Customer Reviews

Angel-Seeker (Samaria, Book 5)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book makes a great beach book. It follows each of the three narrators for a chapter or so at a time, providing the reader with plenty of places to stop without hurting the suspense. There is significantly less political and religious debate in this book than in the previous Samaria novels; instead, Shinn focused on the differences and similarities between two supposidly powerless women, Elizabeth and Rebekah, and the methods they use to affect their lots in life.

GENERAL PLOT:

Elizabeth, a pampered Mandavvi daughter turned ignored, embittered servent, takes a laundress job at the Angel hold of Cedar Hills in the hopes that she can catch the eye of an angel. Instead her hard work earns her the attention of a proment doctor who wants to train her as an assistant - a more satisfying and dignifying job than that of angel-seeker but one that has much less job security than that of the mother of an angel.

Rebekah is an opinionated Jansai daughter about to be married off. Shinn is not very subtle in her distain for any culture that would cut women off from ouside contact and the Jansai life comes off sounding like Afghanistan under the Taliban. Rebekah's mildly discontent at her lot in life but can't imagine a different one. She rebels in small ways by arguing with her mother, sneaking out of her compound, and raising her younger brother to be kind and respectful to the women he will have complete authority over one day.

Obadiah is an angel recently sent to Cedar Falls as an ambassador to the Jansai at Breven. He is lonely and frustrated to find that he has little standing or authority among the Jansai. When he is attacked and injured flying between Breven and Cedar Hills, he makes an emergency landing 3 miles from Rebekah's caravan. She sneaks out to help him and the two begin a secret, dangerous relationship. Back at Cedar Hills, it is Obadiah's injuries that prompt the doctor to request Elizabeth's assistance, also giving her a taste of Samarian politics as the hold leaders meet trying to figure out how to respond to the attack.

OTHER THOUGHTS:

Angel-Seeker is the 5th book in the Samaria series, for all that it occurs 3rd chronologically. It is a stand alone book in the sense that Shinn offers readers an unending number of characters ready to offer up exposition at every turn. If it has been years since you've read Archangel, you do not need to reread it before picking up this book. If you have never read a Samaria novel, however, I would recommend reading them in publication order. Not because Angel-Seeker needs it but because in it, certain aspects of Samarian life, land, and history are revealed that might lessen the suspense of the previous books.

Angel-Seeker (2004) is the fifth novel in the Samaria series, but is the sequel to Archangel in internal sequence. In the previous volume, Raphael was the archangel of Samaria. From his hold at Windy Point, he ruled over both humans and angels, changing traditions and corrupting his followers. Raphael married a Jansai women and took other Jansai as followers, even allowing them to enslave the Edori.

Finally, Raphael denied any need to sing praises to Jovah and brought his followers to Mount Galo to wait out the entire day which had been appointed for singing the Gloria. After the sun went down, Raphael announced that he was their god and the thunderbolts sizzled out of the sky to destroy him and all who were with him. A great storm blew over Samaria, the skies opened up, rain fell in torrents, and the rivers began to flood.

The next day, Gabriel lead the survivors in singing the Gloria and the skies calmed and peace returned to Samaria. Gabriel was chosen as the Archangel as foreseen by the oracles. He even convinced Rachel to marry him and become the Angelica.

In this novel, the angels have abandoned Windy Point and have begun to build another city of angels in Jordana. Cedar Hills is unlike any other angel hold, for it is down on the plains, easily accessible by ordinary humans. Gabriel appoints Nathan to rule the new city and so Nathan takes Magdalena, his new bride, and a group of Monteverde angels there to reestablish proper relations with the landholders who have been slighted for so long.

Gabriel has banned the enslavement of Edori and freed all the slaves. Now the Jansai are moaning about their economic difficulties. Since Nathan already has enough problems to handle, Gabriel sends Obadiah to handle relations with the Jansai. Shortly after moving to Cedar Hills, Obadiah flies to Breven and meets with Uriah, the acknowledged leader of the Jansai. After concluding his visit, Obadiah is flying back to Cedar Hills when, suddenly, he is shot out of the sky.

Obadiah manages to crash into a small oasis, but hasn't got the strength to attend to his wounds. He is found there by a young Jansai woman, Rebekah, and she covertly tends him for several days while he recovers, but eventually she has to leave with her family. Shortly thereafter, Obadiah flies out of the desert, but has a relapse in mid-air and crashes once again, causing additional injuries. He has been seen falling out of the sky and is quickly found and placed in a trader wagon to be taken for treatment in Cedar Hills.

Elizabeth is a young women who has come to Cedar Hills as an angel-seeker, a woman trying to become pregnant by an angel in order to bear an angel child. Mothers of angels are very well treated, but most pregnancies between angels and ordinary humans do not produce angel progeny. She has met Obadiah briefly and soon comes to know him rather well after she helps tend his wounds and then is assigned the additional duties of periodically checking his condition and tending his needs.

In this story, the lives of these two women are opposed in many ways. Elizabeth is an orphan who comes from a wealthy family who fell upon hard times; she was living with a distant relative and working as a cook before she fled to Cedar Hills. Elizabeth wants to become pregnant by an angel, but has no real affection for her paramour.

Rebekah is living with her step-father, mother, two brothers and other family members in a fair amount of comfort. She is leery of Jansai men, but believes that her betrothed is kindly enough. Yet she has begun to develop warm feelings, even longings, toward the angel Obadiah.

Elizabeth is a very independent woman who has already proved her willingness to change her circumstances according to her own desires. Rebekah, while is a fairly liberal thinker for a Jansai woman, just cannot convince herself that she could possibly withstand the heartaches of leaving her family and circumstances. What surprises will destiny bring?

The author continues her accounts of intercultural conflicts on Samaria and its consequences. As with Archangel, the pairings herein suffer from inadvertent miscues and other misunderstandings, adding a layer of comedy to the actions of the protagonists. While the major characters have entirely admirable personas, they are contrasted with all sorts of unfeeling and corrupted individuals, from Elizabeth's relative James and his wife Angeletta to the angel David to the Jansai men of Breven. Once again, the author has provided an intricate portrayal of an exotic society and its populace, with special emphasis on their romantic involvements.

Highly recommended for Shinn fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures and strange ways.

-Arthur W. Jordin

'Angel-Seeker' is a direct follow-up book to 'Archangel', taking place a year after 'Archangel' ends, and following the angel Obadiah as he lives at the new angel-hold of Cedar Hills. We see the main characters of 'Archangel' - Rachel and Gabriel - but briefly. Here the focus is upon Obadiah and the impact Gabriel's decisions in 'Archangel' have had upon Samaria.

We definitely get to see the 'dark side' of angels in this book, since the focus is upon the lives of women involved with the angels, particularly 'angel-seekers': women who desperately seek to seduce angels in the hopes of bearing angel children. So we see many of the male angels at their worst, treating these woman like whores. However, this is a Sharon Shinn book, so the unfaltering belief that True-Love-Is-Attainable-For-Everyone is upheld.

There are two women contrasted in this book: The angel-seeker Elizabeth, who comes to Cedar Hills hoping to better her future, and the Jansai woman Rebekah, who within the veiled and cloistered existence of women among the Jansai manages to maintain a relationship with an angel in secret. Both women's lives turn out differently than they expected as they strive to make their future in the new Samaria under the rule of the archangel Gabriel.

Since I loved the book 'Archangel', I enjoyed reading this postscript to that novel about the futures of its minor characters. However, without any knowledge of 'Archangel' this book would be of no interest at all. It doesn't stand well on its own, having nowhere near the depth and complexity of 'Archangel'. It reminds me of reading Anne McCaffrey's 'Nerilka's Story' after having read 'Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern'; the first a book about minor characters from the second book. 'Nerilka's Story' was more a postscript to 'Moreta', while 'Moreta' was a science fiction classic. Indeed, with 'Angel-Seeker' I felt like I was reading fan fiction set on the world of Samaria. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing; like I said, it makes good reading for fans of the Samaria novels. However, the book does not stand on its own. If you haven't read Sharon Shinn's Samaria novels, this book will be a waste of your time.

I gave the book only '3' stars because, while it is 'okay', it isn't 'great'. For an unknown author, I might have given this '4' stars, but since I know what Shinn is capable of (see 'Archangel', 'The Shape-Changer's Wife', 'Wrapt in Crystal', and 'Jenna Starborn' especially), I find it just isn't up to her best. Light reading, nothing deep, characters predictable... you'll read this once, then probably never look or think about it again. For Samaria fans ONLY.

This series has always been a spell-binding read for me. The original trilogy was fantastic. From there it became a little repetitive. This latest addition was a welcomed change. One of my problems with previous novels was the extreme description of music. Shinn could spend an entire chapter describing the rise and fall of angel voices in song. Almost all her novels were concerned about the archangel. In this case, she concentrates on two women (not angels at all) and their perspectives. A Jansai woman and an angel-seeker. In both women she shows the trials and tribulations of misunderstood and persecuted women doing what they have to do to survive, truely live, and love. Shinn twines these two women's lives together in an unexpected and touching way.

It's a long novel, but you will find it hard to put down. I finished mine in two days.

Good reading!

I must disagree with a couple of the reviews I have read here. Though the names of some of the characters in this book are familiar, the focus on the Jansai is fresh - and timely (they do not remind me of gypsies).

The characters in this book are not simple-they are flawed, all of them, and the conflict has to do with our halting experiences as human-beings of free choice. The study of the Jansai women, who live in a cultural situation not unlike many in our own contemporary world, was very interesting to me. ( Why does a woman choose to stay in hell? When does safety become imprisonment?) I'm with Sharon - I want to read stories that tell me in the end, we can be honorable, we can work against what is unjust, we can make mistakes and find redemption and real love is worth sacrifice. But the choices in this book are not facile - the conflict not easily resolved. For those who read for meaning, there is much to mull over in this bit of work. I haven't got a whole lot of time, but this story was worth what I invested in it. Besides, I got a kick out of reading it.

The settlers on the planet Samaria designed it so that the population would be divided into two races: mortals and angels. Just by singing the angels can cause the weather to change and have medicines fall down from the sky. In most cases an angel can only mate with a mortal otherwise the chance of birth defects is increased dramatically. For most women the highest honor is to give birth to an angel child and angel seekers flock to where they live in hopes of catching their eye.

Elizabeth, a poor relation in her cousin's home, runs away to Cedar Hills where the angels are constructing a new community. She hopes to catch the eye of an angel, give birth to his child, and live the rest of her life in luxury. Rebekah, a member of the nomadic Jansai tribe, isolated from the males not of her family, stumbles across the injured Obadiah in the desert and nurses him in secret back to health. Although they fall in love, Rebekah refuses to give up her way of life and family for an angel but both she and Elizabeth learn that what they think they want is not really their heart's desire.

For readers who follow the Samaria novels, ANGEL-SEEKER should be read after ARCH ANGEL and before JOVAH'S ANGEL'S. The Jansai will remind readers of gypsy clans crossed with women living in Purdah in the mid-east. There is enough romance in this novel to appeal to fans of this genre without disappointing those who prefer a solid science fiction tale. Sharon Shinn is a talented storyteller who makes world building seems so graceful and easy.

Harriet Klausner

I'm a newcomer to the Samaria series. I started with Archangel, but when I looked up the other books in the series, I was disappointed to see that they all took place about 150 years from one another. I was interested in the characters from Archangel, many of whom could have had books telling thier own stories. Instead, the next book picked up long after all my beloved Archangel characters were dead, which was a depressing thought that kept me from continuing the series. So it was with great joy that I discovered Angel-Seeker, which picks up chronologically where Archangel left off. Not all of my lingering questions from the first book were answered, but enough to mollify me. Shinn does a good job of developing her characters, but sometimes seems to sacrifice opportunities for much-needed action in favor of someone's long and (occasionally) illogical inner monologue. Overall, though, the book is an engaging read with characters you'll really come to care about.

Not since Archangel have I truly enjoyed another novel of Samaria. I actually gave up after Jovah's Angel and haven't even read The Alleluia Files. I gave Angelica a chance and that was okay.

However, I've enjoyed other Shinn books like Summers at Castle Auburn. But Angel Seeker is just as good as Archangel, even only a little.

One thing I look for in a story is character development. Although completely subjective, my opinion of Rebekah is high. I empathized her rebellious nature and admired her selfless ways. I found her honesty amusing since its coming from an inexperienced girl who doesn't know better when it comes to keeping certain things to yourself. I also found her devoted if not to Obadiah at first, to tradition.

Obadiah is an admirable character. He still had to get rid of his loose ways but he was devoted to Rebekah and he treated her kindly.

I admire Elizabeth for her selflessness though I didn't quite admire her intentions with Obadiah after he had come back with his excursion with Rebekah. All the same, Elizabeth proved herself and was even given a chance at love with a fellow Edori, Rufus.

Perhaps, the only weak parts in the book were one, the ending was not as climactic as Archangel. Much of the story centered on the relationship development between Obadiah and Rebekah despite handling issues such as domestic abuse and promiscuity. There really wasn't a villian in Angel Seeker like in Archangel but the storyline itself makes up for that.

Also, another weak point was the dialogue. In certain situations, it seemed almost poetic and too proper. Obadiah would be spitting out something that he probably gotten from a poem somewhere and made a mental note to remeber it for the next time he runs into another pretty lady. Other than that, I enjoyed the story and will one day pick it up again when I've got nothing to do.

Sharon Shinn's Samaria novels are among the most compelling examples of world building in contemporary science fiction, an intriguing mix of religious faith and technology coexisting uneasily on the human colonized world of Samaria; a world ruled benevolently for centuries by angels, bioengineered humans with wings. Having not read any of Shinn's work before, I was amazed that her world is nearly as richly textured as any I have found in classic works like Frank Herbert's "Dune" series and Ursula Le Guin's "Ekumen" novels, rendered in a most compelling narrative via her fine prose. In "Angel - Seeker" she has created a most compelling cast of characters, both human and angel. Shinn compares and contrasts the lives of two fascinating young women who will embark on transformative journeys that will change their lives forever; Elizabeth, born into wealth, forced by circumstances to endure poverty, until she realizes economic and personal salvation in the angel capital city Cedar Hills; Rebekah of the Jansai, implacable foes of Samaria' ruling angel elite, taught by her fundamentalist religious elders to hate them, until one day, she aids a gravely wounded angel and nurses him back to health. Eventually their paths will cross, altering not only their lives, but also those of an entire tribe, in unexpected, quite startling, ways.

Angel-Seeker is the sequel to Sharon Shinn's wonderful novel, Archangel. Shinn's subsequent books in this series, Jovah's Angel, The Alleluia Files, and Angelica were solid reads, but not as satisfying for me personally, so I approached this one with hope but not expectation. Happily, I found it to be almost as good as Archangel and a delightful visit to a fascinating world.

Angel-Seeker weaves together the lives of two Samarian women whose futures become entangled with the angels. Elizabeth is tired of being poor, tired of working sunup to sundown on her cousin's farm without any recompense. She believes she is meant for greater things. So she journeys to the new angel hold at Cedar Hills, hoping to attract an angel and fall in love. Though that seems unlikely, considering how exalted the social position of angels are, she would settle for bearing an angel baby - which would therefore entitle her to the luxuries of the angel hold for life.

Rebekah, on the other hand, doesn't go seeking an angel; one comes to her. Obadiah, newly arrived at Cedar Hills, has been given the task of communicating with the Jansai in Breven. The archangel Gabriel made many enemies amongst the merchant Jansai when he declared an end to the enslavement of the Edori in Samaria (thus costing the Jansai their slaves), and now there is trouble brewing. Since Obadiah is leagues better at diplomacy than Gabriel, the task falls to him. But on his way back from his first Breven visit, he is shot down from the sky by a weapon that shoots fire. He falls to the desert and is on the point of death when Rebekah, out drawing water for her family's caravan, discovers him. Rebekah knows she should ignore him. She is Jansai and a female, and thus an angel man is no one she should help or even meet, but she can't help herself. This beautiful being is in need, she is there, and soon they are in love. But for Rebekah, this is a deadly situation. If her family ever finds out about Obadiah, they will show her no mercy. Jansai women must be pure, obedient, quiet, and meek. And the ones that are not - die.

There is so much to love about Shinn's ancient Samaria. She has created a complex world with fully defined ethnic, socio-economic, and cultural groups. At the top of Samarian society are the angels - the beautiful, supernaturally strong, musically gifted ones. Yet viewing them through Elizabeth's eyes, it's obvious that they are also arrogant, promiscuous, and condescending. The wandering Edori are friendly, warm, family-oriented, and generous, but they are also disorganized and unambitious. The Jansai are everything the Edori aren't: crafty, structured, energetic, and astute. But they are also strictly patriarchal and controlling. Each group has reason to distrust and disapprove of the others, and their interactions are realistic and fascinating. Shinn does let her bias against patriarchal societies show through, however. It would have been nice to have seen a few more positive characteristics of Jansai men. It is understandable, though, given whose perspective this story is told through.

Shinn spends the majority of her narrative on Rebekah, who is in the most difficult situation. She's about to be married off to the man of her step-father's choosing. She will not know him at all before the wedding, and after that she will be his chattel to do with what he will. At twenty, Rebekah is old to be unmarried. She has a rather undefined status in her step-father's house. She cares for her baby brother and does household tasks, but otherwise she has a good deal of unoccupied time. Jansai women live in seclusion and cannot travel, even within the city without a male escort. Consequently, Rebekah and her rebellious cousin Martha have a great deal of time to worry about their futures, commit small rebellions, and complain about Jansai rules. When she meets Obadiah and sees that he is gentle, kind, and genuinely interested in who she is as a person, she cannot turn her face away, even if it puts her in danger. His love is likely the only love she will ever know.

Obadiah is very appealing. Eclipsed by Gabriel in Archangel, he was nevertheless a bright spot in that book, and it's wonderful to see him get his own story. He falls in love with Rebekah very quickly, for reasons that are somewhat inadequately explained, and then spends the rest of the book trying to deal with the intricacies of Jansai society that he previously dismissed as simplistic, barbaric, and cruel.

Elizabeth's story was well done too. Throughout Archangel the angels sneeringly talk about the angel-seekers - the camp followers of the Samarian world. These woman are motivated most often by the wealth of the angel holds but many of them are just angel groupies. Here we get a chance to see what motivates these women to put themselves in this type of situation. Elizabeth goes to Cedar Hills seeking a better life, to be close to art and culture and money. And she does allow herself to be used. But her story is primarily about personal growth and self-empowerment. What she finds in Cedar Hills isn't at all what she was looking for, but it's exactly what she needs.

Angel-Seeker is a well-structured, skillfully written novel filled with emotionally brave and generous characters. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Obadiah, Gabriel, Rachel, Nathan, and Magdalena again and was happy to meet Rebekah and Elizabeth. I do hope that Shinn keeps returning to this lovely world she's created. I've become addicted, and I need more Samaria stories!

Sharon Shinn's Samaria Series (in order):
Archangel
Jovah's Angel
The Alleluia Files
Angelica
Angel-Seeker
"Fallen Angel": An anthology in the book To Weave a Web of Magic