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bhnmt61's review against another edition
4.0
This 1997 novel tells the story of a remnant of people from earth who have been re-homed on a planet called Samaria along with a genetically altered race of beings that are pretty much exactly like the storybook angels you imagined when you were five. That backstory is barely hinted at in this first book in the series—the story here is about the archangel Gabriel and his reluctant wife, the formerly enslaved Rachel.
In the opening scene, Gabriel makes a visit to the oracle Josiah that he should have made months or even years earlier to find out who is to be his wife. To the reader, it’s clear that the “god” is a computer programmed to manage the genetic lines of a small population, but the participants genuinely believe they are communicating with a god.
I find the world that Shinn creates fascinating, with its mix of technology and faith, politics and power, music and art, race and economics. It’s out of date, for sure; Samaria is another planet, but Shinn’s sometimes un-woke 1990s opinions are evident. There are attitudes about women’s emotional lives that are just nonsense in 2022– for example, the idea that a woman might go into hysterics and need to be slapped to regain her senses.
The central story about two strong, smart, stubborn, often unlikeable people learning how to be together is compelling enough. The real draw for me, though, and what keeps me coming back—this is at least the fourth time I’ve read it—is the world of Samaria.
In the opening scene, Gabriel makes a visit to the oracle Josiah that he should have made months or even years earlier to find out who is to be his wife. To the reader, it’s clear that the “god” is a computer programmed to manage the genetic lines of a small population, but the participants genuinely believe they are communicating with a god.
I find the world that Shinn creates fascinating, with its mix of technology and faith, politics and power, music and art, race and economics. It’s out of date, for sure; Samaria is another planet, but Shinn’s sometimes un-woke 1990s opinions are evident. There are attitudes about women’s emotional lives that are just nonsense in 2022– for example, the idea that a woman might go into hysterics and need to be slapped to regain her senses.
The central story about two strong, smart, stubborn, often unlikeable people learning how to be together is compelling enough. The real draw for me, though, and what keeps me coming back—this is at least the fourth time I’ve read it—is the world of Samaria.
eozfrost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hebberelle's review against another edition
3.0
A good three and a half stars, could have been 4 if Rachel hadn't been mean the whole time.
applegnreads's review against another edition
3.0
I may want to give this more stars but I'm not sure. Different kind of premise but standard Shinn.
vaughanclare's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pamma's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
emerygirl's review against another edition
4.0
I have no idea how this book ended up on my to-read shelf. I had no idea what it was when I started. The names are all biblical...Gabriel, Rachel, Magdelena, Jovah. Even the places are biblical...Gailee, Bethel, Mount Sinai. I was confused because it seemed religious, yet also science-fiction-y. After I got over that, I absolutely loved the book. It's not a religious book, yet explores religious themes, the most central being faith. It was an interesting concept and I am excited to read the second installment.
billymac1962's review against another edition
3.0
This is one that was recommended to me by a visitor to my site, and it was pretty good. I love getting recommendations for books I would never have heard of otherwise.
Archangel is part of a series....kinda. Apparently the other two novels in the same world serve as standalones but at different points in time. One thing really bugged me about this novel though:
not the story, but on the very first page inside the cover is a revelation about the world that isn't even revealed in the story itself. I don't know if you can call this a spoiler or not, but it is a pretty world-altering revelation, at least it is for the inhabitants of Samaria. I just wish this would have at least been discovered in the story, rather than discovering this before I even started it. I think it would have been a much better reading experience.
Oh well, it was a good read anyways. Good premise, angels, God, mortals and romance.
Archangel is part of a series....kinda. Apparently the other two novels in the same world serve as standalones but at different points in time. One thing really bugged me about this novel though:
not the story, but on the very first page inside the cover is a revelation about the world that isn't even revealed in the story itself. I don't know if you can call this a spoiler or not, but it is a pretty world-altering revelation, at least it is for the inhabitants of Samaria. I just wish this would have at least been discovered in the story, rather than discovering this before I even started it. I think it would have been a much better reading experience.
Oh well, it was a good read anyways. Good premise, angels, God, mortals and romance.
wingover's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. Granted my background as a Religious Studies major made me already inclined to like it but the use of Biblical names and places to tell a story about angels and men was just really enjoyable. This is at heart a love story with intrigue and mystery thrown in for good measure but the main characters are likable and relatable and I will definitely read it again.
amym84's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a long time to start reading Sharon Shinn. For whatever reason I just wasn't sure that she would end up being the type of author that I really liked. This was all put to rest when I read both [b:Mystic and Rider|97967|Mystic and Rider (Twelve Houses, #1)|Sharon Shinn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309282185s/97967.jpg|94425] and now Archangel.
Archangel takes place in the future in a place called Samaria where Angels and humans co-exist. There are very strong religious tropes applied to the book, but never once did I only think it was a book about God. It's a book that occurs in a time and place where people believe in the existence of god (or Jovah in this case). Where angels sing to Jovah in order to show their devotion and faith and to help take care of the planet / human population. It's as simple as that, and Shinn doesn't get preachy with the beliefs. They just are.
Gabriel is an Angel and in six months time he will ascend to the role of Archangel (bascially the head angel above all the others). Every Archangel must have an Angelica (or wife) that will sing at the Gloria (a yearly ceremony praising Jovah, this year will also mark the changing of the Archangel). The people believe a lot in predestination. Gabriel's angelica is predestined for him, but he has yet to find her. As time grows short, he grows weary. No one wants to suffer Jovah's displeasure if there is no angelica to sing at the Gloria. Luckily, Gabriel finds that his angelica is actually a slave girl in a human home. He is able to take her out of that home, but there's plenty of conflict along the way.
Rachel has been a slave for 5 years since her Edori people were attacked and killed. She hasn't had an easy life. She was orphaned at a young age and then her people are killed and she's taken into slavery. Until Gabriel finds her she believes that she will spend the rest of her days as a slave.
Rachel was a very complicated character. You sympathize with her situation(s) you want her to have all that is good, but she makes this very difficult. She full of a lot of anger for all the things that have happened in her past. She sees being chosen as Gabriel's angelica as another form of imprisonment and she's very stubborn to concede to living with the angels. I understood her hesitancy and her stubborness, but there comes a moment when she was almost stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. She demanded that the other angels / people of the Eyrie didn't like her because she was a slave and didn't get to know her, yet she would also not put forth the effort to get to know many angels / people either. She wanted them to understand where she was coming from, yet she made no show to understand them. When she would finally acknowledge her feelings, she would still shut herself off for unknown reasons to me. I didn't understand a lot of her actions, specifically towards the end. She finally admited to herself that she loved Gabriel but wouldn't stay because he didn't ask her to. Why couldn't she make the first move?
Gabriel is the other side of this coin. Like Rachel, he is very proud. He doesn't feel like he needs to justify his actions and when he is asked to, he gets angry. I was less confused by many of his actions than I was by Rachel's. Maybe it was just that I was less irritated with his actions. I think it's because he started to make more of an effort with her early on than she did with him. He would make and effort and she would shoot it down so they would take about 2 steps back on their progress with one another.
The relationship between Gabriel and Rachel was a main focus of the story. How or would these two ever get on the same page? Would they ever admit their feelings for one another?
The current archangel Raphael with another conflict in the story, although I almost thought that it seemed a bit too casually thrown in there. Raphael doesn't want to give up his position of power amoung the angels. Upon investigation Gabriel discovers that Raphael has not been doing his job as well as he should have been these past twenty years. I liked this storyline and wish it would have been explored just a little more. Shinn throws into the mix the fact that Raphael was the one responsible for Rachels parents dying when she was young as well as her adoptive Edori tribe being eradicated and her being thrown into slavery. I think that's an interesting twist, but we don't real get a reason for it. I assumed it was becuase Raphael knew that she would be the next angelica and he wanted to prevent that from happening, but as far as I know, we were never given a definative reason as to why she was apparently singled out. Because of that, this whole storyline seems kind of throw away.
I really did like the book though. I do wish that we could have seen Rachel and Gabriel exploring their relationship more when they had finally figured out what they wanted out of it. I thought that the world Shinn created here was very unique and interesting. I know that each book takes place in varying times and with different characters around Samaria. That kind of makes it difficult to form an attachment with the characters, especially if the next book takes place 150 years in the future and the characters we've just learned about in Archangel are no longer there. But I guess we'll see. Until Then!
Archangel takes place in the future in a place called Samaria where Angels and humans co-exist. There are very strong religious tropes applied to the book, but never once did I only think it was a book about God. It's a book that occurs in a time and place where people believe in the existence of god (or Jovah in this case). Where angels sing to Jovah in order to show their devotion and faith and to help take care of the planet / human population. It's as simple as that, and Shinn doesn't get preachy with the beliefs. They just are.
Gabriel is an Angel and in six months time he will ascend to the role of Archangel (bascially the head angel above all the others). Every Archangel must have an Angelica (or wife) that will sing at the Gloria (a yearly ceremony praising Jovah, this year will also mark the changing of the Archangel). The people believe a lot in predestination. Gabriel's angelica is predestined for him, but he has yet to find her. As time grows short, he grows weary. No one wants to suffer Jovah's displeasure if there is no angelica to sing at the Gloria. Luckily, Gabriel finds that his angelica is actually a slave girl in a human home. He is able to take her out of that home, but there's plenty of conflict along the way.
Rachel has been a slave for 5 years since her Edori people were attacked and killed. She hasn't had an easy life. She was orphaned at a young age and then her people are killed and she's taken into slavery. Until Gabriel finds her she believes that she will spend the rest of her days as a slave.
Rachel was a very complicated character. You sympathize with her situation(s) you want her to have all that is good, but she makes this very difficult. She full of a lot of anger for all the things that have happened in her past. She sees being chosen as Gabriel's angelica as another form of imprisonment and she's very stubborn to concede to living with the angels. I understood her hesitancy and her stubborness, but there comes a moment when she was almost stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. She demanded that the other angels / people of the Eyrie didn't like her because she was a slave and didn't get to know her, yet she would also not put forth the effort to get to know many angels / people either. She wanted them to understand where she was coming from, yet she made no show to understand them. When she would finally acknowledge her feelings, she would still shut herself off for unknown reasons to me. I didn't understand a lot of her actions, specifically towards the end. She finally admited to herself that she loved Gabriel but wouldn't stay because he didn't ask her to. Why couldn't she make the first move?
Gabriel is the other side of this coin. Like Rachel, he is very proud. He doesn't feel like he needs to justify his actions and when he is asked to, he gets angry. I was less confused by many of his actions than I was by Rachel's. Maybe it was just that I was less irritated with his actions. I think it's because he started to make more of an effort with her early on than she did with him. He would make and effort and she would shoot it down so they would take about 2 steps back on their progress with one another.
The relationship between Gabriel and Rachel was a main focus of the story. How or would these two ever get on the same page? Would they ever admit their feelings for one another?
The current archangel Raphael with another conflict in the story, although I almost thought that it seemed a bit too casually thrown in there. Raphael doesn't want to give up his position of power amoung the angels. Upon investigation Gabriel discovers that Raphael has not been doing his job as well as he should have been these past twenty years. I liked this storyline and wish it would have been explored just a little more. Shinn throws into the mix the fact that Raphael was the one responsible for Rachels parents dying when she was young as well as her adoptive Edori tribe being eradicated and her being thrown into slavery. I think that's an interesting twist, but we don't real get a reason for it. I assumed it was becuase Raphael knew that she would be the next angelica and he wanted to prevent that from happening, but as far as I know, we were never given a definative reason as to why she was apparently singled out. Because of that, this whole storyline seems kind of throw away.
I really did like the book though. I do wish that we could have seen Rachel and Gabriel exploring their relationship more when they had finally figured out what they wanted out of it. I thought that the world Shinn created here was very unique and interesting. I know that each book takes place in varying times and with different characters around Samaria. That kind of makes it difficult to form an attachment with the characters, especially if the next book takes place 150 years in the future and the characters we've just learned about in Archangel are no longer there. But I guess we'll see. Until Then!