The Radiant Seas [Paperback]

Why do I recommend this book despite its flaws? Because of the love story of Sauscony and Jaibriol (and I wish there had been more of it!), and because of the attempt, however flawed, to combine various narratives into one grand overarching story of a family and couple's story set against grand interstellar intrigue and warfare.

For those who come new to this series, the Skolians are descendants of people moved mysteriously off Earth at some earlier period, but moved across time and space. They come from different parts of Earth, and the resultant civilization they develop (their captors disappear, leaving them behind) draws from different Earth civilizations but is technologically far more advanced. At some point, this space civilization splits into two civilizations - the Skolians who depend on telepathy and empathy to control an interstellar and interplanetary form of communcation called the Web, and the Eubian Concord, led by the Aristos (short for Aristocrats) who use telepaths and empaths rather sadistically. These two civilizations are at war, with the Aristo aim being to destroy the leaders of the Skolians - a hereditary family, led by the Ruby Pharaoh. In this context, Earth discovers space travel and forms the Allied Worlds, only to discover that there are these two contending human civilizations before them.

THE RADIANT SEAS is thus a story not only of a couple who are in love and who are trying to build a life together against tremendous odds, or of a ruling family trying to survive (in which each member has different traumas to overcome, and the expectations of their people to fulfill), but also a story of high politics - a tripolar (three-power) conflict in which each civilization believes that only one can emerge victorious. Most of the conflict, and it is bitter conflict, is between the Aristos (called the Traders) and the Skolians.

The story is told in bits and parts, shifting from the personal experiences of the hero and heroine (and their relatives), to high politics - and showing where personal wishes interact with and sometimes conflict with high politics. If you enjoy reading this kind of a saga, you will enjoy THE RADIANT SEAS.

If you find a fractured narrative, focusing on many many characters, hard to follow, you will definitely not like this novel. The list of characters at the start focuses on only some of the characters, and not all the important secondary characters at that.

Some warnings should be issued however:

1) There is a considerable age difference between the hero and heroine (and the opposite of what we see in QUANTUM ROSE). I find this typical of Asaro, and perhaps unavoidable given the longevity of her major characters. Some readers, especially the more conventional kind, may find this uncomfortable.

2) Some of the technological (or SF) terms used are not well-explained. I would have loved to see a glossary of these terms such as IR at the back, for those of us not familiar with hard science. As someone with little science background, I found the photograph of the Klein bottle useful, even though I could not quite understand how an entire fleet could fit into one. An explanation similar to that offered at the end of THE QUANTUM ROSE would be useful.

3) There are many many secondary characters in this book, of whom only a fraction are listed in the list of characters. Some people might find this book hard to follow not just because of this, but because they pop up in unexpected places (and yes, there are references to characters appearing in the other books). By the way, if you want to understand who is related to whom, you would be well advised to take a look at the back of QUANTUM ROSE which outlines the main imperial line.

4) And yes, there is a lot of description of sex and torture on the part of the Aristos, although I personally found the sex more dominant in THE LAST HAWK, ASCENDANT SUN, and even THE QUANTUM ROSE. I don't feel...that the sex descriptions was necessarily gratuitous, although I could have wished to have seen less of it. I found it interesting that Asaro chose to describe what the Aristos did sexually to a slave Cirrus, rather than to one of the major characters, Althor. The torture scenes, as far as Althor was concerned, were important, even if unpleasant reading. Without that, we as readers would have little idea of what happens to a Rhon who falls into Aristo hands. Fortunately for my squeamish self, Asaro does not include details of what happened to other Rhons who are similarly unfortunate.

I think that this novel would appeal most to those who are able to follow the kind of story written by Leo Tolstoy (the War and Peace comparison is irresistible, in terms of the scope of the novel and the numerous characters with their own stories). It would not appeal to those who are used to the more typical Asaro plotline which focuses strongly on one hero (or heroine) and his or her life experiences.

Despite all its flaws, and there are many, I give this book a four (although it actually rates at a 4.5). For one, it kept me up and reading until 3 am (something that really means something). For another, it made me determined to acquire the rest of Asaro's books, which is a second plus. For a third, I simply like this kind of narrative strategy.