The Quantum Rose
Encyclopedia
The Quantum Rose is a 2000 science fiction
novel
by Catherine Asaro
which tells the story of Kamoj Argali and Skolian
Prince Havyrl Valdoria. The book is set in her Saga of the Skolian Empire
. It won the 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novel
and the 2001 Affaire de Coeur Award for Best Science Fiction. The first third of the novel appeared as a three-part serialization in Analog
magazine in the 1999 May, June and July/August issues. Tor Books published the full novel in 2000.
folktale in a science fiction setting. In the novel, Kamoj Argali, the governor of an impoverished province on the backward planet Balumil, is betrothed to Jax Ironbridge, ruler of a wealthy neighboring province, an arrangement made for political purposes to save her province from starvation and death. Havyrl (Vyrl) Lionstar, a prince of the titular Ruby Dynasty, comes to Balimul as part of a governmental plan to deal with the aftermath of an interstellar war. Masked and enigmatic, he has a reputation as a monster with Kamoj's people.
Lionstar interferes with Kamoj's culture and destabilizes their government by pushing her into marriage with himself. In the traditional fairy tale, Belle must save her father from the prince transformed into a beast; in The Quantum Rose, Kamoj must save her province from the prince in exile. The book deals with themes about the physical and emotional scars left on the survivors of a war with no clear victor. As such, it is also a story of healing for both Kamoj and Lionstar.
The second half of The Quantum Rose involves Lionstar's return to his home world with Kamoj, where he becomes the central figure in a planet wide act of civil disobedience designed to eject an occupying military force that has taken control of his planet. Both the world Balimul in the first half of the novel and the world Lyshriol
in the second half fall into the lost colony
genre of literature in science fiction.
. Asaro describes the allegory in an essay at the end of the book and explains how the characters and plot points play the roles of mathematical terms or processes in atomic and molecular physics. Each chapter of the book has a main poetic title, and then a subtitle which refers to the aspect of scattering theory highlighted in that chapter. In an interview with The Hachiko, Asaro describes how she used the provocative nature of some scientific terminology to evoke conflicts dealt with in the book, such as the tensions between capture and freedom. She discusses some of her inspiration for the book in "Moments of Genius," an interview at the Intel Big Think website.
This book overlaps with Spherical Harmonic
, which tells the story of Ruby Pharaoh and her attempts to regain her title after the devastating Radiance War.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Catherine Asaro
Catherine Asaro
Catherine Asaro is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She is best known for her books about the Ruby Dynasty, called the Saga of the Skolian Empire.- Biography :...
which tells the story of Kamoj Argali and Skolian
Skolian empire
The Skolian Empire, or Skolian Imperialate, is one of the major empires in the science fiction novel series called the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro.The stories of Catherine Asaro mostly revolve around the Skolian Empire...
Prince Havyrl Valdoria. The book is set in her Saga of the Skolian Empire
Saga of the Skolian Empire
The Saga of the Skolian Empire, informally called the Skolian Saga or Tales of the Ruby Dynasty, is a series of science fiction novels, novelettes and novellas by Catherine Asaro, revolving around characters from an interstellar empire known as the Skolian Empire and their power struggle with the...
. It won the 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
and the 2001 Affaire de Coeur Award for Best Science Fiction. The first third of the novel appeared as a three-part serialization in Analog
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
magazine in the 1999 May, June and July/August issues. Tor Books published the full novel in 2000.
Plot summary
The Quantum Rose is a retelling of the Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
folktale in a science fiction setting. In the novel, Kamoj Argali, the governor of an impoverished province on the backward planet Balumil, is betrothed to Jax Ironbridge, ruler of a wealthy neighboring province, an arrangement made for political purposes to save her province from starvation and death. Havyrl (Vyrl) Lionstar, a prince of the titular Ruby Dynasty, comes to Balimul as part of a governmental plan to deal with the aftermath of an interstellar war. Masked and enigmatic, he has a reputation as a monster with Kamoj's people.
Lionstar interferes with Kamoj's culture and destabilizes their government by pushing her into marriage with himself. In the traditional fairy tale, Belle must save her father from the prince transformed into a beast; in The Quantum Rose, Kamoj must save her province from the prince in exile. The book deals with themes about the physical and emotional scars left on the survivors of a war with no clear victor. As such, it is also a story of healing for both Kamoj and Lionstar.
The second half of The Quantum Rose involves Lionstar's return to his home world with Kamoj, where he becomes the central figure in a planet wide act of civil disobedience designed to eject an occupying military force that has taken control of his planet. Both the world Balimul in the first half of the novel and the world Lyshriol
Lyshriol
Lyshriol is the name of a fictional planet in Catherine Asaro's novels regarding the Saga of the Skolian Empire. It is the homeworld of one branch of Ruby Dynasty....
in the second half fall into the lost colony
Lost World (genre)
The Lost World literary genre is a fantasy or science fiction genre that involves the discovery of a new world out of time, place, or both. It began as a subgenre of the late-Victorian imperial romance and remains popular to this day....
genre of literature in science fiction.
Context
The Quantum Rose is an allegory to the mathematical and physical processes of coupled-channel quantum scattering theoryScattering theory
In mathematics and physics, scattering theory is a framework for studying and understanding the scattering of waves and particles. Prosaically, wave scattering corresponds to the collision and scattering of a wave with some material object, for instance sunlight scattered by rain drops to form a...
. Asaro describes the allegory in an essay at the end of the book and explains how the characters and plot points play the roles of mathematical terms or processes in atomic and molecular physics. Each chapter of the book has a main poetic title, and then a subtitle which refers to the aspect of scattering theory highlighted in that chapter. In an interview with The Hachiko, Asaro describes how she used the provocative nature of some scientific terminology to evoke conflicts dealt with in the book, such as the tensions between capture and freedom. She discusses some of her inspiration for the book in "Moments of Genius," an interview at the Intel Big Think website.
This book overlaps with Spherical Harmonic
Spherical Harmonic
Spherical Harmonic is a science fiction novel from the Saga of the Skolian Empire by Catherine Asaro. It tells the story of Dyhianna Selei , the Ruby Pharaoh of the Skolian Imperialate, as she strives to reform her government and reunite her family in the aftermath of a devastating interstellar...
, which tells the story of Ruby Pharaoh and her attempts to regain her title after the devastating Radiance War.