Rebel Ice

I love all of her books but the Stardoc series holds a special place in my heart. Space opera at it's finest. Few authors are actually successful at blending scifi and romance but she does it very well indeed. Don't miss this installment.

I read the reviews before reading the book so I was a little apprehensive about picking it up. I love the Stardoc series and this book is no exception. It's different from the other books, which I think freshens up the series. All the other books have been from Cherijo's point-of-view. This one is not. I love Cherijo, but after so many novels it started to get a little same-old/same-old-kinda thing. Rebel Ice broke the Stardoc mold. The plot wasn't especially intricate but it still draws you in and there's an interesting little twist in the end. I love Reever and sometimes I have disliked him, but with this story you get a better look into the person that Reever is. This was something that was missing in the other stories. I think Rebel Ice doesn't receive the credit that it deserves. I will definitely pick up the next installation in this series.

Viehl surprises me with every book, and in this one she seems to be takind down military sci-fi as much as she destroys Cherijo's myth (which I agree with the other reviewer who said that took a lot of guts.) Her Isleg and Toskald societies have many similarities to those taking part in the current conflict in the middle east. Who would be the windlords obsessed with their appearances while living like gods in their sky cities, and who live only to send tribute to the windlords from a hostile world while treating their women like animals? At times it was a little too obvious, as with WMD being kept on the planet's surface, or I'd give it 5 stars. She didn't sympathize with any side or try to glorify them but showed them realistically, and that is not standard mil sci-fi, so don't look for the typical hero's tale.

I'm giving it a "4" rating for originality and guts on the part of the author, as this is truly a departure from previous Stardoc novels. I sense that fans of the series will either love it or hate it. The novel does not read like one of the series and familiar character viewpoints - most notably Cherijo Grey Veil - are absent. Fans may be stunned, but the labyrinthine plot manages to carry itself despite this seemingly insurmountable obstacle. The main story line revolves around the viewpoints of several characters living on the brutal ice planet of Akkabar, where Cherijo Grey Veil crash landed 2 years ago. One of them is presumeably the good doctor herself, afflicted by profound amnesia. The guessing game as to which character she really portrays is one of the more effective aspects of the plot. Naturally, there is quite a bit going on in Akkabar, sweeping the good doctor along for the ride. But otherwise little of the action takes place in familiar surroundings. Duncan Reever does reappear, searching desperately for his wife all this time, as do several other familiar characters. But the traditional Stardoc universe is basically absent. Viehl is an excellent world builder, and this novel is no exception. As I said, however, Stardoc fans may be more than taken aback by the effective absence of their main character, and the disorientation of a novel immersed in a primitive society, instead of the worldly interstellar viewpoint of the rest of the novels. It's a bit of a shock. Still, the novel works well enough, is an interesting read and leaves you guessing up until the very end. I thought the ending was a bit rushed and a little too pat, but it's an extremely compelling set-up for the next installment in the series, which I am now sure to snap up.

It has been over two years since Dr. Cherijo Torin's ship crashed on the Ice planet of Akkabarr. Because she was bioengineered to be near indestructible she survived but she has no memories of who she is or where she came from. The Iislegs live on the surface of the planet slaves to the Windlords who live in habitats orbiting the planet. The surface dwellers are dependant on their masters for food, shelter, and medicine and in return the Iislegs give them their women and whatever else they desire. of women and the skin of outsiders and other desires. Duncan Reever, Cherijo's husband, has not given up hope that his wife is alive. Using the identity of a League member, he is allowed to travel to the surface of the planet. It is never a good time to be on Akkabarr but it is even worse now. Led by Teulon, a Joren whose clan was destroyed in the incident that forced Cherijo to land on the ice planet, a rebellion is brewing. Duncan is hindered in his search for his wife by people who don't want him to find her but he is determined. Although he doesn't realize it, it doesn't appear there will be a happily ever after for them even if he succeeds in his quest. The latest Stardoc novel is full of action and political intrigue but the heart of the story lies with the characters who live in a cold world in every sense of the world and have a culture much different than that of earth. The societies of the Iislegs and the Windlords seem very realistic almost as if the author visited that world and decided to write about it. S.L. Viehl keeps her series fresh by always putting her protagonists in new realms. REBEL ICE is a terrific outer space science fiction novel. Harriet Klausner