Schism Book

Like Skyfall before it, Schism is set prior to Catherine Asaro's other Skolian novels, this time telling the story of Roca and Eldrinson's children, with special focus on Soz's entrance to the Deshian Military Academy and her younger brother Shannon's adolescence.

Soz is seventeen as the book begins, determined to follow her older brother Althor off Lyshriol and become a Jagernaut. Her father is violently opposed to this, both because women are not warriors by Lyshrioli tradition and, more importantly, because he cannot bear the thought of sending his children to war against the Traders. When Soz is granted early admission to DMA and Althor agrees to take her there, he disowns both his children. From there, the book follows three main characters; Soz, Eldrinson and Shannon.

Soz enters the Academy as plain Sauscony Valdoria, but knowing that Kurj has just selected both her and Althor as potential heirs and is waiting to see how they both turn out. Outspoken, impetuous and brilliant, she is soon racing through her classes and building up a mountain of demerit points. She rapidly progresses through the Academy, but still needs to do some growing and maturing to best use her great talents.

Shannon, fourteen, quiet and very different even among Roca and Eldrinson's different children, after a confusing encounter with Althor while he is home, decides the troubles that have now beset the family are all his fault. He takes his father's lyrine, Moonglaze, and literally heads for the hills. Shannon is a throw back to a Blue Dale Archer ancestor, and he heads into the Blue Dale Mountains hoping to find the legendary Archers and a place where he fits in.

As soon as Shannon is discovered missing, Eldrinson sets off to find him and falls into his own kind of trouble. He has to fight to survive at the same time as he is trying to reconcile himself to the fact his children don't have the same vision of their own futures that he does.

Schism is the first book of two, that together are titled Triad, suggesting part of the ultimate story will be how Eldrinson becomes the Web Key and the Dyad becomes a Triad, since we know from the later books that this happens. That is perhaps the main weakness of this book - we know what is going to happen, at least in general terms. The book ends on what would be a major cliffhanger, except for the fact that we already know the character this concerns is going to make it because we've already met them in the other books. For me, this isn't a concern. I'm more concerned about how and why things happen rather than what happens. It can be quite fun knowing what is going to be the end result and still navigate the curve balls the author throws at readers along the way. I might not need to worry about the endangered character's survival, but I sure want to know how the current mess is going to be resolved.

I am already predisposed to love Asaro's books, especially the Skolian series. I love the setting, I love the characters and I love the way she is changing the world from the black and white we first through it was. So I loved this one too. Soz would have to be my favourite character, so seeing more of her and how she became the woman I first met in Primary Inversion is a delight. I am finding that I don't remember everything that has already happened in other books, and I'm sure I've missed a few subtle moments of foreshadowing, which is a pity as I love the way Asaro does these. Still, I'm sure I'll be reading Schism again in the future, so hopefully I'll pick up things of missed that time around.

I do love the way Asaro plays with the characters and their companions. There is a lovely little scene where Soz's room mates want to know how it is that she appears to know Imperator Kurj. She tries to prevaricate, but they are persistent. Finally, she admits that her mother knew his father and when asked how, states simply, "They were married" and waits for the penny to drop.

I think my only real complaint is that, in this attitude to his children's dreams and the way he deals with a major disability Eldrinson tends to come across as a whiny boy at times. I'm guessing this in intentional and he's going to grow out of it - after all, despite having ten children he can't be much older than his late thirties. But I did want to slap him around a bit, especially for the way he treated Roca.

I don't really think that this would be the best book to start reading Asaro's Skolian series with, but it is a great addition to the tale. However, it is clearly unfinished. I have a feeling I read somewhere that Triad was supposed to be one book, but it got too big. This makes sense, as it ends like the end of a chapter, not the end of the book. I'm eagerly awaiting the second half of the story.

[Copied across from Library Thing; 25 September 2012]