Primary Inversion by Catherine Asaro featured a number of powerful, compelling moments, sandwiched between a few extreme info dumps. If you’re willing to read past them to the heart and soul of this story, you will find a treasure there.
To put this in perspective, it has been a long time since I’ve ventured into space opera, so I might not be remembering genre norms very well, but the first three chapters of this book were really just one long, boring info dump. The problem with this kind of info dump is actually two-fold: First, it was boring to read, and came very close to making me put the book down. The other problem with an info dump like this one is that later in the book, when the information became relevant, I couldn’t remember it very well. I’m still not clear on what a Rone is or why it’s so rare, or so important for the heir to the throne to be one, or how they’ve managed to maintain that line given how few of them there are.
This book would have been much, better, I think, if I had been reading it in print, instead of via audio. I could have skimmed the boring bits, and then flipped back for reminders when I needed to know something. I could have skipped some of the longer sections of techno babble altogether, because even though I realize some readers love that stuff — I’m not one of them.
What I’m interested in — what interested me enough that I recommend this book despite the way I just lambasted it — is the human element. Sauscony is a powerful empath, with borderline telepathic abilities. She is also a warrior, with a computer running through her body and brain. She’s got issues — a few years earlier, one of the enemies captured and tortured her for three weeks. Apparently, the Traders are some kind of anti-empaths who can’t feel pain, and they use empaths for sadistic pleasure. So when she meets the Trader Empire’s heir, she’s understandably wary.
The book includes Sauscony’s personal growth, her problems with relationships, some political intrigue, and a love story, all of which I enjoyed quite a bit. I admit that I was a bit put off by the 25 year difference in ages between the lovers, but the author managed to make it matter less to me than it normally would have, probably because of their shared empathy.
My only other complaint about this book was the use of the first person in a story that I felt had two clear sides. I’m not really sure why it was told that way, since the narrative voice wasn’t that strong (it wasn’t bad, either — my only real issue with it was that I felt the story was half told). The Trader Empire seems so hopelessly evil to me at this point that I almost have trouble believing it — but I think it’s because of the one-sidedness of the story. As much as Sauscony tried to understand some of it when she linked empathically with Jaibriol, it just left too many holes.
I recommend this to science fiction readers with a romantic heart, and I recommend reading it in print, if you can.
3.5/5 stars
Primary Inversion (Saga of the Skolian Empire)
Author: Catherine Asaro
Genre: Science Fiction
ISBN: 0812550234
