Plague of Angels

Rating:
Summary: good world-building, messy ending
Review: I very much enjoyed the first half of this book, that is, I loved learning about the world that Tepper created and was thrilled to know about the different characters and their relations. I didn't like the main character, though, the Orphan, because I never got to feel her from the "inside"; I just saw her through the other characters' motivations to relate to her,and I never really felt what drove her to act as she did.Nevertheless, the most unsatisfactory part of this novel was its ending; it is as if the author got tired of the story and decided to end it no matter how, leaving the readers with too many questions.

Rating:
Summary: An unusually pragmatic stance on a troubled future
Review: I wasn't quite certain what to expect in reading this work. Initially, the blend of future history, sci-fi, and fantasy seemed incongruous, but made more and more sense as the story progressed. One of the things which I've often been troubled by in other novels is the tendency to make everything out to be some huge cataclysmic battle. In this case, the real battle is something that no one ever quite expects, which is probably how such things would really go. And somehow, despite all of the disparate elements and varying foci, it works. In fact, it is one of my favorite future history novels due, in part, to the fact that Tepper doesn't shirk from making very unpleasant analyses of and decisions about issues that are facing our future. I don't agree with her about everything, but I will say that she is remarkably tough-minded and consistent, while writing a wonderful story and believable characters.

Rating:
Summary: Well worth it if you give it a chance
Review: I'm writing this to off set the one star rating this was given, it deserves much better. It's complex, but not so complex you need to re-read everything twice. It kind of starts off more complex than most books and I guess that puts a lot of people off, but it shouldn't because once you get into it its really very good. Also I liked how the author sort of incorporated Jungian beliefs into the story line.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, if not totally absorbing
Review: In this novel, Tepper once again explores the realms of myth and fantasy as they relate to a future Earth. The story takes place in what once was the southwestern United States. Mankind has been "reduced" to an agrarian society, although a few crime- and drug-ridden cities still stand, and remnants of technology are preserved in isolated locations. Fantastic creatures -- trolls, griffins, ogres and the like -- roam the countryside. Heroes, Princesses, Oracles and other "archtypes" are preserved in tiny hamlets. Olly is the Orphan of one such Archtype village. But her destiny lies elsewhere. Oracle's prophecy sets her on the path to her fate, and within Olly's path lies the fate of the world.

Tepper may have tried to do too much within this novel's framework. Contained here are her usual themes of environmentalism and feminism, but they don't mesh as easily as in some of her other work. The storyline can be difficult to follow as it switches focus from one character to another, and Tepper has given us a lot of different locations and individuals to keep track of. However, the story is well-written overall with vivid characterizations and interesting plot twists. An enjoyable, if not totally absorbing, read.


Rating:
Summary: Great Fun
Review: Started off slow and wasn't sure I was going to like it, but then it just got better snd better. I thought Gate to Womens Country was the best. but this is right up there.

Rating:
Summary: One of her best!!
Review: Started off slow and wasn't sure I was going to like it, but then it just got better snd better. I thought Gate to Womens Country was the best. but this is right up there.

Rating:
Summary: Worth a Read, but not putting Effort into it
Review: This book has many excellent qualities, including interesting characters, a well-developed universe, and a good handling of a grandiose storyline. Unfortunately, the author tends to get incredibly preachy, and has a truly vexing tendency to divide different parts of the world into "things I like" and "things I don't like". While this sort of writing may well be par for course for this author, the book would have been much better off without it.

Rating:
Summary: An enthralling tale about the future of humanity.
Review: This book has the ability to reach out and hold the reader. I speak from experience, as I polished this book off in two days. The story line is elegant, and entrancing for those conscious about the effects that mankind wreaks upon the earth. An eco-feminist's delight, but all others will enjoy too.

Rating:
Summary: Elegant, spell-binding masterpiece
Review: This book is honestly one of the best books I have ever read. It's up there with Dune as one of my all-time favourite epics. It's beautifully written, and you will read it and re-read it again and again. If you like Sheri Trepper, read this. If you don't, read it and be converted...

Rating:
Summary: most magical sci-fi I have ever read.
Review: This book is the most successful combination of sci-fi and fatasy elements that I have ever read. Agian Tepper manages to weave a mystical tale that is thought provoking, as well as entertaining. The tale goes from mid-evil archtype towns right out of Rodgers and Hammerstien, to futuristic suburbs with shocking proficiency. While not quite as good as some of her other books, it would be better if the world were either a little more realistic or a little more aligorical, "plague of angles" holds its own with any of the abstract sci-fi out there. What makes Tepper so good is her ability to write books with several levels of meaning without falling into vague or inaccessable metaphors.