Scan barcode
nsfinch's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There was a lot of rape and incest in this book! Like, a lot! I think you should probably know that ahead of time!
I dunno, man. It was okay. The telepathy part reminded me a lot of the Psy-Changling book I read (I did not like the Psy-Changling book). The space battles were interesting, as was the part about the main character teaching at the military academy and dealing with her PTSD. My book club clarified for me what we liked about the science and what we didn't: we liked the physics, but not the biology. The description of traveling faster than light was pretty cool, but all the genetics was somehow both boring and creepy.
I dunno, man. It was okay. The telepathy part reminded me a lot of the Psy-Changling book I read (I did not like the Psy-Changling book). The space battles were interesting, as was the part about the main character teaching at the military academy and dealing with her PTSD. My book club clarified for me what we liked about the science and what we didn't: we liked the physics, but not the biology. The description of traveling faster than light was pretty cool, but all the genetics was somehow both boring and creepy.
accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I quite enjoyed this book, despite the ways in which it feels very dated. It felt like Sauscony was at once an extremely complex character (I particularly appreciated the second act of the book, dealing with her trauma) and also weirdly one-dimensional at times, but especially with the audiobook narrator to voice her I grew to care about her. I was also of two minds about the way sex and sexual assault was treated - honestly basically every sensitive topic, I was surprised by how well it was handled while simultaneously squicked out by how it was handled. So I have complicated feelings about this, but ultimately I had a good time listening to it, so I plan to listen to the direct sequel, The Radiant Seas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Kidnapping, Classism, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Incest, and War
Minor: Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation
kellylynnthomas's review
3.0
I enjoyed the world and the politics of Primary Inversion, as well as the sciencey stuff. The romance didn't come off quite as well--I don't feel like I knew enough about the dude to really "get" the relationship. Even so, this is a solid space opera/military SF read, and I'm going to continue the series.
chantaal's review
2.75
My thoughts are all over the place, I don't really have a proper review for this.
I think the character work her was in turns very strong, and very weak. Strong because when Asaro is having Soz deal with her PTSD in therapy, it breaks down a lot of who she is and why she is, and that helps her make plot decisions that make sense (to a degree). I didn't much like the romance additions in each part of the book because it only ever felt like Soz liked one person - the others just felt like instalove, or instafriendstolovers - but when she was working on herself and dealing with her trauma, Soz was great. Weak characterization came with how Soz was pretty much great at everything ever AND she's sexy AND she's basically a princess AND she's extremely gifted at empathy/cyberspace work/etc etc etc. She felt like she started as an incredible Mary Sue who eventually got filled in with some real character work.
No other characters felt great. I just didn't care about anyone else, to be completely honest. Maybe Soz's father, in the end. They all just felt like they were supporting actors playing whatever role the story needed for Soz.
The plot was fine, but holy hell was it bogged down by the most intense, infodumpy narration I have EVER seen. I don't know if this was a characteristic of 90s sci-fi, but there were pages and pages of just explaining every little interesting thing that the author made up, with no real purpose. Like yeah, tell me all about inversion works...only for the actual mechanics of it to matter in one page at the end. The infodumping absolutely breaks up the flow of the story as a whole. The political plot fared better, at least; I understood decisions characters were making or decisions Soz made to prevent or solve problems. The ending was quite lovely, even if I didn't believe in the romance/character work there.
Really, this was interesting and I'm very glad I tried it out despite having big issues with it. The narrative in the middle of the book that focused exclusively on Soz attempting to face her trauma was fantastic stuff.
I think the character work her was in turns very strong, and very weak. Strong because when Asaro is having Soz deal with her PTSD in therapy, it breaks down a lot of who she is and why she is, and that helps her make plot decisions that make sense (to a degree). I didn't much like the romance additions in each part of the book because it only ever felt like Soz liked one person - the others just felt like instalove, or instafriendstolovers - but when she was working on herself and dealing with her trauma, Soz was great. Weak characterization came with how Soz was pretty much great at everything ever AND she's sexy AND she's basically a princess AND she's extremely gifted at empathy/cyberspace work/etc etc etc. She felt like she started as an incredible Mary Sue who eventually got filled in with some real character work.
No other characters felt great. I just didn't care about anyone else, to be completely honest. Maybe Soz's father, in the end. They all just felt like they were supporting actors playing whatever role the story needed for Soz.
The plot was fine, but holy hell was it bogged down by the most intense, infodumpy narration I have EVER seen. I don't know if this was a characteristic of 90s sci-fi, but there were pages and pages of just explaining every little interesting thing that the author made up, with no real purpose. Like yeah, tell me all about inversion works...only for the actual mechanics of it to matter in one page at the end. The infodumping absolutely breaks up the flow of the story as a whole. The political plot fared better, at least; I understood decisions characters were making or decisions Soz made to prevent or solve problems. The ending was quite lovely, even if I didn't believe in the romance/character work there.
Really, this was interesting and I'm very glad I tried it out despite having big issues with it. The narrative in the middle of the book that focused exclusively on Soz attempting to face her trauma was fantastic stuff.
cavitlum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
sonofthe's review
3.0
Sauscony Valdoria finally starts to face up to some of the repercussions of being an imperial heir.
An interesting space opera which took me to the end, but it was way more info-dumpy than I'm used to. There are detailed sections about the way the science works, the biology works, the social structures work, and they all stuck out to me. Still, Asaro knows how to tell an otherwise good story and make good characters, so I'm a curious about the other books in this series, but want to see how other people have reacted to them.
An interesting space opera which took me to the end, but it was way more info-dumpy than I'm used to. There are detailed sections about the way the science works, the biology works, the social structures work, and they all stuck out to me. Still, Asaro knows how to tell an otherwise good story and make good characters, so I'm a curious about the other books in this series, but want to see how other people have reacted to them.
jstamper2022's review
3.0
Not a lot of background information and some dime store romance novel bits. Seems like a solid basis for a galactic saga/space opera.
nessa_arandur's review
4.0
Enjoyable
Enjoyable characters and a plot that stays pretty tight considering the sprawling world Asaro creates. I appreciated how the author treats Soz’s PTSD. Despite all the interactions the MC and her love interest have together, I somehow came away feeling like they hadn’t really gotten to know one another - but I guess when you’re a Rhon psion, who needs words and actions! So I get it. I felt like this could have been longer for that reason, but I’m about to read the next book and maybe I will get more of these characters there. Even if I don’t, the world is rich with storytelling potential so I’m expecting an entertaining read no matter what.
Enjoyable characters and a plot that stays pretty tight considering the sprawling world Asaro creates. I appreciated how the author treats Soz’s PTSD. Despite all the interactions the MC and her love interest have together, I somehow came away feeling like they hadn’t really gotten to know one another - but I guess when you’re a Rhon psion, who needs words and actions! So I get it. I felt like this could have been longer for that reason, but I’m about to read the next book and maybe I will get more of these characters there. Even if I don’t, the world is rich with storytelling potential so I’m expecting an entertaining read no matter what.
ccgwalt's review
5.0
TBR Challenge 2011: General read- this book has been on my TBR list for over 6 months.
SFR Reading Challenge 2011: This finishes my "Earth Level" for the challenge, 5 sci-fi rom books in 2011. The "Moon Level" means reading 15 sci-fi rom book in 2011, and I may try for it.
SOA Listening Challenge 2011- Listen to a new-to-you author.
4.5*
Primary Inversion is a a difficult book to categorize. It definitely has romance, but it's not a typical "romance" novel. There is a "happy for now" with the hope of a "happy ever after," which is important to me as a reader, but there is so much more to this book. I think the main appeal of this book to the romance reader would be the intensely character-driven story. The sci-fi details are intricate and amazing, but the character development trumps even that. Sauscony is an amazing heroine. Her personal journey through this book is heart-rending and satisfying.
This is one of many books set in the Skolian Empire, and I plan on returning there to "visit" in the not-too-distant future.
I listened to the audiobook from audible.com narrated by the always excellent Anna Fields.
SFR Reading Challenge 2011: This finishes my "Earth Level" for the challenge, 5 sci-fi rom books in 2011. The "Moon Level" means reading 15 sci-fi rom book in 2011, and I may try for it.
SOA Listening Challenge 2011- Listen to a new-to-you author.
4.5*
Primary Inversion is a a difficult book to categorize. It definitely has romance, but it's not a typical "romance" novel. There is a "happy for now" with the hope of a "happy ever after," which is important to me as a reader, but there is so much more to this book. I think the main appeal of this book to the romance reader would be the intensely character-driven story. The sci-fi details are intricate and amazing, but the character development trumps even that. Sauscony is an amazing heroine. Her personal journey through this book is heart-rending and satisfying.
This is one of many books set in the Skolian Empire, and I plan on returning there to "visit" in the not-too-distant future.
I listened to the audiobook from audible.com narrated by the always excellent Anna Fields.
ebgracie77's review
I think i read this a long long time ago. Tried just now, but not feeling it.