eb00kie's review
1.0
WTF this was supposed to be a fantasy series, Merde, the cover should have clued me in!! Dancing burritos! She goes fantasy half a book then pulls the SF GOD-IS-A-SPACESHIP cliche. Pete's sake, no more crap from this author.
alleeme's review
3.0
Read this back in March. I really enjoyed it better than the first one in the series. Not sure if I will continue or not.
rachel_abby_reads's review
2.0
This is the second in Shinn's archangel series. It was well written, although the premise of this book is that Jovah (the deity of Samaria, and a seemingly abreviated version of Jehovah)is actually the name of a space ship orbiting the planet. It turns out that centuries past, a people left their home planet, disgusted with the world that they knew, bliaming much of the evil they had known on technology. They left for a brave new world, abandoned technology, leaving enough set up to serve as weather, harvest or illness control, inthe form of flying angels who would sing certain songs (access requests) and angellic prayers would be "answered." It is such a well kept secret that only one oracle at a timeis aware of it, and the current, corrupt archangel finds out. At the end, her life mate is able to heal the right archangel, and she is able to be the new oracle, and everyone is fairly happy.
Is this intended as a commentary on religion? It is hard not to see parallels between Samarian religions and Christianity, Judaism, Islam.
Is this intended as a commentary on religion? It is hard not to see parallels between Samarian religions and Christianity, Judaism, Islam.
teasilly's review
5.0
I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book in the beginning—I was mainly sticking around for Alleya and Caleb; even by the end, I'd still mostly stuck around for them. I didn't care much for Delilah, and I think at some points the narration about journeying was a little tiresome. But reading about Alleya and Caleb was a joy; they're both such great characters, characters I grew to care for.
Especially towards the end, the points brought up about science and religion in general were splendid. I was worried when I started this series that I wouldn't like the books because of a heavy emphasis or bias in regards to religion—any religion—but that isn't so. There may be some borrowed theories, names, etc. from known religions, but the world is its own thing. It doesn't come across as preachy at all, while at the same time, representing rather well some relevant beliefs/stances people do have today.
All in all, I enjoyed it! 4.5 stars.
Especially towards the end, the points brought up about science and religion in general were splendid. I was worried when I started this series that I wouldn't like the books because of a heavy emphasis or bias in regards to religion—any religion—but that isn't so. There may be some borrowed theories, names, etc. from known religions, but the world is its own thing. It doesn't come across as preachy at all, while at the same time, representing rather well some relevant beliefs/stances people do have today.
All in all, I enjoyed it! 4.5 stars.
bookfairy99's review
3.0
I read the first book in the series more than a decade ago, and I remember absolutely loving it. So when I picked up the sequel, I had high hopes. Unfortunately, the book just didn’t grab me. Oh, there was nothing wrong with it, really… it was a perfectly pleasant read. And maybe that was the problem. These days, I don’t have the patience for “perfectly fine”, or even for “pleasant”. I want something that’s going to grab me and refuse to let go, and unfortunately I found it much too easy to put Jovah’s Angel down and not pick it up again. When I was actually reading it I was mildly entertained, but ultimately I had no interest in finding out what would happen to the characters and I eventually put the book down for good.
nelsonseye's review
4.0
I think I missed having a clearly defined villain in this book, though I still enjoyed it very much. I found the "truth" to be quite interesting, and I'm glad that certain elements hinted at in the previous book were revealed. The resolution also worked quite well.
tita_noir's review
3.0
On the planet Samaria the Angels pray to the God Jovah to answer the needs and wants of the people. If they need medicine, the angels pray and medicine arrives. If they need grain, the angels pray and grains arrive. If the weather is violent, the angels pray and the weather subsides.
Only lately it seems the Jovah hasn't been hearing the angels. Storms have raging over Samaria leaving flood and terrible conditions in it's wake. The Archangel Delilah, flying carelessly during one such storm, plummets and irreparably breaks her wing. If she can't fly, she can't sing to the God and therefore she can't be Archangel. It is up to the oracles to speak with the God to have him name a new Archangel. Only the oracles have the knowledge to communicate directly with the God through the strange devices with the incomprehensible hieroglyphs that appear on the blue glowing screens.
Alleluia, a young angel is named the new archangel. It is well known that her voice is the only one the god still listens to. But Alleya, as she is known, feels she is woefully unprepared to be the Archangel. The Archangel isn't only responsible for singing to the God, she must also settle disputes between the various people in the land and make high level decisions.
In the meantime, the ancient devices that play the music that all angels must learn to sing to the God are beginning to fail. Alleya is desperate to find someone who can fix them. She learns of an engineer. A young Atheist named Caleb who has a burning curiosity about all things mechanical and an ambition to invent new and wondrous things.
As the two meet they work together to fix the machines and in doing so they uncover more about the beginnings of Samaria than they bargained for.
I read this book ages ago and on the strength of remembering that I generally liked it, I had given it three stars. Upon re-read, I think the three stars is still a good rating.
As I was reading it felt like it was a bit slow going. At points I had to struggle to move forward. I think it is because I knew where the story was going and was impatient for it to get there. I also though the story spent too much time on Delilah and not enough time on Alleluia. But by the time I got to the halfway mark, the book picked up immensely and really got going.
I am glad I re-read this book. I thought the reaction that both Alleya and Caleb had with their discoveries were very true to their natures. And the responsibility they both felt with their new found knowledge was also very well explored.
I especially liked the growth arc of Alleya. In the beginning she seemed very unsure, very young and unready for her challenge. At the end of the book, she was really wise beyond her years and her strength of purpose was phenomenal.
Only lately it seems the Jovah hasn't been hearing the angels. Storms have raging over Samaria leaving flood and terrible conditions in it's wake. The Archangel Delilah, flying carelessly during one such storm, plummets and irreparably breaks her wing. If she can't fly, she can't sing to the God and therefore she can't be Archangel. It is up to the oracles to speak with the God to have him name a new Archangel. Only the oracles have the knowledge to communicate directly with the God through the strange devices with the incomprehensible hieroglyphs that appear on the blue glowing screens.
Alleluia, a young angel is named the new archangel. It is well known that her voice is the only one the god still listens to. But Alleya, as she is known, feels she is woefully unprepared to be the Archangel. The Archangel isn't only responsible for singing to the God, she must also settle disputes between the various people in the land and make high level decisions.
In the meantime, the ancient devices that play the music that all angels must learn to sing to the God are beginning to fail. Alleya is desperate to find someone who can fix them. She learns of an engineer. A young Atheist named Caleb who has a burning curiosity about all things mechanical and an ambition to invent new and wondrous things.
As the two meet they work together to fix the machines and in doing so they uncover more about the beginnings of Samaria than they bargained for.
I read this book ages ago and on the strength of remembering that I generally liked it, I had given it three stars. Upon re-read, I think the three stars is still a good rating.
As I was reading it felt like it was a bit slow going. At points I had to struggle to move forward. I think it is because I knew where the story was going and was impatient for it to get there. I also though the story spent too much time on Delilah and not enough time on Alleluia. But by the time I got to the halfway mark, the book picked up immensely and really got going.
I am glad I re-read this book. I thought the reaction that both Alleya and Caleb had with their discoveries were very true to their natures. And the responsibility they both felt with their new found knowledge was also very well explored.
I especially liked the growth arc of Alleya. In the beginning she seemed very unsure, very young and unready for her challenge. At the end of the book, she was really wise beyond her years and her strength of purpose was phenomenal.
eupomene's review
4.0
Ha! I KNEW it. I figured out what Samaria's god really is....but I'd better not spoil it. I think I figured it out back in ARCHANGEL. Still, Sharon Shinn's angel books are a real pleasure. I identified most with Alleluia, the reluctant Archangel in this book. I love how singing is more than just a performance act -- it has a purpose -- for the angels. This book brought up the highly appropriate tension between industrialization and non-technical society. And really turned up the heat when the god's identity was revealed. I also recommend the Alleluia Files (and the rest of her books).