Take a photo of a barcode or cover
eesh25 's review for:
The Diabolic
by S.J. Kincaid
3.75 Stars
It seems to be a common belief that, if you read a book in one or two sittings, that means it's a better than one that you read over a week. Which is so not the case. I don't know about other people but there are plenty of books I've read in a single sitting and ended up rating 1 or 2 stars. And this book, which I've been "currently reading" for months, is one that I quite liked.
The protagonist is Nemesis, who is a Diabolic. Diabolics are people, though they're not seen as people, who are bred for protection. They're stronger and faster than ordinary humans. They're raised and trained in the most horrendous conditions and then biologically linked to the person they're supposed to protect such that they care about and love only that person. And they'd do anything, kill anyone, for that person's safety. They's even sacrifice themselves if the situation demanded it. But not just anyone can get a Diabolic. Nemesis is a Diabolic for Sidonia, who is the heir to a royal family.
I'm not sure royal family is the right word though. The setting of the novel is sci-fi, but despite the technology, the belief system is more primitive. In fact, scientific learning or teaching is punishable by death. Yes, everyone lives on huge space stations but they don't know how the tech works. The Emperor's family had used ignorance to maintain power for centuries.
When Sidonia's father does something to upset the Emperor, Sidonia is invited to his court. No one's under any illusion that it's more than a hostage situation waiting to happen. So Sidonia's mother trains and sends Nemesis to the court disguised as Sidonia. And Nemesis's is job is to navigate the court, convince the court that she's really Sidonia, find out what the Emperor plans for the family and, if necessary, die in Sidonia's place.
And the situation at court is so much worse than one would expect. The Emperor is a manic who abuses his power in the worst of ways. His mother is worse and actually responsible for having most of the family killed, including all her other kids because she wants only the "strongest" on the throne. The heir to the empire is mentally unstable. And the court is full of visiting royalty who are all ruthless religious extremists who are concerned only with kissing the emperor's ass.
It's a pretty bleak world that Nemesis has to navigate. It's a good thing she's not afraid of any of them. Honestly, Nemesis is a great protagonist. She's introduced to us as this emotionless being, except in case of Sidonia, and it's wonderful to see her coming into herself. We see her form a personality outside of the person she's supposed to protect, without losing any of her brutal, cross-me-and-I-will-snap-your-neck nature.
That said, I still could've done without the fast-developing romance. I mean, we're not really introduced to the love interest until halfway through the book, although I suspected who it would be pretty early on, and I would have loved to see a romance between the two had it happened slowly. This is a series, the author could stretch it out between this book and the next so they moved from tentative friendship to trust to love. But it was kinda rushed. I still liked it well enough though, mainly because both the characters are great and complement each other well.
The story of the book was good. But it was a bit jarring how often the setting changed. I mean, this is a completely unfamiliar world. Going to so many new placing with so many new people wasn't fun. It took me out of the story for a while every time.
Overall, this was a good book with great protagonists. I was even on board with the romance after I got time to get used to it. And while a part of me is interested to know what will happen next in the series, the sequel has gotten some... mixed reviews. And the book kind of works as a standalone as well so I might just stop here. I could change my mind later on, especially since the last book hasn't come out yet, but for now, I'm good.
It seems to be a common belief that, if you read a book in one or two sittings, that means it's a better than one that you read over a week. Which is so not the case. I don't know about other people but there are plenty of books I've read in a single sitting and ended up rating 1 or 2 stars. And this book, which I've been "currently reading" for months, is one that I quite liked.
The protagonist is Nemesis, who is a Diabolic. Diabolics are people, though they're not seen as people, who are bred for protection. They're stronger and faster than ordinary humans. They're raised and trained in the most horrendous conditions and then biologically linked to the person they're supposed to protect such that they care about and love only that person. And they'd do anything, kill anyone, for that person's safety. They's even sacrifice themselves if the situation demanded it. But not just anyone can get a Diabolic. Nemesis is a Diabolic for Sidonia, who is the heir to a royal family.
I'm not sure royal family is the right word though. The setting of the novel is sci-fi, but despite the technology, the belief system is more primitive. In fact, scientific learning or teaching is punishable by death. Yes, everyone lives on huge space stations but they don't know how the tech works. The Emperor's family had used ignorance to maintain power for centuries.
When Sidonia's father does something to upset the Emperor, Sidonia is invited to his court. No one's under any illusion that it's more than a hostage situation waiting to happen. So Sidonia's mother trains and sends Nemesis to the court disguised as Sidonia. And Nemesis's is job is to navigate the court, convince the court that she's really Sidonia, find out what the Emperor plans for the family and, if necessary, die in Sidonia's place.
And the situation at court is so much worse than one would expect. The Emperor is a manic who abuses his power in the worst of ways. His mother is worse and actually responsible for having most of the family killed, including all her other kids because she wants only the "strongest" on the throne. The heir to the empire is mentally unstable. And the court is full of visiting royalty who are all ruthless religious extremists who are concerned only with kissing the emperor's ass.
It's a pretty bleak world that Nemesis has to navigate. It's a good thing she's not afraid of any of them. Honestly, Nemesis is a great protagonist. She's introduced to us as this emotionless being, except in case of Sidonia, and it's wonderful to see her coming into herself. We see her form a personality outside of the person she's supposed to protect, without losing any of her brutal, cross-me-and-I-will-snap-your-neck nature.
That said, I still could've done without the fast-developing romance. I mean, we're not really introduced to the love interest until halfway through the book, although I suspected who it would be pretty early on, and I would have loved to see a romance between the two had it happened slowly. This is a series, the author could stretch it out between this book and the next so they moved from tentative friendship to trust to love. But it was kinda rushed. I still liked it well enough though, mainly because both the characters are great and complement each other well.
The story of the book was good. But it was a bit jarring how often the setting changed. I mean, this is a completely unfamiliar world. Going to so many new placing with so many new people wasn't fun. It took me out of the story for a while every time.
Overall, this was a good book with great protagonists. I was even on board with the romance after I got time to get used to it. And while a part of me is interested to know what will happen next in the series, the sequel has gotten some... mixed reviews. And the book kind of works as a standalone as well so I might just stop here. I could change my mind later on, especially since the last book hasn't come out yet, but for now, I'm good.