At the age of seventeen the young nobleman named Jaibriol Qox became ruler of a vast galactic empire-- and lost everything he had ever valued.
Born of a clandestine liaison between a renegade daughter of the Skolian Imperialate and a scion of the genetically engineered Eubian Traders, Jai Qox grew up in exile, unaware of the powers that coursed through his noble blood. In the waning days of the bloody Radiance War, which ravaged the galaxy, Jai was captured, and returned to the Traders to play a role as a puppet Emperor in their scheme to consolidate their domination of space.
Now Jai must walk a razor's edge, to seize the power that is his by birthright, without succumbing to its dark seduction, in order to avert a conflagration which threatens to engulf a thousand worlds.
From Publishers Weekly
This mesmerizing, passionate novel-the eighth in Nebula Award-winner Asaro's (The Quantum Rose) series about the Skolian interstellar empire-focuses mainly on Skolia's rival, Eube, whose rulers are addicted to the suffering of empathic slaves. Teenaged Jai Rockworth, successful claimant to the Eubian throne but also a disguised empath, wants to create a healthy peace between the warring powers, but his inexperience trips him into one crisis after another. Also, his secret is suspected by the coldblooded Corbal Xir, "one of the most feared men in settled space," and Tarquine Iquar, brilliant but unscrupulous Finance Minister, whom Jai selects as his empress. Corbal and Tarquine want to manipulate Jai; other Eubians just want to assassinate him. The Skolians, meanwhile, don't know what to make of Jai, though Kelric Garlin, their leader who was briefly Tarquine's slave, feels that the young idealist may deserve serious attention. In this formidably complicated situation, recomplicated by the characters' suspicion of each other, Asaro skillfully shows the hesitant sprouting of loyalty, trust and even love. Newcomers can count on a lot of background summary (supplemented by family trees and a timeline at the end) throughout this far from subtle narrative. Still, it's fascinating to watch these overwrought people in superheated interaction. FYI: Asaro has won the two most recent Romantic Times Awards for Best SF Novel. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Description:
At the age of seventeen the young nobleman named Jaibriol Qox became ruler of a vast galactic empire-- and lost everything he had ever valued.
Born of a clandestine liaison between a renegade daughter of the Skolian Imperialate and a scion of the genetically engineered Eubian Traders, Jai Qox grew up in exile, unaware of the powers that coursed through his noble blood. In the waning days of the bloody Radiance War, which ravaged the galaxy, Jai was captured, and returned to the Traders to play a role as a puppet Emperor in their scheme to consolidate their domination of space.
Now Jai must walk a razor's edge, to seize the power that is his by birthright, without succumbing to its dark seduction, in order to avert a conflagration which threatens to engulf a thousand worlds.
From Publishers Weekly
This mesmerizing, passionate novel-the eighth in Nebula Award-winner Asaro's (The Quantum Rose) series about the Skolian interstellar empire-focuses mainly on Skolia's rival, Eube, whose rulers are addicted to the suffering of empathic slaves. Teenaged Jai Rockworth, successful claimant to the Eubian throne but also a disguised empath, wants to create a healthy peace between the warring powers, but his inexperience trips him into one crisis after another. Also, his secret is suspected by the coldblooded Corbal Xir, "one of the most feared men in settled space," and Tarquine Iquar, brilliant but unscrupulous Finance Minister, whom Jai selects as his empress. Corbal and Tarquine want to manipulate Jai; other Eubians just want to assassinate him. The Skolians, meanwhile, don't know what to make of Jai, though Kelric Garlin, their leader who was briefly Tarquine's slave, feels that the young idealist may deserve serious attention. In this formidably complicated situation, recomplicated by the characters' suspicion of each other, Asaro skillfully shows the hesitant sprouting of loyalty, trust and even love. Newcomers can count on a lot of background summary (supplemented by family trees and a timeline at the end) throughout this far from subtle narrative. Still, it's fascinating to watch these overwrought people in superheated interaction. FYI: Asaro has won the two most recent Romantic Times Awards for Best SF Novel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Asaro's vast, splendid Skolian Empire saga continues to successfully combine space opera, hard science, and romance. The protagonist here, young emperor Jaibriol III of Eube, is the son of Soz and Jaibriol, the formidable Romeo and Juliet in The Radiant Seas (1998). Enthroned shortly after his release from slavery, he is immediately hip-deep in intrigues, most of them potentially lethal. To consolidate his power base, he marries his minister of finance, Tarquine Iquar, who is older, erotic, wealthy, and not overly honest; yet she is loyal to him to the extent of her capacity to be loyal to anyone. Meanwhile, the Ruby dynasty places Keldric, the protagonist of The Last Hawk (1997), on the Skolian throne; he has a commoner consort and has been provider (i.e., sex slave) to the future empress, Tarquine, in which capacity he scored a major intelligence coup for the Skolians. Both rulers share a commitment to peace between their star-nations, but that just raises the stakes higher than usual in an Asaro book. Good news for Skolian fandom! Roland Green
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