Right after finishing Ice Planet Barbarians, I ran to pick up the second in the series, Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon. While I really enjoyed the first one, oh man, Barbarian Alien really hit the spot with this couple dynamic. There’s just something about two prickly, more similar than nots that find a way to pair up despite initial thoughts.
The reason this one gets such a high rating despite being generally formulaic is thanks to the featured couple, Raahosh and Liz. Raahosh resonates immediately with Liz and is frustrated that his khui has chosen someone so surly and frail. Liz is frustrated with the entire situation. Stuck on an alien planet and stripped of choices. Take the symbiont or die. Is it worth accepting it to keep alive on a desolate ice planet and never return home, to a comfortable life? Her unhappiness at this situation is immediately understandable to me but for whatever reason, she’s viewed as mean and unreasonable by the other captive women, the same way Raahosh is viewed by the rest of his clan.
With Liz refusing to accept that this is her lot in life, to purposely infect herself with a symbiont, Raahosh forces her hand. Then, realizing she wouldn’t take kindly to this, or to him, kidnaps Liz to give himself time to ingratiate himself to his new mate. Together, they snipe and bitch and are prickly and it’s everything I could ever want. It isn’t that I love constant fighting, but it’s the tension. The arguing born out of frustration in trying to communicate, rather than anger at the other. It’s exciting, and seeing how they eventually learn to communicate and get to know one another, is what makes this book so good and fun and special to me.
If you liked Ice Planet Barbarians, I think you’ll definitely love Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon. We continue learning more of this world and get to enjoy a new flavor of romance with a much different couple.
