Skyfall (book 9 of the Skolian Empire series) by Catherine Asaro
01/09/2004 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: TOR. 317 page hardback. Price: $24.95 (US), $34.95 (CAN). ISBN: 0-765-30638-7. Buy from Amazon US - Buy from Amazon UK
nb: US titles may only be available from Amazon US, and UK titles from Amazon UK. check
out website: www.tor.com
and www.sff.net/people/asaro Skyfall' is a prequel, taking the reader back to the beginnings
of the Skolian Empire and its incestuous beginnings though, to be fair, the incest
is unwitting on the part of the female involved. Desperate for a child
both on a personal level and to ensure the continuation of the Empire, the Ruby
psion Roca and her first husband Tokaba endured years of medical intervention,
finally producing Kurj. Unbeknownst to either of them, the semen that resulted
in Kurj's conception wasn't Tokaba's, it belonged to Jarac, Skolian Imperator,
Ruby psion and Roca's father.
However, we don't discover this until
the end of the book, by which time Kurj has shown himself to be a thoroughly unpleasant
person. Emotionally scarred by abuse from his stepfather, Roca's second husband
after Tokaba died, struggling against his incestuous feelings for his mother and
his own ruthless ambition, the discovery of his origins has climactic results. 
The bulk of the book, though, reads like an interstellar Barbara Cartland
romance. I loathe Barbara Cartland romances. All the elements are here - beautiful
woman travelling incognito, stranded on a backwater world with no way to escape,
abducted by the 'primitive' local ruler with whom she then falls in love. Said
leader, Eldrinson, has a tragic flaw (epilepsy), brought about by his being an
unrecognised Ruby psion. They have a child and then separated by the jealous
Kurj but love conquers all and there's a happy ending, so that's OK.
It's
a sadly disappointing read after the intrigue of the previous book, 'The Moon's
Shadow'. I admit that the ruthlessly cold and calculating nature of the ruling
Skolian Assembly who 'arranged' for Jarac to father Kurj is effectively delineated.
The descriptions of 'Skyfall' - native name Lyshriol, an ancient, forgotten
Ruby colony - are beautiful. The esoteric physics and psychic abilities that power
the Empire are sufficiently fully explained to make sense to the reader while
retaining their sense of awe and the characters are in the main credible, if not
overly appealing but I find Roca both implausible and incredibly irritating. She
seems extraordinarily inept given her status and power as a Skolian heir and while
I appreciate her abilities as an empath may make her more susceptible to strong
emotion, to allow that to override common sense, at her mature age, just does
not ring true. Asaro can do better than this. NB - you
can also see review of the previous book in this series.
Joules
Taylor
http://www.wordwrights.com
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