Charles Ingrid
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Subjects -> Science Fiction & Fantasy -> Authors, A-Z -> ( I ) -> Ingrid, Charles
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5
Average rating: 3.0 of 5
Not a bad start to a sociological SF series 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
I picked up this book on a whim while checking out at Fred Meyer. I have never read any Charles Ingrid, and I must say I found the first volume of this two-volume series to be fairly good. Not smashingly good, for it had its problems, but good just the same.Hard SF fans probably won't like it, as the science behind the book is rubbery at best. The bahdur of the Choyan race seems like nothing so much as magic, and throughout the book there is little to dispell this impression. Like George Lucas's epic Force that dominates the galaxy in Star Wars, the Talent and bahdur of the Choyan race is an unexplainable plot device that allows the Tezar pilots to wield supernatural powers, for good or evil. If you're annoyed by the Science Fanciful, then this book is probably not for you.
Otherwise, the inhabitants of Cho are drawn in gripping, livid detail, and the central character Palaton is sympathetic and engaging, as a hero should be. I was refreshed in that humans, for the most part, remain on the fringes of the central story, though it seems obvious they will take a far greater role in the second volume. The Abdrelik and Ronin adversaries are drawn in convincingly predatory strokes, while the carnivorous politics of the Compact give the reader the impression that the barriers keeping the various races from each others' throats are paper thin.
I think my biggest beef is that Ingrid is not much of a battle scene writer. Several of the most climactic moments focus on what should have been huge battles. The invasion of Arizar and the ultimate showdown between the Abdreliks and the Choyan on Cho itself, are compressed into a few pages, as if they are mere afterthoughts. The events of the Two Day War over Cho should have been the highlight of the book, with whole chapters expended upon them, but are instead are rushed through as if the writer can't be bothered with the hard-hitting prose.
In this sense the book is basically about relationships. The push and pull of duty versus desire, good versus evil, loyalty versus adventure, etc. The meat of the book involves the characters and how they relate to each other.
I picked up the second volume and am reading it now. So Ingrid obviously hooked me in enough to want to read the whole thing through to the conclusion.
Editorial Review:
"Fast-paced action, a credible story line, and a likable cast of characters...intriguing." (Science Fiction Chronicle)
