Catch The Lightning [Mass Market Paperback]

First it was annoying because I couldn't figure out whether the main male character (I won't say hero) was the brother of the main character in Primary Inversion; but apparently time-travel is involved and it turns out there's a whole hardly-worth-it family tree to attempt to comprehend.

Then the main female character was ignorant, annoying and much too (some might say illegally?) young for the male character; the sex scenes were out of place in the context of the story and not well done, the science incomprehensible, and the supporting characters stereotypical yet not even believable as friends of the female lead. None of them, including the leads, engendered the slightest sympathy from me; there was no joyous discovery of what the future holds, only the most predictable, Star Trek-at-its-worst conclusions. A little girl from the Barrio, an ignorant brute of a man, and me not caring at all.

Please, if you're looking for futuristic romance and flawed but sympathetic characters with good stories, skip these and read something by Bujold.

Tina is a charming girl, you will love her the minute you "meet" her. And how could anyone resist Althor's spell? He is so very sensuous and captivating. This book is a must read for any SF fan! You won't be disappointed.

After finishing PRIMARY INVERSIONS I was ready to go back to the store and pick up the rest of the series. Great stuff. A hard SF foundation for some first rate space opera, coupled with strong characterization and some really nice romance elements. There were some weak points, but the book left a great impression and, as a first novel, it showed great promise.

Then I started reading CATCH THE LIGHTNING. And it's major let-down. The hard SF has been flushed for an *incredibly* stupid alternate universe tale. (Claiming that Jesus Christ could be born 340 years later without any noticeable alteration to world history or, for that matter, Christianity pretty much destroys any credibility Asaro has.) Remnants of the strong characterization are still there (notably in the main characters), but most of the cast is largely populated by cliches and stereotypes. And the romance elements have literally become explicit, softcore porn. (When you're describing condoms being put on, erections, hands on balls, nipples being caressed, and penetration it's softcore porn.)

In short: If you haven't read Asaro before and are looking to give her a try, this isn't the book you want to try. Pick up PRIAMRY INVERSION instead. If you've read PRIMARY INVERSION and are looking forward to more of the same, then CATCH THE LIGHTNING is going to be a huge disappointment. I'd skip it, and move on to Asaro's later books.