Rating: 
Summary: perhaps a joke
Review: My comment is probably redundant, but the feeling behind it is strong: I couldn't believe it, when I finished the book. I asked myself what motivation would an author so well versed and interesting as Ms. Shinn possibly have for engaging in a risky competition with Bronte -- and then compromising like a novice, with not even a modicum of effort for coming up with an original plot element. I haven't figured out a decent answer yet. That this is a rewriting of "Jane Eyre" doesn't bother me; what does bother me very much is the fact that it is a ridiculous rewriting of "Jane Eyre". Peel away the dramatic tension; move forward in time, change planets; switch the secret wife with a crazy robot - there you have it. If this is your first book by Ms. Shinn, it's not that bad. There are enough traces of the author's usual good story telling ability and engagement with the characters to make it a pleasant read - maybe less so if you liked "Jane Eyre". But if indeed this is your first encounter with the author, give this well-deserving author a chance and start with some of her other works.
Rating: 
Summary: I liked this Sci Fi version of Jane Eyre.
Review: Sharon Shinn is a very fluid writer. She adapts the tone and idioms of a gothic/victorian romance so effortlessly that at first you don't realize she's doing it. The physical world is still threatening, but nature on other planets assumes toxic pollutive qualities. It isn't just storms that have to be worried about, but the failure of generators which artificially sustain a liveable atmosphere. The heroine isn't a governess, though there's a little girl who has one of those. She's a nuclear engineer and repair technician. She isn't an unwanted orphan, but the product of an artificial conception and gestation for pay that became unwanted when the scientists of the time invented the artificial womb which led her adoptive mother to have a child of her own. There's a caste system, but not the tacit one written about in Victorian England. It's a future systematic where class is officially recognized and there are degrees of limitation on the half-citizens', or half-cits', rights to marry, have children and inherit and own property. So it's a definitely a future world though the narrative is neatly lifted from Jane Eyre. Shinn's ability to interweave the science fiction elements, ideas and techspeak, with the old-fashioned and darkly romantic story and language is remarkable. There's even a tree which perfectly represents the quality of hybrid this novel successfully achieves. You have to like this sort of thing, but if you do, then it's for you. An easy and entertaining read.
Rating:
Summary: "Oh, gee, I want to write a book, but I can't come up
Review: Take _Jane Eyre_ and move it into a science fiction setting and you have the story. BUT! I have always liked Sharon Shinn's ability to make the setting of a story a believable influence on her characters. The stratified society of Jane Eyre has been beautifully rebuilt in a universe where there are five levels of citizenship and the degree of privilege is commensurate with your wealth. Of course, Jane is from the lowest level, but the plucky woman has certain skills that are the key to her plan to obtain full citizenship. The isolation from the mainstream of society is replicated in the book by placing the manse in a closed mining community. Well worth your time and money for the novel depiction of a different civilization.
Rating: 
Summary: Jane Eire on a different planet
Review: Take _Jane Eyre_ and move it into a science fiction setting and you have the story. BUT! I have always liked Sharon Shinn's ability to make the setting of a story a believable influence on her characters. The stratified society of Jane Eyre has been beautifully rebuilt in a universe where there are five levels of citizenship and the degree of privilege is commensurate with your wealth. Of course, Jane is from the lowest level, but the plucky woman has certain skills that are the key to her plan to obtain full citizenship. The isolation from the mainstream of society is replicated in the book by placing the manse in a closed mining community. Well worth your time and money for the novel depiction of a different civilization.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting experiment--too bad it fails
Review: The best thing about this book is the fact that it led me to read JANE EYRE so I could see exactly what the author was doing. By the way, although this so far is the only book by Sharon Shinn that I've read, I acknowledge her writing skill. The fault doesn't lie at all in writing skills, but in sticking too closely to the Jane Eyre story. There are differences. The girl's home and school experiences are somewhat condensed so as to conform more to today's literary style. And the book comes quite to life in one scene where Jenna is drawn into the space simulation game which isn't quite parallel to the charade scene in Jane Eyre. In fact, if the remainder of Jenna Starborn's story had been allowed to build more from that scene, it would've been a much better story. As it is, this book is merely an oddity and an interesting, but failed, experiment. The gothic overtones fight too much with the futuristic setting. I don't tell you not to read this, because there may well be those that will be suitably fascinated by the author's attempt. However, I suspect that it holds only rarified interest value, and that you'd be better off reading the original, if you haven't, and also Ms. Shinn's other novels which sound as it they're more successful,
Rating:
Summary: Interesting experiment--too bad it fails
Review: The best thing about this book is the fact that it led me to read JANE EYRE so I could see exactly what the author was doing. By the way, although this so far is the only book by Sharon Shinn that I've read, I acknowledge her writing skill. The fault doesn't lie at all in writing skills, but in sticking too closely to the Jane Eyre story. There are differences. The girl's home and school experiences are somewhat condensed so as to conform more to today's literary style. And the book comes quite to life in one scene where Jenna is drawn into the space simulation game which isn't quite parallel to the charade scene in Jane Eyre. In fact, if the remainder of Jenna Starborn's story had been allowed to build more from that scene, it would've been a much better story. As it is, this book is merely an oddity and an interesting, but failed, experiment. The gothic overtones fight too much with the futuristic setting. I don't tell you not to read this, because there may well be those that will be suitably fascinated by the author's attempt. However, I suspect that it holds only rarified interest value, and that you'd be better off reading the original, if you haven't, and also Ms. Shinn's other novels which sound as it they're more successful,
Rating:
Summary: Not a sci-fi!
Review: This book is a romance with slight sci-fi overtones. It's predictable with only a very few unexpected turns. The dialog is dry and unbelievable. Some of the sci-fi ideas are fun but unless you are looking for a run of the mill romance I would not recommend it. Try Sheri Tepper's "The Gate To Women's Country or "Six Moon Dance" or "The Fresco".
Rating: 
Summary: funny and delicious treat
Review: this book is an absolute treat. If you love Jane Eyre -so do I- you will feel the fun in foreseeing the events in the plot but wondering how the author will adapt them to this sf setting. If you love science fiction you will feel interested in the multilayered society that the author decpicts, where the caste one person is born in is totally decissive of this person's fate. I don't feel that any literary work is untouchable or sacred, as long as the new versions respect the themes that the original author wanted to convey. This version unquestionably does. On the other hand, I think the original, beloved Jane Eyre is also a wonderful version of the ancient tale of Beauty and the Beast. This is, of course, not the only remake that we know of Jane Eyre; I suppose everybody remembers Rebecca so...what's all the fuss about? Jane Eyre is such a good story, it conveys its thems so well, that it is immortal and can be adapted to any period of time ...including the far future of a sf novel. And only an author who loved this story and knew it in depth could attempt to do what Sharon Shinn has done here. Thank you, Ms.Shinn, for proving to me in this nice way that Jane Eyre will never die and that its message will always be good!
Rating:
Summary: Ho-hum
Review: This book is the futuristic retelling of the story Jane Eyre, which is one of my all-time favorite books. I went into this book knowing that, and while I expected man similarities, I thought the author would have at least try to give the book a bit of distinction. If I wanted to read Jane Eyre, I'd pick up Jane Eyre. What I expected was the Jane Eyre story with some added twists. I would have enjoyed it more had there been some plot twists, but there weren't. Too bad.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: Unless you require a spaceship in your book, don't bother with "Jenna Starborn". Read "Jane Eyre" in the original. It's better written. Betsy
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