Undercity

By: Catherine Asaro

Narrated by: Suzy Jackson

Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

Book One in a brand new series by Nebula and Hugo Award Winner Catherine Asaro set in the world of her Skolian Empire universe.

In the galaxy-spanning future, Major Bhaajan is a tough female P.I. who works the dangerous streets of Undercity. Major Bhaajan, a former military officer with Imperial Space Command, is now a hard-bitten P.I. with a load of baggage to deal with, and clients with woes sometimes personal, sometimes galaxy-shattering, and sometimes both. Bhaajan must sift through the shadows of dark and dangerous Undercity - the enormous capital of a vast star empire - to find answers.

©2014 Catherine Asaro (P)2014 Recorded Books

Not her best but I am a fan.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I don't think so, as this is so different from the other Skolian Empire books. I think her heroine is less interesting than the Skolian royalty she has written about. Also, author Asaro seems to have wanted to make a social statement and I am more interested in science fiction/adventure than social revolution per se.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

She should have gone off world with the Skolian prince and had some dangerous adventure with the Traders!Or, let's see more action with Jack! This book was so focused on the Undercity social issues.

What about Suzy Jackson’s performance did you like?

It was well read.

Do you think Undercity needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Social science is not my genre. I will let others promote a sequel.

Any additional comments?

No.

Interesting offshoot series

This book is an expansion on the novella City of Cries, which has been rolled into the opening chapters of this book. I actually like this series more than the larger Ruby Empire/Skolian saga. It can be read independently or integrated into the overall Skolian series.

Book 1: City of Cries, Chapter 1, after Beginning Credits
Retired Pharoah’s Army Major Bhaajan is now a Private Investigator who is drawn back to Cries, the city of her birth on Raylicon when she is hired by General Majda to find her missing nephew.

Book 2: Beneath the Vanished Sea, Chapter 11
With the return of Prince Daj, Bhaajan is drawn into a new investigation to find what happened to the guns Scorch had stockpiled. She is drawn into caring for the people of Undercity through the death of a new mother, echoing her own origin story. Bhaajan is drawn into an unintended commitment to train Undercity young, and the Dust Knights are born.

Book 3: The Phorine War, Chapter 16
Along with gun & drug trafficking, Bhaajan finds evidence of Scorch’s traitorous intent to harm the residents of Undercity. She mobilizes the Dust Knights to protect Undercity residents from a devastating cartel war. Bhaajan is as overwhelmed as Majda by the results when she arranges for food and medical care in exchange for Kyle testing for Undercity’s hidden, gifted peoples.

Hallett does a good job with narration. She sounds just a little young for Bhaajan, and there’s often just a subtle difference between characters, but it works.

No Skolian Empire Here!

I have always loved Asaro's Skolian Empire. So I assumed this book would have some relationship to that storyline. But it really doesn't. It's really just a mediocre fiction story that happens to occur within the context of the rest of Asaro's work. Misleading at best, nothing more than teenage romance fiction at worst.