seak's review
4.0
Downside Girls is a novella-length collection of four short stories by Jaine Fenn, all of which take place in the universe of Fenn's Hidden Empire series, beginning with Principles of Angels. With a foreword by Alastair Reynolds, I couldn't resist giving this a go.
After reading the first story, I was already extremely interested in this world Fenn's created and convinced to give the main series a go.
"Collateral Damage" - As I said above, I really enjoyed this story. A topsider (upper class) inadvertently spills her drink on an "Angel" (who ended up not quite being what I thought she was having no experience with this world) and a budding friendship ensues. This story was a good setup of the universe and some of its elements including the fact that "Angels" are downsiders (poor/lower class) who act as the justice for the people...i.e. assassins. Angels are also enhanced in ways that make them better (and cooler) assassins. You can't really go wrong for me with this type of story, although there wasn't a whole lot of assassining (It's a real word right? ...No) going on. Instead, this story was a great introduction to the world and had a nice twist. (4/5)
"Death on Elsewhere Street" - Another solid entry into this short short story collection. After running from an Angel (huge no no), mistaking her for a thief, the Angel makes the story's protagonist witness the events that unfold. This one's the shortest of the bunch, but doesn't lack for great storytelling. (4/5)
"Angel Dust" - My favorite and longest of the three connected stories. A downsider's brother ends up with a box that's wanted by all the wrong people. Rival gangs are implicated, angels show up, fighting, and lots of suspense. I couldn't put it down. (4.5/5)
"The Three Temptations of Larnia Mier" - While on par with the rest of the stories in terms of being well-written and captivating, I had a hard time with this particular story. Larnia is involved in an accident that may injure her music career especially due to the fact that her faith prevents her from obtaining any implants that could easily help.
I struggled with The Three Temptations because I didn't feel like religion in general got a fair shake. The guy who's anti-religion in this story makes great points against religion, but what about the other side of the argument? I enjoyed her character, but suddenly this person I thought was completely competent has no ability to defend herself and her beliefs? I'm sorry, but that's just not going to be the case. Not every religious person is a complete idiot (even though plenty act as such).
I feel like the point you're making loses credibility by completely ignoring the other side's argument. (3.5/5)
Overall, this is a great collection that's highly recommended. I will do my best to find more from Jaine Fenn, especially the original series from which these stories stem, although I think they may only be available in the UK at least paper-wise.
4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)
After reading the first story, I was already extremely interested in this world Fenn's created and convinced to give the main series a go.
"Collateral Damage" - As I said above, I really enjoyed this story. A topsider (upper class) inadvertently spills her drink on an "Angel" (who ended up not quite being what I thought she was having no experience with this world) and a budding friendship ensues. This story was a good setup of the universe and some of its elements including the fact that "Angels" are downsiders (poor/lower class) who act as the justice for the people...i.e. assassins. Angels are also enhanced in ways that make them better (and cooler) assassins. You can't really go wrong for me with this type of story, although there wasn't a whole lot of assassining (It's a real word right? ...No) going on. Instead, this story was a great introduction to the world and had a nice twist. (4/5)
"Death on Elsewhere Street" - Another solid entry into this short short story collection. After running from an Angel (huge no no), mistaking her for a thief, the Angel makes the story's protagonist witness the events that unfold. This one's the shortest of the bunch, but doesn't lack for great storytelling. (4/5)
"Angel Dust" - My favorite and longest of the three connected stories. A downsider's brother ends up with a box that's wanted by all the wrong people. Rival gangs are implicated, angels show up, fighting, and lots of suspense. I couldn't put it down. (4.5/5)
"The Three Temptations of Larnia Mier" - While on par with the rest of the stories in terms of being well-written and captivating, I had a hard time with this particular story. Larnia is involved in an accident that may injure her music career especially due to the fact that her faith prevents her from obtaining any implants that could easily help.
I struggled with The Three Temptations because I didn't feel like religion in general got a fair shake. The guy who's anti-religion in this story makes great points against religion, but what about the other side of the argument? I enjoyed her character, but suddenly this person I thought was completely competent has no ability to defend herself and her beliefs? I'm sorry, but that's just not going to be the case. Not every religious person is a complete idiot (even though plenty act as such).
I feel like the point you're making loses credibility by completely ignoring the other side's argument. (3.5/5)
Overall, this is a great collection that's highly recommended. I will do my best to find more from Jaine Fenn, especially the original series from which these stories stem, although I think they may only be available in the UK at least paper-wise.
4 out of 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)
coolcurrybooks's review
3.0
Downside Girls is a collection of four stories, all set in a futuristic city divided between the wealthy "Topside" and the squalor filled "Downside." The city has an unusual political system where the citizens elect politicians to be assassinated by Angles, Downside girls chosen to fulfill the citizens choice. The first story follows an unusual friendship between a Topside woman and an Angle. It is the strongest story in the collection and every thing a short story should be. I'd recommend reading Downside Girls for it alone. The other three stories are interesting too, but they lack the strength of the first one.
rinn's review
4.0
I received a copy of this book for free via Librarything, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Clarion Publishing for sending it to me (along with some very friendly emails), and for putting me on their 'nice people' list! =) This review is also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
This collection of four short stories by Jaine Fenn, set in the universe of her series Hidden Empire, assumes no previous knowledge of her work. Leaping straight in, without any introduction to the world, it is still completely accessible to readers who have never read any of the series. Facts were laid out when they need to be, rather than dumping lots of information on the reader. It is for this reason that I believe it is the sort of science fiction that is accessible to any reader. One of the downfalls of the science fiction genre is that it is often very specialist, and so much of it is very heavy - someone who does not usually read sci-fi could easily be put off. However, that is not the case with Downside Girls.
The city in these stories has a 'topside' and a 'downside' - topside being the upper class area, and downside for the poorer citizens. Patrolling the city are Angels - downsiders chosen to be assassins and given special powers, who target corrupt politicians. The descriptions and feel of the city definitely gave me a bit of a Mass Effect vibe - I was imagining the scenarios taking place in the Citadel, which was pretty cool.
All four stories have very different situations, and weave together the lives of humans and Angels. The stories are also interlinked in small ways, but I think you have to read the main series to truly understand the link - I only picked it up from reading the synopses of Jaine Fenn's other work. The narrative of the stories is just about different enough to show that each one is being told by another character, but I do feel that this aspect could be improved on.
The writing flowed very well - not overly showy, or too simple. Despite only spending a short amount of time with each character, I somehow felt for them all - particularly in the last story. Fenn manages to pack a lot into only 80-odd pages - trickery, assassinations, gangs, as well as a rather sweet tale at the end.
This novella has made me definitely want to check out the main books. Whilst appealing to science fiction fans, I believe it is also a perfect collection of short stories for those wanting to ease themselves into the genre.
Rating: 4 stars
This collection of four short stories by Jaine Fenn, set in the universe of her series Hidden Empire, assumes no previous knowledge of her work. Leaping straight in, without any introduction to the world, it is still completely accessible to readers who have never read any of the series. Facts were laid out when they need to be, rather than dumping lots of information on the reader. It is for this reason that I believe it is the sort of science fiction that is accessible to any reader. One of the downfalls of the science fiction genre is that it is often very specialist, and so much of it is very heavy - someone who does not usually read sci-fi could easily be put off. However, that is not the case with Downside Girls.
The city in these stories has a 'topside' and a 'downside' - topside being the upper class area, and downside for the poorer citizens. Patrolling the city are Angels - downsiders chosen to be assassins and given special powers, who target corrupt politicians. The descriptions and feel of the city definitely gave me a bit of a Mass Effect vibe - I was imagining the scenarios taking place in the Citadel, which was pretty cool.
All four stories have very different situations, and weave together the lives of humans and Angels. The stories are also interlinked in small ways, but I think you have to read the main series to truly understand the link - I only picked it up from reading the synopses of Jaine Fenn's other work. The narrative of the stories is just about different enough to show that each one is being told by another character, but I do feel that this aspect could be improved on.
The writing flowed very well - not overly showy, or too simple. Despite only spending a short amount of time with each character, I somehow felt for them all - particularly in the last story. Fenn manages to pack a lot into only 80-odd pages - trickery, assassinations, gangs, as well as a rather sweet tale at the end.
This novella has made me definitely want to check out the main books. Whilst appealing to science fiction fans, I believe it is also a perfect collection of short stories for those wanting to ease themselves into the genre.
Rating: 4 stars
lordofthemoon's review
4.0
This is a small collection of four short stories set in Fenn's 'Hidden Empire' universe. The first three stories all directly involve Angels, the official assassins of the City, while the last focuses on a musician and only references them indirectly. I've not actually read anything else by Fenn, but she's going to be a Guest of Honour at Satellite 5 so I thought I should read something that she's written before the con and I enjoyed the collection quite a lot.
Fenn is excellent at both storytelling and worldbuilding without exposition. Despite it never really being mentioned, I picked up a fair bit about the City that the stories are set in, and I enjoyed reading about this city whose elected officials all have a Sword of Damocles hanging over them. If they fail to do what is expected of them, the Angels carry out "the will of the people" and "remove" them from public life. Permanently. The three linked stories see a few characters recurring, from the newly appointed Angel, Malia, to the shadowy Minister, the master of the Angels.
Collateral Damage starts with a newly appointed Angel and an accidental friendship that she strikes up with a woman in a bar and deals with love and betrayal. Death on Elsewhere Street has a downsider getting accidentally involved with a "removal" and the repercussions that she has to deal with following it. The final linked story, Angel Dust sees a young downsider have to complete a mission for a wounded Angel to the Minister himself. This is probably the widest in scope of the three stories, the one that gives us more than a very narrow view of the City and whets the appetite the most.
The fourth story, The Three Temptations of Larnier Mier shows us a musician who was injured while witnessing a removal and who must decide between her career and her faith. I found this one somewhat less interesting than the Angel stories. Perhaps I was hoping for a different outcome, but you can never entirely win with religion.
I enjoyed the collection a lot, and I'm intrigued now to read [b: Principles of Angels|2389632|Principles of Angels|Jaine Fenn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328835410s/2389632.jpg|2396644], the book from which these stories are spun off. However, I'm somewhat put off after discovering that that is the first in a series that currently spans five books, and it's not clear if it's finished or not. I don't know if I want to commit to yet another ongoing series, but that's a question that I can perhaps put to Fenn at the con :).
Oh, and I'm still not entirely sure if the cover art is fantastic or awful.
Fenn is excellent at both storytelling and worldbuilding without exposition. Despite it never really being mentioned, I picked up a fair bit about the City that the stories are set in, and I enjoyed reading about this city whose elected officials all have a Sword of Damocles hanging over them. If they fail to do what is expected of them, the Angels carry out "the will of the people" and "remove" them from public life. Permanently. The three linked stories see a few characters recurring, from the newly appointed Angel, Malia, to the shadowy Minister, the master of the Angels.
Collateral Damage starts with a newly appointed Angel and an accidental friendship that she strikes up with a woman in a bar and deals with love and betrayal. Death on Elsewhere Street has a downsider getting accidentally involved with a "removal" and the repercussions that she has to deal with following it. The final linked story, Angel Dust sees a young downsider have to complete a mission for a wounded Angel to the Minister himself. This is probably the widest in scope of the three stories, the one that gives us more than a very narrow view of the City and whets the appetite the most.
The fourth story, The Three Temptations of Larnier Mier shows us a musician who was injured while witnessing a removal and who must decide between her career and her faith. I found this one somewhat less interesting than the Angel stories. Perhaps I was hoping for a different outcome, but you can never entirely win with religion.
I enjoyed the collection a lot, and I'm intrigued now to read [b: Principles of Angels|2389632|Principles of Angels|Jaine Fenn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328835410s/2389632.jpg|2396644], the book from which these stories are spun off. However, I'm somewhat put off after discovering that that is the first in a series that currently spans five books, and it's not clear if it's finished or not. I don't know if I want to commit to yet another ongoing series, but that's a question that I can perhaps put to Fenn at the con :).
Oh, and I'm still not entirely sure if the cover art is fantastic or awful.
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