Customer Reviews

Wrapt in Crystal

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A suspenseful murder mystery/lovestory. Shinn has created yet another masterpiece. While not quite as good as any of the books in the Samaria trilogy, this book has its share of qualities that should delight anyone who is a fan of Shinn's work. I have found all of her books a great read and always tough to put down once I start reading. Ms. Shinn cannot write books fast enough for me. As soon as I finish one I want to read another. Definitely one of today's great authors. Deserves much more appreciation and fanfare than she gets.

I stayed up all night to finish this book. Not only does she do action and romance well, but she manages to portray people with very different viewpoints in a sympathetic way. I usually don't like romance much, and I usually like more poetic prose -- but this author makes me feel comfortable and warm, using simple, readable prose to portray likeable characters. The only way I can describe the story is to say it is a science fiction space opera detective romance action novel with strong religious overtones. How's that for a combo?

Our hero is Drake, a pretty standard stereotypical "private dick" character who is the perfect leading man for a romance novel or action story. He's sort of a gentleman space marine with a keen mind and unearthly competence - the kind of guy that doesn't really exist, but that women dream of. Fortunately the women in the book and the plot are interesting enough that rather than be distracted by the uber-detective you will be constantly wondering which of the ladies he's going to end up with, and whodunnit. The book is fun and suprisingly intelligent while seeming very down-to-earth and accessible.

If like her angel stories, you'll like this book, too.

This is the first Sharon Shinn book I've ever read, but I've heard good things about her other books (Archangel, Jovah's Angel) so I decided to give it a try.

I liked the setting, but I do wish some things had been explained in a bit more detail, like the Moonchildren. I especially liked the use of words from "our" languages, altered to reflect the passage of time. It's a detail many "colony of earth" sci-fi writers ignore or bungle.

I can't say the mystery enthralled me, I figured the second biggest mystery about half-way through the book. The "whodunnit" part was weak, but this book is worth reading purely for the philosophy of the Triumphantes.

It's a believable world, and the characters are well-drawn. I don't regret buying it.

Having read about this book for years I have no idea why it was so hard for me to read it at first. I would pick it up, put it down, and find a new book to read (something I never do) and then try t again. Something just wasn't clicking for me. Finally I decided that I had read too many books by this author and they were too formulaic somehow. All of Sharon Shinn's heroes are noble, hopelessly, selflessly, charmingly, noble. Admittedly if one must have a hero in a book it is good to make that hero a good man, but the profile with this author is too narrow. You could take a hero out of any of her novels and drop into another one and with the exception of some angel wings, never know the difference.

Only this book is different. To summarize-"Wrapt in Crystal" is about a planet that is on the verge on joining a confederation of planets (think Star Trek) and brining with it a much wealthier planet. But this planet has some reservations. So when priestesses of the major religion on the planet, from both sects of the religion, start turning up murdered the planetary forces strike a deal. A Moonchild investigator (the moonchildren are like the space police) will come and solve the serial killings, and then maybe the planet will federate.

So we meet Cowen Drake, a man who lost his faith a long time ago. Like all of Shinn's heroes he is selfless, smart, charming, and more than a little bit damaged. He's also puzzled about the murdered because on Semay (the planet) the priestesses are sacred and off limits to any kind of violence. There is no discernable reason anyone would want to kill either a joy worshiping Triumphante or a more solemn Fidele. In fact the only clue he has to this mystery is one that doesn't even fit the puzzle-a young Triumphante priestess who disappeared into thin air after unspeakable tragedy.

And as he learns the language and culture of the planet, and becomes friends with two very different amazing priestess ("as different as joy and sorrow") the murdered is coming closer and closer to what he seeks....

I say this book is different because of the spiritual nature of it. Shinn obviously put in a lot of thought to the religion she created and the culture it serves. Not only that but the book raises some interesting issues in and off itself about faith and it is a double edges sword: how easy it is to lose it, or lose yourself in it to avoid life altogether. There's also a current running through this book about light and redemption that is-well, almost spooky because of how appealing it is. I would recommend this book for that aspect along, although the mystery isn't that bad. I figured it out before Drake did, but he was a little distracted, and too be fair I didn't have every element figured out.

So in the end this is a book worth reading. Tragic heroes do have their place after all, and Drake is a great example of that. And the ending is amazing.

Four stars.

While Wrapt in Crystal did not enthrall me the way Archangel did, it was an excellent, suspenseful mystery (but don't read the Kirkus review-- it gives it all away). Shinn's writing, as usual, is lyrical and lovely and the plot moves quickly.

I'm really not much for sci-fi, and am the antithesis of religious, but apart from that, I had one major quibble. The language is supposedly a mixture of Spanish, Italian and French. As an avid Spanish student, I noticed many major grammatical errors in noun gender agreement, misuse of the Ud./tu form and inconsistent use of the subjunctive... It annoyed me so much that my enjoyment of the overall book was lowered. So if you speak Spanish, be prepared! All in all though, still a very well-written book.

I picked up this book on the off chance when it came into the bookstore that I work at. The title caught my attention. I found the story a little lacking in places, but on the whole it was a wonderful piece of writing. The most lacking part of the story seemed to be the budding romace that was building during the novel. I think that could have been developed a little more to work a bit better with the mystery story line. The blending of fantasy and sci-fi was nice. It is rare when an author can take the idea of the future and combine it nicely with the average aspects of fantasy. I hope that her other books turn out to be as nice of a read as this one was.

Lt. Cowen Drake, SAO (Special Agent) for Interfed's Moonchild Forces, has been sent to the desert planet Semay to investigate a series of murders. Priestesses from Semay's two ruling religious factions, Triumphantes and Fideles, are the victims and Drake must find the connections between the two very disparate sects. During his investigation, Cowen must confront his own sad religious history and deal with the fact that he is slipping into love with one of the high priestesses.

This was a hard book to finish, the main character is repressed (and depressed) and the entire story sad and dreary. Shinn explores in great detail religious convictions and faith, but there is none of the humor and spark of her Samaria novels. It also didn't help that the solution to the mystery was evident hundreds of pages before the ending.

Love mysteries and fantasies so when there's a crossover, I have to buy the book. Purchase is particularly a must when one of my favorite authors has written the novel.

This is not the best of Shinn's work. I like "Heart of Gold" or any of the prior "Alleluia Files" better.

A serial killer is stalking priestesses from two very diverse orders on the planet Semay. The Triumphantes worship the Goddess as joy and live a lavish life, while the Fideles serve the poor and live very spartan lives. The killer's taking women from both septs. Detective Cowan, who has lost his faith, is tasked to charge this mystery and to understand the sisters.

The novel definitely breaks ground and it's interesting to read, but doesn't pull you from page to page as a good mystery should. If you're just starting with Shinn's books, pick another. You may want to read this later because her work is very good, but this is not the best first impression.

I got this book from the swap website paperbackswap.com.

I've started to be into romance books lately. Mostly, I think from this author. This book definitely takes you into the world of Senya, a desert planet with a serial killer. The main character, Cowen, is sent as the person to solve the murders. Along the way he finds the case has more than it's normal twists. He starts to get involved with the locals. I loved the combination of Mystery/Sci-Fi/Romance in this book. I would recommend this for Sci-Fi readers that enjoy a little additional romance to their books.

Having read most of Sharon Shinn's novels, and loved them all, (I started with the Samaria trilogy)I have to say this was a bit of a dissapoitment. It was much more boring than her other novels, and I found myself struggling to get through it. It only picked up towards the end, and that's when I ended up staying up half the night to finish it. If you are looking for a good Shinn novel, I would suggest the Samaria trilogy, rather than reading this.