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170th out of 295 books
—
346 voters
Spherical Harmonic (Saga of the Skolian Empire #7)
by
Catherine Asaro (Goodreads Author)
Separated for decades by circumstance and political machinations, the Ruby Dynasty, hereditary rulers of Skolia, struggle to bring together the tattered remnants of their family in the shadow of a disastrous interstellar war. Too many have died, others are presumed lost, yet Dyhianna, the Ruby Pharaoh, must move quickly if they are reassume their rightful place as rulers o...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
August 19th 2002
by Tor Science Fiction
(first published 2001)
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I have read the entire Saga of the Skolian empire...some volumes multiple times. I think what draws me to these books is that not only is the science based on actual theories, making it a "hard science fiction" world rather than a magic one, but Asaro lets the character development and imagery flower..something that more traditional hard scifi writers tend not to do. This book in particular is absorbing because of the intricate mathematical theories that overlay the very real political and perso...more
This felt more more like a soap opera than I care for.
It seemed to be 90% recap of the events of other books in this series along with how this made the women in univcerse feel, and 10% the unlikely bloodless coup cum coalition forming of new government.
The liking or not of this book appears to be chromosomally linked to the presence or absense of the y. XX seems to find this wondrous true to life imagining of far future lands and peoples.
Those holding XY seem to think it is boring, and perhap...more
It seemed to be 90% recap of the events of other books in this series along with how this made the women in univcerse feel, and 10% the unlikely bloodless coup cum coalition forming of new government.
The liking or not of this book appears to be chromosomally linked to the presence or absense of the y. XX seems to find this wondrous true to life imagining of far future lands and peoples.
Those holding XY seem to think it is boring, and perhap...more
I've thought about how to write a review for this book. I liked it, no I loved it but how to describe it? Well, anyone who's read Catherine Asaro knows her writing and stories and this is another fine example. The thing that makes this book hard to explain is the math and science. I liked science in school as long as real math wasn't involved and loved math when we got to algebra 2 were no numbers were used. This math and science was over my head but I sort of understood it. I really wouldn't re...more
The Ruby Pharaoh, Dehya Skolia (to much simplify her name), emerges from Kyle space after an escape from deadly Aristos. She finds herself without her memory, on a primitive planet whose food is poison to her. From there, her job is to find her family and reinstate them in power. For a long time her family's power has been as figureheads only, during which they were maltreated as breeding stock by an increasingly desperate Assembly. This is Dehya's chance to place her family in a position to be...more
Despite the often clunky writing, I've gotten pretty invested in the Skolian Empire universe/characters. I like Asaro's recurring theme of male damsel-in-distress characters who need to be saved by their awesome wives/lovers, and the whole matriarchal background of the Ruby Empire culture is interesting, and it's cool how she weaves in her physics and math knowledge in various ways (as with spherical harmonics in this one, or the fact that The Quantum Rose was an allegory for coupled-channel qua...more
I have been reading these out of order, but they still make stand alone reading. Recommend starting at the first and working through. Love that they overlap and are from different perspectives throughout.
what I really like about this author and her stories are how many of them are parts of the story being filled in by different characters. It really rounds out the world(s) these people live in.
I liked finally getting to spend time reading Dyhianna's storyline. One of the nice things about reading enough volumes in Asaro's Skolian universe, eventually she fills in the missing pieces.
It did make me ponder what it might be like to read all the books not in publishing order, but plotline/universe order.
It did make me ponder what it might be like to read all the books not in publishing order, but plotline/universe order.
Descriptions are given priority over story substance. The relationships between characters and family members is too complex. Perhaps it is good Romance writing, but I don't believe that it is good Science Fiction.
PEOPLE ARE WAVEFUNCTIONS
the wavefunctions do politics
the wavefunctions do politics
Enjoyed the book, but the narrator wasn't a good choice and didn't do that good of a job. Add in all of the miss pronunciations, and I'd recommend sticking with print or ebook editions if possible.
A nice easy read, that I'm pretty sure I've read before but couldn't remember the details.
You have to pay ATTENTION when reading this one.
The Ruby Pharaoh has escaped the Eubians by stepping into a singularity/lock! Can she come back?
The Ruby Pharaoh has escaped the Eubians by stepping into a singularity/lock! Can she come back?
Loved it! This book really ties up all the loose ends and missing pieces of the many stories in the Skolian saga.
Skolian Empire Bk 7
fun and good character development, as usual for the author
May 13, 2013
Nancy
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Artemis
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
ari_reads
marked it as to-read
May 07, 2013
Hepatica
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Nicola Pike
marked it as to-read
Apr 28, 2013
Jennifer Wilson
marked it as to-read
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The author of more than twenty-five books, Catherine Asaro is acclaimed for her Ruby Dynasty series, which combines adventure, science, romance and fast-paced action. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula® Award, as did her novella “The Spacetime Pool.” Among her many other distinctions, she is a multiple winner of the AnLab from Analog magazine...more
More about Catherine Asaro...
The author of more than twenty-five books, Catherine Asaro is acclaimed for her Ruby Dynasty series, which combines adventure, science, romance and fast-paced action. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula® Award, as did her novella “The Spacetime Pool.” Among her many other distinctions, she is a multiple winner of the AnLab from Analog magazine...more
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