Ice Planet Barbarians
The Ice Planet Barbarians series, Book 1
Ruby Dixon
Berkley
Fiction, Romance/Sci-Fi
Themes: Aliens, Bonded Companions, Cross-Genre, Girl Power, Wilderness Stories
***+
Description
Georgie never believed in aliens, until she woke to find herself in the cargo hold of a spaceship, along with a half-dozen other
young women. Whoever the strange little green men are (or their brutal orange guards), they aren't the catch-and-release type of
abductors. Instead, they're more the catch-and-sell-off-to-unknown-aliens-for-unknown-reasons type... and none of the captives want
to think too much on what it might mean that they only went after young, single Earth women. But Georgie's not the kind to go down
without a fight. And when a problem with the abductors' ship leads them to drop the human cargo off on an iceball planet, she's not
going to pass up the chance to escape. Only she finds more than she bargained for when she's snared by the massive blue barbarian.
He has horns and armored skin and even a tail, his eyes glow green, and the biting cold that's slowly killing her hardly seems to
phase him, but darned if he isn't the hottest thing she's ever seen. But she has to get back to Earth, hopefully before the abductor
aliens come back to reclaim their "cargo". She can't afford to lose her heart to a big blue brute.
Vektal doesn't know what to make of the strange thing dangling in his hunting snare. It looks sort of like a person, if small and
pale and soft and with too many fingers - nothing at all like a proper sa-khui. Where could she have come from, and what's she doing
here? But his khui, the symbiotic life form in his heart, tells him this is his life-mate, future mother of his kits, and the khui
are never wrong. Now, he just has to convince the strange woman of that. No easy task, when she can't speak his language and doesn't
even have her own khui. But there are other ways of talking than mere words...
Review
I've heard some talk of this book around, so when I saw it available as an audiobook via Libby - and when I needed a relatively
short title to fill out the end of a work day - I figured I'd give it a try. I've read (and listened to) other romance titles (and
erotica, which this leans strongly toward), so why not? Considering that I didn't have high expectations going in, I was actually
pleasantly surprised.
Initially, this looks to be a typical erotic sci-fi romp where sexy young Earth women hook up with hot aliens who seemed to have
evolved primarily to pleasure said Earth women in ways no mere Homo sapiens man could manage. To be fair, that is the basic
plot arc (no real spoiler, that; it's right in the title and cover art and blurb). But Georgie actually has some moxie in her. As the
leader of the abductees, mostly because nobody else steps up to the plate when a leader is needed, Georgie spearheads their initial
escape attempt and later explorations of the ice world. She's not just talk; she does hard things and makes hard decisions, thinking
of the needs of others and not just herself. (Well, she does reserve some selfishness in regards to intimate interspecies relations,
but she keeps her pants on, or at least puts them back on, when the others need help). Vektal, for his part, is also a leader of his
people, but doesn't know at all what to make of the first human woman he's ever set eyes on; his people don't even have the concept
of aliens. He initially takes her for something weak, and compared to him she is - physically, at least - but he comes to understand
that there's a lot more to her than her diminutive (compared to him) physique. Despite the fated-mate aspect of the tale, consent is
actually discussed and a key part of the plot; Vektal's race may be a bit fuzzy on the term, given how the khui determine much of
their lives (including their life-mates, though before finding that one special person they aren't expected to be celibate), but
Vektal never forces the issue and is willing to learn for the sake of love, even being willing to give Georgie up if she ultimately
chooses her home over his.
The story moves pretty fast, and throughout has both action and humor. There's a certain self-awareness beneath the words, a bit of
a wink and acknowledgement that never denies its genre or ambitions; this is not high literature or deep philosophy, but a sex-filled
alien adventure, and never pretends to be otherwise. As for the expected erotic explorations between humans and sa-khui, they're
suitably steamy (and more than a bit over-the-top, intentionally). It ultimately lost a half-star for leaning a bit too hard into the
fated-mate (and breeding) aspect, and just not being quite my cup of cocoa in the long run. But it definitely rose above my
expectations, and I've read far worse stories, with far flimsier characters and romances.