Kinsman's Oath by Susan Krinard

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
This romantic space thriller delivers more twists than a roller coaster, as it pits captor against captive, one race against another. It takes place in a galaxy at war, populated by humans, telepaths, and an alien race called the shaauri. (The galaxy will be familiar to readers of her novella in the popular Out of This World anthology.) Krinard's plot revolves around two untrusting telepaths, Ronan VelKalevi, a human kidnapped and raised by shaauri from the age of six, and Captain Cynara D'Accorso, commander of the Pegasus, the ship that rescues Ronan. The passion that springs up between them is instantaneous, but the complications evoked by their emotions and abilities is almost beyond imagining. Together they have the potential to resolve -- or perpetuate -- a 20-year war. Ginger Curwen

From the Publisher

In her popular novella in the New York Times bestselling Out of this World anthology, Susan Krinard created a futuristic world of humans, telepaths, and an alien race called the shaauri. Now, she returns to that future galaxy with a captivating tale about two telepaths who have nothing in common—except the love they share for each other.

Publishers Weekly

Two telepaths from very different backgrounds find love in Krinard's elaborate futuristic romance, which revisits the complex world she created in "Kinsman," her short story contribution to the Out of this World (2001) anthology. Those who are familiar with this futuristic landscape may enjoy this imaginative tale, but others will likely feel one step behind from the first page. In the opening scene, young Ronan VelKalevi is captured by the beast-like Shaauri, a race reviled by humankind. As a grown man, Ronan finally escapes from the Shaauri with the help of Cynara D'Accorso, captain of the spaceship Pegasus. Ronan and Cynara are both misfits-he's distinctly human but he's been taught by the Shaauri to despise his own kind, and she's a strong woman who hails from a planet where women are second-class citizens. Cynara and Ronan prod each other's minds and connect in an erotic way, but it soon becomes apparent that Ronan has been programmed to kill a prominent human leader. The affair between Ronan and Cynara, while compelling, is too often overshadowed by the politics of Krinard's world. Overpopulated and overstuffed with exposition, this book isn't likely to achieve the popularity of the author's Wolf romances (To Catch a Wolf, etc.). Agent, Ruth Cohen. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

When starship captain Cynara D'Accorso rescues Ronan VelKalevi as he flees his shaauri pursuers, she runs the risk that he is not the fugitive he claims to be. But Ronan is unaware that he isn't what (or who) he thinks he is either-or that he has been sent on a deadly mission that could throw their world into chaos. Returning to the futuristic world she first created in her novella "Kinsman" in the anthology Out of This World (2001), Krinard takes a pair of seemingly mismatched telepaths, lets them fall in love, and then sends them into a situation that could mean their deaths-or bring peace between humans and the shaauri, a catlike alien race. Cultural differences, interpersonal communications, family loyalties, and political intrigue (on a galactic scale) are front and center in this well-written story, which nicely balances fast-paced action with thoughtful introspection and puts a futuristic spin on a number of age-old problems. Writer Krinard (When Darkness Falls) is especially noted for her werewolf books. She lives in Concord, CA. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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