7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scientific mystery, spy thriller, space opera all in one, November 20, 2003
By A Customer
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Zahn's engaging writing style makes this book a real page-turner. He blends some elements of "hard" sci fi within a space opera and spy thriller context. The political/strategic conflict between the Pax and the Empyrean is fascinating, as is the scientific mystery about Angelmass that slowly unfolds as the story progresses. The philosophical issues (can "Good" be quantified? What constitutes sentience?) are thought-provoking and handled very naturally in the narrative. We don't find out the truth about Angelmass until the end of the book.
Also, the main characters are very believable and realistic, in my opinion. Kosta, Chandris, Forsythe, Telthorst, Lleshi, Ronyon, Hanan, and Ornina are all very human, and each seems to have very valid reasons for his or her actions. Their motives are believable and reasonable, given their backgrounds. Each character has his or her own fears/vulnerabilities and aspirations, and I found them all to be very memorable (BTW, I keep imagining Christopher Lee as Lelshi, due to his aristocratic, military demeanor).
I found the plot to be highly engaging, and I found the ending of the book to be very satisfying. One previous reviewer thought there were some loose ends, but I don't see it that way at all. I found the conclusion to be perfectly reasonable, without resorting to a "storybook picture-perfect" ending with everything neatly tied with a bow. On the contrary, I found the ending had more of an authentic feel to it.
If you're looking for a science fiction story with both a sense of wonder and action, this might be what you're looking for.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thought-provoking novel, October 14, 2001
This review is from: Angelmass (Hardcover)
The black hole dubbed "ANGELMASS" because of what it emits has dramatically changed the Empyrean colonists on planet Seraph. Apparently the unique particles impact people so that everyone goes out of their way to befriend everyone else. Peace, tranquillity, and honesty run the Empyrean colony, as ethical behavior is more than just the norm, it is six sigma. However, even with this high rate of adherence to using ANGELMASS to promote peace, some individuals fear the loss of free will. Still the Empyrean senate agrees to reject overtures to join the Pax Comitus alliance controlled by Earth.
When word reaches earth about these so-called "angels", the leadership concludes that it is a Trojan Horse sent by aliens to conquer humanity. To learn more about the perceived danger from the angels, earth dispatches subatomic research scientist Jereko Kostas to investigate. He quickly joins forces with thief Chandris Lalasha, Empyrean Senator Forsythe and his aide Ronyon in a quest for the truth.
ANGELMASS is as deep a science fiction adventure tale as one can get due to the powerful characterizations and the profound look at intergalactic political, social, and behavioral interactions. The question of what is and who determines ethics is interwoven into the fantastic story line without slowing done the action. Timothy Zahn paints quite a landscape that enables the reader to understand the author's message while entertaining the wide spectra of speculative fiction fans who will fully enjoy this zestful outer space novel that seems like a throw back to the Golden Age.
Harriet Klausner
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As A Casual Sci-Fi Reader RatesIt..., July 21, 2004
I was extremely impressed wit this work and loved every minute of it until the bittersweet ending. Not being a science buff or someone who could tell if Zahn's use of Science was accurate or impossible, I was thoroughly dazzled by the content of this book. Even if just for some of the scientific thought process, this book was wonderful in my mind. I always liked Zahns analysis of situations and the infinite flow of possibilities he can throw out. And here, scientific theories are popped out as easy as Pezz.
It is mostly a story about two people, one: an academic, scientist who is talked into being a Spy in enemy territory (a handful of systems known as the Empyrean) and to research Angels. These subatomic particles are the essence of Good, which bring about calm, reason and honesty in those who wear them (mainly officials in government, military leaders and such). He, along with his nation, the Pax, believe Angels are alien invaders or a plot thereof to remove human suspicion and allow for an easy takeover. He's being sent to find a way to save them, by learning as much as he can about the Angels himself.
Second: a 16 year old girl who is running. She's an underground con-artist and thief who is trying to get away from the obsessed and insane person who taught her the tricks of the trade. She ends up encountering an Angel while trying to make a supposedly profitable "score" and ends up trying to fight against herself with either letting the Angel reform her or running from the Angel. She's also at conflict with herself over what she really wants and needs in her life.
There's also characters battling their own moral problems, a senator who's innocent and seemingly noble action starts to flower into a mess he cannot control, a general at war with politics and a pair of Angel hunters who just seem to smile at every problem over a hot cup of tea. They are all thrown into a pot and shaken around with the threat of an invasion and an enemy that comes from the least expected place.
It is a wonderful story that I'm still in love with, but I'm also easy to please. Zahn's book Heir to the Empire was the first book I read as a child that was not assigned to me as homework. I've been a fan every since.
This book has this type of basic plot line to it. Someone thrown into a place, isn't all that prepared for it, is actually there for a reason he doesn't quite know and has to figure it out for himself and then save the place where he was thrown into. If you have read Manta's Gift by Zahn you'll also note this is a very similar plot line... and the two books were written back to back (variety?). Manta's Gift features a person who basically lost their life in an accident and was talked into being "born" again as an alien, the Qanska. He's actually there for a reason he doesn't know yet and must face a threat against his new "people". Same basic idea.
Though Angelmass plays this out on a pretty large scale and has the issue of What is Good and Evil? As these Angels supposedly are the stuff Good is made of... it talks about that. Manta's Gift has the issue of What is Humanity? As a human is born again as an alien and becomes one of them, what does it mean to be human? Both stories also have a very annoying villain character, the Adjutor Telthorst and Liadof of the Five Hundred, they have someone aligned with the annoying villain but definitely not on the same thought pattern, Faraday and Lleshi, and a leader type character on the other end who's trust must be earned, Forsythe and Latranesto (though they differ highly in personality).
Still I loved this book even though I read itafter reading Manta's Gift and kept going "Wow this is a lot like Manta's Gift." I really liked the personalities and the way that the characters thought, because half the time they were trying to fool themselves more than fool everyone else and you knew it throughout the entire thing. I recommend it to anyone who is like me, a casual sci-fi fan, star wars fan, gamer and hopeless romantic that just eats of any hint of affection between main characters.
"It is a Serious Sci-Fi novel sneakily posing as a Golden Age thrill ride." -Locus
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