Customer Reviews

The Alleluia Files (Ace Science Fiction)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is different than the other two but just as good. It focuses more on the ways technology changes society than on the romance and "secret mysteries" of the planet. The theme change may upset some people who were hoping to read the same book over again with different characters. Pay no attention to them. It's a very well done book, written in the same clear, vivid prose that made her other two angel books so great. The characters are no more poorly developed than in a lot of other SF, and this book is clearly meant to be more traditional SF. Appreciate it on its own terms rather than comparing it to its predecessors and you will not be disappointed.

I discovered Sharon Shinn's writing when I first read The Archangel - her first book dealing with the people and angles of Samaria. With that book I was truly amazed and enraptured with the world and particularly the characters which she created. The love of Gabriel and Rachel is quite honestly one of the best written stories I have ever read. Since then I have always kept an eyes out for following books by Ms. Shinn. Sadly, after staying up late to finish it, I recognize "The Alleluia Files" following more in the steps of "Jovah's Angel", the second book in this series, with it's formula of more plot action than romance and far less compelling writing of both. Ms. Shinn has chosen to concentrate of the development of the land and it's society as opposed to the things which determine whether we too care what happens - the characters. I was not convinved of Tamar or Jared's personalities as they both to severe breaks out of character late in the book with sudden, wimpish, femeninity and bold cries of love and devotion without having had any real interaction yet! She also uses a gross amount of the author's trick of jumping from storyline to storyline just at a moment of high action. This effect may be achieved with style or perhaps twice but after the third and even fourth time I was more annoyed that overjoyed at having to wait fifty more pages to find out about the characters I had been cajoled into being interested in. I above anyone wanted this book to be worthy of a good reception and to be admired and loved in the same way as Archangel, but more do I want for readers of Sharon Shinn's work to know what they will be reading. For anyone who likes this author I would still recommend this book - there are some humorous referrals to "Archangel" and the plot is written with a sure hand which makes you interested in what happens to these people even if you are not interested in themselves. And the character handling is not all bad, there are moments when you see a sparkle of the same which made "archangel" so wonderful. If anything I would ask Ms. Shinn to remember the kind of characters she created in Archangel and the tension, action, and emotion they achieved through her hand. Any book that was written with those wonderful characters in mind would be well worth the reading. If anyone would like to discuss this book further I invite them to E-Mail me. I will be happy to talk, particularly with anyone who has similar high regards for "Archangel".

I'm writing this just moments after finishing The Allelulia Files, with that satisfied feeling still running through my veins. This was truly a good book. I love Sharon Shinn's use of strong female heroines and for those who read Archangel and enjoyed it, there is a character of almost equal caliber in this novel. This book also contained interesting themes such as the reconciliation between science and religion and harmony with the environment and technology. There are some books out there that can captivate me from beginning to end and this was one of them. I found myself smiling as I read the book, and sighing when I finished the book. It left me with that wistful, that was such a great book,I wish I could read it once more and experience that sense of freshness again. Rereading a book is never as great as the sense of wonder and enchantment that comes with reading it for the first time. It reminds me greatly of the writing of Robin Mckinely, another author I admire. It reads like a fairy tale almost but it is so much more than that. The whole setting is unique and I have not come across anything so novel in any of the other science fiction and fantasy books I have ever read. I've already introduced it to two more of my friends who don't typically read books in this genre. They love it. Personally, I still believe that the first book was the best of all, but I greatly enjoyed Alleluia files as well.

Concluding a trilogy which began with the beautiful Archangel, Sharon Shinn brings us the final story of Alleluia, an angel conscripted into duty as the head of the Host. In the second book Alleluia learns some disturbing information about the god of Samaria, Jovah, and, as we learn in this text, records her findings for future generations to discover when they are ready. That time is now. Tamar, a self-proclaimed member of the Jacobites, a group of people who believe that Alleluia's description of the god is true and accurate, is on a mission to find the missing files. Twarted by the existing archangel's attempt to slaughter others like her, Tamar is rescued by another angel, one who is willing to believe her. Forming an uneasy alliance, the pair begin to search for the truth, and discover much more than they ever bargained for. As much as I loved the first two books in Shinn's trilogy, this one, unfortunately, was a disappointment. Rich in description, as always, the book had a major problem with time compression -- specifically, there was far too much to be effective. Spanning the course of months, the story also fell short with the development of some characters and their relationships who might have been incredibly intriguing had they been given some more attention. Instead, Shinn chose to focus on the development of the society itself, which wouldn't be a problem if the characters hadn't suffered as a result. I found all of the sociological advances to be intriguing, but I was spoiled by the wonderful characters in the first two books to miss them here in Files. Still, it was a decent read as Shinn's style is consistently fluid and graceful, with just a touch of fantasy that makes this book memorable enough to keep in my library. :)

This third and final volume in Ms. Shinn's Samaria trilogy takes place a hundred years after time of "Jovah's Angel". The society has become industrialized, and a surpressed dissident cult exists which believes that the god Jovah is actually an orbiting spaceship, and that proof of this was found in years past by the Angel Alleluia and later surpressed. Just to clarify things, although angels are main characters in these stories, they are not the heavenly, chubby-cheeked cherubim of greeting cards. They are flesh and blood beings, with all the foibles of humanity.

Samarian society appears to be slowly coming full circle, from what the original settlers envisioned, to that which the settlers originally escaped. Power within the society is shifting away from the angels, and the Archangel appears to be pursuing an agenda of his own which appears to be in direct conflict with his predestined role within that society.

This book tells the story of Tamar, a dedicated cultist, and the angel Jared who become uneasy allies in the search for Alleluia's truths. The Samarian society is once again richly detailed, and if you've been reading the series from the beginning you'll recognize the changes in lifestyle and attitudes that have taken place since the first book. Tamar and Jared are interesting, well-developed characters, initially mistrusting each other, but then coming to accept that their meeting was predestined by Jovah.

Sharon Shinn has continued her close examination fo human nature in "The Alleluia Files," and her observations are still extremely (and disturbingly) accurate. The preservation of power at all costs; the fear and hatred of anything labeled "different" or "unknown;" the blindness brought about by ideological fervor; these things are all too common throughout history, and Shinn brings home the fact that all too many of us have failed to learn from the past. Unfortunately, this time I feel Shinn sacrificed some of what could have been a fantastic story, in order to present these ideas. The culmination of the story was just a little too pat for me, and the "Star-Crossed Lovers" theme was already getting tired in "Jovah's Angel." Despite its short-comings, I did enjoy this book, and have recommended it (and the rest of the trilogy) to a number of my friends (which I don't do often these days).

This trilogy truly lives up to the potential of the first book, a rarity in publishing. I was very much impressed by Shinn's characterizations as well as her ability to balance historical perspective with individual beliefs. The growth of faith and the ultimate transition from a theocracy to a technocracy was amazing. The lapse of time, a couple hundred years, between each book allowed Shinn to explore sociological changes in a highly personalized context. It also gives ample demostration of how historical remembrance shifts to fit the needs of the current time. Her plotting is excellent, her dialogue realistic and her descriptions evocative. All in all an excellent book.

In this book, Shinn features her best leading male ever, Jared. He is a man with great power and responsibility...and he evades it at any cost to do...nothing at all. Even as news that will shake the very world down to it's core falls into his lap. He waits years to act on it, and even then he just tries pushing it off on the leading lady, Tamar, who is charmingly schizophrenic.

The Alleluia files wasn't as good as as good as Archangel, by Sharon Shinn. But I will say that it had its good points. I just wish that the relationship between Jared and Tamar could have been deeper. I wish she had done more with the two-if she had, it would have joined the ranks of Archangel. But overall it was well written but somewhat underdeveloped.

(The first two books are "Archangel" and "Jovah's Angel".) While I admit I preferred the first two books, this is no less brilliant. The shift from fantasy in the first book, to a melding of fantasy and science fiction in the second, to a predominantly sci-fi atmosphere in the third, is fascinating. Her imagery is beautiful, sweeping you up in the magic and wonder of her world and the music it is filled with. Her ideas are fresh, innovative, intriguing - I'd recommend her to anyone who is tired of traditional fantasy. I'd rather not give away the plot if you haven't read the first two because it would spoil the effect of the revelation. Worth reading and re-reading. Want more.