Rebel Ice [Paperback]

It took 5 books for us to get to a conclusion in the cherijo Greyveil and Duncan Reever romance/ sf saga. It takes 1 book to loose all the rest and start over in a very unsatisfactory place and end.

Cherijo Greyveil has crashed on a slave ice world, for 2 yrs she has had amnesia and forgotten everything and everybody. Since she has amnesia she has remembered her ability to heal, however, she is also able to kill now.

Duncan Reever, her husband, finally finds her and because of her memory loss he helps the slaves to overcome their masters and by doing so try to bring peace to the galaxy.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

You read about his search and finally his finding Cherijo. Always thinking eventually there will be closure. After all we wandered though many worlds and adventures to bring these two togather. NOT SO. At the end she comes back to the Sundancer with Duncan and their daughter, but has no memory of either. If this is to allow for more novels in this universe. I say good for her because I will not be buying any more of them.

This was a disappointing read, there is no closure, and if like me you need a good stopping place between books. This one does not have it. I was mad, sad, and frustrated at the end. It's up to you but I am not going through 5 more novels to get to the good stopping place.

It's been two years since Duncan Reever lost track of his wife, Cherijo Grey Veil Torin. He believes he has finally tracked her ship to a crash landing on a world called Akkabarr. Akkabarr is a desolate ice planet, with the elite, or Toskald, living in the floating cities above the ice and the slaves, or Iisleg, living on the surface.

The Toskald use the planet as a weapons storage facility for many other worlds, due to the fact that the planet is inaccessible because of upper atmospheric wind streams called kvinka. Only a few Toskald pilots know the paths through the kvinka. And of course, Duncan Reever.

Cherijo's ship did crash land on Akkabarr, and being the test tube product that her father made, Cherijo survives the crash because of her body's ability to rejuvenate itself. However, her memories cannot rejuvenate even though her physical cells do. Cherijo has no idea who she is, where she came from, and knows absolutely nothing about her past. As far as she knows, she woke up on the ice, and Iisleg is all that she has ever been.

Akkabarr is on the verge of war. Iisleg rebels, led by a Jorenian escaped from slavery, named Teulon, are preparing to fight the Toskald, called Windlords on the planet's surface. The Toskald, ran by the ostentatious Kangel (leader) Janzil Ches Orjakis, believe the Iisleg are nothing more than animals. And truly, they behave like animals, living a barbaric 'hunter/gatherer' lifestyle on the icy wastelands, and treating women as nothing more than mildly useful commodities.

There is a little guessing game as to who Cherijo is, with both Jarn and Resa having similar memory loses and odd backgrounds before becoming Iisleg. This is one of the few fun things in the book and I won't spoil it for you. Even Duncan needs to discover the identity of his wife once he infiltrates the Iisleg.

PERSONAL NOTES: Why this StarDoc does not measure up.
There are a few minor spoilers in this commentary, so continue at your own risk.
Cherijo is missing. That is the main reason this book can't quite cut the grade that Viehl's previous StarDoc books have. Every StarDoc book until now has been writing in first person from Cherijo's POV, adding the character's humor and humanity to the tale. 'Rebel Ice' is written in third person, and jumps around a lot. I couldn't quite find or relate to Cherijo in this release. Another peeve was the too humanoid cast of characters, Viehl didn't reach into her great species imagination at all with 'Rebel Ice'.

I also feel that Viehl abandoned her StarDoc fans with this episode. 'Rebel Ice' is an unexpected left turn from the right lane, lacking the vital interaction of characters present in the first five episodes, and leaving fans with an ending that is flat and flavorless. I think I would rather have seen Cherijo die and the series end than have this previously perfect space opera story travel the path 'Rebel Ice' took it on.

I had been hoping for the next issue to bring Cherijo back into her medical field, get some more of the interesting alien surgeries and treatments that Viehl writes so well, and teaming up with husband Duncan while he does what Duncan does best, hunt and kill.

And, quite frankly, I've had enough of the slavery angle. We've been through the subjugation of females before with the Hsktskt. Its time for our strong heroine Cherijo to shine rather than submit. If slavery must be dragged out again, how about a planet with male slaves so that Duncan can eat humble pie for once?

The good points of the book are Viehl's writing skills, her presentation of Orjakis and his vanity, and her political intrigues. Viehl's reputation is what increases this book to three stars, the lowest rating I have ever given any Viehl book. I cannot estimate how Viehl is going to pass this clunky bump in her StarDoc series. It is impossible to pretend it didn't happen, and will ruin the series if the present course continues. Sigh.

Unfortunately, my recommendation is to pick this one up from the library, unless you are collecting the series like I am. Just don't expect it to measure up to the previous five books.

I've really enjoyed this series. The last couple of books weren't perfect, but still pretty good. I even took the time to re-read the first five books before starting Rebel Ice.

Up until the last twenty or thirty pages I was prepared to give it 3 or 4 stars because it was a fast, fun paced, if somewhat different, novel. Unlike all the others in the Stardoc series, Rebel Ice is not in Dr. Cherijo Torin's point of view. Instead, the point of view jumps around among several characters, most of whom are new to the series.

It wasn't until I finished the novel that I realized I liked the first part of the book for qualities totally independent of what I loved about the Stardoc series. In fact, this book did not feel like a Stardoc novel. I could have been reading about any other random sci fi characters, because they certainly didn't read like the ones I've gotten to know in the last five books. How enjoyable could it be to read the next book in a series, which revolves around a woman, who, because of her amnesia, isn't really in it at all? What I found out: not very. This was a huge disappointment.

When I read the ending, I was so upset I threw my book against the wall. It was convoluted and felt cheap. The ending is so unresolved and creates such a horrible premise for the next book that I cannot imagine spending any more money on this series. I can't remember the last time I despised an ending so much. I'm going to try to forget this book was ever written.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  2.9 out of 5 stars