the setting becoming stale. The Skolian Empire series is a major achievement, and each new book remains on my "must buy" list.
