Asaro, Catherine: Ascendant Sun
Ascendant Sun (2000)
Written by: Catherine Asaro
Genre: Space Opera
Pages: 384 (Mass Market Paperback)
Series: Skolian Empire
Why I Read It: Thanks to the Mount TBR project, it's given me a chance to delve into series that I've collected but neglected, and Asaro was at the top of my pile. I started with The Radiant Seas, and next in line in the series (by publication chronology) was Ascendant Sun, so no matter how much I hated the cover (I'll get to that later), I picked it up and gave it a whirl.
Please Note: the premise spoils the events of Catherine Asaro's The Last Hawk.
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Ascendant Sun is the direct sequel to The Last Hawk, in which Kelric, heir to the Skolian Empire, crash-landed his fighter on the Restricted planet of Coba. He was imprisoned by the powerful mistresses of the great estates -- women who, over time, fell in love with him. After 18 years of living in their gilded cage, Kelric finally made his escape.
In Ascendant Sun, Kelric returns to Skolian space, only to find the Empire in control of the Allied forces of Earth. With little more than the clothes on his back, Kelric is forced to take work on a merchant vessel. But when that vessel enters Euban space, Kelric finds his worst nightmare realized: he becomes a slave to the cruel Aristos -- humans who use torture and sex as the ultimate aphrodisiac.
Spoilers, yay or nay?: Yay. For those who want to remain surprised and unspoiled, please skip to "My Rating." Everyone else, onward!
It's been a long time since I read The Last Hawk. I remember actively not liking it as the book continued, because if the roles were reversed, and Kelric a female, the story would have feminists up in arms. I remember rolling my eyes at how quickly the book established and stuck to a pattern, sucking tension out of the story. I remember the book had some good things to offer in terms of world-building, but the negative stuck with me longer.
I don't remember the analogy to The Illiad. It's an analogy that's referenced here in Ascendant Sun, and now that I think of it, it makes sense in a rather clever way. Helen of Troy was the face who launched a thousand ships, and in The Last Hawk, an entire planet went to war over Kelric. Whether I saw the parallel and didn't care, or didn't catch the parallel and should've is beyond the point, I get it now.
Why I bring this up for my review of Ascendant Sun, I don't know. We lose some of the formula, though I can safely say that with nearly every encounter with a new female, a sexual advance is sure to follow, and if not a sexual advance, then at least arousal. I'm starting to think, thanks to the book, this can be blamed on Kelric himself, because he's got such an off-the-charts empathy rating that he can't help but pick up on those feelings in others, and because he's been so damaged by his years on Coba, he can't help but broadcasting his feelings. So if he finds someone attractive, he broadcasts it, which can stimulate those feelings in others, which he senses, and you get stuck in a feedback loop of arousal.
Don't get me wrong, it gets a little ridiculous. And sometimes, female characters see Kelric's body and immediately want to hump him. That gets even more ridiculous.
But the overall story of Kelric coming home from exile to learn of the Radiance War, learning how many of his family is either dead or captive, and trying to figure out how to take his rightful place as Imperator is interesting. Also interesting is his time with the Aristos, which I was convinced I would hate, but I didn't. We meet characters that we met at the very end of The Radiant Seas and it's confirmed that as an Aristo ages, the need to transcend isn't as overpowering, and indeed one character had that part of her brain removed so she could transcend no longer. I really liked her, and what Kelric learns during his time there was fascinating, even if the sex scenes had me rolling my eyes. By time we get to the end of the book, after Kelric has met Jaibriol III (aka Jay Rockworth, aka Soz & Jaibriol's son), I'm more interested in ever in learning how these two powers come to peace, in learning if it's even possible. With Kelric and Jaibriol in the driver seats, it seems very possible, and the optimistic side of me hopes that both can get their prospective empires in line and meet in peace. If anyone can figure out how to do it on the Skolian side, it's Kelric, whose observations of the Aristos using the Quis was fascinating.
I'm not too optimistic though. What seems logical to me usually ends up being the last thing characters can do in this world the Asaro has created. My logic there would get all the characters killed, so maybe I just need to sit down for the rest of the ride. I have six books left in the series, as well as a few books I don't own yet. I doubt the numerous short stories that Asaro has written would provide any real closure to how all of this resolves, but hey, I could be wrong. The point is that I've got a long way to go, and despite enjoying this book, I'll be taking a break so I can move on to another series and start completing some trilogies.
The writing still leaves a lot to be desired, especially when Asaro is writing from the aroused male point of view. These scenes strike me as silly and adolescent, and I'm not sure who the target audience is here. I mean, seriously, who is this line supposed to excite (page 131):
He rubbed his thumb against his fingers, itching to close his hands around those well-sized marvels of structural suspension.
Then there's the threesome (foursomes?) during the auction (which The Radiant Seas prepared us for but ick) and during the Diamond Banquet (this one especially making me roll my eyes). I bring this up because I'm really not sure if I'm meant to laugh at the ridiculousness of it or if I'm actually expected to be aroused. Regarding the latter, I've read often that writers of romance SHOULD expect to arouse their readers during sex scenes, that if the reader isn't around, the writer's not doing their job properly. Here, I'm not sure what exactly the end result is, and if I didn't know better, I'd think some of those threesome/foursome scenes came directly out of a teen boy's imagination. So yeah, those did nothing for me.
My Rating: It's a Gamble
I actually enjoyed this more than I was expecting, and I wasn't expecting much, thanks to the cover and some of the negative reviews I'd read of this book before reading. But thankfully, while the ick moments are certainly ick, and while the reader must roll his or her eyes every time Kelric meets a straight female, because inevitably sexual attraction becomes part of the narrative, the story read very quickly and I was engaged in learning how Kelric would (if he even could) find a way to claim his role of Imperator. Also seeing him interact with Jay Rockworth, whose true identity is revealed in The Radiant Seas, is quite the hoot, and interesting besides. I'm slowly growing more invested in seeing how the Skolian and Aristo societies rebuild after the Radiance War, and Kelric's personal philosophy and observations touch on some things I wondered myself: why can't there be peace? And depending on how's in charge, peace is very well possible. So I enjoyed this, despite all indicators saying I wouldn't. Asaro's writing still leaves me a little meh, and I'm starting to think it's because the author oscillates between super technical and super erotic without striking the right tone that makes those extreme oscillations okay, if that makes sense.
Still, despite enjoying this, I'll be moving on to another series, simply because I don't want to spend half the year catching up on my Skolian Empire novels. I do plan to come back to the series, don't worry, but I want to knock out some trilogies, so the next series I'll be focusing on is Elizabeth Bear's Jacob's Ladder.
Cover Commentary: I hate it. So much. I'll give credit where credit is due: this scene is in the book, as it's when Kelric is being auctioned off as a slave, but not only does the artist make Kelric look UTTERLY unattractive (and trust me, he's supposed to be attractive), but having the Aristo leering at him from the sofa (or whatever) had me hating this book before I ever read a word. Bad cover, bad!
Next up: The Folded World by Catherynne M. Valente