Review: Song of Scarabaeus

(Oops! I realized I never posted this review. Better late than never, I suppose!)

Song of Scarabaeus

 (Book 1 of the Scarabaeus novels)

 By Sara Creasy

 Science Fiction Adventure with a dash of romance

Paperback, 354 pages

Published by Harper Eos

Released April 27th, 2010

My Summary:

Kidnapped from her life of indentured servitude with the government’s terraforming division, Edie Sha’nim is pretty sure she’s no better off. When her captors force an unwilling bodyguard on her and tell her they’re taking her back to Scarabaeus – the planet whose ecosystem is her only failure – she knows she has to escape. But with her bodyguard tethered to her brain, she’ll have to find a way to get them both out, or know she’s killed him.

My Review:

Though there are a few moments of techno-babble that aren’t what every reader is looking for, this novel isn’t so heavy as to keep casual readers of the SF genre away. These moments come from in depth descriptions of tech or biological components of the novel. Neither of these things were off putting to me, but if you don’t read too much SF, know that skimming these details won’t necessarily detract from your enjoyment of the full story.

The lack of inherently good and inherently evil “Sides” is always refreshing. Edie’s stuck between two undesirable options, but each undesirable option isn’t “purely evil.” Good or bad is assigned to individuals within these wholes and I find that a wonderful change from the normal trope. 

The relationship between Edie and Finn is odd…. It’s never easy to pinpoint my thoughts on relationships like these, mostly because they’re not something I – personally – will ever have to deal with, but the forced-together nature of their relationship is odd in the heightened level of exposure. There is the eventual requirement of trust and trust is a great thing to build a relationship on…. but I wasn’t convinced there was much more there, so any scene that tried to advance the relationship was a little stiff for me – but then it was difficult for the characters, so perhaps that was what Ms. Creasy was going for. 

This novel does that thing I always hate… it leaves you hanging. However, unlike a lot of other stories, this lead-in felt organic. I read the ending and thought, “Yes, that’s how it needed to happen.” Not, “Seriously? You’re going to make me read the next book?” Generally speaking, I’m going to read the next book anyway, you don’t have to pull me in at the eleventh hour, so it was interesting to get to this open ending and not be mildly offended. Also, the sequel is out now, so you don’t have to wait the year between releases.

Buy, Borrow, Brush Past:

This is definitely a BUY. It’s fun, it’s fast-paced, and there’s not so much romance in it as to make it mush.

Review Book 2: Children of Scarabaeus