The Quantum Rose (The Saga of the Skolian Empire) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Catherine Asaro (Author), Julie Bell (Illustrator) "Kamoj Quanta Argali, the governor of Argali Province, shot through the water and broke the surface of the river..." (more)
Key Phrases: Prince Havyrl, Governor Argali, Lord Rillia (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The beautiful young noblewoman Kamoj Quanta Argali rules a declining province on a distant planet that has lost the high technology of its original colonists. To save her people, Kamoj has contracted to marry Jax Ironbridge, the moody, unpredictable ruler of a prosperous land. Then a mysterious stranger from another world proposes a marriage that neither honor nor law will allow Kamoj to refuse.

The Quantum Rose is the sixth novel in the acclaimed Saga of the Skolian Empire, following the novels Primary Inversion, Catch the Lightning, The Last Hawk, The Radiant Seas, and Ascendant Sun. This intelligent, entertaining series combines space opera, hard SF, future history, military SF, and romance in a rare and potent blend. The Quantum Rose is an interplanetary adventure, but the space-opera and hard-SF elements are less prominent, as the plot focuses on a compelling and complicated love triangle, the clash of very different cultures, and an approach to war that SF has almost never considered.

A Nebula Award finalist, Catherine Asaro has won the Analog Readers' Poll, the Sapphire Award, and the Homer Award. In addition to the Saga of the Skolian Empire, she has written the near-future SF novels The Veiled Web and The Phoenix Code. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
The sixth volume in the Saga of the Skolian Empire (Primary Inversion; The Radiant Seas; etc.) is a freestanding page-turner as a romance, with a hard science framework. It begins in an idyllic forest bathing pool on the backwater world of Balumil. Kamoj Quanta Argali, attractive young female governor of a poor province with decaying traces of millennia-old technology, notices the mysterious off-worlder, Havyrl Lionstar, watching her dress. Retreating in consternation, she also attempts to hide fromDand thus offendsDher lifelong fianc , Jax Ironbridge, overbearing governor of a wealthier neighboring province. Soon Havyrl (brother of previous protagonists in the series) blunders into outbidding Jax for marriage with Kamoj. Jax objects violently and reclaims Kamoj by force, puzzling the off-worlder, whose presence by then is entangling the provincial governors in the imperial politics of the wider universe. The gender-role elaboration in the maneuvers that follow will seem overdetailed to some readers, but fascinating to others. To Havyrl and his staff, Balumil is a rediscovered colony; hence they spend a lot of time explaining to Kamoj the significance of the quasimagical remnants of technology in her culture. Desperate for clues to understanding the wider universe as her planet's isolation ends, Kamoj proves to be as brainy as she is beautiful. Agent, Eleanor Wood of Spectrum. (Dec. 18)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Tor Science Fiction; 1st edition (February 18, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812568834
• ISBN-13: 978-0812568837
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,060 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 6 in The Saga of the Skolian Empire Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, January 6, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Quantum Rose (The Saga of the Skolian Empire) (Hardcover)

Quantum Rose is more than simply a science fiction romance. Asaro devotes considerable time to issues of physical/sexual abuse, gender expectations, societal change in response to rapid introduction of advanced technology, and the responsiblity that those in positions of power owe their constituents.

When Analog serialized the first half of QR last year, depictions of the heroine's abuse (physical and later sexual) by her originally intended caused quite a stir. Rape is a motif that Asaro returns to repeatedly: Soz in "Primary Inversion", Tina in "CTL", and Kelric (too many times to list here). But here it is presented graphically, not as an isolated incident, but in conjunction with brutal physical mistreatment. Long-term abuse is an issue that we tend to down-play because it makes us uncomfortable. Too often we blame the victim rather than the abuser. It is to Asaro's credit that she forces us to look at the ramifications of such behavior for the victim.

Both the hero and heroine serve their respective peoples by acts of extreme self-sacrifice necessitated by desperate situations. Asaro tackles the question of, "When is enough enough?" She also explores gender expectations and how differing worldviews lead to conflict between cultures. She does this much more subtley than she did in "The Last Hawk".

The romance between hero and heroine is intense and satisfying. There is far less sex than in "Ascendant Sun" and "The Last Hawk", and it is portrayed much less graphically. The heroine's planet is believable, although the author should have paid more attention to language and naming practices. If the base language descended from Tzotzil Mayan, then it's unlikely that names would be contractions of English terms (like Lyode from light emitting diode).

The book ends happily insofar as the major problems (you'll have to read the book) are satisfactorily resolved on the hero's home planet. There's a positive spin on introduction of superior technology. I found sections towards the end a bit sterotypical (reminiscent of Oz, actually) and far-fetched. If you've read the other Skolian novels and were curious about the non-military members of the family, this book is your opportunity to meet them.

All in all, it's a fine book, very readable, unsettling at times, and definitely thought-provoking.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Scientific Romance, March 29, 2002

By	lb136 "lb136" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

"The Quantum Rose" is another winner in Catherine Asaro's provocative and compelling "Skolian Empire" series. This one doesn't advance the saga all that far-it's more of a gapfiller than anything else--but it has a kick to it. The tale starts out as yet another take on "the culture that the galactic civilization forgot, and which has regressed" and has gone medieval.

Sounds familiar? But be not afraid, Toto. We're not in Darkover any more. Asaro has a new angle on the old idea, filling it with romance, high tech, low tech, dance, horselike critters (two brands) telepathy, and oh yeah. Quantum physics.

There's enough action for the space opera fans; steamy romance for the romantically inclined; and hard science for those who like their science fiction to emphasize, well, the science (an early version of the first half, we're told, appeared in _Analog_).

At heart, though, the story is about growing up and taking charge, as young Kamoj, torn between two men, Vryl of the Skolians and Jax of her own world, eventually finds love in all the right places, and grows as a person. So, in the end, the story is more about the development of character than anything else. And how many genre novels can you say that about?

There's enough material here for a 1200-page by-the-numbers trilogy, but Asaro, with her lean, mean, prose style, doesn't waste our time--she keeps things down to a reasonable 403 pages (plus appendixes).

This is a must-have for Asaroistas although newcomers would probably be better off starting with _Primary Inversion_ , which led off the series, before they tackle this one.

All in all another example of what science fiction can be in the right hands.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best One Yet, November 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Quantum Rose (The Saga of the Skolian Empire) (Hardcover)

Asaro has really hit her stride in this new saga in her Skolian universe. She successfully blends not just romance and hard science, but politics, genetics, cultural expectations and change--and gives us complex, fascinating characters.

Her villian is absorbingly complex; as she delves deeper into the ramifications of the Trader culture, Asaro is creating tensions and conflicts within what once were easy villains to hate--but at the cost of complexity. With THE ASCENDANT SUN and now this book, the Traders are coming into focus as individuals, some of whom are beginning to realize that they are part of a culture gone morally bankrupt, if powerful in every other sense. (One wonders what Jax is going to think, once he travels...)

Yes there is sex, all well-written, sometimes harrowing, other times graceful, with scintillants of humor.

Reaching the last page leaves the reader torn between a desire to reread more slowly--and to have the next book NOW!

Highly recommended.