Jovah's Angel (Samaria, Book 2) [Paperback]

Sharon Shinn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

When the reigning Archangel is grounded with a broken wing, Jovah chooses Alleluia as her successor, but now the fate of the planet rests with the reluctant Archangel Alleluia, whose own fate depends on a mortal man who believes only in science and himself.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is a standalone sequel to Archangel, set 150 years later in proverbially interesting times. Samaria is industrialized; the Manadavvi and Jansai are wealthier; the Edori are marginalized, their roaming lifestyle disrupted; and Jovah seems to be turning a deaf ear to his angels' prayers for abatement of increasingly destructive storms. In the midst of all this, Archangel Delilah is incapacitated and replaced by shy, unworldly Alleluia. Alleya must pacify the tribes, calm the weather, make Jovah hear her, forge a reconciliation with Delilah, and find her angelico in order to get married--there's a Gloria due in four months. Unfortunately, the tribes don't want to be pacified, the weather is uncooperative, Jovah is remote, crippled Delilah wants nothing to do with angels, and Alleya's mate is identified only as a "son of Jeremiah.&qupt; If you're stockpiling vacation reading and love a bit of romance (or Anne McCaffrey's writing!), pop Shinn's work in the pile. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With angels all the latest rage, Shinn (The Shape-Changer's Wife, LJ 10/15/95) pens another fantasy tale in the Archangel world. After a night of revelry, the reigning archangel breaks her wing and is replaced by Alleluia, a nondescript scholar who must rely on the human Caleb, who believes only in science. Competently done but not exciting; recommended for fantasy collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Ace (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441005195
• ISBN-13: 978-0441005192
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sharon Shinn is a journalist who works for a trade magazine. Her first novel, The Shapechanger's Wife, was selected by Locus as the best first fantasy novel of 1995. She has won the William C. Crawford Award for Outstanding New Fantasy Writer, and was twice nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has lived in the Midwest most of her life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Kind of SF Storytelling, July 22, 2002

By 

Lawrence E. Wilson (Mayfield, East Sussex, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jovah's Angel (Samaria, Book 2) (Paperback)

Having read (and loved) Shinn's first book about the planet Samaria, I was thrilled to find a sequel. Back to a world where angels fly and their song fills the skies, many years after the exciting and romantic events of Archangel. In Jovah's Angel, the weather patterns on meteorologically-unstable Samaria are deteriorating, and the only voice that seems to be hearable by Jovah, the overseeing "deity" of the planet, is that of shy, scholarly Alleluia, now forced by circumstance to play the role of Archangel, taking the place of a brilliant, injured predecessor. And political brilliance is sorely needed on Samaria, as the different factions jockey for top position, as technological advances are made (and resisted), and the weather worsens (and worsens), as knowledge is lost (and regained). Shinn is, as always, excellent in her society-building---she postulates a set of circumstances and characters and then rings the changes, inviting us along to see what happens...and it's a wonderful trip, really an engaging and wonderful book. Not dissimilar to Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, in its basic premise, but rather stronger in its depiction of a social-religious- political cultural matrix. And her depictions of the glories of human song are amazing and original. Very well done!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good read, but nowhere near as good as "Archangel", June 16, 1998

By 

Kimberly Taylor "Mad Scientist" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jovah's Angel (Samaria, Book 2) (Paperback)

I saw the paperback edition of "Jovah's Angel" at my local bookstore and snapped it up. I really enjoyed "Archangel" and was hoping for a similar experience with this book. As with most sequels, I was ultimately disappointed. I enjoyed the return to Samaria, but I thought the plot and characters could have been much stronger. Delilah and Alleya were caricatures instead of characters: the stormy dark angel and the quiet blond. Caleb was drawn a bit better, but Noah was also a cardboard cutout of a character. I will give Ms. Shinn credit for finally resolving the mystery of what Jovah really is.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, but hard to top Archangel!, July 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Jovah's Angel (Ace Science Fiction) (Paperback)

At first I found the jump of 150 years from the time of Archangel difficult to adjust to. Once into the book I did enjoy the return to Samaria & learning of the changes that had occurred. While I did find this book good-I can't help but wish for a return to the lives of Rachael & Gabriel. Perhaps Ms. Shinn will decide to take us back in an upcoming novel & allow us once again to share in the lives of the characters' lives we became a part of in Archangel. I'm looking forward to reading The Alleluia Files. Ms. Shinn has a great talent with words!