True Blood by Patricia Waddell

COPYRIGHT: 2006
PAGES: 320
SETTING: Futuristic
TYPE: Romantic Suspense
SERIES: First book in her new futuristic series. Next book True Deception due out sometime in 2007.

REASON FOR READING: I love s.f./futuristic romances but there are not enough new ones written, so when I saw that both Tara and Kristie recommended this one, I had to go searching. Oh, and of course I have to confess I was intrigued by the notion of ZERO GRAVITY SEX.

SUMMARY:[from Amazon]

She's a diplomat...Danna MacFadyen of the League of Planets is assigned to investigate the explosion of a space freighter. She must use her psychometric skills to determine whether this was an accident or terrorism -- but for Danna, the hardest part of this assignment is working with Korcian Enforcer Cullon Gavriel. He's a warrior...Fighting isn't just in a Korcian's blood -- it's in his very soul. Cullon Gavriel already knows the freighter explosion was terrorism -- targeted at the Korcian prince traveling incognito aboard the ship. Cullon's single goal: to discover who is killing Korcian True Bloods. He never expects to become enchanted with a beautiful Terran female who has the ability to step into the past. As the pieces of an explosive puzzle fall into place....Danna and Cullon realize they have uncovered a conspiracy that stretches across the galaxy. The trail leads to the capitol city of the Korcian Empire, where shocking secrets lie hidden-- and where the lines between politics and love cross unexpectedly.

THOUGHTS / OPINION:
It's been quite a while since I read this but I remember TB as being a pretty good read. Danna and Cullon are assigned the task of finding out who is responsible for an explosion of a Korcian spacecraft that killed 46 crew members. They must find the perpetrators quickly in order to avoid an intergalactic war.

I was fascinated by Danna's psychometric abilities that allowed her to read the emotions of a person by touching an object that they had touched. Cullon was a very alpha male and was much less interesting to me. I find it very strange that so many futuristic/s.f. books have such uber-alpha males and rather weak females. Why is that? It seems as if the H/H from a medieval romance are dropped into a futuristic. Which is very discouraging to a feminist such as I am. I truly believe that plight of women all over the world will eventually get better and more equal to men over the next 100 years or so. (I hope it's sooner but men are so pig-headed and other cultures have barely begun the process of female equality, if at all.) It's so disappointing to read a book set say 500 years from now that features characters like those in an older medieval bodice ripper. I see this time after time in lots of futuristics. But not always, sometimes there are some really kickass heroines in them. Ack, sorry, I digress.

The zero gravity sex was very fun and the mystery detective work was pretty good, overshadowing the romance somewhat but still very enjoyable.

GRADE: B