Book Review: The Down Deep by Catherine Asaro

The Down Deep
Author: Catherine Asaro
Series: Dust Knights (Book 1)
Publication: Baen Books; 1st edition (July 2, 2024)

Description: DUST KNIGHTS: A NEW SERIES IN CATHERINE ASARO’S SKOLIAN EMPIRE: Major Bhaajan and her gang of Dust Knights act as guides and bodyguards to a member of the Imperial family on a mission of good will in the Undercity. But what awaits them in the Down Deep may ruin the chance at peace forever.

A CITY DIVIDED

For centuries The City of Cries—one of the most desired locales in the Skolian Imperialate—has existed by the thinnest of threads. On the dying world of Raylicon, the “haves” live in great luxury in Cries while the “have-nots” scrape by, eking out a marginal existence in the notorious Undercity beneath the desert. Major Bhaajan, formerly of the Pharaoh's Army, knows both worlds. Born into the Undercity, she nevertheless has made a name for herself in the Imperialate. And now, she has the chance to help her people.

HOPE FOR RECONCILIATION

For the first time, a member of the Royal class wants to extend an olive branch to the Undercity. Hoping to build bridges, Colonel Lavinda Majda recruits Bhaaj and her Dust Knights to act as guides and bodyguards on a mission of goodwill to those who live below the surface of their parched world.

THE DOWN DEEP

But the problems of the Undercity run deeper than anyone knows. To help find peace, the Dust Knights must reach the most hidden rungs in that mysterious underground world, a place known only as the Down Deep, where the scars from centuries of distrust are greatest. There they will face an unseen enemy that may destroy the lives of everyone they know—and threaten interstellar civilization.

My Thoughts: THE DOWN DEEP continues the story of Major Bhaajan on the dying world of Raylicon in the Skolian Imperialate. 

Bhaaj came home from her career in the Pharoah's Army with the goal of helping her people who live in the impoverished Undercity beneath the City of Cries. After years of prejudice and neglect, the Imperialate has discovered a need for the citizens of the Undercity. It takes Kyle Operators to keep the Imperialate going and safe from the Traders who want to conquer it. 

Kyle Operators are rare everywhere except in the Undercity where potential Kyle Operators make up a large percentage of the population. Colonel Lavinda Majda - a member of the very high class and powerful Majda family - asks Bhaaj to arrange a visit where she can hopefully build up some goodwill. After overcoming some obstacles both in the Undercity and in the Majda family, Bhaaj agrees to take Lavinda for her visit. 

Problems come up almost immediately when the two rival drug cartels demand that Lavinda meet with them. This has never happened before. Whenever the cartels ran into each other, battles ensued and so did deaths. But it turns out that both cartels want the same opportunities for their children that Bhaaj's Dust Knights have been enjoying. Bhaaj sees this as a major breakthrough to make thing better for her people. 

But then, a call for help from the Down Deep comes to the medic the Majdas have seconded to the Undercity. Lavinda demands that they all go to see if they can help and wind up in the middle of an outbreak of carnelian rash which threatens to kill all of those who live there and those who come to help too. 

This was an intriguing story with fascinating worldbuilding. The culture of the people of the Undercity was richly developed and contrasted in a major way with that of the above ground culture. Culture clashes and prejudices were realistically portrayed. The characters - especially Bhaaj and Angel who is one of her Dust Knights - are viewed in depth. 

I really enjoyed this story which drifts away from the mysteries of the earlier Bhaaj books to the area of epic Space Opera. 

Favorite Quote:

When she stumbled, when she fell, even when she went to sleep on her feet and lurched awake, she kept going, kept struggling because she knew no other way to live. Or to die. 

I bought this one on the book's publication date. You can buy your copy here.