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katieinca's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't love it as much as the others, but it grew on me.
jamieh2024's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, I am an unabashed Asaro fan. There is little she writes about the Skolian empire that I don't love. This was my first by her that I had read and now I often find myself looking for her work everywhere I go. Kelric won my heart within the first few pages. The world Asaro created was unique from any others I had read about and she crafted it so well I actually felt pulled into it during the reading of this story. This was one of the finest written books I'd read in the last 2 months and I was sorry to see it end...of course, now I'm obligated to find more works by Asaro.
eososray's review against another edition
3.0
I am not reading any of Asaro's books in order so I'm never quite sure where I am in the timeline when I pick up a book of the Skolian Empire.
This one is more of a romance than a science fiction book for the most part. From the moment that Kelric Valdoria crashes on the matriarchal run planet of Coba, to the moment he escapes, it is more about the women who want to own him than about anything else. The dice game of Quis is an interesting part of the story, mostly in respect to how it effects society.
In short, not one of Asaro's better works but interesting none the less.
This one is more of a romance than a science fiction book for the most part. From the moment that Kelric Valdoria crashes on the matriarchal run planet of Coba, to the moment he escapes, it is more about the women who want to own him than about anything else. The dice game of Quis is an interesting part of the story, mostly in respect to how it effects society.
In short, not one of Asaro's better works but interesting none the less.
kdf_333's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mrdan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jstamper2022's review against another edition
2.0
Awful. If you like tacky dime store romance novels with a sci-Fi twist, you’ll love this.
nessa_arandur's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars, but I've rounded down to 1 because although the writing was good, the story made it the most uninteresting Skolian Saga book I've read so far.
I wasn't interested in the world for once. So much attention was on the dice game and how the world used it for matters from politics to physics... but I had no real reason to care about it because of course Kelric was the best at it ever (#MarySue).
His romances were basically steeped in Stockholm Syndrome which made them decidedly unsexy. Maybe when this was written (in 1997), gender-flipping the "protagonist-in-distress to a stronger, more powerful love interest" trope was unusual, but when no matter how much I love a good gender-flipped trope, the fact that these people are holding him captive on a world that is slowly poisoning him to death, all of the "romance" just came across as gross. I really didn't enjoy this book, but I do like Asaro's writing and hope the rest of the series gets better.
I wasn't interested in the world for once. So much attention was on the dice game and how the world used it for matters from politics to physics... but I had no real reason to care about it because of course Kelric was the best at it ever (#MarySue).
His romances were basically steeped in Stockholm Syndrome which made them decidedly unsexy. Maybe when this was written (in 1997), gender-flipping the "protagonist-in-distress to a stronger, more powerful love interest" trope was unusual, but when no matter how much I love a good gender-flipped trope, the fact that these people are holding him captive on a world that is slowly poisoning him to death, all of the "romance" just came across as gross. I really didn't enjoy this book, but I do like Asaro's writing and hope the rest of the series gets better.
jch2022's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, I am an unabashed Asaro fan. There is little she writes about the Skolian empire that I don't love. This was my first by her that I had read and now I often find myself looking for her work everywhere I go. Kelric won my heart within the first few pages. The world Asaro created was unique from any others I had read about and she crafted it so well I actually felt pulled into it during the reading of this story. This was one of the finest written books I'd read in the last 2 months and I was sorry to see it end...of course, now I'm obligated to find more works by Asaro.