茶碗蒸

Still exam period... still 3 more exams to go... still studying (?)... but I have just finished another novel.

Yes, trust me to always come up with some form of distraction to put off study!

I'm sure I have mentioned Sharon Shinn before as one of my favourite authors (if not THE favourite author!) when I was writing about the Samaria series. Well, here is another one of her brilliant works worth recommending to anyone who takes a particular fancy in fantasy.

"Quatrain" is actually a collection of four novellas based in four of Shinn's worlds - one from the Samaria series, Heart of Gold, Summers at Castle Auburn, and the Twelve Houses series. Having read all of the above four series/novels, I was extremely excited to see what other kinds of stories and characters Shinn would be able to conjure out of these stunning made-believe worlds. Although to be honest, I was more interested by the world of Samaria and Auburn than the other two... since Heart of Gold is a sci-fi and so not really to my taste, and even though the Twelve Houses have the most vivid and fascinating characters, none of the main ones (except perhaps Kirra) roused the same love in me in comparison to those in Samaria.

But none of this determines how good each individual story was, of course.

In fact, I was completely wrong about two of them in terms of how appealing the stories would be to me.

First of all... there is "Flight", set in Samaria and the time is perhaps a few years before Archangel. This one was intriguing as the main character was not in the usual age range of 20-30 as it is for Shinn's other main characters. But after some getting used to, Salome became a wise and lively character whose old romance with Stephen struck a cord in me that was both bitter and sweet. And of course it's always entertaining catching hints of familiar characters from the main series - like Gabriel, who was briefly mentioned at some point in the story. Overall, I think it was a satisfying read and I loved the twists Shinn included in this. And of course I couldn't be happier to read more about those wonderful angelic creatures... it seems like I can never get enough of them!!

"Blood" was set in the world from Heart of Gold, and I have to say I was quite wrong about how dull it would be just because it was sci-fi. Once again the characters were fascinating... and it was just characteristic of Shinn to create an unlikely couple such as a gulden man and indigo woman! I have to say I really liked Jalci... her warm and outgoing personality, as well as the air of authority blended splendidly and I particularly liked the scene when she stood up against the indigo men who were abusing Kerk (whoop go strong women! XD). The twist at the end of this was also totally unexpected which was great!! (It seems like it's getting harder to be surprised by plotlines these days)

"Gold"... set in the world of Summers at Castle Auburn. Now this was disappointing, I have to say. Perhaps this was because I liked the original story so much that I had subconsciously raised my expectations for this.... but the main girl just annoyed the hell out of me (truly wanted to strangle her fragile princessy neck whenever she "burst into tears"... which felt like a million times in the short 90-page story ==) and Orlain was also a bit awkward and not well portrayed (since he really only appeared four times). I mean... there was already a princess and guard couple in the original story so I thought there would at least be something new! However, despite all that... I guess one of the good things about it was knowing what happened to some of the main characters from the previous story and smiling at some of the characteristic things they did...(I just couldn't keep a smile off my face when reading about Corie and the potions and concoctions she made for her daughter!)

The final story "Flame" was based in Gillengaria - the world of the twelve houses and involved the main character of Senneth from the original series. To be honest... I think Senneth and Tayse are a bit overrated. I know alot of readers love Senneth, and I do like her (especially her incredible power!) but I wouldn't consider her my favourite character at all. I mean... she is too much of a heroine and too kind-hearted! Who would continuously help the villagers who suspect you and want to stone you to death just because you're a mystic!? Is she even human?? (Or am I just selfish? Haha) I don't like the way she has been portrayed as the "saviour" for basically everyone and even the whole kingdom. It would have been more interesting if Shinn had created another character just as powerful so everyone would just stop worshipping her. Also I was disappointed she had been made the main character AGAIN... it's not like she wasn't important in all of the other novels in the series! It woud have added a alot more excitement and suspense if Shinn had written a story about another brand-new character.

Ok enough babbling... overall I think this is a great collection and I adored the way the author tried to tie all of them together through subtle details like beginning and ending each story in a similar way. Although I would still recommend people to read the original novels where each world was set first; it would just make it so much easier to understand and also make readers appreciated the characters more. A fantastic read... and it was worth buying it just for the Samaria part!! XD

This is one of my favourite fantasy series ever! I'm sure those of you who were with me in Hayward this year wouldn't be surprised to see that the first series I'm going to recommend  is this one - the Samaria Series by Sharon Shinn, which I had been enthusiastically reading in lectures towards the end of the year (dangerously near exam period, mind you - I told you I always find things to distract myself ==).

The Samaria series centers around a world called "Samaria" and usually portrays the relationship between an angel and a human - but there could be exceptions (a different sort of pairing...). There also exists many different sorts of tribes or races of people in the Samarian world who live in different regions of the land. The land is split up into three areas and each area has an angel hold where the angels live - the angels are responsible for maintaining peace among the people, by praying to a God called "Jovah" who rains down medicine when people become ill or seeds when crops are needed.

However, the first one of the series I read was not the supposedly "first volume" of the saga, but the one at the bottom right-hand corner - one of the short stories in a collection of fantasy short-stories called "To Weave a Web of Magic" - the short story itself was named "Fallen Angel". I read it quite a while ago actually - in Year 12 (second to last year of college) when I accidentally found it in the Nelson Public Library. Its summary immediately drew my attention at the time since it was about an extraordinary story of a human girl falling in love with a rebellious angel (smirk). To be honest, I was planning to write a story about fallen angels and humans around that period myself, so I was intensely intrigued by the plot. And I wasn't disappointed - even though the story was probably meant for readers who have read the rest of the Samaria series (there were alot of people and place names which were new and not explained in detail), I just couldn't put it down because of (mainly) the attractive storyline, the lovely descriptions and superb character portrayal in merey a few chapters. I really liked the main characters - Jesse and Eden, who were both rebellious and strong, yet had unwavering belief in eachother. And it was very interesting to read it a second time - after I've read the other books set in the same world - and recognizing characters from the other novels ^^ Plus many of the descriptions were so beautiful that I actually copied them down to study for my own writing - I remember distinctly there was a fantastic section about how the violent ocean waves crashed againt a cliff and erupted sprays of foam....or something like that XD

Then it was a few years before I could finish the rest of the series due to the - uhh - limited number of available titles at Nelson Public Library. I read "Archangel" this year after discovering it (a delightful surprise) in the Dunedin Public Library. This official beginning of the series was superb - I'd say it was probably my personal favourite in the series. The main characters were to my taste - strong personality, able to defend themselves but a little softer at the right places (esp. important for the girls hrhr). I really liked how the author described Gabriel's "piercing blue eyes" several times throughout the book, and how Rachel was mesmerized by it even though she refused to give in until the very end. They certainly put up a good struggle and provided the necessary conflict of a good story!!

Music is also a really distinct emphasis of this series - since the angels were portrayed to have glorious voices and would sing "prayers" to the God so that the weather patterns can be kept under control - such as calling for rain to moisten the land where needed, and ceasing it where it is too wet. And of course the prayers have many other uses as I've mentioned before. The expert way the author describes each angel's voice and the tone of each piece is simply beautiful - especially appealing to music-lovers like me XD

And the story always moved along really fast - an extra bonus! There were often many climaxes as the story unfolded... So before you know it, you will be so absorbed in the exciting story it will be difficult to tear your eyes from the pages...

In chronological order, the books of the series are: Angelica, Archangel, Angel Seeker, Fallen Angel (from To Weave a Web of Magic), Jovah's Angel, The Alleluia Files. I recommend reading in this order as the author would sometimes drop in hints of characters and events from previous stories in the following novels, suggesting the developments of certain people to connect the story and make it more complete. So if you read it in this order some subtle but interesting things can be noted as the stories continue down the history.

As for the one which I didn't like as much the others... I'll have to say it was "Angel Seeker"... mainly due to the main characters. This one had three main characters and two couples. The angel-human pair in this one was not so great for me because they were a bit too...passionate? Eager? Desperate?? I don't know the right words hrhr but yeah... not really to my taste, sorry == The story itself was creative though, of course... that's why this author became my fabourite. Her stories always have unexpected twists, and therefore touch me most effectively.

Hmmm, just another interest fact (not that you really want to know after all this babling), I really like the name "Alleluia" for the main female angel in "Jovah's Angel"... it just sounds really beautiful and fluid(?) hrhr yeah I'm weird... (should know that by now). And the couple in the last book of the series "The Alleluia Files" is also one of my favourites - both the girl (Tamar) and the angel (Jared) were strong and independent so I liked that!! (Go useful girls!! Mwahaha) And the way they interacted were just adorable ^^ Quite subtle and natural.... I despise mushy stuff == (Unlike something I'm reading right now..... *cough*twilight*cough* lol)

So yeah! This series is hghly recommended guys!! If you like reading fantasy then I'd definitely try this sometime^^ You'll be surprised... for they may not be the typical angels you would expect.