Diamond Star
by Catherine Asaro
495 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

I didn't realize how starved I was for good fluff; I sped through this newest Asaro in a single night despite its flaws. I'm not a rock fan, so the premise didn't excite me, but I do adore the Skolian Empire world. Diamond Star involves an all-too-predictable addiction ( Read more... )

* I trimmed my current flist reading filter in an attempt to do actual work this summer, versus Internet reading. I also reorganized tags from "racism" to "race" and combined "sexism" and "feminism" under "gender ( Read more... )

The Ruby Dice
by Catherine Asaro
392 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

I started reading this on the way back from the library. When I got home, I really really needed to study for midterms. Guess what I did instead? Finished reading The Ruby Dice, of course.

Asaro's Skolian Empire series is huge by now, but she always thoughtfully includes a ( Read more... )

The Quantum Rose
by Catherine Asaro
419 pages (paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Sci-Fi/Romance

After I discovered in the author bios of Irresistible Forces that this novel was actually a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I had to go back and finish reading. It is interesting and compelling (I seem to be using that word a lot lately) but not particularly ( Read more... )

Irresistible Forces
by Catherine Asaro (ed.)
383 pages (trade paperback)
Genre: Fiction/Romance/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Historical

An anthology of speculative romance pieces, short story-novelette length (I think). It took me a while to get into it, but I'm a picky romance reader. The stories are all technically excellent, but some appeal more to the romance ( Read more... )

Catch the Lightning
by Catherine Asaro
352 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

Nearing the end of my Asaro reading spree--I still have a novella of hers in Irresistible Forces and a personal copy of The Quantum Rose, but the light is approaching! Not that I don't love Asaro and her crazy physics, but this is the tenth volume that I've read in ( Read more... )

Schism: Part One of Triad
by Catherine Asaro
398 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

Plot: Sauscony Valdoria Skolia (Soz) leaves her home world of Lyshriol against her father's wishes and attends the Dieshan Military Academy (DMA, also coincidentally the acronym for the Delaware Military Academy). I'm running out of things to comment on; like I ( Read more... )

Skyfall
by Catherine Asaro
317 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

Chronologically the first in Asaro's Saga of the Skolian Empire series, this novel features Roca Skolia and Eldrinson Valdoria as the main coupling. It successfully builds tension despite the reader knowing what will happen in the end--always a sign of skillful writing. I liked ( Read more... )

The Last Hawk
by Catherine Asaro
463 pages (paperback)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

Another volume of Asaro's Saga of the Skolian Empire. This one is the prequel to Ascendant Sun, concerning Kelric and the 20 years he spends trapped on the planet Coba. The planet is ruled by twelve Estates, each led by a female Manager, who are led in turn by the Minister ( Read more... )

Primary Inversion
by Catherine Asaro
317 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/SF/Romance

Asaro's debut novel, and it has a much different cover--did she change publishers? The cover art is definitely aimed toward the hard-SF readers, while her later covers feature high-tech characters and couples (aiming more toward romance readers). Chronologically, this ( Read more... )