Review::Trool's Rules by George Ian Stuart

Trool's Rules by George Stuart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Trool's Rules by George Ian Stuart

This is one of those books that you can love and hate all at once. It uses a number of tropes and unfortunately the plot hinges upon a seriously flawed trope relating to sexual erotica elements that make this a mature read. I say that it's flawed because it is part of that trope that tries to make something special about sex and in this case augments the intellect of the aliens in the story. Think of My Stepmother is an Alien with the character Celest having to rediscover sex since her society has shunned such activities. In the same way the main character Si comes from an advanced society that shuns the messiness of sex and seems to also shun too much contact with others. The reason I call it flawed is because the whole premise of this novel relies on sex having some sort of generative or regenerative property that heightens the intellect of our Alien main character.

It just seems that this would be something that the majority who rule her world would know and sex would never have fallen into disfavor.

Thankfully the story itself devolves into more of a Dystopic novel bringing about the near destruction of all life on Earth. It's about half way through the novel that things get interesting as we follow the survivors trying to rebuild their lives and as we watch Si get drawn into helping them because of the consequences of her transgression into the world of sex. That's actually a plus to see that the consequences of sex are a driving factor in the plot.

Because there was a great difference between time on Earth and time on Si's home planet I had some issue with resolving how when and how quickly some things were taking place. Since a year on Si's planet was equal to many on Earth it becomes hazy trying to figure out what they mean when they suggest that the colonization fleet will arrive in 45 days. Aside from that; it seems that even though Si's people age more gracefully than Earth Humans they might have a similar gestation period.

This novel could have used a bit more editing, but the overall story was quite enjoyable though I have had a few qualms about the nature of some erotic parts. You will have to read this to figure that out. Though Si is not particularly the easiest character to sympathize with she is surrounded by humans who make her look much better than she really is.

This book and its cover are a good argument for not judging a book by its cover. If you don't read erotica then you might want to pass this one.

If you like different and quirky science fiction that comes off as much tongue and cheek as Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy this might be the entertainment for you.

J.L. Dobias



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