茶碗蒸

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.