As a sequel to Song of Scarabaeus, I would recommend reading Children of Scarabaeus — in which cypherteck Edie finds herself defending all she loves in a far future terraforming scenario — in proper secondary order.
I enjoyed this book but would have enjoyed it more had I read Song of Scarabaeus. There just wasn’t enough context to easily grasp what Edie was and what she was facing. A few pages of back story would have helped enormously. Finn, Edie’s body guard, was more than he seemed but it would have been good to know what being a Saeth meant.
Finn was steadfast and loyal — I liked that. Cat could have had more face time, as she seemed like a character with potential. I liked the ambivalence in Natesa character. It was difficult to determine whether she was motivated by ego or good intentions. That was a good reflection of reality.
The kids were another reflection of reality. Pushed into a specific role at an early age, the kids were expected to be crucial to terraforming projects. The scandals faced by some of the iconic fashion labels with regards to child labor in foreign locales certainly demonstrate the need for concern over the plight of working children. Edie’s childhood experiences practically forced her to become an advocate for the kids.
The characters were well done, some likeable and some not so much. There was a ill defined gray area in the behavior of some of the characters which again is a very good reflection on real life. As much as we want black and white contrasts in behavior, real life situations are often gray. The strength of feelings demonstrated by both Finn and Edie were admirable.
Children of Scarabaeus was good as a stand alone but I think it may have been excellent with some historic context and defining of terminology. I don’t mean a glossary; I just mean maybe a chapter re-hashing how the characters got to where they were.
I still recommend the book.
Body of work of Sara Creasy
Web site: http://saracreasy.com/
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