Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : DAW Books, c2008.
Description
The world of Harmony, along with its close-knit colony planets, long ago isolated itself from the rest of the universe. But in a universe where the human-based Confederate Star System fleet finds itself hard-pressed to stand against ever-increasing attacks by the alien Marillon Empire, the Harmonic Empire cannot be left alone. For if the CSS cannot win an alliance with Harmony, the Marils will surely find a way to invade the planet and seize control of the unique and invaluable metal, which only the Harmonites can produce. Yet invasion is far from the only threat the people of Harmony face. The gulf between rich and poor, rulers and ruled continues to widen, threatening to destroy the very structure of their society--while the planet itself is becoming increasingly unstable.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member gregandlarry
Good story with interesting characters. Interesting planet/universe. Looking forward to the next in the series.
LibraryThing member carod
Harmony is a science fiction novel by fantasy author Irene Radford writing under another name. I recognized some of the themes and romantic elements familiar from Radford’s fantasy works. The novel takes place largely on the planet Harmony, a society governed by a caste-based social order. A
I found this book a bit difficult to get into at first. The novel alternates between Sissy, Jake’s and some other characters’ perspectives. Initially I found I wasn’t getting to know, or particularly liking, any of the characters enough to be invested in the story. Once Jake’s and Sissy’s paths began to intersect, I found the story more engaging and I became more interested in how things would turn out. It would have been better if Sissy’s character was developed a bit more. It wasn’t entirely evident why people reacted to her as they did. The caste-system and religion of Harmony was interesting and the novel was worth reading for the world-building alone.
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young worker caste named Sissy is suddenly elevated to the role of High Priestess because of her gift of prophecy and ability to calm Harmony’s earthquakes. At the same time, Confederated Star Systems officer Jake Hannigan has been sent undercover to Harmony to try to acquire the formula for Badger Metal, needed to shield spaceships. These two people from very different cultures will collide in ways that will change both forever. I found this book a bit difficult to get into at first. The novel alternates between Sissy, Jake’s and some other characters’ perspectives. Initially I found I wasn’t getting to know, or particularly liking, any of the characters enough to be invested in the story. Once Jake’s and Sissy’s paths began to intersect, I found the story more engaging and I became more interested in how things would turn out. It would have been better if Sissy’s character was developed a bit more. It wasn’t entirely evident why people reacted to her as they did. The caste-system and religion of Harmony was interesting and the novel was worth reading for the world-building alone.
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LibraryThing member Krystowiak
Very interesting idea using the concept that everything must harmonize on the main world. The plot was interesting and kept me mentally involved throughout the book.
On the negative side, I was repeatedly close to not finishing the book due to so many spelling/formatting errors. These mistakes
Overall, decent read if the formatting and spelling mistakes could be taken care of.
On the negative side, I was repeatedly close to not finishing the book due to so many spelling/formatting errors. These mistakes
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drove me crazy!! Authors should never publish books until they are formatted correctly. Also, character development could use some major work. The characters' choices eventually made sense, but the reader needs more information to justify things like why a young, naive girl could suddenly and easily stand up against the most powerful man on the planet.Overall, decent read if the formatting and spelling mistakes could be taken care of.
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LibraryThing member Antares1
Harmony by C. F. Bentley is entertaining. The beginning is a bit slow, but as Jake and Sissy finally get together it picks up. The ending is a bit abrupt, but all in all an enjoyable read. I don't know if there are sequels, but I'll definitely check this author out for future writings.
LibraryThing member amkj
Action, politics, and a planet's history come together to create an intriguing look at how cultures change over time through the lens of a science fiction novel. I look forward to reading the sequel.
LibraryThing member ladyoflorien
This is a great entry level SciFi novel with interesting worlds, social structures, and political machinations. I enjoyed how Bentley spun the tale to show how the Harmonite culture changed over time and would recommend this book.
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Just plain badly written.
LibraryThing member CarriePalmer
I just couldn't get into this one. I found it a bit boring and the naming of the substance Badger Metal more than a little funny.
LibraryThing member scottcholstad
This book has some decent reviews, although it doesn’t have the highest overall rating I’ve seen online. Still, a number of people like it. That said, a number of, oh… sci fi “vets” tend to view it as sci fi lite, shall we say? Here’s a quote from a review: “Adolescent wish
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fulfillment. There will be some young people who will love this book. I won't read the sequel….” That’s pretty much what I got out of it. Juvenile effort, juvenile story, juvenile writing, juvenile pseudo-mystical/spiritual plot, etc. Not your top of the line sci fi, in other words. I’m not even going to waste my time going into details here. I often do when I trash books I’ve wasted time on. Fortunately, I didn’t waste too much time on this one, so I’m not going to trash it. I’m just going to give it one star and state that I do not recommend it, except for some adolescent sci fi readers. Show Less
LibraryThing member daleala
I actually really enjoyed reading this book so much that I am now in the process of reading it to my wife at night-time.
The character development is interesting, the characters themselves each have their own personalities and while this is a very long book it has managed to keep my interest the
The character development is interesting, the characters themselves each have their own personalities and while this is a very long book it has managed to keep my interest the
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entire time. Show Less
LibraryThing member reading_fox
I liked this, a colonisation effort has discovered a planet where they can interact with the harmonic vibrations of that planet's soul. Isolated from mainstream humanity they control the export of a very rare alloy, which both humanity's space force and the local aliens badly need for their war.
The focus jumps between an uneducated Worker caste girl who finds herself the next true High Priestess of Harmony able to intercede with the planet - ish; and a milita pilot who's recruited to attempt a spy mission on the planet and retrieve the formula for the metal before the aliens invade. You can probably guess the rest, it does more or less unfold as you'd expect. But it's well written with empathetic characters. Sissy the new High Priestess is completely charming, but her naivity struggles against the corruption in the temple. Sadly this is perhaps the least believable aspect as she learns to manipulate hardened priests far to quickly. The "science" is sadly lacking even Jake's attempted explanations to himself don't hold water. Hopefully this is all resolved somewhere along the line.
Enjoyable. The book ends decisively, but a trilogy has been written, which I'm likely to explore.
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Works surprisingly well.The focus jumps between an uneducated Worker caste girl who finds herself the next true High Priestess of Harmony able to intercede with the planet - ish; and a milita pilot who's recruited to attempt a spy mission on the planet and retrieve the formula for the metal before the aliens invade. You can probably guess the rest, it does more or less unfold as you'd expect. But it's well written with empathetic characters. Sissy the new High Priestess is completely charming, but her naivity struggles against the corruption in the temple. Sadly this is perhaps the least believable aspect as she learns to manipulate hardened priests far to quickly. The "science" is sadly lacking even Jake's attempted explanations to himself don't hold water. Hopefully this is all resolved somewhere along the line.
Enjoyable. The book ends decisively, but a trilogy has been written, which I'm likely to explore.
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LibraryThing member ladyoflorien
This is a great entry level SciFi novel with interesting worlds, social structures, and political machinations. I enjoyed how Bentley spun the tale to show how the Harmonite culture changed over time and would recommend this book.
Language
Physical description
400 p.; 24 cm
ISBN
0756404851 / 9780756404857
Other editions
Harmony by C. F. Bentley (Paperback)