Song of Scarabaeus (edition 2010)

Review from Felicia piqued my curiosity, picked it up from the library and devoured it in a day. Does remind me of Grimspace, if only because this first book leaves me anticipating the next. ( )

oh, this is a fun one.

in a recent discussion about [b:Pandora's Star|45252|Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1)|Peter F. Hamilton|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347952635s/45252.jpg|987015], a frequent complaint was that despite all the awesome new tech of the future, most of the characters acted like they were from a 1983 danielle steel novel. with that recent blistering critique in mind, i was rather primed to look for the way that imagined technology of the future impacts how the characters live and respond to a SF universe, and Creasy absolutely delivered. these people live and breathe (in a couple of cases, rather literally) the future we find them in, and the story is a great balance between the mechanics of the science and the developing relationships between a crew of "rovers."

clearly, i am a sucker for "space pirates." i thoroughly adore a bunch of scruffy han solos swaggering their way through shady dealings, zipping out of the clutches of some well-dressed bureaucrat who works for The Man. 'song of scarabaeus' certainly had its flaws (e.g., i'm leaving this shelved as "romance" solely because of the presence of the idiotic romance novel trope of some b.s. manufactured reason why "we must never be together"), but the quick-paced adventure and interesting use of technology overcome its issues just fine. ( )

In a universe where Old Earth is a distant memory and mankind has colonized numerous other planets, Edie has a unique gift: her skills are integral to the terraforming of newly discovered (or conquered) planets to make them inhabitable for humans. So when Edie is kidnapped by the crew of a rogue spacecraft, she knows immediately that they want to utilize her special talents for their own ends. To make sure she complies, they’ve assigned her a bodyguard: Finn is a lower-class former soldier whose job is to guard Edie’s life at all costs, and his brain will literally explode if she dies. Bound by a common desire to escape captivity, Edie and Finn must formulate a plan while trying not to run afoul of either their captors or the all-powerful corporation that runs the universe.

I don’t normally read much, but I’m trying to branch out, and this book seems ideal for someone like me: while there’s plenty of scientific-sounding jargon in the novel, at bottom it’s a very character-driven story. Edie is a typical heroine in many ways – tough, smart, scarred by her past – but I really liked that her strength was in her intelligence rather than physical prowess. The novel judiciously uses flashbacks to reveal Edie’s past in a way that gradually makes sense of the present. I also enjoyed Finn’s character, but I’d like to know even more about him and the development of his relationship with Edie. Good thing there’s a sequel! Overall, this book was a real page-turner, though not particularly cutting-edge for its genre, and I look forward to reading Children of Scarabaeus.

Song Of Scarabaeus is a Science Fiction book written by Sara Creasy. Edie Sha’nim was born on the planet Talas to a native father and human scientist mother. Abandoned by her parents at birth and thought of as an outcast by the other natives Edie grew up in one of the camps where she displayed a natural talent for talking to tech. As a teenager she is rescued by the Crib they insert an implant into her arm that gives her a dose of the special neurotoxin that natives of Talas need in order to stay alive and she is trained to become the best cyphertech there is with an outstanding talent for biocyph seed technology. It is now some years later and Edie reluctantly works for the Crib travelling from planet to planet terraforming them with her biocyph expertise so that humans can inhabit the planet, whilst the Crib bleeds the inhabitants dry. The story begins with Edie kidnapped by renegade mercenaries who want to free the terraformed planets from being under the Crib’s control whilst also making some money themselves. In order to keep Edie safe and to ensure that she complies with the mercenaries demands they assign her an escaped freedom fighter now captured slave called Finn. Finn has a chip is in head that is linked to Edie’s chip so if Edie dies or is further than 2000m away Finn will die too. The mission that the mercenaries have kidnapped Edie for is to go to the planet Scarabaeus and retrieve the non-working BRAT's that Edie put there seven years ago.

I really enjoyed this book. It took me a little bit of time to get into it as I thought the start was a bit slow but once we get into the action the pace soon picked up. I like Edie she isn’t your feisty action hero girl but more or a nerdy geeky one, she seems to have had a pretty sheltered life at the hands of the Crib and she relies on the protection of others. And then there is the gorgeous brooding tough guy Finn who plays the reluctant hero. I have a huge soft spot for him and I wouldn’t have restrained myself like Edie did when they find themselves alone together. The supporting characters were very interesting too especially the navpilot Cat who could have a book in her own right. Despite the sexual chemistry between Edie and Finn there wasn’t that much romance going on. Their relationship and banter between them reminded a lot of Mac and Barrons from the Fever series. So if you are looking for steamy scenes you will be disappointed but if like me you love it when an author builds the sexual tension rather than just have characters go at it like bunnies you will enjoy this book. I hope this continues to be the case in the next book until we get a sexual explosion of major proportions. The science parts of the book were hard science in my opinion and sometimes I was a bit lost with all the descriptions but I still managed to get the gist of what was going on. I loved visiting the planet Scarabaeus Ms Creasy created a fascinating place along with horrifying descriptions of the events that follow. I will warn you now, there is a big cliffhanger ending but that is ok becasue the second book Children Of Scarabaeus is already out so you don't have to wait to find out what happens next. In fact I am off now to purchase it. I would like to give this book 4 stars out of 5 and would recommend this to people who like Sci Fi who like a little bit of Romance. ( )

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Song of Scarabaeus was a nail biter of a book. It starts with action and kidnapping and explosions and never really lets up. Edie had no idea how to survive in the world, but she was going to give it a try. I loved how brave she was despite her fear, and she was so protective of Finn. He was also another great character. While he seemed like the typical dark and brooding hero at first, Creasy lets her personality shine through his protective facade as he begins to trust Edie.

There is a lot happening in this book: a lot of science, action, details, and plot threads. But it never gets overwhelming or confusing. My only complaint is that sometimes the programming aspect of the story got a little too detailed for my taste, but I think that's more of a personal negative. Creasy has done a wonderful job of pacing her story and her information so that everything flows wonderfully. There were twists that I never saw coming and the ending was one of the best cliff hangers ever. The one good thing about waiting so long to read this book was that the sequel was already out.

The story just shoots ahead at a breakneck speed and by the final page you're feeling just like Edie: tired, anxious, and hopeful. Song of Scarabaeus has been one of the most enjoyable sci-fi books I've read in a long time. This isn't a "light" science fiction book like Gini Koch's Kitty Katt series. Creasy has created a great world with it's own jargon, gadgets, and science. She does a wonderful job of showing and explaining the world to the reader. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy the genre.

Read full review HERE ( )