Title: Jovah's AngelAuthor: Sharon Shinn
Published: 1997, Ace
Category: Science Fiction
Rating: 8.5/10
Jovah's Angel is the second in Shinn's Samaria series. I read the first, Archangel, a while ago and enjoyed the writing but was completely annoyed by the heroine. But I've like Shinn's other books much better, so I had to give this series another try. And I'm so glad I did, because I loved this one.
The world of Samaria is ruled by a small group of angels, which are led by an Archangel. These angels sing to their god, praying for rain during drought, medicine for the sick, and seed when crops fail. The god has always provided what they pray for. But now the angel's prayers seem to be in vain. It's been storming for months and nothing the angels do makes any difference. During one of these storms, the Archangel, Delilah, is thrown to the ground and breaks her wing. The god surprises everyone by naming Alleluia as the next Archangel. Quiet and unassuming, she is considered by many as a bad choice who will be unable to deal with the politics of ruling.
Alleluia does not particularly want to be Archangel, but she'll do what she has to to help Samaria. In an effort to figure out why the angels' prayers are not being answered, she travels to the oracles and has them ask the god what to do. The god's answer is extremely cryptic. Trying to make sense of this, she studies the ancient texts and her discoveries make her question the very nature of the god itself. She is helped by a moral, Caleb Augustus, a scientist who has lost faith in the god.
I love Shinn's writing style--it's so solid, meaty but still fluid. The language is lovely; the way she describes the angels' singing is beautiful and just amazingly effective. And the romance is so well done. It never overpowers the rest of the plotline, but still manages to be integral to the story. And I was happy that I found it soooo much easier to relate to Alleluia than to Rachel (the heroine of Archangel). I loved her and Caleb both.
And the world-building is so interesting! The world of Samaria is very original, and there are some pretty shocking developments in this book. Before reading Jovah's Angel, I was sort of sad that each book in this series is each set a century apart, so we don't get to see any of the same characters in the sequels. But I changed my mind when I realized that this set-up allows us to see how the world of Samaria is evolving. Archangel is set in a completely pre-Industrial era. In Jovah's Angel, the Samarians are starting to make scientific discoveries, and we see how that is changing the way people think about religion.
The devoutly religious might find the book disturbing, but I thought the discussions of science vs. faith were fascinating. Highlight for BIG spoiler [read the book first!!]: I had already read somewhere that the god was actually a spaceship (I wish I hadn't known!), but I liked the way Shinn dropped clues throughout. And when Alleya's at the oracle and the god says to SEND HELP--well, I was enthralled. ;) I also thought that Alleya's reactions to finding out that her god was a machine were great. She's upset but not crushed--she deals with the fall-out rationally and with great intelligence. :)
I moved right on to the next in the series, The Alleluia Files. And I talked Twin into reading Shinn's Twelve Houses series, and she's loving it just like I said she would. (A few minutes ago she made a little squeal and said, "Tayse was captured!!" Oh no!) :p
6 comments:
Love, love, love this whole series. I was lucky enough not to know about the Big Spoiler (BTW, it doesn't look whited-out on my computer!), and I think this made the book even more enjoyable to me. Not that I was completely surprised... as you say, there are plenty of clues seeded all through the book, but I kept refusing to believe she'd really go there. I'd compare the big revelation with the ending of the movie The Village, only much more successfully done.
Oh, and did you know Angel-Seeker is set on the same period as Archangel? The other one, Angelica, is set centuries before them all.
Hmmm, sounds like this on was much better than the other? Maybe I'll give it a try :D Still, is there some romance in it? Was it better than between Rachel and Gabriel?
Rosario--Gah!! Damn. I forgot to change the color of the text that I meant to white out. I hope I haven't ruined it for anyone. I fixed it now. :(
I really wish I hadn't known about the spoiler, though as you say there are pretty heavy hints from the very beginning. But even though I knew, it was still exciting, which I guess is proof that the suspense is handled really well! I just finished The Alleluia Files last night (stayed up much too late reading it), and I liked how it all ended.
I've got both Angel-Seeker and Angelica still in the TBR. I might take a little break before reading them, but I'm sure I'll get to them soon.
Nath--I loved the romance in this one, mostly because I loved the characters so much more than Rachel and Gabriel. But the love story is very sweet and I think it's focused on a bit more than in Archangel. Overall, I found it a much more satisfying read than Archangel. I'm really glad I gave the series another try. :)
Yay!!! I'm so glad you liked it! Mmm... the plot twist is what makes it so hard to categorise this series.
I wish she would write more books set in Samaria - it's such a unique world. And yes, love the way she describes the music - I'm not musical by any stretch of the imagination, but it's just wonderful!
I like Shinn's writing and luckily I have this one on hand. Now I want to read it. Thanks for the review!
Li--They are definitely an interesting mix of fantasy and science fiction. Mostly fantasy, really, given the old-world type setting.
I was at Shinn's website and she definitely says there that she's not planning on writing anything else set in Samaria. So sad. I'm lucky I have two more to read. ;)
Brie--I also really loved her Twelve Houses series and Summers at Castle Auburn. I'm going to start collecting her older books.
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