Cagebird

I read "Warchild" prior to "Cagebird" and I should have reserved my judgement of Karin Lowachee until then. The first book stood out less, it was easier to dismiss as just another "boy grows up to be a warrior" adventure romp in space. "Cagebird," on ther other hand, was discomfiting, left me disturbed (in a great way), and had me thinking back to "Warchild." The writing is stronger here. Instead of meeting Yuri as a child and seeing his life in real-time, we first get a tantalizing glimpse of him as a young man, mysterious, dangerous, and damaged in some ways. The first several pages grab and intrigue you. Yuri's story is told in flashback, it's a more sophisticated writing device and works here very well. Slowly, the whole picture unfolds of why he is who he is. Eventually this book will be filed under the label of "Alternate Sexuality." However, there are no labels used in the book. Men and women simply are. The main fixation of Yuri is on his older (male) mentor, but it's so not about that. It's done in a realistic way. Karin Lowachee definitely goes on my list now - recommend unabashedly.

Cagebird, the third novel set in the human/Strit universe, is a fantastic build on author Karin Lowachee's first two novels Warchild and Burndrive. Taking place at roughly the same time as Burndrive and Warchild, Lowachee presents the story of Uri Kirov the young pirate introduced at the end of Burndrive. Writing the novel from Yri's perspective was a stroke of genius as he was a less than sympathetic minor character from Burndrive. However, as the story unfolds, you can see how a child could be corrupted in a corrupting environment. Lowachee is very skillful at ratcheting up the tension as you read spellbound Yuri's decent into hell. There are several harrowing scenes including a gut wrenching description of an attack on Yuri's colony when he was only four years old. But what I like about Lowachee's stories is the possibility of redemption. Characters can and do make choices between good and evil. Cagebird, as well as Warchild and Burndrive, remind me of C.J. Cherryh's best union/alliance books. Like Cherryh, Lowachee has created a compelling and very human universe where character compliments spectacle! I hope this author continues to explore the fascinating human/Strit universe. I know I'll be back for more. One warning though, there are some rather explicit descriptions of sex and child abuse. It fits in the story, but might disturb more sensitive readers.

In Cagebird (sequel to Warchild and Burndive) the reader is taken to darker places than we have been before. From age four on, Yuri's life is never easy, and his choices, when he has them, are never simple. I found this book harder to relate to than the previous two, but I didn't care about Yuri any less than the other narrators, nor was I less invested in his story. This book will drag you down into the darkness with him, and it's an incredible ride. As another reviewer said, I would not recommend starting with this book. Cagebird does not stand alone as well as the first two might. One needs the background from the first two to really get into Yuri's story and know what's happening. Which isn't a bad thing, of course, because Warchild and Burndive are well worth reading. My only complaint about this book is that it seemed a little rushed at times, and it ended far too soon!

Wow. Just that. Wow. Warchild made me love. Burndive made me think. This one made me feel. It's uncomfortable, it's raw, it's not easy. It drove me to finish. And Karin did it, made me feel something I never thought I would. She made me care for Yuri. She made him real, not some movie villain. I can understand why he did what he did. I don't agree with it, but I understand it from his point of view now. I wanted more of Jos, and I still do. I wanted more of Ryan, heck I really expected we'd see a lot of him, which we don't. But I got so caught up in the story of Yuri that I honestly didn't miss either of them until the book was over. And frankly, it leaves me wanting more, which is the same feeling I've had since I first read Warchild. Most books, I read them, I finish them, I move on. Not these, they get under your skin. These are books that will end up dog-eared and worn from multiple re-reads. I would NOT recommend starting the series with this book. But for anyone who has read the other two, buy it. Now. And if you haven't read Karin's other books, you really don't know what you are missing.

Once again, as in Warchild and Burndive, Karin Lowachee shows her mastery of characterization. What she also shows is that the versatility she displayed in the structuring of her first two novels was no fluke! Jos, Ryan and Yuri are each truly themselves only; Not just as seen from the outside, through great description, but *felt* from the inside out. It takes a special writer to place you inside the heads of three different people and weave such fully unique personalities. I was not disappointed with Cagebird!!