389 pages, Science Fiction
One thing that is true of most Science Fiction and Fantasy books is that they are part of a series. There is just something about both of these genres that lends itself to the lengthy saga. One of the downfalls to reading a lot of Science Fiction and Fantasy is that this section at my local library is usually fairly scant. When you do find a book that looks intriguing, it is usually one of the middle books in a much larger series. When I found Schism: Part one of Triad, I thought 'Finally - the start of a series!'. While I was incorrect about this book being the start of a series, I discovered with a little internet checking that it is a good entry point to the Skolian Empire series by Catherine Asaro. So, I commenced with the reading.
Although it is the tenth book in this series, Schism is apparently a 'prequel' if you will, going back to an earlier point and describing what is undoubtedly an important part of the history of the series as a whole. Schism sets up the initial hostility between the Skolian Empire and the Traders, and gives a lot of back story to Eldrinson and his many children, central figures in the Skolian Empire because of their empathic ability.
Schism starts off in the idyllic setting of Lyshriol, which, for all its beauty, seems to be a somewhat backward planet in comparison with the technological advances of the Skolian Empire. The principal characters are the of Eldrinson's older children: Soz – the brilliant warrior princess whose father wants her to stay home and have babies; Althor – the strapping, gorgeous star fighter who is banished from home for his 'unnatural' attraction to other men and Shannon – the delicate, elfin child whose extreme empathic nature makes him leave his family in search of others like himself.
Having initially fought with his children over their desires to broaden their horizons and use all their abilities to join the Skolian military, Eldrinson rethinks his position when Traders come to Lyshriol and he is captured. He endures terrible torture at their hands, and comes to the realization that he was foolish to be so old-fashioned about his children's dreams.
I really enjoyed this story, and I couldn't wait to get the next book from the library. Truly, the end of Schism was so emotional. And it just – ended. The rift between Eldrinson and Soz was healed, but there were so many things left unresolved. I couldn't get my hands on The Final Key quickly enough. I have read several reviews where people assert that this was just 'mining the back story' to sell more books, and a kind of rehash of earlier events. Having never read anything in this series before, I certainly couldn't tell.
Being primarily a fantasy reader, the events on Lyshriol were really enjoyable for me. The constant cutting from Lyshriol through space to the military school where Soz and Althor were students made the book a page turner. Just when I got involved with one part of the story, Asaro would cut to the other part, and I would get involved in that. All in all, this was a great book, and one of the better sci-fi books I've read. In some ways, the un-advanced planet vs. the technological behemoths reminds me of Dune (quite possibly my favorite sci-fi book of all time). I would definitely give this one a 4 out of 5, and I look forward to reading all the books in this series!
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