The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

The Ruby Dice was published in 2008 by Baen, written by Catherine Asaro. It is the second novel in what I consider a duology. The first novel is The Moon's Shadow, reviewed here. These novels are set in Asaro's Skolian Empire world and are basically straight science fiction. If you are a romance reader looking to branch out into others of Asaro's worlds be aware that these novels are very different from her novels published by Luna. Honestly, I think one of the biggest problems SFF has is awful covers! They are so terrible. It can be very off putting. Her stories grab my attention and don't let go, but the covers..jeez. :(

Primarily The Ruby Dice is the story of how Kelricson Valdoria Skolia and Jaibriol Qox manage to drag their respective empires to the peace table. Unknown to Kelric, he and Jai are uncle and nephew, which adds a unique flavor to the storyline. Secondarily the story details the political and personal struggles each ruler has while trying to bring the desired treaty to fruition. This episode takes place nine years after the events in The Moon's Shadow. If you prefer to read these stories in internal chronological story order, the list is here.

It's hard to discuss this novel without including spoilers of the previous one, but I'll try. Kelric was thought dead, killed in action basically, for eighteen years until Jai set him free from the Eubians (previous novel). Ms. Asaro alternates between telling some of Kelric's back story with current political realities,linking them both to his desire for peace. Meantime, Jai has his own motivations for pushing for peace, albeit very carefully. Jai discovers that perhaps he has other, more personal motivations for wanting peace.


The Ruby Dice presents peace making between large governments as achievable via personal relationships between the two rulers. A hoped for solution, perhaps, but unrealistic as far as I'm concerned. I was reminded of the conferences and photo ops over the Cold War years: pretty to look at, nice to read about but they don't really achieve much. Peace isn't unwanted, mind you, but isn't achievable in the manner the author wishes the reader to believe. Other political machinations within each respective group seem to be believeable, the complexity of motivation, the unwieldy bureaucracy, the seeming inbred opposition for opposition's sake, etc.

Leaving that aside, I liked watching Jai and his wife interact, learning how they've built a relationship, how they work together towards goals Jai has for the Empire. Jai seems to spend most of his time suspecting his wife's motivations and goals. He's more of an idealist, while she's more capitalistic and pragmatic. He doesn't appear to recognize that someone behind the scene sometimes has to set the stage for future victories. He's become cynical and more aware that the personal price he will pay is much higher than he originally thought. Inevitable changes for one in his position. Meantime some of her actions proved, to me at least, that she deeply cares for him aside from his position and her subsequent power, although her ability to compartmentalize her roles often keeps Jai off balance. Then too, Eubian culture isn't his native culture and some of their behaviors probably continue to keep him off kilter.

Kelric's family story is unique and interesting and is central to the Skolians' efforts at peacemaking, but is very hard to talk about here without revealing major plot point. His story is also found in the book The Last Hawk. I'm very hopeful that Ms. Asaro will write books about the newest members of Kelric's already large family.

One of the most intriguing elements of The Ruby Dice are the dice themselves. Quis is a dice game played with multiple players using multiple dice. It's kind of a storytelling three dimensional chess game, click here for wiki article explaining chess variants. Kelric has a set and uses them to think through some of the problems presented to him. Quis is an essential element on the planet where Kelric was hidden. I like the concept of a culture that both forms and was formed by a game.

An enjoyable and satisfying episode in the Eubian-Skolian saga, all in all. The familial backstory and the to-ing and fro-ing of more intimate relationships was most interesting to me. Jai and his wife and their situation, personally and politically fascinate me no end & I'm hoping to see glimpses of them in the future.

The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro

The Moon’s Shadow was published by Tor in 2002. I categorize it as science fiction with romantic elements. If you’re a romance reader, be aware that this has romantic elements only, unlike the novels Ms. Asaro has written for Luna. This novel is the first part of what I think of as a duology, the second part is The Ruby Dice, to be reviewed shortly. They are a continuation of the story of the same man, Jaibriol Rockworth Qox told with a nine year gap (within the story) between novels. This book is a coming of age tale. It’s set in the same world as her Skolian Empire series depicting a member of the Eubian Concord, the Skolian’s despised enemies.

Jaibriol Rockworth Qox, aka Jai, is seventeen and has grown up isolated and sheltered. His parents were mortal enemies who fell in love and were killed trying to reunite when Jai was young. Their story is told in the book Primary Inversion. At least I think that's the right one. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Jai knows neither his mother’s family nor his father’s. That they were intergalactic scions and rulers of most of the known universe between them all, is about all he knows. As The Moon’s Shadow opens Jai trades himself to the Eubian Concord in exchange for an uncle who doesn’t know who or what Jai is. You see, Jai will inherit the throne of the Emperor of the Eubian Concord as well as being a Ruby Telepath, the rarest of all gifts, inherited from his mother’s family.

As the saying goes, Jai leaps from the frying pan into the fire. He reckons the price worth it despite knowing only a smattering of Eubian culture and some of the language. Of course he’s only seventeen. At seventeen we humans invariably think we know everything (and we’re always right!). As a newcomer Jai sees everything with fresh eyes, perhaps he will be able to take the Empire to new places because of that. If he survives, that is.

I think these quotes sum things up nicely:

"I should so like to make the stars safe for those I love.." and then, four pages later, "..it may be desirable, sometimes, to act in benefit of Eube [the empire] rather than of oneself." Pages 456 & 460.

The Eubian Concord is a culture where everyone is injected with new and powerful nanomeds (tiny cell like machines) whose primary job is to hunt for poisons and to repair injuries and illnesses and other defects. Why? Because you can’t trust anyone, including members of your own family. Royalty, the universe over, since time immemorial, is always a target. Someone else is after your job because they can do it better, because they hate you, because they think you’re weak, because a ruler breeds enemies like dogs collect fleas.

Culturally, Eubians have bred out almost all feelings since feelings are often perceived as weakness. And Eubians despise all weakness. Eubians exist in a kind of symbiotic relationship with other humans the Eubians call ‘providers’ and everyone else calls slaves. The gap left within by the lack of feelings has to be filled with something though. The providers are the ones to fill this, forced by the Eubians. How can you force someone to feed you their emotions? Why, by torturing them of course. When inflicting pain upon a psychically gifted person a Eubian will feel euphoria (and other positive emotions). Eubians have a kind of ‘sixth sense’ about people who are or could be ‘providers’ and Eubian law and culture treats these people as belongings with very few rights.

What does this have to do with the new Emperor Jaibriol? As I mentioned above, he’s a Ruby Telepath. The Eubians don’t know this though. How can a provider rule the empire undetected? Aside from the fact that he’s only seventeen and practically untutored, that is. You’ll have to read The Moon’s Shadow and find out!

I love the books set in this world. I’ve read The Ruby Dice a review of which is coming in a few days. I also borrowed Ms. Asaro’s newest book, Diamond Star, from the library & plan to read (& review) it very soon. There is almost no physics or technological jargon in this book, which is either a plus or a minus depending on your point of view. As a character centered reader I view this as a plus. I was most interested in watching Jai maneuver in this new world he dropped himself into. Sci fi oriented readers may disagree. I wish that Ms. Asaro's website listed the series books in internal chronological order like Ms. Bujold's site does. I like to read the books by the internal chronological order, which I had to look up on wikipedia, unfortunately. A listing that includes short stories is here.

Image found on B&N.

Succession series; Scott Westerfeld

This is a space opera written by young adult author Scott Westerfeld, who is also known for the Uglies series and Peep. Mr. Westerfeld originally wrote this as one manuscript, but according to his website in the United States The Risen Empire was split into two books at the behest of “a large book chain”. Thus, in the United States it is available in two volumes. The Risen Empire and The Killing Fields are the two titles in the U.S. In the United Kingdom it was published in its original format as one volume titled: The Risen Empire, ISBN 0-7394-3801-8. The two volumes are a continuation of one story. Do not begin The Risen Empire without also having The Killing of Worlds as well. After reading this I hope Mr.Westerfeld writes more books in this world, I really enjoyed these novels.

The setup is a plot within a plot involving politics, religion and technology. Deception. Fear of the unknown. Secrets. The overarching plot is relatively straightforward. You have two competing empires fighting over one planet, Legis XV. The Risen Empire of the title is a conglomeration of eighty worlds ruled by the Emperor and his little Sister, who is known as the Child Empress. The Rix’ (the competing empire) preferred method of conquest is by propigating so called ‘hive mind’ or ‘compound mind’ computer entities made up of all computers on a given world on planets they’ve conquered. The Emperor & his government & their peoples disagree. They feel that people should control the machines, not the other way around. All of this comes to a head on the planet Legis XV when the Rix manage to take the Child Empress hostage. Thus all of the might of the Risen World Empire is brought to bear to rescue her.

The other plot involves the military officer, Laurent Zai, of the Risen Empire, his ship Lynx, both of whom were sent to Legis and the highest political officials of the Emperor and a cover up. Due to the distances and the time required for travel, the story evolves across two planets, Legis and the Emperor’s home planet (simply called Home) as well as the frigate space ship which spends much of its time in an ongoing fight. Kind of like a fight between the giant navy ships of the early 19th century, space battles involve lots of physics and educated guesses about the enemy’s tactics and pushing your crew and your ship to the limits of its physical capabilities. Similar to chess, except with real people as the stakes.

This is my first foray into ‘space opera’ and I have to say I enjoyed it very much. Lots of adventure and edge of your seat military operations with a bit of romance and treachery thrown in for good measure. Mr. Westerfeld wraps up just enough threads to satisfy this reader and leave me hungry for more. Very highly recommended.

UK Edition

Images found on Macmillan and Powells.

Miles, Mutants and Microbes; Lois McMaster Bujold

Miles, Mutants and Microbes is one of the omnibus editions Ms. Bujold and her publishers have been putting out over the last few years. Baen published it August 2007. Images found on Fantastic Fiction.It contains the following three novels: Falling Free, Labyrinth and Diplomatic Immunity. I came to the Vorkosigan saga late in the game, so the omnibuses help me catch up quickly. Not only that, our local library carries them all, so learning to love Miles has been easy on my pocketbook too. Bonus!

People read about Miles Vorkosigan one of two ways: publishing order or by internal series timeline. Since I’m a simpleminded woman I read them in chronological order. The volumes in MMaM are not in chronological order and I borrowed it to read Diplomatic Immunity. I’ve read several Miles books this month but these opinions will not be posted by the internal series order, so you may prefer to skip this review until I get the others done. Hopefully by next week. If I’m organized enough.

Diplomatic Immunity then, is a mystery wrapped in Miles and Ekaterin’s honeymoon. At the tail end of their weeks long exotic honeymoon Emperor Gregor sends a message to Miles. There has been a murder and (supposedly) unlawful detention of members of Gregor’s forces on Graf Station in the Union of Free Habitats, which is colloquially known as Quaddiespace. Unfortunately Gregor was sent several different versions of what happened. To get to the bottom of the mess, Gregor sends Miles and Ekaterin since they’re closest.

Once on Graf Station Miles is reunited with Bel Thorne. Bel is a Betan hermaphrodite who followed his Quaddie lover out to her home world and then built a life there with her. That Bel also had a crush on Miles complicates matters a bit. Genetics, political sabotage, kidnapping, enemies turned friends, and biological weapons add not a little spice to the mix. Of course, having Ekaterina around both helps and hinders Miles. I was refreshed by Ekaterin’s calm and accepting attitude and her ability to both get Miles to do what she wants and to help the investigation along in ways Miles likely didn’t expect.

Excellent book. Will stand on its own, but the reader will miss the significance of some interactions. Links to author's page referencing the Vorkosigan books is in the title above.

Wrapt in Crystal; Sharon Shinn

Hmmm. Another book I’ve put off writing up. Are you surprised? No? Well I’ll get on with it, shall I? This is one of Ms. Shinn’s stand alones, put out by Ace in 1999. It’s a neat kind of sci fi-mystery hybrid albeit with a surprising amount of religion and philosophy thrown in just to throw you a loop when you were least expecting it. The hero is a deep thinker, the kind of person who’d be a fascinating dinner companion. Sorry about the poor image, it's one of the few I could find for this title. Still, thanks to Amazon.

Ms. Shinn has peopled her universe with humans who’ve spread out across the stars, taking their Old World culture and customs with them. Naturally there must also be a unifying, giant, nearly faceless bureaucracy, in this instance peopled with members called Moonchildren. The basic plot goes thusly: small isolated European (specifically Spanish) type planet suddenly has a spate of murders. There are a small number of Moonchild diplomats on planet negotiating over a possible treaty wherein Semay might join the federation of planets. The governor of Semay (can’t remember if that’s his title, I forgot to write his name down) asks for an investigator to come out and help in the investigation.

The investigator in question would be Lt. Cowen Drake. Late thirties or so, usual quasi military type who looks good in a uniform. Not a mindless, soulless cog in the machine though. You’ll just have to find out for yourself. Drake is behind the eight ball by the time he lands, unfortunately. There have been quite a few murders, equal numbers of members of the two predominant religious sects on Semay. Then there’s the only female Moonchild stranded on Semay, who’s a little lonely for some male attention.

Poor Drake. Has to learn the language. Figure out the two religions. Convince the locals he really does know what he’s doing. Fend off the lonely Moonchild. Find the murderer before he or she strikes again. Figure out where the missing young lady went. Fill in the blanks and connect the dots, all in three hundred odd pages. Oh yes- and he needs to find something to fill the holes in his soul.

Wonderful book. Don’t know what I was expecting but Ms. Shinn managed to surprise me.