"Strong Samaria fantasy"

On the world of Samaria, the angels live among mankind and mate with mortals whose children can be either angel or mortal. They sing in prayer to their god Jovah and they have power to change the weather or rain down medicine for the sick. The Archangel who in a few months will be Gaaron guides all the angels. He goes to the oracle to request she ask the god who his bride should be and she tells him it is Susannah, an Edori woman.

Susannah loves the roaming life of the nomadic Edori and she is understandably shocked when Gaaron sweeps down in the middle of the clan and tells her their God expects her to marry him. She bows to Jovah's will and agrees to go to Gaaron's hold to be his wife. She struggles to acclimate to her new environment especially when the world is in a state of terror. Men from somewhere other than Samaria are randomly appearing and disappearing, leaving destruction in their wake. Gaaron is so concerned about the people that he ignores Susannah who is determined to force her angel to lean on her in times of trouble and learn to express what is in his heart.

Fans of Anne McCaffrey's Pern series are going to love ANGELICA, the fourth novel that deals with the unique culture of Samaria. Readers will believe that this world where angels walk alongside mortals really exists because the author goes into minute detail about its social and cultural infrastructure. Sharon Shinn is a gifted storyteller who makes the readers believe Samaria exists outside of the creative imagination of the author.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted February 4, 2004

Summary

Two hundred years ago, in order to keep the peace in Samaria, the god Jovah created a legion of land-dwelling angels, led by an appointed Archangel. Now, Jovah has a new appointee: Archangel Gaaron. And for his life-mate, his Angelica, Jovah has chosen a woman named Susannah. With trepidation, she bows to the will of Jovah and an unspoken affection slowly develops between the two.

But there is a terrible threat besetting the land-black-clad strangers who call fire down from the sky, leaving death and destruction in their wake. And the true hearts of Archangel and Angelica may never be known, as the future of the planet hangs in the balance...