Customer Reviews

Song of Scarabaeus

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Prodigy Edie Sha'nim was trained at a young age to program technology called biocyph. But when she is kidnapped by mercenaries wanting to exploit her gift, she is given a taste of actual freedom away from the forced labor of the Crib government. Edie is assigned a bodyguard, Finn, who has no choice in the matter. But the two must work together to fight for their freedom against the mercenaries and the Crib.

Creasy has created a fascinating universe of advanced technology with debatable repercussions. Edie and Finn have great chemistry and are a bit of an "odd couple," being complete opposites. Edie is naturally submissive and highly emotional. Whereas, Finn is stoic and rebellious. With subtle description, the characters and landscapes jump off the page. And within the first few chapters, I was pulled into the story.

This was a highly impressive science fiction novel from a promising new author. The technology was described enough to seem believable, yet not enough to get bogged down in explanation. And its blend of technology and moral ethics was surprisingly fresh. With plenty of mystery, danger, suspense, intrigue, and alien life - fans of the genre will definitely enjoy this exciting debut. Ending in a mild cliffhanger, readers like me will be eager for a sequel.

Other reviewers have summarized the plot, so I'll content myself with saying Song of Scarabaeus is a thoughtful, well-written book that manages to combine immensely appealing lead characters (Edie, the strong-willed but generous kidnapped cypherteck) and Finn (her bitter but intensely moral bodyguard) with great science and quite a bit of believable fast-paced action.

The plot--and here I give no quarter--stands up to 99% of scrutiny (with just a little fudging over data storage in the resolution). All in all, Song of Scarabaeus is of the best SF books I've read in years. Can't wait for Sara Creasy's next book!

Note: The book has a very cool trailer posted on a well-known video-upload site that I'm apparently not supposed to link to <g>.

"Meet Edie. She's a cypherteck who works
with terraforming seeds called BRATs (a brand
of bio-engineered sci-bomb which jerks
a planet's ecosystem into shape and
preps it for new colonists). She's kidnapped
by rovers (space pirates) who need her aid
in fixing dying Fringe worlds. Since her apt-
itude is rare and vauled, Finn is made
into her bodyguard--can't leave her or
he'll die. Tension ensues. Now Edie must
survive assassinations, restore
planet Scarabaeus, and earn Finn's trust.
Romantic subplot's swwet and feels legit--
I only wish that there were more of it."


I picked up this book because I was looking for another read like Ann Aguirre's Sirantha Jax series--modern, mostly positive, science fiction written with a female audience in mind. I'm a big fan of science fiction, but I've mostly read very guy-centric SF, like cyberpunk, and I've recently grown more interested in SF stories that feel like a counterpoint to urban fantasy--action, intrigue, some humor, and no Big Messages about how We Are All Doomed, like a lot of dystopian SF has delivered in the past. Well, author Sara Creasy sure knows her science fiction, because Song of Scarabaeus is both brilliantly imagined and deeply entertaining.

Edie's abilities are interesting and well-rendered, and she's also a very believable character. She grew up as an outcast on her primitive backwater world, but now she has skills that are vauled throughout the galaxy. But she doesn't let pride get to her. When Finn, a slave who was incarcerated for fighting on the wrong side during a galactic war, is assigned to her as a bodyguard, she thinks of his wellbeing, though everyone else treats him like an intelligent animal. Finn's boundary chip keeps him from leaving her (or else his head will go kaboom), and the two of them have to learn to work together under various hostile circumstances.

This book only just narrowly missed a "A" rating because I felt that second half of the novel didn't live up to the promise of the first half--which is to say, that not everything unfolded like I was expecting. But Sara Creasy is now on my autobuy list, because if this lovely piece of excitement is what she produces for a debut, I can't imagine how awesome subsequent novels will be.

I can't remember where I first heard mention of this book. It might have been on Kristin Nelson's blog or The Galaxy Express, but, at any rate, I'd heard of it, I had no idea what it was about, but I'd heard it described as a SFR so I thought I'd give it a try when I found my local library had a copy.

SOS (as I will call it so I don't have to keep spelling out Scarab-whosit) is the story of Edie Sha'nim who works for one of those typical, control-everything-in-the-universe-superpower-governments, in this case called "the Crib." Edie is the most gifted cypherteck the Crib has ever trained, and she has the best success rate of all her kind at manipulating the Crib's seeding technology to begin the terraforming on primitive worlds, getting the ball rolling on making them habitable for human life. Edie's not really happy with her life, her job, or the manipulative "mentor" who took her away from her none-too-fun homeworld, but Edie can't really see any other path for her life.

Then one day, while doing routine maintenance a crew of "rovers," sort of smuggler/space pirate types kidnap her. Edie is a valuable commodity, you see, in and out of Crib-controlled space because she carries the key to terraforming worlds. And there are plenty of worlds that still use Crib-technology to power their ecosystems. Ecosystems which will cease to work if they are not restarted every year by the Crib-controlled "keystones." The Fringe colonies have to pay a crippling tax every year for access to these "keystones" or risk their entire planets dying as the ecosystem collapses. Edie doesn't particularly want to help the rovers but then they assign her a slave, Finn, as a bodyguard and install a chip in his head that will kill him if 1. She dies or 2. She moves out of the sensor's range. Edie feels compelled to stay until she can find a way to sever the leash between her mind and Finn's. She doesn't want Finn's death on her head, and once his life is put in the balance that becomes one of her major motivations throughout the book.

As you can probably tell from that none too brief summary, this is one hell of a complicated book. The world-building is densely constructed, and layered all throughout. The characters are complex with intricate motivations and summing up 350+ pages of plot for this review was a bitch and a half (I hope my summary was semi-coherent). Anyway, on to the review!

I thought Edie was a good protagonist as these things go, just a little bland for my taste. She was maybe just a tad too perfect. I like a heroine with a little grit, who's a little selfish, a little petty sometimes. I feel like Edie didn't really grow or change very much over the book, which meant I was never really energized by her. In some ways this book reminded me of Ann Aguirre's Grimspace, especially in the basic premise: gifted tech-worker kidnapped by roving crew looking to stick it to the status quo by hijacking their tech and selling it to the backwater worlds that need it. Wackiness ensues--well, except for the wacky because this book's tone is actually pretty serios. But whereas the main character of Grimspace, Jax, starts out selfish and bitchy then grows to become a part of the crew, a friend and a lover, I feel like Edie remains pretty static throughout. And Edie never really chafes at her captivity. She never fights back, she never gives as good as she gets. She just kind of rolls over and takes everything the rover crew dishes out. I wanted a bit more fire from her and I never really got it.

So, I mentioned above that I've seen this book billed in certain places as a SF romance but I have to say at this point it's more of a SF book with romantic elements, as the attraction between Edie and her enigmatic protector Finn never really gets off the ground. Which brings me to something else I think I should mention: This is book one in a series, and the ending of this book is a cliffhanger in a lot of ways. Several major plot-threads are left dangling, and the ending felt less like the natural conclusion of a book, and more like this book had been cut in half. I would say this book does not stand alone well, and yet the sequel will not be out until next year. This may not bother some people, but I wanted to mention it for those who like to read a series only once it's finished.

Now, onto Finn! Since the book is all from Edie's perspective we never get a glimpse into Finn's head, which actually made me sad because he's a pretty interesting guy, wrapped up in all kinds of mystery. We learn some of his background but not all, and I have to say what we did learn made me want to learn more. Finn was an interesting character for me in the way that Edie wasn't. Finn, because he was sold into slavery, beaten, lied to, dehumanized basically, for years, has kind of evolved a different moral compass from the rest of humanity, and some of my favorite parts of the book were where Edie made an assumption of what he would do based on her own morals only to find Finn had a totally different idea of what was "right" than she did. Finn was complex and I felt like he arced in the story much more than Edie did. I think the book might have benefited from getting into his head.

Overall, this book went by pretty fast, although some of the tech explanations of the terraforming process and other stuff kind of dragged a bit for me. I'm a SF fan who prefers more fiction than science in my stories. I do have to say, though, the world-building in this book was expertly crafted and interesting. I also thought the plot had some good twists and turns. The pacing lagged at times for me, but I was intrigued enough by the plot and the plight of the characters *cough* finn *cough* that I breezed through this in about a day and a half. I'd say if you're interested in complex world-building, a hot hero, and you don't mind a mild cliffhanger of an ending you should give this book a try.

Grade: B

Imagine that you are kidnapped because you have an unusual talent. And then imagine that to keep you under control they plant a bomb in another person's head. What do you do?

Okay, that's the basic story. This is a very good read and appreciated by me because it is Science Fiction. For those of you out there who read it and noticed some unusual words, this is not new to science fiction. And this is not Hard Science Fiction. But it is unique and puts new ideas and images out there.


***For some reason my recommendations in Amazon are skewed. I look for science fiction and get a whole lot of paranormal romance.

The ultra top secret government agency the Crib deploys a "biocyph" technology to terraform the planet Scarabaeus. However, something goes terribly wrong and the planet is dying. Leadership of the Crib has no idea why and besides deploying the cover-up seeks explanations. The Crib raised orphan Edie Sha'nim because she possesses the innate talent and augmented with appropriate training and brainwashing to program biocyph seeds. Edie knows what caused the genocidal snafu.

The Rebel Fringe colonies seek their freedom from the iron fist of the Crib's clutches know of her. Agents kidnap Edie and link her "telepathically" to Finn even as they want her to help them prevent the biocyph seeds annual deactivation. Edie fears telling Finn and the Rebels what she knows as she inadvertently played a key role in the destruction of Scarabaeus.

Song of Scarabaeus is a terrific outer space science fiction romance with the emphasis on the science extrapolated from current trends. The planets add to that feeling of being out in deep space with their strange extraterrestrial surfaces while the lead coupling leashed together mentally is attracted to one another but each has to find a way to separate what their leaders programmed from what their hearts demand. Sara Creasy provides a winner with the lamenting haunting Song of Scarabaeus.

Harriet Klausner

I have always preferred to read my dark urban fantasy and watch my SciFi (i.g. SG1, SGA, SGU, Farscape, BSG, etc.). While I am a huge scifi fan, I would consider this my first official scifi book.

Besides my favorite selected authors, I feel like urban fantasy is spiraling down into a bit of a repetitive rut. Needing something new and inspiring, I decided to give this book a chance. I am so glad I did because this book was spectacular! It was exciting, imaginative, full of action and completely exceeded my expectations.

For those fellow dark urban fantasy readers wondering how exactly to categorize this book; I would categorize it as a SciFi book dark urban fantasy style. Meaning the flow of the writing and lack of romance is similar to dark urban fantasy but instead of dealing with demons, vamps and fae, it focuses on planets, space and time instead. Also, for those who don't fancy romance and are wondering if they should take a chance with this book, contrary to this books description there wasn't one lick of romance; so don't let that false classification influence your decision.

I highly recommend this book to fellow dark urban fantasy readers who are looking for something different and I anxiously await the next book Children of Scarabaeus.
I also recommend:
Black Magic Sanction (Rachel Morgan, Book 8)
Darkfever (Fever Series, Book 1)
Shadow Blade (Shadowchasers)
Dead, Undead, or Somewhere in Between
The Better Part of Darkness

I wanted to like this; I really did. But I didn't. It was very tiring emotionally - nobody in the story was good. The heroine (Edie) was kind of OK; the hero... maybe. Everybody else was immoral and venal and wicked. Everybody. The race that she grew up with (the Talasi) were horrible and abused her and removed the tongues of children for talking. The woman that took her away from there was selfish and evil. The company she worked for was greedy and evil. The people that kidnapped her were evil and greedy. Every single person on the ship was selfish and betrayed them. The "fringe" worlds that they wanted to help had betrayed the hero. There were no good people here. And people died right and left, so you ended up being glad that you hadn't ever liked them.

Yet somehow we were supposed to believe that the heroine was inspired to do what was right by the tired people that she almost escaped with. Why should they be any different than anybody else? Where would the heroine have even acquired a conscience? Certainly not from anybody around her. I think that the author took too much to heart the idea that you should always make things worse for the characters. Nothing ever went right. It was exhausting. I wanted a little relief from the endless bad news and never got it. Out of emotional exhaustion I stopped caring and started skimming.

Had a hard time believing in the "romance". Why would these people bother caring? Everybody was bound to betray you sooner or later. That seemed to be the message, anyway. It's not like there was anything special between the heroine and hero. They were forced to be together because the hero would die if he went too far away. And the pat little sacrifice at the end was just too much.

There was interesting technical stuff. The terraforming stuff was interesting. The author wrote smoothly enough. But there just wasn't enough that was *enjoyable*. AND it ended without resolving big issues, in a cliffhanger. Which I would have resented if I had been caring about the characters.

I kept thinking that none of these societies could have survived with such a high percentage of immoral people around. You can't do business if you can't count on being paid.

Would maybe read another if I could see some chance of getting some enjoyment out of it...

Be warned. This story isn't finished. And at this time(Aug 2010), I cannot find a date for a sequel.

Pros: Explores fun science concepts like terraforming and biological technology. Fairly compelling writing style is easy and enjoyable to read. Many of the side characters are given realistic human morals/ethics/reactions that flavor the story well. Reminded me heavily of the 'Firefly/Serenity' universe.

Cons: The heroine and her protector are a little to OTP for my tastes; sexual tension and frustration are not my thing. I gathered that the heroine was about 25, but she seemed to act like a 15 year old girl for much of the book.

Overall, a decent read, but I would wait until the next book is published so that you aren't left with a cliff-hanger.

Others have written about the plot, so I won't rehash their reviews. Instead, I will simply give my opinion from the prospective of someone that has her Kindle within arms reach at all times, generally prefers urban and dark fantasy to other genres, and has read (and discarded) hundreds of books as pure drivel.

I VERY rarely give the highest rating to any book that I read because I always find something lacking or annoying in a novel. Song of Scarabeaus, however, deserves a perfect rating because it is the book that those of us that have become weary of the paranormal romance, paranormal fantasy, urban fantasy, and dark fantasy genres have been hoping for. You probably want some details, eh?

1) The world building is interesting and engaging without being too difficult to understand. You aren't going to sigh because the weres, vamps, or fae "came out" to the world and are struggling for equality like they seem to be in almost every other novel you find on the bookshelves right now, but you aren't going to scream in frustration because of the complexity of the authors world-building, either. This book is neither predictable or so annoyingly focused on detailing the names of a hundred different planets, two hundred different characters, five hundred different races, and a thousand different dishes that all have names that look so similar that you soon begin to wonder if you're reading about the main character or a plate of fish with a wedge of lemon on the side. The line between "heavy" reading and "light" reading was obviously tread very carefully, and the result is an interesting universe that is easy to understand, hard to forget, and extremely enjoyable. Instead of struggling to keep up, you can lose yourself in the book and allow your imagination to roam free.

2) The characters are engaging. You are soon sucked in and begin to wonder exactly who Edie and Finn are, what they want out of life, and what their backgrounds are. Since Edie has been on the outside of her culture or under the control of the Crib for most of her life, and Fin has been a slave for quite a while, they provide the reader with a sense of mystery and a desire to know more. I applaud the author for taking this track since there is ample room for character development over the course of the series. These characters either don't know who they are or are lost, so you're not slammed with a bunch of confusing people that have extensive backgrounds, annoying personalities, or wants that are barely addressed because character development has taken a back seat to the world building or plot.

3) The plot is fresh. You won't grit your teeth because you've read something very similar to it twenty times before, and you will quickly pick up on what is going on and start to imagine the possibilities. Nobody will be able to read this book and then throw it aside because they can guess what will happen next... you'll be left eager to know more and excitedly come up with new ideas as to what will occur in the next novel and how the plot will evolve.

4) There's just enough (read: the right amount of) sexual tension between the main characters. The attraction between Edie and Finn develops slowly, they don't jump into bed at the first opportunity, and you're left with the knowledge that they will one day be involved in a love affair... but that there won't be any rushed, laughable, or boring erotic scenes. Some reviews have mentioned that this is not a romance novel, and I will agree that it isn't... at least, not in a traditional way. The romantic gestures are subtle and entirely suitable for two people in the positions that Edie and Finn are in emotionally. There are definitely scenes where the reader picks up on the sexual tension and the emotional undercurrent.

5) Nobody is invincible! Oh, how I hate it when the characters develop a new power or talent in every book, are never hurt, and have no weaknesses whatsoever! These main characters do get hurt, and they experience problems due to their wounds... people die (can I get some applause for an author that won't keep unnecessary characters around for no reason other than that they hate killing off someone that they have "grown to love" but annoys us all to death?)... and both Fin and Edie are emotional wrecks that are slowly beginning to heal or blossom. You won't be reading about a woman that knows nothing about herself in the beginning of the novel, has one introspective session, and then sets off on a fundamentalist crusade because she's figured it ALL out.

6) There's enough science to support the plot, but not enough to confuse the typical person into a stupor. I'll admit it... I failed Alegbra and barely made it through Earth Science in high school while whizzing through Latin and History. I'm your girl if you need a Latin translation or a reminder of why Countess Bathory may not have been a criminal, but my eyes glaze over and roll into the back of my head when my husband excitedly talks about the amphibian study he's participating in or quickly sketches out some crazy math problem that might be Cal, Trig, or Klingon for all that I know. That said, I was able to understand the science in this novel. I notice that some reviewers were annoyed at the explanations, but I found them to be integral to the plot. How are we supposed to understand what Edie is attempting to do if we don't know just enough about the science behind it? The explanations were perhaps half a page long at a time, which I think is the perfect amount.

7) There is plenty of room for the story to grow in every way imaginable. This debut novel leaves open the possibility for things that we might not imagine, and isn't that what a reader really wants? We watch movies to know, and we read books to fall into the story... live it... breathe it... feel it... and imagine it. If we truly knew what was going to happen next, we wouldn't bother to read the second book. I personally liked the cliff-hanger at the end... well, okay, I growled because the second books won't be out for nearly a year... but the ending hooked me. I absolutely need to know how things turn out.

I heartily advocate that everyone read this novel. It'll lift flagging spirits that have been battered with recycled plots and characters, engage people that enjoy romance and sexual tension but are tired of cheap erotica, fascinate the mind with the possibility of the technology that the book describes, and enthrall everyone with characters that you 1) can't hate because they're still developing or 2) can't hate because they are developing despite a lack of heavily (and unnecessarily) detailed back story, introspection, dream sequences, and the like.

Order or pick up a copy and give this book a try... I doubt that very many people will walk away without the desire to read the next book... and that's saying a lot at a time when we're being bombarded with at least three new series every month (that we pass up in favor of something else because we're tired of reading the same thing over and over and over again... just in different words and sandwiched between different covers). Finally, we have an author that writes true sci-fi with a female protagonist... but doesn't throw her into the arms of a man at the first chance, turn her rabid in her own personal quest, make her so weak and boring that we can't stand to read about her, meander about in indecision, or use others for her own means.

Bravo!