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suzemo's review against another edition
2.0
Oh, Catherina Asaro, what have ye done.
I love the Skolian Saga because Asaro writes interesting space opera with actual science(!) in it and does a great job describing some of the physics going on with interesting space tricks. I like most of the characters in the universe, and I also like that she has a romance angle through the stories.
This book, judging by its cover (I know , I know) and the blurb about it, looked like it might not be so great. It's about one of the Ruby Dynasty scions, Del-Kurj Valdoria, son of Roca and Eldrinson. He gets left behind on earth when the rest of the family is rescued (he's on another continent), and he decides to hang out and go at a music career.
This book is incredibly slow and boring. There are entire swaths of the book I can't really remember and don't care about. I listened to it on audio book and if I missed several minutes because I got distracted, I didn't even bother to go back.
I hung in there for occasional Ruby family stuff, because even though Asaro's novels in the Skolian universe are largely stand-alone, there is information about the background war and politics of the empire that are good to stay up on.
This book feels like it was written, not by a physicist/author with a string of awesome books under her belt, by a groupie who dreams about a famous life - and it's full of references to the drinking/boozing/sexin' culture of the famous rocker with a side of commentary about what they think of the kind of people that populate the entertainment industry (producers, labels, mostly behaving badly and trying to choke the individuality and genius of the art and what not).
Del-Kurj plays like a young, self-centered idiot, going through this great learning process that just falls really, really flat (with a side of family conflict because no one! understands! him! or supports his genius, or whatever. Boring.)
I'm still looking forward to any books in the Skolian Saga that Asaro writes, assuming they're nothing like this book. If I had read this first in the series, I would have never continued with it, and if the next book is anything like this, I'll quit.
I love the Skolian Saga because Asaro writes interesting space opera with actual science(!) in it and does a great job describing some of the physics going on with interesting space tricks. I like most of the characters in the universe, and I also like that she has a romance angle through the stories.
This book, judging by its cover (I know , I know) and the blurb about it, looked like it might not be so great. It's about one of the Ruby Dynasty scions, Del-Kurj Valdoria, son of Roca and Eldrinson. He gets left behind on earth when the rest of the family is rescued (he's on another continent), and he decides to hang out and go at a music career.
This book is incredibly slow and boring. There are entire swaths of the book I can't really remember and don't care about. I listened to it on audio book and if I missed several minutes because I got distracted, I didn't even bother to go back.
I hung in there for occasional Ruby family stuff, because even though Asaro's novels in the Skolian universe are largely stand-alone, there is information about the background war and politics of the empire that are good to stay up on.
This book feels like it was written, not by a physicist/author with a string of awesome books under her belt, by a groupie who dreams about a famous life - and it's full of references to the drinking/boozing/sexin' culture of the famous rocker with a side of commentary about what they think of the kind of people that populate the entertainment industry (producers, labels, mostly behaving badly and trying to choke the individuality and genius of the art and what not).
Del-Kurj plays like a young, self-centered idiot, going through this great learning process that just falls really, really flat (with a side of family conflict because no one! understands! him! or supports his genius, or whatever. Boring.)
I'm still looking forward to any books in the Skolian Saga that Asaro writes, assuming they're nothing like this book. If I had read this first in the series, I would have never continued with it, and if the next book is anything like this, I'll quit.
ofearna's review against another edition
4.0
cover by David Mattingly, whose pioneering work in digitally created book covers has paved the way for soooo many more artists!
re-read Del's story 6/18/2014
xenobio's review against another edition
1.0
I've been following the saga of the Skolian Empire up to The Ruby Dice (the last novel issued before this one). My favourite characters are, hands down, Sauscony the former Imperator and secret consort to Jaibriol II, and Kelric the current Imperator, with their aunt Pharoah Dyhianna a close second. I REALLY LIKED the series up to this point and recommended it to several friends, to my present embarrassment. I find it incredible - in the sense of "not credible", not "awesome" - that this idiot Del is from the same family as Soz and Kelric.
Regardless of the fact that he's been frozen solid for 2/3 of his life and is physically and mentally in his mid-twenties while his siblings whom we've known from other books are all 60-plus, Del is incredibly childish and narcissistic. Even having been in cryostasis for so long, Del was still thawed out before or around the start of the Radiance War between the Skolians and the Eubians and has thus had several years to get up to speed, mull over the sins of his youth, become intimately acquainted with the political situation, and his responsibilities as a father, even an involuntary one. The Assembly-mandated, ART-enabled incest in this book is even more bizarre than Aunt Dehya and big brother Eldrin's marriage - it's not like there weren't other male family members available. Yet he still feels like running off to Earth is a good idea? I concur with Kelric on his immaturity. If Soz was still alive she would give him a smacking with her biomech-enhanced muscles.
Other things about the timing of the story also present major problems. It's not exactly clear from the beginning, but this book takes place around the time of the events in The Moon's Shadow (the book in which Jaibriol III takes the throne of Eube, 10 years before The Ruby Dice). Perhaps my memory is bad, but the major diplomatic incidents in this book don't make much if any of a dent in The Moon's Shadow, where the young Jaibriol is struggling to establish power. Surely he would have been in huge trouble if he was seen to be any softer on the Allieds (Earth) and the Skolians.
Furthermore, the public exposure of a Ruby Dynasty prince as a rock star would at least have had the knock-on effect of making the Allied Worlds public more aware of the stellar empires' politics and how it affects them. Yet 10 years later, in The Ruby Dice, the Allieds still seem as clueless about the rest of the universe when Jaibriol and Kelric show up unexpectedly on Earth. For "Allieds" read "stereotypical oblivious isolationist US Americans", by the way (sorry to my American friends, relatives, and any others reading this). Asaro is severely guilty of what TV Tropes calls "Planetville" where the whole planet is treated as a homogenous culture. Granted, all of the story takes place in the USA (it still exists in 300 years?!) but there is no interaction with other parts of Earth or other Allied planets, baffling to say the least 300 years after the birth of the Internet.
The writing is tedious. I tried reading Twilight over Christmas to see what the big deal was about, couldn't stand it, and dropped it halfway through. I would have done so with this book if I didn't already have an investment in the story. Asaro here follows Stephenie Meyer's habit of wasting ink on prosaic BS like "Del had a concert - they got in a van and drove - Del had another concert - Del had an argument with the record label executives - GOTO 1". The dialogue is unbelievably lame and inconsistent, with bad metaphors, joke attempts that fall flat, and some characters dropping F-bombs (as does the narrative text) while others use bowdlerized, made-up curses. As for the song lyrics, let's just say Asaro should stick to writing prose. You need to be Tolkien to get away with shoehorning songs into your novels.
Someone also needs to tell the author that this is not the 1980s and you can't magically make anything sound cool by prepending "laser" or "holo". In a lot of cases it makes no sense - "laser-light buttons" on a jacket? - and in all cases does absolutely nothing to create a futuristic atmosphere. It's baffling because IMO Asaro does that quite well in other books. The Kyle psiberweb and the accomplishment of hyperlight travel by travelling at imaginary speeds sounded pretty awesome to me. It's like the author's imagination fails completely when it's brought down to [300 years in the future of] Earth.
Plot: You can basically figure out what happens in this book by reading the dust jacket blurbs from this one and the sequel "Carnelians". There are no spoilers to be given because there is nothing to be spoilt. In summary, Del becomes incredibly popular with what in this century is the Justin Bieber set, and everybody on Earth worships him, so he doesn't go home to Lyshriol.
The only seriously interesting story arc - Del helping a Skolian citizen running an "underground railroad" through Allied space for slaves to escape the Eubian Concord - forms a minor part of the book. I think it could have been developed a lot more to the benefit of the overall story.
Speaking of Lyshriol, "Skyfall" earlier in the book series, which is about how Del's parents met, is the other one I would recommend avoiding. Read all the others. If this book was your introduction to the Saga of the Skolian Empire, I'm sorry. The rest are indeed a lot better.
Do not buy this book. Borrow it from your public library if you must read it. Do not read it on public transport on the way home if you value your honour and intellectual credibility, because the cover art is as bad as the story.
I'm dreading "Carnelians"...
Regardless of the fact that he's been frozen solid for 2/3 of his life and is physically and mentally in his mid-twenties while his siblings whom we've known from other books are all 60-plus, Del is incredibly childish and narcissistic. Even having been in cryostasis for so long, Del was still thawed out before or around the start of the Radiance War between the Skolians and the Eubians and has thus had several years to get up to speed, mull over the sins of his youth, become intimately acquainted with the political situation, and his responsibilities as a father, even an involuntary one. The Assembly-mandated, ART-enabled incest in this book is even more bizarre than Aunt Dehya and big brother Eldrin's marriage - it's not like there weren't other male family members available. Yet he still feels like running off to Earth is a good idea? I concur with Kelric on his immaturity. If Soz was still alive she would give him a smacking with her biomech-enhanced muscles.
Other things about the timing of the story also present major problems. It's not exactly clear from the beginning, but this book takes place around the time of the events in The Moon's Shadow (the book in which Jaibriol III takes the throne of Eube, 10 years before The Ruby Dice). Perhaps my memory is bad, but the major diplomatic incidents in this book don't make much if any of a dent in The Moon's Shadow, where the young Jaibriol is struggling to establish power. Surely he would have been in huge trouble if he was seen to be any softer on the Allieds (Earth) and the Skolians.
Furthermore, the public exposure of a Ruby Dynasty prince as a rock star would at least have had the knock-on effect of making the Allied Worlds public more aware of the stellar empires' politics and how it affects them. Yet 10 years later, in The Ruby Dice, the Allieds still seem as clueless about the rest of the universe when Jaibriol and Kelric show up unexpectedly on Earth. For "Allieds" read "stereotypical oblivious isolationist US Americans", by the way (sorry to my American friends, relatives, and any others reading this). Asaro is severely guilty of what TV Tropes calls "Planetville" where the whole planet is treated as a homogenous culture. Granted, all of the story takes place in the USA (it still exists in 300 years?!) but there is no interaction with other parts of Earth or other Allied planets, baffling to say the least 300 years after the birth of the Internet.
The writing is tedious. I tried reading Twilight over Christmas to see what the big deal was about, couldn't stand it, and dropped it halfway through. I would have done so with this book if I didn't already have an investment in the story. Asaro here follows Stephenie Meyer's habit of wasting ink on prosaic BS like "Del had a concert - they got in a van and drove - Del had another concert - Del had an argument with the record label executives - GOTO 1". The dialogue is unbelievably lame and inconsistent, with bad metaphors, joke attempts that fall flat, and some characters dropping F-bombs (as does the narrative text) while others use bowdlerized, made-up curses. As for the song lyrics, let's just say Asaro should stick to writing prose. You need to be Tolkien to get away with shoehorning songs into your novels.
Someone also needs to tell the author that this is not the 1980s and you can't magically make anything sound cool by prepending "laser" or "holo". In a lot of cases it makes no sense - "laser-light buttons" on a jacket? - and in all cases does absolutely nothing to create a futuristic atmosphere. It's baffling because IMO Asaro does that quite well in other books. The Kyle psiberweb and the accomplishment of hyperlight travel by travelling at imaginary speeds sounded pretty awesome to me. It's like the author's imagination fails completely when it's brought down to [300 years in the future of] Earth.
Plot: You can basically figure out what happens in this book by reading the dust jacket blurbs from this one and the sequel "Carnelians". There are no spoilers to be given because there is nothing to be spoilt. In summary, Del becomes incredibly popular with what in this century is the Justin Bieber set, and everybody on Earth worships him, so he doesn't go home to Lyshriol.
The only seriously interesting story arc - Del helping a Skolian citizen running an "underground railroad" through Allied space for slaves to escape the Eubian Concord - forms a minor part of the book. I think it could have been developed a lot more to the benefit of the overall story.
Speaking of Lyshriol, "Skyfall" earlier in the book series, which is about how Del's parents met, is the other one I would recommend avoiding. Read all the others. If this book was your introduction to the Saga of the Skolian Empire, I'm sorry. The rest are indeed a lot better.
Do not buy this book. Borrow it from your public library if you must read it. Do not read it on public transport on the way home if you value your honour and intellectual credibility, because the cover art is as bad as the story.
I'm dreading "Carnelians"...
kdf_333's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
texile's review against another edition
3.0
This book jolted me out of my suspension of disbelief a lot more than the earlier (by internal chronology) books. I think it's partly that dialogue and characters that seem fine coming from a significantly different culture stumble when they're near-future Americans; partly that trying to tie it to the real-world album and band makes it clunky; and partly that the lyrics are mostly awful (and I enjoy rock and pop lyrics by and large).
katmarhan's review against another edition
4.0
Diamond Star is a stand-alone book, but it also is part of a collection of books, novellas, and short stories that Catherine Asaro has written about the Skolian empire/universe. I also have to disclose that this is the first of Asaro's books that I have read.
The book is strong enough to encourage me to read more of her books, especially from the Skolian empire series. The book is weak enough that I almost didn't get far enough to come to that conclusion. Let me explain:
The first third of the book is very focused on introducing us to Del and his baptism into the world of the music business of the future. Other than references to fancy equipment and the fact that Del was from a planet other than earth, I felt like it was a book about a wannabe rock singer of the 1960s or '70s, and I wasn't very intrigued.
But as the reader gets to know Del and some layers of background are unpeeled, the story becomes more complex and compelling. I found the last half of the book to be engrossing, fun, scary, and thought-provoking, and I found the ending to be heart-wrenching. I was surprised I had come to care so much about Del and his relationships with family and friends, but I had. That's the mark of a good writer.
I will be interested to see how some of Asaro's other Skolian books compare to Diamond Star. I am especially interested to read about some of the other members of Del's family to better understand how they became the people they are in this book.
If we could give half-stars, this book would be 3.5. I bumped it up to 4 rather than down to 3 because of the strength of the second half of the book.
The CD that goes with the book is quite good--not music I would normally listen to, but I received it with the book and have listened several times. Kudos to the band Point Valid.
The book is strong enough to encourage me to read more of her books, especially from the Skolian empire series. The book is weak enough that I almost didn't get far enough to come to that conclusion. Let me explain:
The first third of the book is very focused on introducing us to Del and his baptism into the world of the music business of the future. Other than references to fancy equipment and the fact that Del was from a planet other than earth, I felt like it was a book about a wannabe rock singer of the 1960s or '70s, and I wasn't very intrigued.
But as the reader gets to know Del and some layers of background are unpeeled, the story becomes more complex and compelling. I found the last half of the book to be engrossing, fun, scary, and thought-provoking, and I found the ending to be heart-wrenching. I was surprised I had come to care so much about Del and his relationships with family and friends, but I had. That's the mark of a good writer.
I will be interested to see how some of Asaro's other Skolian books compare to Diamond Star. I am especially interested to read about some of the other members of Del's family to better understand how they became the people they are in this book.
If we could give half-stars, this book would be 3.5. I bumped it up to 4 rather than down to 3 because of the strength of the second half of the book.
The CD that goes with the book is quite good--not music I would normally listen to, but I received it with the book and have listened several times. Kudos to the band Point Valid.
agenc's review
1.0
Del just isn't an interesting character to me. I skipped his story & just read the bits where the rest of his family showed up. The writing is great as always.
scribal's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't finish this one although I read the rest of the series. It was too far from the main storyline and Asaro chose to pass on all opportunities to link it back into the characters I was invested in. Read it if you like Romance or futuristic treatments of celebrity pop star life.
belleanndthebook's review
5.0
This was the best book in the series by far. I fell in love with Del’s character and his struggle to remain an artist without being a political figure. It had just the right amount of everything: romance, action, and rock’n roll. I highly recommend this book as a stand-alone. Now I’ll have to go find some more books featuring rock stars as the main characters.
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