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Summary: The beginning of a great saga!
Review: I couldn't disagree more with the reader below, who seems to have a problem with empowered women. I just finished the 4 books that Ms Asaro wrote in the Skolian empire, of which Primary Inversion is the first. As a biologist, I found the science to be provocative and accurate. As a woman, I found the characters and relationships to be honest and appealing. I would recommend these to anyone who likes books by Bujold, Willis, Kress, etc. It's character-driven SF with a serious dose of science.
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Summary: Action packed scifi with wonderful characters. A must read!
Review: I liked Sauscony immediately. Her wry sense of humor, her leadership abilities and her emotional strength awed me and despite being full of high tech hardware she was easy to like and so very human. Her emotional battles were as gripping as the ones on the battlefield. It's that blend of emotional turmoil, politics, genuine, fully fleshed out characters that you can care about and the exciting action packed plot that made this such a gripping read for me. I've got to admit though that some of the technical aspects of the book did go way over my head but I enjoyed the book so very much and highly recommend it.
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Summary: One of the best book. Just behind Sword of Truth collection.
Review: I love you're book. Thought it's not the best. Keep up the good work
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I picked this book up the other day, and read it almost in one sitting. Interesting characters, amazing science theory, strange and sometimes convoluted politics...This book was really something. Sciencewise, this book is ultradetailed -- so much so that I could convince myself that I actually had some idea what the author was trying to say. The action scenes were innovative, to say the least -- I've never before read a fighter combat scene quite like that one, and the telepathy models were interesting. This was a really fascinating, fun, and engrossing book, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
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Summary: A fresh, strong voice in sf
Review: I picked up and set down this book in a store several times because the title and the artwork were so uninviting, even though I'd heard good things about Asaro's writing and had enjoyed Catch the Lightning. Luckily, I finally broke down and enjoyed Primary Inversion very much. I like Asaro's focus on character, and the way she plays with gender expectations such as appropriate ages for romantic partners. That kind of social thinking is really more revolutionary (subversive, even) than tech talk, which doesn't interest me anywhere near as much as character. I've read all of Asaro's books, and find her both original and highly entertaining.
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Summary: A brand new sci fi idea for an old timer
Review: I thought that in 40 plus years of reading sci fi that there wouldn't be many new authors or ideas which would appeal to me. After all, there are a couple of generations following behind me with their own preferences. But Catherine Asaro has captured me once again as I was captured in the past by Heinlein, Asimov, Anderson, McCaffrey, May, etc. Don't miss this series!
Rating:
Summary: Wow...a good way to be converted to science fiction!
Review: I've read a few science fiction books in the past but have never been overly thrilled. Maybe, if more of those books had been like Catherine Asaro's "Primary Inversion", I would be a huge science fiction reader today! This is the story of the Skolian Empire and their war with the Traders but it's more than that as well. The story is told through the POV of Sauscony Valdoria, the heir to the Skolian Empire. Soz is struggling with life right now, her life as a soldier is taking it's toll, she's lonely and she has issues in her past she still hasn't dealt with. It all comes crashing down in this story as she meets the person who is her true soul mate. Catherine Asaro is a wonderful writer who does an excellent job at drawing the reader into this world she has created...I literally could not put the book down. If you like Sci fi or are just getting started, this is a great place to start...I cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...a good way to be converted to science fiction!
Review: I've read a few science fiction books in the past but have never been overly thrilled. Maybe, if more of those books had been like Catherine Asaro's "Primary Inversion", I would be a huge science fiction reader today! This is the story of the Skolian Empire and their war with the Traders but it's more than that as well. The story is told through the POV of Sauscony Valdoria, the heir to the Skolian Empire. Soz is struggling with life right now, her life as a soldier is taking it's toll, she's lonely and she has issues in her past she still hasn't dealt with. It all comes crashing down in this story as she meets the person who is her true soul mate. Catherine Asaro is a wonderful writer who does an excellent job at drawing the reader into this world she has created...I literally could not put the book down. If you like Sci fi or are just getting started, this is a great place to start...I cannot wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: More fantasy than sci fi
Review: Primary Inversion contains a few interesting and original ideas; but not enough to support a novel. I might enjoy Catherine's writing if she abandoned imitation and concentrated on her original ideas. The novel is too adolescent: the author resorts to fantasy to advance the plot instead of investing the time to develop mature, clever plot lines. Underneath the veneer of galactic empires and space battles, the novel's main theme involves sexual abuse and victimization. Soz (main character) is a narcissist's dream: Bionic Woman, martial artist, admiral, heir-apparent to a 1000-planet empire, powerful telepath. (Pure fantasy!) Yet she is crumbling inside due to the trauma of a sexually abusive experience. Soz is 46, yet she takes a school boy as her lover. Later, she marries a 19 year old virgin who has lived his entire life in isolation. We are suppose to believe that the boy is her genetic soul mate: in reality, Soz is incapable of being intimate with someone who is her equal (or her better). Soz can only be intimate with men who have no real-world experience and little or no experience with women, allowing her to feel both sexually powerful and the complete center of attention.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic debut novel.
Review: Primary Inversion contains more interesting and original ideas than I've run across in scifi in quite a while, and I've been reading it for 30 years. Due to Asaro's background as a physicist, there's enough actual mathematics and science in it to give you the feeling that yes, these concepts might be possible. She creates compelling characters who inhabit a world so skillfully built that it's easy to lose yourself there, and there's plenty of hard scifi to comfort the wary. As you can see, I also disagree profoundly with the first reader from LA--what's the matter, honey, too many <girl cooties> for you? Is there something wrong, perhaps, with a woman feeling both sexually powerful and the complete center of attention? Me, I like strong women, it makes for a more interesting story.
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