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Sovereign
1st edition paperback, vg++
- GenresScience FictionFiction
230 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 16, 2026
I loved Meluch's Tour of the Merrimack series and have read a few other of her novels and liked them. Sovereign, her first novel? Every author has to start somewhere I guess. The story takes place about 200 years from now and humanity possesses FLT drives and colonies. Part of my problem with this novel rests with the casual worldbuilding; I guess several types of humans were found on other planets? The only real alien race seems to be at war with Earth. The planet Arana lies between the aliens and Earth and the story starts there. All in all, great ideas, but poor execution.
Arana seems to have two distinct human populations-- 'normal' humans (from Earth?) have colonized the north while the indigenous humans, Royalists, have the south. Arana possesses two stars and a very erratic orbit, giving the planet extreme seasons over its 40 year 'star cycle' (orbit). Our lead, one Ray Teal, is the son of a Bey, a Royalist line that traces its ancestry back many many generations. The Royalists control (or manage?) their human evolution, producing a new race after many, many generations, a race better suited for the extreme climate changes. Our lead, Teal, for example, can swim for days at a time and hold his breath for 30 minutes or so underwater.
Unfortunately for Teal, his mother died while giving birth to him and his father hates him as a result. Teal eventually runs away to another country on the planet, one with star ships, and eventually comes to Earth. As the cover tag line states, "He was not quite human, but he was mankind's last hope in a galaxy spanning war..."
Meluch tried to pack a bit too much into this one, making it confusing at times and glossing over key events rather casually. Was this supposed to be a space opera war story? A sociological speculative expose in the vein of Ursula Le Guin? It had aspects of both, but neither done very well. Meluch came a long way and her Merrimack series rocked. This? Meh. 2 meta stars.
Arana seems to have two distinct human populations-- 'normal' humans (from Earth?) have colonized the north while the indigenous humans, Royalists, have the south. Arana possesses two stars and a very erratic orbit, giving the planet extreme seasons over its 40 year 'star cycle' (orbit). Our lead, one Ray Teal, is the son of a Bey, a Royalist line that traces its ancestry back many many generations. The Royalists control (or manage?) their human evolution, producing a new race after many, many generations, a race better suited for the extreme climate changes. Our lead, Teal, for example, can swim for days at a time and hold his breath for 30 minutes or so underwater.
Unfortunately for Teal, his mother died while giving birth to him and his father hates him as a result. Teal eventually runs away to another country on the planet, one with star ships, and eventually comes to Earth. As the cover tag line states, "He was not quite human, but he was mankind's last hope in a galaxy spanning war..."
Meluch tried to pack a bit too much into this one, making it confusing at times and glossing over key events rather casually. Was this supposed to be a space opera war story? A sociological speculative expose in the vein of Ursula Le Guin? It had aspects of both, but neither done very well. Meluch came a long way and her Merrimack series rocked. This? Meh. 2 meta stars.
March 23, 2026
Sovereign was Meluch's first novel and was published by Signet in the summer of 1979 with a very nice Dean Ellis space battle cover. It features a bisexual protagonist, which was quite refreshingly unusual at the time. It's a pretty good space opera, with some well-done military bits and a somewhat too-complex bio-engineering experiment infrastructure that lasts for multiple generations.
June 27, 2015
This was the very first book I have ever read with positive depictions of open homosexuality. As a closeted gay teen, it was like unexpectedly finding a tall glass of water in the middle of the desert. For that, I am forever in her debt.
September 5, 2014
Sovereign is an interesting and complex book. The societies presented are not that different from our own, and show humanity through different lens.
The main character, Teal Ray Stewart, is bisexual, so if you can't handle that in a character don't read this book. It isn't graphic, and there was nothing that scared me off. I'm straight and it didn't bother me.
The cultures are well developed. The technology interesting. There are some really good battles and a lot of personal development.
The Bay Royalist (of which Teal Ray is a part) are descendants of "First Star Age Man" whatever that means. They are more or less human, having altered themselves with selective breeding to attempt to create a superhuman race. They have been at it for hundreds of generations.
"Normal" humans have not been off the earth for very long, so the first star age was in our past. Interesting.
If you like intriguing sci-fi stories, and don't mind a character who loves unconditionally, regardless of gender, then this book is for you.
The main character, Teal Ray Stewart, is bisexual, so if you can't handle that in a character don't read this book. It isn't graphic, and there was nothing that scared me off. I'm straight and it didn't bother me.
The cultures are well developed. The technology interesting. There are some really good battles and a lot of personal development.
The Bay Royalist (of which Teal Ray is a part) are descendants of "First Star Age Man" whatever that means. They are more or less human, having altered themselves with selective breeding to attempt to create a superhuman race. They have been at it for hundreds of generations.
"Normal" humans have not been off the earth for very long, so the first star age was in our past. Interesting.
If you like intriguing sci-fi stories, and don't mind a character who loves unconditionally, regardless of gender, then this book is for you.
July 14, 2019
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3211912.html
There's lots of interesting stuff here, but it doesn't quite all hang together. Our hero is the product of an absurdly long-term genetic experiment (his race is long-lived as well, so 33 generations add up to a very long time indeed); he falls out dramatically with his home people and heads off to join the Earth space navy, where he rapidly rises to become a supremely gifted commander. He narrowly escapes certain death several times, has deep relationships with people who don't really seem to matter all that much, and suffers horrible losses of comrades and family which seem to leave him rather cold. A slightly odd book, but I believe the author went on to better things.
There's lots of interesting stuff here, but it doesn't quite all hang together. Our hero is the product of an absurdly long-term genetic experiment (his race is long-lived as well, so 33 generations add up to a very long time indeed); he falls out dramatically with his home people and heads off to join the Earth space navy, where he rapidly rises to become a supremely gifted commander. He narrowly escapes certain death several times, has deep relationships with people who don't really seem to matter all that much, and suffers horrible losses of comrades and family which seem to leave him rather cold. A slightly odd book, but I believe the author went on to better things.
December 14, 2016
According to the back cover this is the first novel by R.M. Meluch. I had already read her "Tour of the Merrimack" series of books and enjoyed them greatly. I saw Sovereign in a used book store and decided to read it also. I enjoyed reading this book even though it was a bit strange. Even so she wrote a great story. It has an unusual hero, unusual circumstances, and great storytelling. The wild ride goes through many changes you don't expect. Highly recommended, along with her other books.
October 23, 2017
Novel scifi worlds mostly dealing with lineage and family ties.
Fun worlds and battles.
A good read.
Fun worlds and battles.
A good read.
March 5, 2013
Read this in 93?94? when trying to understand how DNA works so the 'science' was interesting to me. The father complex in this book was quite interesting, thought the politics driving the book was strange. I did like the way it explored some concepts in scifi such as how 'humanity' would evolve, though in a completely made up way.
July 13, 2010
Couldn't get into it even at about halfway through.
July 3, 2009
Bisexual protagonist.
August 30, 2011
This was the first book by R.M. Meluch. She is one of my favorite authors. That being said this was a very disappointing read and I can't recommend it even to fans of R.M. Meluch.
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August 25, 20101ST ARROW EDITION.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews