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Saga of the Skolian Empire #12
The Ruby Dice
Despite their own aversion to war, Jaibriol and Kelric, the leaders of two powerful interstellar empires, find their realms plunging toward possible conflict as each man hides a secret that could bring about his downfall.
583 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
25 people are currently reading
387 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Asaro
94 books705 followersThe 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 and a three time recipient of the RT BOOKClub Award for “Best Science Fiction Novel.” Her most recent novel, Carnelians, came out in October, 2011. An anthology of her short fiction titled Aurora in Four Voices is available from ISFiC Press in hardcover, and her multiple award-winning novella “The City of Cries” is also available as an eBook for Kindle and Nook.
Catherine has two music CD’s out and she is currently working on her third. The first, Diamond Star, is the soundtrack for her novel of the same name, performed with the rock band, Point Valid. She appears as a vocalist at cons, clubs, and other venues in the US and abroad, including recently as the Guest of Honor at the Denmark and New Zealand National Science Fiction Conventions. She performs selections from her work in a multimedia project that mixes literature, dance, and music with Greg Adams as her accompanist. She is also a theoretical physicist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and a jazz and ballet dancer. Visit her at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro
Catherine has two music CD’s out and she is currently working on her third. The first, Diamond Star, is the soundtrack for her novel of the same name, performed with the rock band, Point Valid. She appears as a vocalist at cons, clubs, and other venues in the US and abroad, including recently as the Guest of Honor at the Denmark and New Zealand National Science Fiction Conventions. She performs selections from her work in a multimedia project that mixes literature, dance, and music with Greg Adams as her accompanist. She is also a theoretical physicist with a PhD in Chemical Physics from Harvard, and a jazz and ballet dancer. Visit her at www.facebook.com/Catherine.Asaro
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April 14, 2021The Ruby Dice features Kelric, Imperator Skolia and Jabriol, Emperor of the Eubian Concord. Both want peace, but neither trust each other. Their cultures are at odds with one another.
The Aristos of the Eubian Concord ‘use’ psions as the worst kind of slaves. The Ruby dynasty that rules the Skolian Empire produces the strongest psions. With a history of bloodshed and war it seems impossible that these two men could have anything in common. But both have secrets, deep and long held – secrets that could not only unite them, but destroy them.
The first half of the book sequences events such that you discover the strengths a ndweaknesses of Kelric and Jabriol. Then the plot contrives to bring them in close proximity to one another in unexpected ways - the result being the conclusion of the novel. The final pages make for gripping reading as every character grapples to make the 'right' decision. I finally put the book aside with a lump in my throat and a tear in each eye.
All in all a great book. Fun to read, hard to put down, tensely plotted and written by a wonderfully talented writer.
The Aristos of the Eubian Concord ‘use’ psions as the worst kind of slaves. The Ruby dynasty that rules the Skolian Empire produces the strongest psions. With a history of bloodshed and war it seems impossible that these two men could have anything in common. But both have secrets, deep and long held – secrets that could not only unite them, but destroy them.
The first half of the book sequences events such that you discover the strengths a ndweaknesses of Kelric and Jabriol. Then the plot contrives to bring them in close proximity to one another in unexpected ways - the result being the conclusion of the novel. The final pages make for gripping reading as every character grapples to make the 'right' decision. I finally put the book aside with a lump in my throat and a tear in each eye.
All in all a great book. Fun to read, hard to put down, tensely plotted and written by a wonderfully talented writer.
July 23, 2018
Decent installment but after Moon's Shadow the author is really just drawing this out for no reason.
April 7, 2015
The Ruby Dice (2008) 584 pages by Catherine Asaro.
Ten years have passed since the events of The Radiance War, Spherical Harmonic, The Moon's Shadow and The Quantum Rose. Twenty-eight since the beginning of The Last Hawk. The peace negotiations between Skolia and the Traders broke down and haven't been picked up since. In Skolia the Assembly is voting on whether to let Roca keep her dead husband's assembly votes or to suspend those until there is another web key. Roca is a proponent of peace so stripping her of the votes is a push towards war.
Kelric spent 18 years on Coba (The Last Hawk), a world where the 12 estates has a manager, the manager has a Calanya where high level quis is played determining strategies for everything from what crops to plant to world politics. The game of quis is played ubiquitously. In the ten years he has been back Kelric has kept Coba protected and let people believe he was captured by Traders. Some of Kelric's secrets of that part of his life are coming out. Kelric is thinking of Quis as a tool for peace.
The story jumps back and forth between what is happening with Jaibriol III and the Eubian concord and what Kelric is doing. Jaibriol has supreme power, but many enemies. Tarquine, his wife, is busy digging up dirt on those enemies. Whether its for her own gain or to help Jai is uncertain. Meanwhile there are implosions in Eube space that may have something to do with the deactivated Lock.
This is another top notch Skolian book. Probably better if you've read multiple of the other books first, especially the Last Hawk because that gives so much background on Quis, quis dice, Kelric's backstory including his time as a calani. If you have read it, you know about Ixpar and his two children, and you're more invested in what they will bring to this story.
Ten years have passed since the events of The Radiance War, Spherical Harmonic, The Moon's Shadow and The Quantum Rose. Twenty-eight since the beginning of The Last Hawk. The peace negotiations between Skolia and the Traders broke down and haven't been picked up since. In Skolia the Assembly is voting on whether to let Roca keep her dead husband's assembly votes or to suspend those until there is another web key. Roca is a proponent of peace so stripping her of the votes is a push towards war.
Kelric spent 18 years on Coba (The Last Hawk), a world where the 12 estates has a manager, the manager has a Calanya where high level quis is played determining strategies for everything from what crops to plant to world politics. The game of quis is played ubiquitously. In the ten years he has been back Kelric has kept Coba protected and let people believe he was captured by Traders. Some of Kelric's secrets of that part of his life are coming out. Kelric is thinking of Quis as a tool for peace.
The story jumps back and forth between what is happening with Jaibriol III and the Eubian concord and what Kelric is doing. Jaibriol has supreme power, but many enemies. Tarquine, his wife, is busy digging up dirt on those enemies. Whether its for her own gain or to help Jai is uncertain. Meanwhile there are implosions in Eube space that may have something to do with the deactivated Lock.
This is another top notch Skolian book. Probably better if you've read multiple of the other books first, especially the Last Hawk because that gives so much background on Quis, quis dice, Kelric's backstory including his time as a calani. If you have read it, you know about Ixpar and his two children, and you're more invested in what they will bring to this story.
September 30, 2022
Kelric of the Skolian empire and Jaibriol III of the Eubian Concord try to make peace between two cultures that are so different from each other that each population feels the other is an offense against rightness. Both leaders can only guess whether the other can be trusted.
On other levels, THE RUBY DICE explores the inner life of both main characters. Jaibriol is a psion, and if his people knew that, they would instantly make him a slave. Only his wife and heir know his secret, and he doesn't know why each is keeping it.
The dice of the title refer to Quis, the dice strategy game that made Kelric such a savvy leader. His population and his own elected assembly are so used to treating his family as an impersonal resource that Kelric must use his dice to solve his loneliness.
A deeply personal story of rulers facing off as they try to know each other.
Read 3 times and listened once
JUST NOW: After texting with my sister about this series, I dug out The Ruby Dice and reread the Promenade of the Nobility. This is where Kelric reveals his children to the empire. It’s so real and so dramatic that I cry when I read it. Utterly brilliant writing.
On other levels, THE RUBY DICE explores the inner life of both main characters. Jaibriol is a psion, and if his people knew that, they would instantly make him a slave. Only his wife and heir know his secret, and he doesn't know why each is keeping it.
The dice of the title refer to Quis, the dice strategy game that made Kelric such a savvy leader. His population and his own elected assembly are so used to treating his family as an impersonal resource that Kelric must use his dice to solve his loneliness.
A deeply personal story of rulers facing off as they try to know each other.
Read 3 times and listened once
JUST NOW: After texting with my sister about this series, I dug out The Ruby Dice and reread the Promenade of the Nobility. This is where Kelric reveals his children to the empire. It’s so real and so dramatic that I cry when I read it. Utterly brilliant writing.
October 13, 2010
SPOILER
Okay, is anyone else out there dying to know if Jabriol ever finds out what really happened to his parents and siblings, instead of suffering silent, tormented loss and memories?
I like the entire Skolian Empire series, but especially the books focused on Soz and Jabriol (the dad) and on this Jabriol. The Kyle web/mesh stuff wasn't as detailed and difficult to follow as it was in some of Asaro's earlier books and I like the way she fleshed out the "humanity" of some of the Aristo characters.
The threads from her earlier novels are pretty well maintained, some storylines picked up (Kelric's, for example) and developed even further.
I don't know if the author will write more about this character, but he has become a favorite of mine in the Skolian family. I look forward to reading more - it's one of a very few series that has me on tenterhooks, waiting for the next book.
Okay, is anyone else out there dying to know if Jabriol ever finds out what really happened to his parents and siblings, instead of suffering silent, tormented loss and memories?
I like the entire Skolian Empire series, but especially the books focused on Soz and Jabriol (the dad) and on this Jabriol. The Kyle web/mesh stuff wasn't as detailed and difficult to follow as it was in some of Asaro's earlier books and I like the way she fleshed out the "humanity" of some of the Aristo characters.
The threads from her earlier novels are pretty well maintained, some storylines picked up (Kelric's, for example) and developed even further.
I don't know if the author will write more about this character, but he has become a favorite of mine in the Skolian family. I look forward to reading more - it's one of a very few series that has me on tenterhooks, waiting for the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2020
Skolia,SF
April 21, 2011
This book was awesome. I love Catherine Asaro's novels because they get so fiendishly complicated with no one knowing what anyone else is doing or has done or is.
April 9, 2013
I received a copy of Primary Inversion and have been reading Asaro's Skolian series ever since. I rate a easy read with a compelling cast of characters.
December 24, 2015
This book shows more insight to political tiptoeing between two empires. As always there are difficult situations to deal also inside family. There are lot of scifi and romance to enjoy it all.
June 10, 2020
It's strange to read a story written by a scientist in which scientists and technicians take subservient or lesser roles living and working in the shadows of people whose only talents seem to lie in autocratic politics, sex and warfare. A talentless bunch placed in their domineering roles by genetic engineering, aggression and expanded physical size (presumably with everything in proportion). It's true that the majority of the powerful roles are held by women, though in this story the two leading players: Jaibriol, the Euban Emperor, and Kelric, the Skolian Imperator, are men.
The story is, well, space opera – Wagner rather than Puccini. The ephemeral but essential Kyle Space is in danger of imploding and it is only if Jaibriol and Kelric can come to terms, both politically with a peace treaty, and emotionally by accepting that they are related and Jaibriol is by birth a Skolian Psion and not a Euban Aristo. That last bit is not just important, it is the bedrock of the plot, as Kyle Space needs another Psion to complete its Triad. It only makes sense once you have read it.
I have been wondering about the influences behind this space-world. Could it derive from the American Civil War period: Eube being the South, and Skolia the North? Could it be Byzantium against Rome? But both of those miss out a role for the Allied Worlds of Earth. It could be medieval Italy with its warring city states; Orson Welles' speech from The Third Man could apply with the Euban and Skolian warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed providing, in their minds, a Renaissance, though that would leave Earth with brotherly love, peace, and cuckoo clocks. It could, I suppose, derive from Star Wars, especially the closing scenes in the Amphitheatres of Memories (Skolian) and Providence (Euban). I am undecided.
There are a few little things: a lengthy passage of dialogue between Jaibriol and his consort Tarquine which is, how can I put it, not really to be compared with Henry James; a little piece between an aroused Kelric and his wife Ixpar, “Kelric pulled her into his arms, feeling the smooth sweep of her hair under his cheek. With a sigh of release, she put her arms around him, supple in his embrace. She felt like a tiger, slim and sleekly muscled.”It could grace a Mills and Boon novel; and for some reason euphemisms for expletives creep in the second half of the novel, 'flaming' and 'flipping' seem to be the most popular. They are just out of place and unnecessary.
It was an enjoyable tale and did achieve some emotional peaks towards the end, though I did find it difficult to follow the point of Quis.
The story is, well, space opera – Wagner rather than Puccini. The ephemeral but essential Kyle Space is in danger of imploding and it is only if Jaibriol and Kelric can come to terms, both politically with a peace treaty, and emotionally by accepting that they are related and Jaibriol is by birth a Skolian Psion and not a Euban Aristo. That last bit is not just important, it is the bedrock of the plot, as Kyle Space needs another Psion to complete its Triad. It only makes sense once you have read it.
I have been wondering about the influences behind this space-world. Could it derive from the American Civil War period: Eube being the South, and Skolia the North? Could it be Byzantium against Rome? But both of those miss out a role for the Allied Worlds of Earth. It could be medieval Italy with its warring city states; Orson Welles' speech from The Third Man could apply with the Euban and Skolian warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed providing, in their minds, a Renaissance, though that would leave Earth with brotherly love, peace, and cuckoo clocks. It could, I suppose, derive from Star Wars, especially the closing scenes in the Amphitheatres of Memories (Skolian) and Providence (Euban). I am undecided.
There are a few little things: a lengthy passage of dialogue between Jaibriol and his consort Tarquine which is, how can I put it, not really to be compared with Henry James; a little piece between an aroused Kelric and his wife Ixpar, “Kelric pulled her into his arms, feeling the smooth sweep of her hair under his cheek. With a sigh of release, she put her arms around him, supple in his embrace. She felt like a tiger, slim and sleekly muscled.”It could grace a Mills and Boon novel; and for some reason euphemisms for expletives creep in the second half of the novel, 'flaming' and 'flipping' seem to be the most popular. They are just out of place and unnecessary.
It was an enjoyable tale and did achieve some emotional peaks towards the end, though I did find it difficult to follow the point of Quis.
November 9, 2018
Searching for peace between the Skolian and Eubian empires
Years ago, a young boy was abandoned to a life where he faced constant danger and possible slavery. Now he is the leader of that society. Now he discovers that the Imperator of his enemy is his uncle.
Can they learn to trust each other, or will they fall back in continual war?
Years ago, a young boy was abandoned to a life where he faced constant danger and possible slavery. Now he is the leader of that society. Now he discovers that the Imperator of his enemy is his uncle.
Can they learn to trust each other, or will they fall back in continual war?
January 5, 2020
Fantastic space opera series read
Fantastic ending to a space opera! Can we get more? Fun to think if others could read your mind that they would be benevolent. This author increases the odds of balanced stable prions by limiting how and to who can birth them.
Fantastic ending to a space opera! Can we get more? Fun to think if others could read your mind that they would be benevolent. This author increases the odds of balanced stable prions by limiting how and to who can birth them.
November 28, 2017
Fantastic. I always love the stories with the Amazon women of Coba & their male harems.
February 21, 2021
Possibly the best one yet.
March 6, 2021
Typical Asaro Skolian Empire book. Read pre pandemic, but didn't log, so I don't remember specifics.
May 2, 2021
This is my favorite among the Skolian Empire Series.
March 11, 2024
Good installment of the Skolian Empire.
January 17, 2015
The books in Catherine Asaro's "Saga of the Skolian Empire" series have been shifting in tone and direction for some time now. I've been reading
these novels in internal chronological order rather than publication order, and thus have been able to watch this story unfold in a way that readers
who originally picked up the books may not have. The early novels gave us the background and the beginnings of the Skolian family as we know it, moved on to
tell the stories of the children that eventually came to the forefront of the narrative - Soz, Kelric, Eldrinson, Althor, and others - and at the same time introducing us to the evil Eubian empire and the life of Aristos and Traders.
Somewhere in there, while I wasn't actively paying attention, Asaro got sneaky. She started letting us in on the life of the Aristos. We had seen how people in the Skolian Empire lived, but never really knew anything about the Eubian Empire, but that changed. Slowly but surely, we discovered that these evil, despicable folks had lives, concerns, and worries just like the Skolians - or us, for that matter. They were a people worried about their own
future in the galaxy and how they would survive constant conflict with what they called the evil Skolian Empire. So maybe, just maybe, we started feeling a bit sympathetic toward them. Just a bit - not very much.
Oh, then Asaro made things get even twistier. She threw Soz and Jabriol II together on a planet and stranded them there for a goodly number of years. They fell in love and had children, for goodness' sake, and now there was the unthinkable. A Ruby psion that was heir to the Carnelian Throne, a man who could probably rightfully lay claim to the top spot in both empires. Yep, Asaro brought the two empires together in a way that was eventually going to get us to THE RUBY DICE.
I think it was inevitable that somewhere along the way in the Saga that Asaro would have the participating parties try to work out a peace agreement. But I
jump ahead of myself.
THE RUBY DICE eventually gets to the point that I just mentioned via, of course, two separate but eventually related tales: Kelric, the Imperator of Skolia, and Jabriol III, the Emperor of Eube. Jabriol is the son of Soz and Jabriol II, conceived on the planet Prizm all those years ago, and Kelric is the brother of Soz. So yeah, Kelric is Jabriol's uncle. That just adds another weird twist of sorts that I wish was explored a bit more fully in the book, and maybe it will be in the next book in the series. But these individual tales are much more than about just these two men; they are about the empires those men are a part of, the political games that they and others play to keep their civilizations running and which eventually lead to the attempt to work out a peace agreement, and the women these men love.
Of COURSE this book has romance - it's a Skolian novel, for goodness' sake, although as I type that and look back at it I don't think it's really just a
novel about the Skolian empire - and the women play a major part in the machinations that bring these two leaders together. Jabriol is married to the
cunning and sneaky Tarquine, the Finance Minister of Eube who actually seems to love her husband and supports him, even though his desire for peace is
completely opposite of what the Eubian Empire would want. She can be cold and calculating nearly in the same breath as she is loving and seductive.
Kelric has had many wives throughout the Saga, and two come into play here, the most prominent being Ixpar of Karn, from the planet Coba where Kelric was
at first stranded, and then held captive for 18 years. As an aside, Asaro does a terrific job of tying up some loose ends here with Ixpar and another of
Kelric's previous wives. It's almost as if Asaro is saying, "okay, let's get on with this, it's time to focus, people and move things forward".
THE RUBY DICE is a typical Skolian Saga story. Full of intrigue, political machinations, romance, and clandestine meetings. The story takes place in the Eubian Empire, the Skolian Empire, on Coba, and on Earth. There's not much action as we've come to see in the previous Skolian novels. Most of the conflict is of the political variety, and most of the action is displayed in the political chess playing that takes place throughout the entire book. It is certainly the longest book in the series to date, and it just might be the most complex and ambitious of the lot. It accomplishes a great deal with respect to the story line, but yet leaves so much more to be told. This is one of the better, if not the best - Nebula winning THE QUANTUM ROSE notwithstanding - in the series. I highly recommend it.
these novels in internal chronological order rather than publication order, and thus have been able to watch this story unfold in a way that readers
who originally picked up the books may not have. The early novels gave us the background and the beginnings of the Skolian family as we know it, moved on to
tell the stories of the children that eventually came to the forefront of the narrative - Soz, Kelric, Eldrinson, Althor, and others - and at the same time introducing us to the evil Eubian empire and the life of Aristos and Traders.
Somewhere in there, while I wasn't actively paying attention, Asaro got sneaky. She started letting us in on the life of the Aristos. We had seen how people in the Skolian Empire lived, but never really knew anything about the Eubian Empire, but that changed. Slowly but surely, we discovered that these evil, despicable folks had lives, concerns, and worries just like the Skolians - or us, for that matter. They were a people worried about their own
future in the galaxy and how they would survive constant conflict with what they called the evil Skolian Empire. So maybe, just maybe, we started feeling a bit sympathetic toward them. Just a bit - not very much.
Oh, then Asaro made things get even twistier. She threw Soz and Jabriol II together on a planet and stranded them there for a goodly number of years. They fell in love and had children, for goodness' sake, and now there was the unthinkable. A Ruby psion that was heir to the Carnelian Throne, a man who could probably rightfully lay claim to the top spot in both empires. Yep, Asaro brought the two empires together in a way that was eventually going to get us to THE RUBY DICE.
I think it was inevitable that somewhere along the way in the Saga that Asaro would have the participating parties try to work out a peace agreement. But I
jump ahead of myself.
THE RUBY DICE eventually gets to the point that I just mentioned via, of course, two separate but eventually related tales: Kelric, the Imperator of Skolia, and Jabriol III, the Emperor of Eube. Jabriol is the son of Soz and Jabriol II, conceived on the planet Prizm all those years ago, and Kelric is the brother of Soz. So yeah, Kelric is Jabriol's uncle. That just adds another weird twist of sorts that I wish was explored a bit more fully in the book, and maybe it will be in the next book in the series. But these individual tales are much more than about just these two men; they are about the empires those men are a part of, the political games that they and others play to keep their civilizations running and which eventually lead to the attempt to work out a peace agreement, and the women these men love.
Of COURSE this book has romance - it's a Skolian novel, for goodness' sake, although as I type that and look back at it I don't think it's really just a
novel about the Skolian empire - and the women play a major part in the machinations that bring these two leaders together. Jabriol is married to the
cunning and sneaky Tarquine, the Finance Minister of Eube who actually seems to love her husband and supports him, even though his desire for peace is
completely opposite of what the Eubian Empire would want. She can be cold and calculating nearly in the same breath as she is loving and seductive.
Kelric has had many wives throughout the Saga, and two come into play here, the most prominent being Ixpar of Karn, from the planet Coba where Kelric was
at first stranded, and then held captive for 18 years. As an aside, Asaro does a terrific job of tying up some loose ends here with Ixpar and another of
Kelric's previous wives. It's almost as if Asaro is saying, "okay, let's get on with this, it's time to focus, people and move things forward".
THE RUBY DICE is a typical Skolian Saga story. Full of intrigue, political machinations, romance, and clandestine meetings. The story takes place in the Eubian Empire, the Skolian Empire, on Coba, and on Earth. There's not much action as we've come to see in the previous Skolian novels. Most of the conflict is of the political variety, and most of the action is displayed in the political chess playing that takes place throughout the entire book. It is certainly the longest book in the series to date, and it just might be the most complex and ambitious of the lot. It accomplishes a great deal with respect to the story line, but yet leaves so much more to be told. This is one of the better, if not the best - Nebula winning THE QUANTUM ROSE notwithstanding - in the series. I highly recommend it.
March 9, 2025
Strong minds conquer!
July 11, 2012
Mrs. Asaro is an unusual author. She has written books that I would rate 10 out of 10 and have read several times and tremendously enjoyed every single read through (Primary Inversion, The Radiant Sea, The Moon’s Shadow). She has also written books that bored me to tears and that I never managed to actually finish, one I even dropped only 50 pages in.
She has a dazzling talent to write books that evoke deep emotion, that draw you in and force you to read the whole thing without eating or sleeping. She can create characters that become so dear to your heart that you love and cry with them while reading.
But for some reason she doesn’t always use that talent. Some of her books are just… I don’t really know how to describe it… like some are in full colour with surround sound and others are black and white and without sound. Very odd.
The last few books in the Skolian Empire series were pretty much a let down for me. Instead of furthering the story it was a trilogy looking back at earlier events and it definitely fell into the “bored to tears” category. In fact I was so disappointed that I pretty much lost track of Mrs. Asaro’s work which is why I have bought this book only now when it has been out for a while.
It is – at last – a continuation of the story of the Eubian and Skolian Empires which have been at war since their existence. The Skolian Empire is ruled (more or less) by a dynasty of Psions while the Eubian Empire is ruled by a human mutation building noble houses that “transcend” by inflicting pain on Psions. Obviously there is now common ground for the two ruling castes.
In her sweeping story begun many years ago Asaro started out with the old Romeo & Juliet plot having two young high ranking members of both sides fall in love with each other after the Eubian’s emperor produced a heir that was also a Psion. Their ran away together and had children.
By now their eldest son has become the emperor of Eube – constantly suffering from the cruel pressure of his noble caste of Aristos and his mother’s brother is the Emperor of Skolia. This book details how they finally make it to peace talks.
But that really is just the backdrop for both of them to tie up various storylines that have been hanging for several books.
Kelric (the emperor of Skolia) finally returns to the wife and children he had to leave behind and finds some peace with his past. Jaibriol (the emperor of Eube) has to come to terms with the fact that to rule Eube he had to give up much of the ideals his parents held dear and that he has – in part – become what he hated.
This book is dedicated to their personal evolvement. But it fails to reach the depth of immersion with the characters that Asaro has achieved in other books. Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh and wince and cringe with them. It is a VERY good book, it just isn’t as brilliant as I would have hoped for.
What I found rather jarring with the high frequency of switching viewpoints between the two main characters. It was hard to really immerse yourself when you only ever got a few pages of one side.
Also I was rather disappointed by the blatant way Asaro kept repeating background info. With a book so far into a series I would expect that whoever picks it up has read a few of the previous ones so that reader should be familiar with the most basic concepts of the universe Asaro has created. To have all of it explained took up a lot of room and was entirely boring for readers who already know it. It would have been forgivable though. That she presented some of that info repeatedly in exactly the same words was not forgivable however.
However there were also parts that deeply touched me and at one point I just wanted to cry and shout cause it was just bitter to read such sadness. I so hope there will be some measure of comfort for Jaibriol at some point in the future.
I still miss the earth shattering romance of her early books though. I very much hope that she will now continue the series and take the plot further. And I still hope she will bring back Jaibriol’s mother and father since they were my favourite characters.
She has a dazzling talent to write books that evoke deep emotion, that draw you in and force you to read the whole thing without eating or sleeping. She can create characters that become so dear to your heart that you love and cry with them while reading.
But for some reason she doesn’t always use that talent. Some of her books are just… I don’t really know how to describe it… like some are in full colour with surround sound and others are black and white and without sound. Very odd.
The last few books in the Skolian Empire series were pretty much a let down for me. Instead of furthering the story it was a trilogy looking back at earlier events and it definitely fell into the “bored to tears” category. In fact I was so disappointed that I pretty much lost track of Mrs. Asaro’s work which is why I have bought this book only now when it has been out for a while.
It is – at last – a continuation of the story of the Eubian and Skolian Empires which have been at war since their existence. The Skolian Empire is ruled (more or less) by a dynasty of Psions while the Eubian Empire is ruled by a human mutation building noble houses that “transcend” by inflicting pain on Psions. Obviously there is now common ground for the two ruling castes.
In her sweeping story begun many years ago Asaro started out with the old Romeo & Juliet plot having two young high ranking members of both sides fall in love with each other after the Eubian’s emperor produced a heir that was also a Psion. Their ran away together and had children.
By now their eldest son has become the emperor of Eube – constantly suffering from the cruel pressure of his noble caste of Aristos and his mother’s brother is the Emperor of Skolia. This book details how they finally make it to peace talks.
But that really is just the backdrop for both of them to tie up various storylines that have been hanging for several books.
Kelric (the emperor of Skolia) finally returns to the wife and children he had to leave behind and finds some peace with his past. Jaibriol (the emperor of Eube) has to come to terms with the fact that to rule Eube he had to give up much of the ideals his parents held dear and that he has – in part – become what he hated.
This book is dedicated to their personal evolvement. But it fails to reach the depth of immersion with the characters that Asaro has achieved in other books. Don’t get me wrong, I did laugh and wince and cringe with them. It is a VERY good book, it just isn’t as brilliant as I would have hoped for.
What I found rather jarring with the high frequency of switching viewpoints between the two main characters. It was hard to really immerse yourself when you only ever got a few pages of one side.
Also I was rather disappointed by the blatant way Asaro kept repeating background info. With a book so far into a series I would expect that whoever picks it up has read a few of the previous ones so that reader should be familiar with the most basic concepts of the universe Asaro has created. To have all of it explained took up a lot of room and was entirely boring for readers who already know it. It would have been forgivable though. That she presented some of that info repeatedly in exactly the same words was not forgivable however.
However there were also parts that deeply touched me and at one point I just wanted to cry and shout cause it was just bitter to read such sadness. I so hope there will be some measure of comfort for Jaibriol at some point in the future.
I still miss the earth shattering romance of her early books though. I very much hope that she will now continue the series and take the plot further. And I still hope she will bring back Jaibriol’s mother and father since they were my favourite characters.
February 26, 2019
(2.5/5 stars)
Again, I felt like I was reading the series at this point to finish what I started. Nothing really happened until the end of the book. The tension created by the dramatic irony was nice, but I feel like the entire book relied on it, so the plot just felt like a long-winded continuation of the previous book. Also, Kelric’s character pretty much devolves into a reincarnation of Kurj, which really disappointed me because I actually felt that Kurj’s character was extremely interesting.
Again, I felt like I was reading the series at this point to finish what I started. Nothing really happened until the end of the book. The tension created by the dramatic irony was nice, but I feel like the entire book relied on it, so the plot just felt like a long-winded continuation of the previous book. Also, Kelric’s character pretty much devolves into a reincarnation of Kurj, which really disappointed me because I actually felt that Kurj’s character was extremely interesting.
July 3, 2016
The Ruby Dice - Catherine Asaro
Skolian Empire, Book 12; SF; 10/10
I love Catherine Asaro's books and I love this series. I've had it since it was published in January but I kept putting it off and putting it off and I couldn't figure out why. I finally decided it was a combination of factors: I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations (it did), I wanted to read it when my brain was at its best so I could take in all the details (in the end, I read it anyway as the brain hasn't cooperated on that front), I didn't want to read about bad things happening to the characters, especially Jaibriol who is in an unenviable position (none of it was totally awful, but not roses and rainbows either) and I wanted the chance to savour it without being interrupted (I managed that my taking longer to read it and reading when I was alone in the house). So while it wasn't necessarily an easy read, I loved this addition to the Skolian series. A major milestone was reached in Skolian/Trader relations and Jaibriol finally got to share some of his secrets, even if it did leave him understanding exactly how alone he is (poor, poor Jai). We got to see many favourite characters again and it was a wonderful visit to a wonderful world. It leaves me with many, many more questions than answers, and I hope Asaro will continue to tell tales of this point in her timeline (although the next book goes back ten years to tell the story of another character and I'm looking forward to that just as much). So I loved, loved this book and probably would have done if I'd read in in January too, but I had to wait until I felt ready to take it on. I guess it means I won't have to wait as long as some people for the next one, which doesn't come out until May 2009. This is totally not the place to start this series, but I do recommend giving it a try as it's a wonderful canvas Asaro has created and great stories. I'm planning on rereading the entire series, including short stories, in chronological order now I'm up-to-date. If you do want to try the books I suggest Primary Inversion (first published) or Skyfall (first chronologically) as a place to begin.
Skolian Empire, Book 12; SF; 10/10
I love Catherine Asaro's books and I love this series. I've had it since it was published in January but I kept putting it off and putting it off and I couldn't figure out why. I finally decided it was a combination of factors: I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations (it did), I wanted to read it when my brain was at its best so I could take in all the details (in the end, I read it anyway as the brain hasn't cooperated on that front), I didn't want to read about bad things happening to the characters, especially Jaibriol who is in an unenviable position (none of it was totally awful, but not roses and rainbows either) and I wanted the chance to savour it without being interrupted (I managed that my taking longer to read it and reading when I was alone in the house). So while it wasn't necessarily an easy read, I loved this addition to the Skolian series. A major milestone was reached in Skolian/Trader relations and Jaibriol finally got to share some of his secrets, even if it did leave him understanding exactly how alone he is (poor, poor Jai). We got to see many favourite characters again and it was a wonderful visit to a wonderful world. It leaves me with many, many more questions than answers, and I hope Asaro will continue to tell tales of this point in her timeline (although the next book goes back ten years to tell the story of another character and I'm looking forward to that just as much). So I loved, loved this book and probably would have done if I'd read in in January too, but I had to wait until I felt ready to take it on. I guess it means I won't have to wait as long as some people for the next one, which doesn't come out until May 2009. This is totally not the place to start this series, but I do recommend giving it a try as it's a wonderful canvas Asaro has created and great stories. I'm planning on rereading the entire series, including short stories, in chronological order now I'm up-to-date. If you do want to try the books I suggest Primary Inversion (first published) or Skyfall (first chronologically) as a place to begin.
August 22, 2011
Quis is back, the amazing dice/strategy/mathmatic/political game that Kelric first played in The Last Hawk (one of my favorite books in the series) which has become one of my favorite things in the whole series, actually.
The book centers around (Imperator) Kelric and (Emperor) Jabriol, two leaders of empires at war, who are linked through some rather interesting means and history. This book is definitely not a stand alone and should not be read without some background in the series, so I definitely cannot recommend it if you haven't read previous Skolian Saga books. But if you have - Awesome, this book rocks.
All in all, very tightly plotted, well paced, and very interesting. This book doesn't have anything in the way of romance (other than people reuniting) like the other books tend to, but the political intrigue and personal stories of the people in both the Eubian and Skolian systems more than makes up for it.
The book centers around (Imperator) Kelric and (Emperor) Jabriol, two leaders of empires at war, who are linked through some rather interesting means and history. This book is definitely not a stand alone and should not be read without some background in the series, so I definitely cannot recommend it if you haven't read previous Skolian Saga books. But if you have - Awesome, this book rocks.
All in all, very tightly plotted, well paced, and very interesting. This book doesn't have anything in the way of romance (other than people reuniting) like the other books tend to, but the political intrigue and personal stories of the people in both the Eubian and Skolian systems more than makes up for it.
February 25, 2008
Asaro is a very talented author and I've enjoyed all her Skolian Empire books, but this book really stands above the rest. She's definitely at the top of her form here. I was holding my breath and biting my fingernails the whole time.
She spends time developing Jaibrol's character, as well as Kelric's, and their relationships with others, but she also takes the plot quite far in this book. Don't start with this book; definitely look forward to it. Start with Primary Inversion, or perhaps one of the other books.
She spends time developing Jaibrol's character, as well as Kelric's, and their relationships with others, but she also takes the plot quite far in this book. Don't start with this book; definitely look forward to it. Start with Primary Inversion, or perhaps one of the other books.
April 25, 2010
Asaro has some fun ideas. Enjoyed the role of Quis (an intellectual game, perhaps somewhat like chess) across this and one of the earlier books in the saga. For some reason I find it difficult to keep track of many of the various characters, not sure why. Perhaps too many similar names and/or too many variations on the same name when referring to the same person. Already looking forward to the next in the series.
January 26, 2014
You can think of this as "Game of Thrones" with interstellar empires instead of kingdoms and spaceships instead of dragons. Unfortunately it could benefit from a couple of dragons to liven things up as most of the book is spent rehashing 'court' intrigue, political arguments and personal grudges between characters. The author kind of gives away much of the plot on page 3, which makes for anticlimactic ending.
March 1, 2015
Much as I love Catherine's writing and adore reading about the Skolian/Eubian's ... this one needed a bit more editing for clarity and another cover (by either Julie Bell or Luis Royo...?).
That being said, I have a full-sized hardback I'd happily trade for a book-club so it'll match the rest of my Skolian books...
re-read 6/17/2014
That being said, I have a full-sized hardback I'd happily trade for a book-club so it'll match the rest of my Skolian books...
re-read 6/17/2014
December 3, 2015
I grabbed this book on CD at the bookmobile. Took a while to figure out what was going on, but now that makes sense since this was BOOK 12! in the series. That said, they face that I was able to make sense of it speaks highly to the author's skills. That also said, I won't be diving back in for No. 1.
July 7, 2009
I love all of these books. This one really dives into two of the characters in depth, focusing more on their pressures as leaders rather than the Galactic scale of the conflict. Surprisingly didn't mind the lack of combat and it just kept me wanting more. Yay~
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