Archangel (Shinn novel)
Encyclopedia
Archangel is a 1997 science fiction
novel
by Sharon Shinn
. It is the first book in the Samaria series of novels.
that has been settled with colonists from a different planet some time in the past. The colonists made the journey in a spaceship named Jovah, which possesses artificial intelligence
. Geneticists aboard Jovah created a race of angels in order to keep the peace on Samaria. Angels have the ability to communicate with Jovah. Jovah can modify weather patterns, send medicinal drugs, and do other things. This gives the illusion of a religion with an omnipotent god. In order to bring together all peoples of Samaria together in peaceful harmony, Jovah commanded that a Gloria be sung by all the people of Samaria. If the Gloria is not sung, it would destroy a mountain. Three days later, if the Gloria was still not sung, it would destroy the city of Semorrah. Three days after that, Jovah would destroy the world. With the passing of time, Jovah is worshipped as a deity, with only a select few, the Oracles, who know the truth.
There are certain divisions of the population on Samaria. Angels were once human but were then genetically modified in Jovah's labs. According to the holy book, the Librera, the angels were made by Jovah to oversee Samaria, and also to control the temperamental weather elements. Angels have beautiful voices in order to pray to Jovah. Angels have wings, are larger, more muscular, stronger, with enhanced metabolisms and respiratory systems. The Edori are the wandering humans. The Manadavvi are highly cultured and wealthy. They are an aesthetic people, obsessed with money and the wonders that it buys. The Jansai are calculating and greedy merchants, and are the primary motivators of the Edori slave trade in the novel.
The next archangel-to-be, Gabriel, is reluctant to marry. He is shocked to find that his bride Rachel, is an Edori slave. She has grown to hate the angels because of what they had done to her family when she was younger. Gabriel also has to deal with the corrupted soon-to-be-ex Archangel, Raphael. Raphael doesn't want to step down and doesn't believe that there is a Jovah. This is heresy and Gabriel must immediately take control over Samaria for the good of the people but his bride, Rachel, keeps making his life difficult. Even with all their troubles, Gabriel and Rachel finally realize that they love each other and Samaria is saved, for now.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Sharon Shinn
Sharon Shinn
Sharon Shinn is an American novelist who writes combining aspects of fantasy, science fiction and romance. She has published more than a dozen novels for adult and young adult readers. She works as a journalist in St. Louis, Missouri and is a graduate of Northwestern University.Sharon is a...
. It is the first book in the Samaria series of novels.
Plot summary
Samaria is a planetPlanet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
that has been settled with colonists from a different planet some time in the past. The colonists made the journey in a spaceship named Jovah, which possesses artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
. Geneticists aboard Jovah created a race of angels in order to keep the peace on Samaria. Angels have the ability to communicate with Jovah. Jovah can modify weather patterns, send medicinal drugs, and do other things. This gives the illusion of a religion with an omnipotent god. In order to bring together all peoples of Samaria together in peaceful harmony, Jovah commanded that a Gloria be sung by all the people of Samaria. If the Gloria is not sung, it would destroy a mountain. Three days later, if the Gloria was still not sung, it would destroy the city of Semorrah. Three days after that, Jovah would destroy the world. With the passing of time, Jovah is worshipped as a deity, with only a select few, the Oracles, who know the truth.
There are certain divisions of the population on Samaria. Angels were once human but were then genetically modified in Jovah's labs. According to the holy book, the Librera, the angels were made by Jovah to oversee Samaria, and also to control the temperamental weather elements. Angels have beautiful voices in order to pray to Jovah. Angels have wings, are larger, more muscular, stronger, with enhanced metabolisms and respiratory systems. The Edori are the wandering humans. The Manadavvi are highly cultured and wealthy. They are an aesthetic people, obsessed with money and the wonders that it buys. The Jansai are calculating and greedy merchants, and are the primary motivators of the Edori slave trade in the novel.
The next archangel-to-be, Gabriel, is reluctant to marry. He is shocked to find that his bride Rachel, is an Edori slave. She has grown to hate the angels because of what they had done to her family when she was younger. Gabriel also has to deal with the corrupted soon-to-be-ex Archangel, Raphael. Raphael doesn't want to step down and doesn't believe that there is a Jovah. This is heresy and Gabriel must immediately take control over Samaria for the good of the people but his bride, Rachel, keeps making his life difficult. Even with all their troubles, Gabriel and Rachel finally realize that they love each other and Samaria is saved, for now.
Samaria Series
- Archangel (Ace BooksAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, 1997) - Jovah's Angel (Ace Books, 1998)
- The Alleluia FilesThe Alleluia FilesThe Alleluia Files is a science fiction/fantasy novel by Sharon Shinn, published in 1999. It is the third book in the Samaria series.-Plot summary:...
(Ace Books, 1999) - Angelica (Ace Books, 2003) Although this is the fourth novel in the Samaria series, it is set before the first book Archangel.
- Angel-SeekerAngel-SeekerAngel-Seeker is a fantasy novel by Sharon Shinn, published in 2004. It is the fifth novel in the Samaria series. It is set shortly after Archangel.-Plot summary:...
(Ace Books, 2004)