ESCAPE TIME!  with KC Heath

IN CONQUEST BORN
C.S. Friedman
DAW 1986
Pb 530 pages (includes a 30-page Glossary)
ISBN # 0-7564-0043-0

They are born to fight, the Braxi and the Azea. Disparate human cultures in a distant star system have evolved as each other's mirror opposites in everything from ehavior to handedness, continually vying for power, one over the other. The telepathic Azeans prefer peace, but not at the cost of their territorial freedom; and the constant striving of their hereditary foe--the Braxana--drive them to interstellar war again and again. Zatar, son of Lord and Kaim'era Vinir of Braxi, is a born warrior gifted with command. He is outwardly cold, unbeatable, shaking fear into even his own people at the mention of his name. His opponent in this rivalry is the Azean, Anzha lyu Mitethe, a telepath gifted beyond her ken.

In order to prove himself worthy of adulthood in Braxi society, Zatar disguises, sneaks into Azea, and murders a key political figure. This daring feat not only wins him the paternal enmity his society covets, but his father's place among the Kaim'eri as well. Zatar's Azean victim accidentally takes his wife with him when the poisonous "Black Death" consumes him and explodes from his tissues. Their child as witness, Anzha Mitethe nearly dies as her telepathic powers surge with the grief before others of her kind redirect her misery into a personal vendetta directed specifically at Zatar. Anzha grows into the perfect adversary for Zatar.

So begins an extensive exploration of two unique societies and their affect on each other--and neighboring aliens. It is an intensive study into the long held debate of genetics vs. environment: which has the greater influence over human behavior? In Conquest Born focuses on conquest and even though the author plays heartily with the topic of sex, Ms Friedman does not use the fulfillment of it to reward the reader but rather twists it into the pain for victory. But you have to read the book to see which of these ultimate warriors conquers the other. 

This book is recommended for anyone who likes the star-conquest theme: C.S. Friedman does science fiction well. This book is not for readers who become easily irritated when the chapters bounce around between multiple characters and places, spreading sometimes many years between episodes.