Customer Reviews

In Conquest Born

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had already read Ms. Friedman's Coldfire Trilogy, and greatly enjoyed it, so by the time I read this book I was familiar with her style. I already knew that the book would be dense with detail and the characters complex. I also knew that the plot and characters would go in directions that I had neither imagined nor desired. I also knew that the odds were good that the ending would make me long for a sequel. In this book, my expectations were once again met.

Even knowing all that, I still can't figure out why IN CONQUEST BORN seems to be stuck in my mind. This book is more hard science fiction than the Coldfire Trilogy; it's a genre that I don't normally read much. The two main protagonists, Zatar and Anzha, are people that you would definitely steer clear of, if you met them in real life. Both are strong-willed, determined, driven by hatred, and ruthless. Yet for some reason, each has their own version of honor, compassion, and loyalty, and this makes them in some way surprisingly sympathetic. This dichotomy drives both the story and the characters. The Braxin and Azean societies are total opposites, yet both are so clearly drawn that you're able to understand why the characters behave the way they do, and accept that it makes total sense in their society's context, even though it may appear totally alien to your own. Ms. Friedman once again has shown her excellent world-building skills in this book.

The briefest synopsis of the plot is that the empires of Braxi and Azea have been involved in a multi-generational interstellar war. Braxi sees glory in war, Azea fights to preserve peace. Braxin society is very stratified, with a ruling class that has manipulated their genetics by ruthless evolution, while the Azeans have ruthlessly manipulated their genetics by science. The story tells of Zatar of Braxi's and Anzha of Azea's growth from childhood and adulthood, both groomed for leadership, one knowingly and one unwittingly. Both characters are complex, so there is no easily labelled good one or bad one. Of course the two of them become aware of each other and become sworn enemies. The story just expands from there.

If you're looking for an interesting, engrossing, challenging story, then this is for you. And in the end, that just may be why I liked it so much.

I feel forced to give this book its due. This was obviously a very well-written, intensely gripping, original work, even though I completely failed to enjoy any of it. I had no sympathy for the characters, which was disappointing after my attachment to Damien and Tarrant (characters from the author's other work). If you are considering reading this book solely because you absolutely loved the semifantasy Coldfire Trilogy, just as I did, then DON'T read this because it's not only very different, but geared to a different audience. If on the other hand, you like hard and dark SF with alien races and ancient, futuristic hatreds, and savage people and barbaric civilizations...then this is a great book. The pacing was excellent, if bizarre, as the author gives us the viewpoints of different characters without being immediately clear as to what the narrations are doing there, and who these people are, and how in the world do they fit into the story? That comes later. Putting aside my dislike for all the corruption that made this such an "adult" book, I am left thinking this story very, very bizarre. That isn't neccessarily a bad thing; it's just a very confusing thing, and also makes the story haunt me, which is why I'm writing a review a year after reading the book. I didn't understand the end. Or perhaps I should say, I understood the end, but didn't understand why it had to happen. I still don't like the story, but that's me, and YOU (whoever you are) might like it, so I'll refrain from making a biased statement and just say that if you meet with the abovementioned requirements, you should like this, and if you're just a fellow Coldfire trilogy fan you shouldn't. I hope this all helps but I'm having my doubts as to my clarity. :)

This book is, without a doubt, the finest piece of literature that I've ever read.

I'm not kidding.

The plot is air tight. The characters are so well thought out and developed over the course of the novel that you will find youself cheering out loud at their triumphs and groaning in anguish at their pains. You will almost feel their heartbeats as they travel through this book.

The aspect of this book that I was struck most by, however, and the reason you should buy it, is that over the course of the telling of the story, there are no bad guys... no great evil to be overcome, no shining beacons of goodness... There are just real, 3-dimensional people, shaped by their cultures to be what they are. Their interactions fit beautifully into the world that Friedman has created even when those interactions involve planetary destruction.

The novel is written in a series of short, seemingly unconnected episodes that can easily be read as short stories. Then, around page 300, you'll be hit with this ominous feeling that absolutely every word you've just been reading is vitally important to what might happen next. And in the 50 pages following that, you'll decide to start the book over...

Then you'll be gripped by every single phrase.

Buy this book... you won't regret it.

Sometimes the one who understands you the most, devotes most of their thought to you, is the only person worthy of you, protects you from all outside harm, drives you to be the best
you can be, raises monuments in your honor, longs to have their arms around you, is the one whom you can directly credit as the main inspiration for all your success in life, and who reciprocates everything you feel about them isn't the one who loves you . . .

I read this book when it was first published, and knew right away that I'd be reading everything this woman ever published. This is a story of the binding power of hatred, a hatred that serves to temper and refine those who share it, making them better and greater than they would have been without it. Though the protagonists long for each other's destruction, both must acknowledge that without the other in opposition, they themselves would be weaker. It is a hate story, subtly toying with the truth that love and hate are not opposites--the opposite of both is apathy (a theme Friedman would later explore a bit more in her Coldfire Trilogy). But if apathy is the antonym of both love and hate, does that make them synonyms? Certainly not in essence, but in function, in application, they can appear very similar under the right circumstances. It is from this seeming dichotomy of hatred manifesting itself in ways similar to those in which love is manifested that In Conquest Born draws a fair amount of its appeal. Friedman plays their moments of direct interaction masterfully, like a series of snapshots from a romance--the first being a meeting of eyes across a crowded room, the second a twisted courtship ending with a binding oath, and the third . . . well the third plays with the idea of a physical interaction that Friedman doesn't even need to describe at that point, for she has built things to the point that the reader only demands one thing (and it's not what you may be thinking).

Though they are only face-to face in each others' presence three times in their lives, their relationship defines, builds, and changes each character, and spreads outward into their respective spheres of influence, forever changing and redefining the societies in which they live. And the story is as much, if not more, about those societies than about the vendetta itself. Filled with richly-developed characters on both sides, with internal conflicts and interactions with allies, enemies, and . . . others, the changes these worlds undergo reflect the sweeping changes affecting billions which can be wrought by the love--excuse me, the *hatred*--shared by only two people.

The only thing--the ONLY thing--negative I could possibly say about this book refers solely to the cover of the latest edition. When originally published, Michael Whelan's cover painting of the two antagonists standing at opposite ends of a table was so powerful that the then-unprecedented action was taken of releasing two cover editions of the book simultaneously--one forward, one reversed, so that one character was on the front of some copies, while the other was on the front of others (a tactic which would be repeated on the cover of her second book, The Madness Season, to reflect the dual nature of its main character). This with powerful subtlety only underscored the eternal opposition of these characters. The recent edition, altering the original painting so that both stand together on the cover completely loses that opposition. A minor criticism, to be sure.

I can't say this is C. S. Friedman's best--I've found all of her novels to be equally outstanding!! This book is so different from any other science fiction novel I've read... Friedman has the most interesting way of introducing her main characters through the perspective of minor characters. Her world- and culture-building is excellent; the Braxin and Azean peoples are so well-defined I could believe they existed as I read the novel. But it doesn't read like a history text, no, Friedman manages to explain the story and people through remarks and ACTIONS, rather than the "here's a chapter devoted on the most utterly boring aspects of the society I have created let's see if you can read it without falling asleep" technique that some other authors seem to favour. This novel is just so different (with a VERY unpredictable plot--many twists that while surprising actually make sense if you think back), I reccommend it heartily to anyone who is tired of modern immitation mass-production science fiction. I also reccommend it to anyone else. This book is truly amazing, as is the rest of Friedman's work

I have read and re-read this book many times since it was first published. I find it to be one the all-time best SF books - and one of the few newer ones that can rank with Golden Age classics like Childhood's End and The Demolished Man. I have read most of Friedman's other books as well, and although they range from good (Madness Season) to excellent (Wilding, Coldfire Trilogy), she suffers from what I always think of as Orson Welles Syndrome: never quite being able to match up to that first brilliant work. If you like space opera, if you enjoy getting a visceral kick out of language that sometimes is almost cinematic in its impact ("He stands like a statue, perfect in arrogance." Was there ever a better SF first line?), then you will like this book. You can buy it with confidence. Unfortunately, this new edition takes a powerful book and drops the ball numerous times due to poor editing. While I never found any typos in my original copy (which I still have), this new "collectors" edition has a lot. It's really sad that the publishers couldn't seem to muster up enough passion or energy to go beyond a standard computer spell-check and get an actual person to proof the galleys. There are a lot of times when a needless typo will cause you to stop and re-read the sentence, taking you completely out of the story. I also didn't like the ad copy on the book, which seemed to promise additional story material, when in fact all that was new was a foreward and a sort of index to characters and cultures that really doesn't add anything to the book. All in all, I give the writer's work a full five, with a "Bravo!" thrown in for good measure, and the publishers barely a three for the sloppy job they did on their end.

Looking through the reviews, it seems like many people find the main characters - I hesitate to tag either with protagonist or antagonist - to be immoral, vicious scumbags.

They are.

But it's hard to imagine the Braxins, a culture that values a good emnity more than friendship - and scorns friendship - turning out a pleasant person. And it's hard to imagine an Azean who could stand against the best the Braxins have to offer being anything nice.

Actually, there is a nice Braxin. Don't worry, he's persuaded to change. He wasn't that nice either. Never mind.

It's unfortunate that Braxin, with its 42 speech modes, doesn't translate fully into English. A speech that has a way to explicitly express what we have to use unreliable tones to express would be interesting to read. Trying to pick out the third level of speech left unstated by word or speech mode would be even better. Listening to two masters of the speech duel would be something I would like to have the capability to read in it's original language.

Did I mention the book is brilliant? From the front of each chapter, which provides a quote from the founders of the Braxins (one of the main races), to the chapters themselves, it reads quickly and well, never getting bogged down in details, but filling in enough to give you a very strong sense of two cultures, and the some of the sub-cultures within them. For better and for worse. Proud accomplishment is tempered by difficulty and unexpected consequence.

Finally, after 700+ pages, the story is closed, without a clear winner. But closed nevertheless.

It is illustrative that the book comes with Anzha - the Azean -on the front cover in one edition (pictured above) and Zatar - the Braxin - on the front cover in the other edition. I picked up a copy with Zatar on the front cover, and read it with him as protagonist. Then, I saw Anzha on the front cover of another copy of the book, and I was rocked. Two protagonists. Reading it looking from the other side yields just as much depth. Either one is a good central focus.

Two bits from within the book illustrate the book itself:

1 - A poet is comissioned to speak a poem for a diverse group of people. Having tried and discarded themes, the poet picks a large overarching theme that no one can admit to really believing, but does, and listens enraptured while the poet tells the story, because of her mastry of the language.

2 - There is a thing called the k'airth-v'sa - literaly 'mate of the private war' where two people are bound in a vendetta that strengthens them as they seek to eliminate their weaknesses and exploit their opponent's.

Lastly, a quote from the front of a chapter:

"A man who will not resort to violence must find his own ways to manipulate men" - Harkur

Nice philosophy.

After reading Friedman's Coldfire trilogy and "This Alien Shore" I was so impressed with her work that I simply had to find, and read, as many of her other novels as possible. "In conquest Born" is defiantly like no other novel I've ever read, the only slight complaint I have with it is that the physic stuff was pretty much typical of most other books I've read but, truly, that is an unimportant criticism. The book consists of seemingly unconnected events. As you read on you begin to realize how they all fit together beautifully into a seamless, glorious, whole. It's the sort of book that really gets you thinking, and in spite of, or perhaps because of, the way in which it is written it is extremely engrossing. It's worth every second and every cent that you spend on it. I think I'll just finish off with the sentiments of a good many other reviewers, BUY IT

Briefly the plot: Two galatic empires - the Braxana and the Anzea, fight an eternal war over reasons long lost. In the book we follow the careers of two protagonists, one from each empire, as they grow in their prospective careers in each empire.

The book itself almost reads like a series of short stories, as the author jumps from planet to planet and makes rapid time jumps between each chapter. In this sense the author is able to capture the vastness and the epic nature of the galatic war she portrays. While most of these chapters are intriguing, especially early on, most are irrelevant in the context of the story as a whole (I still can't figure out why so many chapters were devoted to Sechaveh).

However, I think the biggest shortfall of this book is that the core of the story is the direct rivalry of the two main protagonists, Zatar and Anzha. Yet very few chapters are devoted to showing their war with each other, and most of the personal conflict they have is just referred to. In this repesct the book seems to lack focus, and in some ways the story the author wants to tell is too big to carry detailed coverage of both the personal rises to power and the rivalry of Zatar and Anzha. I think that the book would have made much better reading had the story itself been more focused on one particular aspect or character, rather than try to take in such a broad scope.

The other major problem I had with the book was the characters were hard to like. Indeed I didn't start liking Zatar until around 300 or so pages in, and I didn't like Anzha at any point.

Finally, I should point out that the book ends on a very hollow and unfulfilling note. There is no grand conclusion or resolution, just a nasty little ironic twist that left me feeling empty. It's almost as though the auther herself didn't like her characters and decided to play a nasty trick on them.

So in all, yes a very good read, epic in scope and the cultures Friedman writes about are detailed and deep. But let's not go overboard here, it's not "the greatest of sci-fi" as other reviewers have pointed. It's just a good book which lacks in focus, nothing more.

I read In Conquest Born when I was 14, just a year after it was published. It was and remains my greatest treasure. I wrote to Ms Friedman after my first reading to commend her abilities, to learn about her insights and of course, to demand a sequel. Her response, like her book, made a huge impact on me. Unfortunately, I could not share with you her letters but I do encourage everyone who love this book to write to her at Daw Books. She is extremely approachable and personable. It is a shame not to let her know how much we love and appreciate her work! Perhaps if enough fans encourage her, she will write a sequel!