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The Quantum Rose (Skolian Empire) [Hardcover]

Catherine Asaro


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Book Description

22 Mar 2001 0312890621 978-0312890629
Catherine Asaro's popular saga of the Skolian Empire continues with the story of a young noblewoman, Kamoj Quanta Argali, who governs an impoverished province on a backward planet. To keep her people from starving, she has agreed to marry Jax Ironbridge, who rules the prosperous Ironbridge province. But before they can be wed, Kamoj is forced into marriage with a mysterious stranger from a distant star.

This novel was serialized in Analog.



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"Fans of futuristic romance will revel in the delights of a top notch romantic adventure set against an impeccably crafted, richly imagined background. . . . Connoisseurs of good science writing, vivid imagery and powerful emotional intensity are in for a real treat."- Romantic Times (4 1/2 stars)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Catherine Asaro was born in Oakland, California and grew up in El Cerrito, just north of Berkeley. She received her Phd in Chemical Physics and MA in Physics, both from Harvard, and a BS with Highest Honors in Chemistry from UCLA. Among the places she has done research are the University of Toronto in Canada, the Max Planck Institut fur Astrophysik in Germany, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research involves using quantum theory to describe the behavior of atoms and molecules. Catherine was a physics professor until 1990, when she established Molecudyne Research, which she currently runs.
A former ballerina, Catherine has performed with ballets and in musicals on both coasts and in Ohio. In the 1980s she was a principal dancer and artistic director of the Mainly Jazz Dancers and the Harvard University Ballet. Catherine still teaches ballet in Maryland.
Catherine's fiction is a successful blend of hard science fiction, romance, and exciting space adventure. She has published more than ten novels, almost all of which belong to her "Saga of the Skolian Empire," including "The Quantum Rose," which won the Nebula Award for best novel of 2001
Her husband is John Kendall Cannizzo, an astrophysicist at NASA. They have one daughter, a young ballet dancer who loves math.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Kamoj Quanta Argali, the governor of Argali Province, shot through the water and broke the surface of the river. Read the first page
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Amazon.com: 3.7 out of 5 stars  27 reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking 7 Jan 2001
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Quantum Rose is more than simply a science fiction romance. Asaro devotes considerable time to issues of physical/sexual abuse, gender expectations, societal change in response to rapid introduction of advanced technology, and the responsiblity that those in positions of power owe their constituents.

When Analog serialized the first half of QR last year, depictions of the heroine's abuse (physical and later sexual) by her originally intended caused quite a stir. Rape is a motif that Asaro returns to repeatedly: Soz in "Primary Inversion", Tina in "CTL", and Kelric (too many times to list here). But here it is presented graphically, not as an isolated incident, but in conjunction with brutal physical mistreatment. Long-term abuse is an issue that we tend to down-play because it makes us uncomfortable. Too often we blame the victim rather than the abuser. It is to Asaro's credit that she forces us to look at the ramifications of such behavior for the victim.

Both the hero and heroine serve their respective peoples by acts of extreme self-sacrifice necessitated by desperate situations. Asaro tackles the question of, "When is enough enough?" She also explores gender expectations and how differing worldviews lead to conflict between cultures. She does this much more subtley than she did in "The Last Hawk".

The romance between hero and heroine is intense and satisfying. There is far less sex than in "Ascendant Sun" and "The Last Hawk", and it is portrayed much less graphically. The heroine's planet is believable, although the author should have paid more attention to language and naming practices. If the base language descended from Tzotzil Mayan, then it's unlikely that names would be contractions of English terms (like Lyode from light emitting diode).

The book ends happily insofar as the major problems (you'll have to read the book) are satisfactorily resolved on the hero's home planet. There's a positive spin on introduction of superior technology. I found sections towards the end a bit sterotypical (reminiscent of Oz, actually) and far-fetched. If you've read the other Skolian novels and were curious about the non-military members of the family, this book is your opportunity to meet them.

All in all, it's a fine book, very readable, unsettling at times, and definitely thought-provoking.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Scientific Romance 29 Mar 2002
By lb136 - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"The Quantum Rose" is another winner in Catherine Asaro's provocative and compelling "Skolian Empire" series. This one doesn't advance the saga all that far-it's more of a gapfiller than anything else--but it has a kick to it. The tale starts out as yet another take on "the culture that the galactic civilization forgot, and which has regressed" and has gone medieval.

Sounds familiar? But be not afraid, Toto. We're not in Darkover any more. Asaro has a new angle on the old idea, filling it with romance, high tech, low tech, dance, horselike critters (two brands) telepathy, and oh yeah. Quantum physics.

There's enough action for the space opera fans; steamy romance for the romantically inclined; and hard science for those who like their science fiction to emphasize, well, the science (an early version of the first half, we're told, appeared in _Analog_).

At heart, though, the story is about growing up and taking charge, as young Kamoj, torn between two men, Vryl of the Skolians and Jax of her own world, eventually finds love in all the right places, and grows as a person. So, in the end, the story is more about the development of character than anything else. And how many genre novels can you say that about?

There's enough material here for a 1200-page by-the-numbers trilogy, but Asaro, with her lean, mean, prose style, doesn't waste our time--she keeps things down to a reasonable 403 pages (plus appendixes).

This is a must-have for Asaroistas although newcomers would probably be better off starting with _Primary Inversion_ , which led off the series, before they tackle this one.

All in all another example of what science fiction can be in the right hands.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Just a nice sf romance novel with some added cleverness 21 April 2004
By A. Ryan - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
"...a science fiction author who is not only a talented writer but an accomplist scientist"; "A deeply romantic novel set in space that was also an allegory for quantum physics..."; and "Wow, what a fabulous story!" I had heard so many wonderful things about the Skolian Empire Saga (and its brilliant author) that I just had to give The Quantum Rose a try.

Catherine Asaro invented a universe in which humans had spread among the stars ages ago through time travel. Some colonies, such as the one on planet Balumil, had been lost to their parent civilizations long enough to forget their origins, regressing into a sort of dark ages as their ancestors' technology slowly faded. Kamoj Argali is a beautiful young ruler of a province on Balumil who is being forced by circumstances into marriage with another governor who could only be described as a sociopath. Without warning Vyryl Lionstar steps in and claims her away from her sad fate; he has fallen in love with her at first sight. In the days to come Kamoj learns some uncomfortable truths about not only her planets' people, but the civilizations beyond. Now, it looks as if Lionstar needs her to stretch her psychological endurance to its limits so that together they can save the Skolian empire together.

I got almost what I had expected from this novel. Yes, it is a romance. Yes, it is science fiction. Yes, it is an allegory for quantum physics, employing clever wordplays and terms to complete the analogy. There is plenty of adventure among the stars, interesting cultural speculation and psychology explored in The Quantum Rose. The problem is, although I am otherwise well-educated I have never taken a physics class in my life and I cannot remember much about high school chemistry. Let's just say that the clever physics allegory flew right over my head, leaving me with...a nice romance that did an abrupt about-face in the middle and turned into a pedestrian interstellar adventure. Maybe if I'd had a better head for mathematics and science I would have found the alleged brilliance in this book more than enough to make up for its lack plot originality. As it is however, I can only judge TQR on its storytelling merit, which was just average in my opinion.

Asaro deserves credit for well-thought-out universe building and unusual insight into the complex relationships between her characters. I think of her writing style as having the potential to become very good, but unrefined here. Indeed, maybe her later books show improvement. The romance plotline was nice and standard, but gratifying to somebody who would like to see more such good sci fi/romance hybrids make it into the mainstream. BUT, unless you're a chemistry/physics/mathematics wiz, there is nothing particularly special about TQR beyond that.
-Andrea, aka Merribelle

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