Fires of Nuala

Got this through early reviewers, and now I cannot wait for the sequel to be out! Missed way too much sleep reading it.

I was totally surprised by this book, it's got great world building, fascinating characters with complex- and realistic- lives and storylines. There was a rich tapestry of style, cultural differences, and interesting quirks. I really liked a lot of the culture and the tribal divisions, and I hope we see more of that in the rest of the series.

It's not a perfect book, some pacing issues and other problems, but nothing glaring. Especially from a relatively new writer, it was just amazing, thrilling, and it touched on a complex political situation without being boring or going over my head.

Quite enjoyable complex 'soft' science fiction. Nominally the middle of a series, but perfectly readable as a standalone title.

The basic premise is fairly simple - an extended human presence across at least 7 Systems, and seeking to expand in to more. Some kind of cryogenic capability and lightspeed travel allows decade long interstellar space flights - with the attendant societal time lag consequences. One planet Nuala, was settled long ago, but found to be highly radioactive. A colony became established even so, with a matrilineal descent system requiring 'pure' genes, and frequent input of 'off-worlder' blood. These familial blood lines become independent city rulers, carefully guarded by clans of fierce blood sworn defenders. A show more hugely rare and extremely expensive metal ore was discovered there which boosts the worlds trade, but also encourages pirates. The story opens with a crew of 'free-traders' about to arrive planetside looking for a scam.

Having done so well with the 'time lag' issues it is a shame that Ms Kimbriel has failed so badly with the radiation. There's no reason that metals would decay or corrode faster than plastics (or people) and while over time the mutagenic effects could be close to how she's described them, the 'Healing' mutation is completely impossible. Having allowed such a thing to occur however should mean that a very wide range of other such mutations would randomly occur, but this seems not to be the case.

Our heroine is just about to embark on the opening of their scam when she is embroiled in plenty of others - a coup appears to be taking place! As an off-worlder, her presence is relatively safe, but the plans for a heist are in tatters. The rest of the plot is all fairly predictable, with the surviving ruler and her developing an interest in discerning who perpetrated such a crime, and how to stop them.

Davina has the POV most of the time, but unpredictably it jumps about a bit between one of the chief Guards and Sheel the ruler. This is managed in not too disconcerting a manner. Other wise it all reads very well, with nice capturing of atmosphere and balanced descriptions. The politicking gets a bit byzantine sometimes, and it's not always clear who is related to whom in what degree, nor if it matters. Rather than try and think my way through the puzzles though I let Ms Kimbriel guide me along the plot to its slightly muddled, but basically obvious, conclusions.

The society constructed worked well, although unlike the very best in SF, it doesn't offer much in the way of parallels for insight into modern life. It is also gushingly sentimental in many places, and contrives quite a bit to ensure no-one important dies. But it was well paced, well plotted, with interesting characters and a well imagined world. I'll certainly be looking out for the other two novels set in this world, when they're released as ebooks, and maybe some of the authors other works as well. show less

An enjoyable book. It's refreshing to read a book which is science fiction but which is not slipstream, vampires, space opera, or something that reads like an historical miltary tech manual. This book reads much like a fantasy novel. It follows the adventures of a con woman who becomes stranded and goes native on a feudal like world whose politics and culture are heavily influnced by an environment that makes the ability to have children realitively rare. The culture is matrilineal but, I must say, for a nominally woman centric society, a lot of men seem to be in power positions, and, come to think of it, there seem to be a lot of babies happening too, but that's just a nit pick. The reviews and blurbs suggest some literary element, but show more that's rather debatable. Generally, a entertaining book. show less

Fires of Nuala is science fiction with a political bent to it and a murder mystery-thriller all rolled into one mind-blowing story. Sheel Atare has been off-world searching for a mate and had returned home just over one month prior to attending a party hosted by one of his brothers. At the party, Sheel meets Darame Daviddottir, a Free-trader from off-world, who interests him enough that he winds up spending the night with her, instead of going home after the party. Sheel was not where he was expected to be that night, which nicely complicates matters and sweeps the reader right into an intriguing conspiracy to overthrow the ruling class of Nuala, starting with, but not limited to the clan of Atare...

I almost felt as if I should have show more read the first book that takes place on this magnificent world before reading this one, however that feeling went away after a chapter or two and once it did, I just wanted to know what happens next. I find the kaleidoscopic point of view used in this novel quite disconcerting, which accounts for the less-than-perfect rating, yet the novel was compelling enough that I didn't want to put it aside for sleep, or for any other reason.

At a few points, especially near the middle of the book, I experienced some confusion as to who was friend and who was foe, but this was straightened out as the story moved along. In all, I found reading Fires of Nuala an interesting and most satisfying experience.

This book was received in exchange for writing this review, which is based on the eBook version published by Bookview Cafe. As with most of my reviews, this one has been simultaneously posted on Dragonviews, LibraryThing and Amazon.com show less

I have just finished reading Fires of Nuala, and if I had to use one word to describe this book it would be “Predictable”. Personally, I like to be surprised, a few twist and turns adds to the enjoyment of the book but I knew what was going to happen before the characters did. With this said, I should point out that that Katharine Eliska Kimbriel book is worth reading, her cast of characters are varied, complex as well as fallible so they come across as real. She does a great job of describing what life on Nuala is like, geographically culturally and politically without endangering the focus on the story. A lot of thought went into writing this book you can see it in the details, just don’t expect to be shocked or astonished along show more the way. show less

A thoroughly engrossing read, which I stayed up late two nights in a row to finish. I'd never read anything by this author before, and don't read much fantasy/sci fi (what I do read, I prefer to have at least a dash of romance, which this did).

I only just realised that it is apparently the second book of three. It certainly didn't have the feel of a sequel (i.e. it was enjoyable as a stand-alone novel).

I most enjoyed the cultural and moral differences between the main characters, each having to adapt in some measure: an off-world visitor wanting to either scam the natives, or perhaps side with them; and the natives (principally a royal family and the guards thereof) having to deal with a suddenly dangerous and transformed world. Very show more well written. I will likely buy other books by this author, and enjoy re-reading this one too. show less

First book that I have read in E-format. I must admit this was a slow read mainly because I work with computers and looking at a screen did not appeal to me just to read a book. The story started of with much intrigue and continued throughout the book. A good read for the most part if not predictable in places.