Radius of Doubt & Path of Fire (Patterns of Chaos Monibus, 1)

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but imperfect
Review: I liked the book enough to finish the rest of the series. However, the writing was not always clear. Also, I found the Choyan's to be too "human."

Rating:
Summary: Unusually compelling
Review: I picked up this book on a whim while checking out at Fred Meyer. I have never read any Charles Ingrid, and I must say I found the first volume of this two-volume series to be fairly good. Not smashingly good, for it had its problems, but good just the same.

Hard SF fans probably won't like it, as the science behind the book is rubbery at best. The bahdur of the Choyan race seems like nothing so much as magic, and throughout the book there is little to dispell this impression. Like George Lucas's epic Force that dominates the galaxy in Star Wars, the Talent and bahdur of the Choyan race is an unexplainable plot device that allows the Tezar pilots to wield supernatural powers, for good or evil. If you're annoyed by the Science Fanciful, then this book is probably not for you.

Otherwise, the inhabitants of Cho are drawn in gripping, livid detail, and the central character Palaton is sympathetic and engaging, as a hero should be. I was refreshed in that humans, for the most part, remain on the fringes of the central story, though it seems obvious they will take a far greater role in the second volume. The Abdrelik and Ronin adversaries are drawn in convincingly predatory strokes, while the carnivorous politics of the Compact give the reader the impression that the barriers keeping the various races from each others' throats are paper thin.

I think my biggest beef is that Ingrid is not much of a battle scene writer. Several of the most climactic moments focus on what should have been huge battles. The invasion of Arizar and the ultimate showdown between the Abdreliks and the Choyan on Cho itself, are compressed into a few pages, as if they are mere afterthoughts. The events of the Two Day War over Cho should have been the highlight of the book, with whole chapters expended upon them, but are instead are rushed through as if the writer can't be bothered with the hard-hitting prose.

In this sense the book is basically about relationships. The push and pull of duty versus desire, good versus evil, loyalty versus adventure, etc. The meat of the book involves the characters and how they relate to each other.

I picked up the second volume and am reading it now. So Ingrid obviously hooked me in enough to want to read the whole thing through to the conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: Not a bad start to a sociological SF series
Review: I picked up this book on a whim while checking out at Fred Meyer. I have never read any Charles Ingrid, and I must say I found the first volume of this two-volume series to be fairly good. Not smashingly good, for it had its problems, but good just the same.

Hard SF fans probably won't like it, as the science behind the book is rubbery at best. The bahdur of the Choyan race seems like nothing so much as magic, and throughout the book there is little to dispell this impression. Like George Lucas's epic Force that dominates the galaxy in Star Wars, the Talent and bahdur of the Choyan race is an unexplainable plot device that allows the Tezar pilots to wield supernatural powers, for good or evil. If you're annoyed by the Science Fanciful, then this book is probably not for you.

Otherwise, the inhabitants of Cho are drawn in gripping, livid detail, and the central character Palaton is sympathetic and engaging, as a hero should be. I was refreshed in that humans, for the most part, remain on the fringes of the central story, though it seems obvious they will take a far greater role in the second volume. The Abdrelik and Ronin adversaries are drawn in convincingly predatory strokes, while the carnivorous politics of the Compact give the reader the impression that the barriers keeping the various races from each others' throats are paper thin.

I think my biggest beef is that Ingrid is not much of a battle scene writer. Several of the most climactic moments focus on what should have been huge battles. The invasion of Arizar and the ultimate showdown between the Abdreliks and the Choyan on Cho itself, are compressed into a few pages, as if they are mere afterthoughts. The events of the Two Day War over Cho should have been the highlight of the book, with whole chapters expended upon them, but are instead are rushed through as if the writer can't be bothered with the hard-hitting prose.

In this sense the book is basically about relationships. The push and pull of duty versus desire, good versus evil, loyalty versus adventure, etc. The meat of the book involves the characters and how they relate to each other.

I picked up the second volume and am reading it now. So Ingrid obviously hooked me in enough to want to read the whole thing through to the conclusion.

Rating:
Summary: Patterns Pro And Con
Review: What we have here is a four-part series consolidated into two volumes. This is the first volume and comprises the first half of the full story. It revolves around an alien race that inhabits a planet called Cho. The Choyans are a leading race in an interstellar compact of races. Their power rests on a monopoly over faster-than-light travel. Any ship that must travel interstellar distances requires a Choyan pilot and his/her little black box. Other races are anxious to acquire the secret of the Choyan technology, but the real secret is that the black box is a red herring. In truth, the Choyan ability to navigate the "patterns of chaos" (that is, the ftl environment) rests on a secret psi power called "bahdur". Moreover, not all Choyans have bahdur. Thus, on one hand the compact has a scarcity of pilots for ftl travel while on the other, Choyan society is two-tiered, with have and have-not castes. Humans are a newly-discovered and lightly-regarded race.

The upside of this book is a plot laden with political intrigue and peopled with engaging characters. It held my interest from start to finish. Unfortunately, the story also has what I consider to be three glaring weaknesses. First (and this is a problem that I find with most sci fi), the aliens aren't very alien. The Choyans, aside from their bahdur, are essentially human. The differences Ingrid puts in are, at best, only superficial. Choyans are basically humanoid in structure, culture, and emotions. Their planet has "insects", "pine trees" and a full range of earthlike characteristics. The chief "bad guys" are little more than humanoid amphibians.

Second, I have never been a fan of stories based on far-reaching (and far-fetched, in my opinion) mental powers. Such powers are typically just a convenient device to allow the author to take liberties with the plot. And that seems very much the case here. Bahdur is a vague and undefined power that allows the possessor to do whatever Ingrid finds useful at any given point in the story. As the events proceed, bahdur allows its possessors to do more and more things besides navigate chaos. Further, though apparently genetically based, it can be stolen by, or transferred to, other characters.

Finally, as noted by other reviewers, Ingrid bypasses some of the potentially most action-packed parts of the story. Major battles are given short shrift in this tale. Admittedly, the story revolves around its personal and political conflicts, but some expanded action sequences wouldn't have hurt.

In sum, this book has some interesting aspects. Plot and characterization are fine. Enough so that I will read the second volume since I've come this far. It is hurt by several shortcomings, however, and these detracted from the experience. It's a mediocre effort and I can't really recommend it. For those who can overlook the problems, it's not a bad tale, but there are lots of better books out there.

Rating:
Summary: Unusually compelling
Review: While the book does have its flaws, I found it deeply addictive. It works more as a mystery than anything else, and leaves you constantly wondering. My one complaint is that it is very repetitive when it comes to describing the defining characteristics of the alien races, using nearly the same phrasing several times. Skipping these paragraphs is not difficult however, and overall I would highly recommend it.