Allred, Katherine: Close Encounters
Close Encounters (2009)
Written by: Katherine Allred
Genre: Science Fiction/Romance
Pages: 356
Forgive me, for I am WAY behind on reviews. Now that the television season is over for me, though, I should be able to stay on top of it now. :)
I first heard of Allred's book when Eos posted a poll where blog readers could select the final cover design. That intrigued me enough to pay attention to the book when it came out. When janicu reviewed it, it decided to give it a shot. Allred is using some of the same tropes that I did in my thesis, and it's always good to scope out my (futuristic) competition!
The premise: Kiera Smith is a Genetically Engineered Person who was commissioned by the Bureau of Alien Affairs to handle extraordinary assignments involving alien races, and her creator decided to add something special to the mixture, making Kiera one-of-a-kind even among her own kind. She'd give anything to be normal, even though it's not meant to be, a point driven home by the fact she's suddenly very, very comfortable among the Buri, an alien race who's facing extinction for no discernible reason why. Kiera must find out what's going on, especially before the Dynatec Corporation takes advantage of the dying race and takes over the planet. But to do so, not only must Kiera accept that she's different and unique, but she must accept her feelings for the Buri leader Thor, as well as embrace a power that could easily overwhelm her and destroy everything she holds dear.
Review style: I really liked dividing the last review into stuff I liked and stuff I didn't, so that's what you'll find behind the cut. As far as spoilers go, I can't NOT talk about this book without spoilers, so if you don't want them, just skip to "My Rating".
What I Liked
This is a very, very fast read; and for it being a science fiction ROMANCE, I was impressed on the science fictional elements to the plot, which are rather strong. Kiera has to learn why the Buri aren't reproducing and why there's so few of them, as well as what's so special about the planet Orpheus Two that the Dynatec Corporation are willing to hasten the Buri's extinction to get what they want. The reveal that the Buri are actually from Ashwan was another nice touch. I loved the world-building and the backstory, and I loved the fact that the rest of the Buri nation is in cryo, safe inside the ship that brought them to Orpheus Two.
I also like how it ends, how it works out that Kiera is able to stay with the Buri (and Thor) while still keeping her job is a nice touch (not science fictional, but nice).
I appreciated the fullness of the setting and the vivid details. I loved Crigo the rock cat, though when we first met him I was really worried about how this pet-but-not-pet cat relationship would work out. Worked out well, as Crigo's a character in his own right, and Allred didn't reduce that character into speaking our language (which might've resulted in me throwing the book) but rather his own language we can't understand, though he can understand us and our intentions just fine. I also loved the dragon birds and how they flitted around the set. Enjoyable distractions, they were.
Also, Max the ship. He is fun. :)
What I Didn't Like
This is a tricky thing, because what I didn't like didn't stop me from reading the book, and I think that's mostly because the book reads at such a fast pace you don't have a whole lot of time to stew over it. But, I have to say:
Kiera is a freaking idiot.
No, she's not too stupid to live, but I challenge anyone with an anthropology background to read this book without wanting to wring Kiera's neck. I don't even HAVE an anthropology background and I knew Kiera was doing stuff that NO ONE with her experience would do, and she misinterpreted actions that NO ONE with her experience would misinterpret. Therefore, she's an idiot.
Let's see: she gets naked in front of the ENTIRE TRIBE to essentially show the Buri (most importantly, Thor) how to use her supplies to bathe themselves, and she invites Thor into the pool to bathe him. She also brushes his hair. Then, after she bestows gifts, she doesn't understand that when they deliver the armbands that it's a PROPOSAL and that's why the women were so anxious when she didn't accept them right away. I immediately knew the rock building under construction after she said yes was a house for her, and I also knew the ceremony was a marriage one. It's so obvious that it's almost sad, and it would've been funny if she were a woman who didn't have the background she did. But she did, and she didn't understand or see ANY OF THIS coming. It's maddening!
But in that regard, maybe she needed to be stupid, simply because otherwise, she's perfect. A self-described blonde bombshell, in fantastic physical shape, has telepathic/empathic talents, and as a GEP, unique at that too. Sheesh.
And the thing of it is, she's not stupid about everything, just where it comes to the Buri and how her actions would obviously be interpreted. I like seeing her figuring out the mystery of who the Buri are and what happened to them and why they can't reproduce, and I really enjoyed seeing her interact with other characters. But her previously detailed stupidity makes it hard to root for her and Thor, and that's not the only reason why.
I forgot to mention that I do like how the quartz allows a man to exchange thoughts with his mate; however, until that point, when Kiera and Thor interact, it's all physical, and this is the portion of the book that makes me say it's a Romance FIRST and a science fiction novel SECOND. It's a close second, but it's still a second. The emotional connection isn't there, and it's all physical, so it doesn't help that the Buri men are described like Fabios on the cover of romance novels (and for that matter, LOOK like Fabios on the cover of this book). And when we do get that mental connection, Thor's reaction to her creeps me out a bit. He's possessive, and she kind of likes it, which makes my feminist self sit down and grump. Hey, I'm not saying a female character can't enjoy submitting to the affections of an Alpha Male, and in Kiera's case, she's not ever truly been a part of something or someone, so it's KIND of cute, but it's still made me feel bleh. I also didn't buy the whole "if you have sex before the bonding ceremony you'll die" bit, and wished that was an easier detail to believe. Allred is toying with the soul mate concept, the primary reason I wanted to read this book, but in a way, they aren't soul mates so much as on the same telepathic channel, if that makes sense.
Also, in the what-not-to-like category: the title of the book. Come on, really? There's already a classic movie in the SF genre called Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The title is just cliche, even if it's playing on the romance angle too.
My Rating
Give It Away: it's an odd book to review, because I liked the science fictional elements (though this isn't hard SF by any stretch of the word), but the romance didn't really work for me, and I consider this book to be a romance first and an SF novel second. I found this book in the SF/Fantasy section of my store, but I suspect it'd do better if it were shelved in the Romance section. Not because it has romance IN it, but because I feel romance readers will enjoy this book more, whereas SF readers might feel tricked into reading something that's more romance than not. It's an odd formula: readers of SFR who want SF first and Romance second, like me, will probably have issues with this book, especially with the heroine (who completely fails as an anthropologist), but readers of SFR who want Romance first and SF second will probably be able to push aside their disbelief and enjoy it as it is. If you like SF and don't want romance in it at all, skip this book and don't even consider it. Because while the SF-nal plot is enjoyable and actually more substantial than I expected it to be, the romance detracts from it on the whole, even though in truth, the two genres marry decently well within the pages. Not as well as, say, Catherine Asaro or Ann Aguirre or even Sandra McDonald, but well enough. It's an enjoyable book that reads SUPER FAST and will entertain you, even if you want to smack the heroine like I did. Will I read more books in this series? Possibly. It'll depend on my mood, and there's other SFR authors I like better, so they get priority.
Cover Commentary: I've already said I really don't like the Fabios on the cover, but really, I actually like the cover we've got. It's one of the reasons I gave this book a shot. Great coloring and it really catches the eye, and I love having Crigo and the dragon birds on the bottom panel. It's a much better cover than their second design, which you can see here.
Next up: Hunter's Run by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois, and Daniel Abraham