Trained since childhood in advanced biocyph seed technology by the all-powerful Crib empire, Edie’s mission is to terraform alien worlds while her masters bleed outlawed Fringe populations dry. When renegade mercenaries kidnap Edie, she’s not entirely sure it’s a bad thing…until they leash her to a bodyguard, Finn – a former freedom fighter-turned-slave, beaten down but never broken. If Edie strays from Finn’s side, he dies. If she doesn’t cooperate, the pirates will kill them both.
But Edie’s abilities far surpass anything her enemies imagine. And now, with Finn as her only ally as the merciless Crib closes in, she’ll have to prove it or die on the site of her only failure…a world called Scarabaeus. [Publisher's Summary]
The summary would lead you to believe that the ultimate conflict pits Edie and Finn against the Crib; that’s not true, exactly. The story is character driven and the conflict was more immediate, coming from several angles. For one, Edie has been kidnapped and mentally shackled to a dangerous, capable man who isn’t at all happy to find himself under her control. If Edie has any hope of surviving she has to win Finn’s trust; this situation is complicated by Finn’s many years as a prisoner in a forced labor camp, and his unwillingness to surrender anything of himself to her. Then there’s the mercenaries and the fact that not one among them can be depended on to keep their word. And then there’s Scarabaeus itself.
As you can probably tell, there’s a lot going on. And a good deal of it likely went over my head thanks to the science involved. Oh, I got enough to keep the threads of the story straight and have an idea of what was going on, but my handle on it was definitely loose. If I hadn’t liked Edie, if I hadn’t found Finn compelling, this might have proven to be a slight impediment to my enjoyment of the novel.
Edie isn’t your typical heroine if you think of this book as a more scientific cousin to urban fantasy. She’s a bit too timid, a bit too slow to show her spirit, but she’s intelligent, motivated, and loyal to Finn. Her background, though only hinted at, provoked sympathy and left me wanting to know more (in a good way.) As for Finn, you have to look at his actions because they definitely spoke louder than his words. For the majority of the story the reader is left in the dark regarding his past; he was enigmatic, but that owed more to his reaction to Edie than anything else. He slowly won me over and by the end I was quite fond of him. It’s worth noting that the focus isn’t on a romance developing between Edie and Finn, though there are hints, but rather it’s on the relationship they forge over the course of days and troubles.
I enjoyed Song of Scarabaeus, will absolutely read the sequel when it’s released, but I’m not feeling an urge to immediately go back and reread any of it. I didn’t feel that kind of emotional punch or connection to it. But, yeah, for a few hours I enjoyed reading it.
Hmmm… not thrilled about the science-speak but this sounds really interesting. It might be a Kindle buy for me though.
Great review. Thanks for the heads-up!
Danielle – I still consider myself a sci-fi newbie, so it probably doesn’t take much science-speak to lose me. Otherwise, though, I really did enjoy getting to know these characters, and I’ll definitely be reading the next installment. I’d love to hear what you think of it if you get to it.
I loved this book. It has been so long since I have found a new science fiction novel that I have enjoyed. I am already counting the months until the next installment comes out. I don’t think that the science lingo was difficult to follow, and it was completely necessary for this story. I had to put it down and take a break when I realized I was starting to skim read paragraphs because I had to find out what was happening next. I would totally recommend this book to sci-fi and fantasy readers.
Pingback: Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy « Janicu’s Book Blog