Schism: Part One of Triad is the 10th novel in Catherine Asaro's Saga of the Skolian Empire, which includes her 2001 Nebula Award-winning novel The Quantum Rose. In Schism, the first of a two-book series, she hints at a galactic war that will explode between the Skolians and the interstellar empire of Eube, ruled by Aristo Traders, who deal in human life.

Twenty-three years have passed since the events in Asaro's Skyfall. The royal family of the Skolian Empire is torn. Seventeen-year-old Sauscony, daughter of Roca and Eldrinson, is young and full of adventure. Soz, as she's commonly called, is also a genius and one of two choices to assume the role of Imperial Heir. Against her father's wishes, Soz sets off to become an officer-in-training in the Skolian military. Soz and her brother, Althor, communicate with the military's Jag spaceships using their minds. To do so, they sit in exoskeletons, which provide prongs that plug into sockets in their necks, wrists, ankles and the base of their spines.

In the meantime, their younger brother, Shannon, runs away from home. Not only does Eldrinson banish Soz, but he also banishes Althor for spending too much time with Shannon. The book hints, but does not explicitly suggest, that Eldrinson believes Althor may be homosexual. Shannon blames himself for his family's problems. Eldrinson leaves the royal castle to search for Shannon and encounters an Aristo Trader named Vitarex Raziquon, whose men kill Eldrinson's companions. Raziquon kidnaps and tortures Eldrinson.

Eventually, Shannon helps save his father and heal the wounds between his parents. Soz combats sexual harassment and drug use in the military and, being brilliant and athletic, quickly completes her training. The book rumbles with the foreshadowing of war, and as it closes the reader figures that Part Two of Triad will probably pit the Skolian Empire against Eube.

Romance, intrigue and hard SF

Asaro's strengths are in full force in Schism. She blends in-depth characterization, coming-of-age romance and royal intrigue with dollops of science to create a thought-provoking drama. Soz is the type of protagonist that many young girls dream about: She's sassy, brilliant, athletic, pretty and a member of the royal family. Perhaps more appealing than Soz is her younger brother, Shannon, who is filled with teenage angst: feelings of loneliness, not being understood, causing trouble for those he loves. Parents Roca and Eldrinson are also drawn well, and readers feel their pain as their children rebel, as Eldrinson almost dies, as the family is torn apart. On the other hand, the enemy is not clear in this book. A full clash between Skolia and Eube is expected in Part Two.

Introduced in earlier books and used well throughout Schism are Asaro's science-fictional ideas. A key idea in the Skolian series is the psiberweb, or Kyle web, a technology that exists outside normal space-time and allows Skolians to communicate over interstellar distances. The scenes in which Soz and Althor communicate with the Jag spaceship are fascinating. Built from her own DNA, a biomech web is woven into Soz's body, and it includes the sockets she needs to communicate neurally with the Kyle web, bioelectrodes that prompt her neurons to fire based on directions from her brain or from the local web node, nanomeds that monitor and protect the health of the biomech web implants, and anti-aging modules. Soon, Soz will be a "cybernetic warrior."

Schism is a fine addition to Asaro's saga of the Skolian empire. The romance and royal intrigue add depth to the space-opera plot. The characters are real people, not the wooden caricatures that tend to populate many space operas. The writing is tight, though in spots poetic and lyrical. Overall, an excellent book that leaves readers begging for more.