Ms. Asaro, a trained physicist, has given birth to, in Primary Inversion, a compelling, science-fiction universe which, while too clearly divided between good and evil, light and dark, is fascinating and poetic. Though Ms. Asaro's authorship will never win her literary acclaim, she has fused a natural gift for romance together with her understanding of physics to create an amalgam which entertains. And given that this is likely what its audience wants from it, it is a good servant.
In a future galaxy dominated by three major factions, the Scolian Imperium, ruled by empaths, the Eubian Concord, commanded by sadists, and the humans from Earth who occupy neutral, democratic ground between the two, polarized empires. Our heroine is a Scolian empath, an elite fighter pilot and sister to the Scolian ruler, who uses the camaraderie of her squadron to shield herself from a traumatic past at the hands of the Eubians. But after encountering the son and heir to the Eubian throne on a neutral world, and after realizing he holds a secret that could permanently shift the balance of power between the two warring empires, Sauscony Valdoria ultimately chooses to give aid to a man she's trained to hate, knowing that doing so may cost her her own life.
Primary Inversion is divided into three major sections, each concerning Valdoria. The first describes her encounter with the Eubian heir and her realization of his secret. While this lays down the story's main plot, "girl meets boy, boy and girl fall helplessly in love, boy and girl do what it takes to be together, even defying sanction from their people," it's far too unoriginal to be satisfying. Ms. Asaro might as well call the planet upon which the two meet Verona and have done. The second section, however, finds Ms. Asaro at her best, as Valdoria recovers from a battle which nearly took her life by being forced onto shore leave against her will. Cut off from the squadron she depends on for emotional support, Valdoria struggles with her past and must come to some resolution about it before she can move forward with her duties and the Eubian heir who complicates them. Atmospheric, moody, quiet, dark... Excellent work. And then our concluding third section brings us full circle, back to the heir and Valdoria's solution to a new reality in which her brother, the Scolian ruler, has captured him. Valdoria earns her heroine credits here, allowing the book to conclude with unexpected thoughtfulness. A cliche start nearly ruins the piece, but a strong, redemptive finish restores it to a satisfying read.
Finally, though the book's plot primarily concerns the love interest here, Ms. Asaro does not spare the science of her fiction. Though much of what she bases her universe on is highly speculative, it is at least tangentially linked to theoretical models that have been discussed in academics. Ms. Asaro stretches her artistic license to the breaking point in the utilization of said science, but knowing that it is grounded in some semblance of theory grants it an authority other, speculative stories lack. All in all, something for everyone, but its unevenness dooms any aspirations for more. (3/5 Stars)
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