Archangel

The Chronicles of Ubastis #1

by Marguerite Reed

The Earth is dying, and our hopes are pinned on Ubastis, an untamed paradise at the edge of colonized space. But such an influx of people threatens the planet's unstudied ecosystem — a tenuous research colony must complete its analysis, lest humanity abandon one planet only to die on another.

The Ubasti colonists barely get by on their own. To acquire the tools they need, they are relegated to selling whatever they can to outside investors. For xenobiologist Vashti Loren, this means bringing Offworlders on safari to hunt the specimens she and her fellow biologists so desperately need to study.

Haunted by the violent death of her husband, the heroic and celebrated Lasse Undset, Vashti must balance the needs of Ubastis against the swelling crush of settlers. Vashti struggles in her role as one of the few colonists licensed to carry deadly weapons, just as she struggles with her history of using them. And when she discovers a genetically engineered soldier smuggled onto the surface, Vashti must face the nightmare of her husband's murder all over again. Standing at the threshold of humanity's greatest hope, she alone understands the darkness of guarding paradise.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Speculative Fiction, Audiobook

298 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2015

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Archangel is an emotionally complex debut science fiction novel written in tough yet lyrical prose. It is the story of Vashti Loren, a leading figure on the recently colonized planet of Ubastis, who must decide between protecting the delicate ecological balance of the planet or bowing to political pressure to open Ubastis to mass settlement. Along the way she uncovers a plan put into motion by her late husband that has staggering consequences no matter which direction she and the citizens of Ubastis choose.
Marguerite Reed is one of those contemporary authors who, like Ann Leckie and Carolyn Ives Gilman, has a genius for writing SF in the Le Guin mold: combining exquisite, imaginative worldbuilding with scientific inquiry. Like those authors' novels, Archangel explores the insurmountable gulf between the needs of the individual and the demands of civilization - the perpetually alienating experience of being human, and the sometimes destructive ways people try to manage that experience.
This novel provoked quite a bit of internal debate for me. I finished reading it more than a week before posting this review; for me, the intervening time was necessary to work out how to respond to this book in a way that could do it justice. Vashti is a brilliantly drawn character, but also one who consistently makes choices that are difficult - even impossible - for the reader to get behind. She has a propensity for violence in a society that abhors and rejects violent behavior, and a suicidal, irrational obsession with avenging her husband's murder. These flaws cause the reader to question her judgement even as she, as narrator, offers justifications for her actions. Reed rightly refuses to supply a clear moral framework for assessing Vashti's flaws, forcing the reader to accept the fact of her myriad contradictions and destructive impulses without the comfort of a safety net.
This may make it a tough book to love for some readers. It certainly was for me. But after a week of deliberation, I remembered that tough love is always the best kind.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 that I am rounding up. This was an unusual novel and I'm still not entirely sure what I think about it - Reed grapples with some big ideas and deploys disturbing rhetorical techniques to get you to think about them, which left me unsettled.

[Viv JM · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars (ie halfway between "it was ok" and "liked it"). I'm rounding up to 3 because I wonder if my enjoyment suffered slightly from doing this on audio (the narrator had a very odd & distracting way of saying the last word of each sentence in a lower tone than the rest - I would not recommend this format for this book).

This debut novel from Margeurite Reed had some interesting ideas but I think maybe it suffered from the author trying to include All The Ideas - so we had issues of race, sexuality, grief, genetic manipulation, the ethics of meat eating, colonisation, whether violence can ever be justified and more!

I did like that the main protagonist was different from the sci-fi norm. She was a kickass scientist/commander whilst also being (single) mother to a boisterous toddler and those two aspects were explored side by side. I really didn't enjoy the whole sexual tension between Vashti and the Beast - I found it a bit cringeworthy . Call me old fashioned, but I found some of this book a bit crude for example where Vashti is trying to kill the Beast and he rips her shirt open, exposing her breasts. What exactly did that achieve? It felt rather gratuitous.

So yeah, slightly mixed feelings about this one. I probably won't continue with the series unless subsequent books get rave reviews!

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It was also discussed pre-publication on Episode 021 of the Reading Envy podcast, if you want more background. I had not read the book at the time.

This is a debut novel from Marguerite Reed, and I feel I should first say this is not the kind of novel I typically read. It is also not a typical novel. Some of the elements combined together in a way I was not expecting and I had to talk myself through it. I think I'm using the review to think it through even further.

The novel takes place on a planet called Ubastis, a relatively unexplored and uncolonized planet that is being considered as a new home for humanity. Vashti, who the publisher summary refers to as a xenobiologist, is on the planet for further study. She holds multiple roles, from safari guide of sorts to political activist, to mother. Several scenes in the beginning of the novel detail Vashti having important conversations about her husband's death and what she should be doing, interrupted by her toddler being hungry or wanting help with the bathroom. I have to admit that I was a bit startled by this element. I'm not used to women being mothers in military science fiction (a label I am hesitant to use but is the closest I can come). Thinking about it more, I realized that in all those urban fantasy type novels, the main subgenre where you see kickass female heroines, those women are always lone wolves who have hot sex or revenge sex or daddy issues. Their solitude allows them to have the strength and independence. I feel like the author really pushed herself to create a more complex character, one who is grieving the loss of her husband, struggling with self-harm and guilt, and still loving a tiny child that occupies some of her mental and physical space. It isn't something I have seen before. Her humanity is tangible, almost uncomfortable, and it becomes more important as the story moves forward.

There is a lot more going on, from discussions of humanity to independence. This is the first book in a series and Marguerite Reed definitely ends the book with a clear direction in mind. I think readers of urban fantasy with kickass women would really like this, and enjoy the change to space and genetic modification as the setting.

I listened to this in audio and liked the narrator for the most part. She does something strange where she whispers the last word in a sentence, or speaks it in a very low tone. It took me a while to get used to it, and ended up speeding up the recording to 1.5x which helped a great deal. I realized I was waiting for the last word of every sentence and missing what the words in the sentence were, and had to start over. Let me see if I can replicate it in text, with words in asterisks the words spoken low or whispered.

"In Moira's apartment I ate and drank what she set in front of *me.* She remembered something of tact, thank God, and did not interrupt until I had finished scraping my *plate clean.*"

I don't know if this is the narrator's style, if it is the style she chose for the book, but at first it really took me out of the listening experience. I played it for a few others to see if I was crazy and they noticed it as well. By the time I got halfway, I stopped noticing it and the last half of the book flew by.

[terpkristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook from Audible Studios
Narrated by Dina Pearlman
Length: 11.5 hours

I spent a lot of my time while listening to this book confused, which made it all the more surprising when I realized at the end that I'd liked the book, and am fairly intrigued about what will come next. A book spanning multiple topics/thoughts, it was interesting to see how the various topics mostly worked together.

I think this book served in some ways as world-building/scene-setting for future books, which may explain why I was confused at times. This may be seen as a negative, but since I liked the world, it was okay, once I realized that I hadn't missed anything with the plot (though at times, I was convinced that I had). I also liked the main character, a researcher on the planet of Ubastis but also one of the one people on the planet with a literal license to kill...anything. So while it seemed that the plot may have moved slowly, or that I was sure I was missing things, in the end it worked out okay for me. But others, especially those who listen, might have similar confusion.

It's hard to describe what the book is "about" since Archangel covers so many topics. The book is set sometime in the future after the Earth has been effectively destroyed/overused by humans. Humans seem to have escaped to space, though it's not clear that they had to go far to find other places to live. The book mentions a station at L5, which I presume is the L5 Lagrange point that people who've studied physics/astrophysics and sci-fi lovers alike will probably recognize. L5 has long been thought of as a place where space colonization might be feasible, so it seems as if it fits and that it's not some L5 in relation to the world in the book, separate from our own system. Many humans seem to live in space, while a small handful live on Ubastis. Ubastis is a planet that has seen small waves of colonists; the first two waves of colonists were trained primarily as a military would be trained, though the job was to scout areas of the planet and start setup for more colonists in the future, to establish it as its own world. The other aspect of the colonists' life is to study the planet and understand the resources it has and the balance between the natural ecosystem and those resources--the colonists do not wish to make Ubastis into another Earth, and so immigration to the planet is heavily controlled, only up for discussion once every 10 years. Archangel takes place just prior to one of these votes, and there is a heavy contingent of "off-worlders" lobbying for the strict limits to be lifted, to open immigration to the planet. In the book, human engineering is also not only possibly but heavily used, and most people have some level of genetic modification; most to dull aggression and many for vanity reasons.

The main character, Dr/Commander Lauren Vashti, is a "natural," a non-genetically modified human. She was one of the people in the second group of colonists to come to the planet. Her husband was one of the leaders of that second group, and the pair are seen in many ways as a literal mother and father (and in the case of her husband, even a saint) of the planet and its resources. Vashti's husband was killed by a highly-engineered "assault human," a BEAST, one who was specifically genetically modified to be a soldier of sorts. This brings me to the first of the interleaved topics that the book touches on--motherhood and, to some extent, single motherhood. Vashti spends much of the book seemingly at odds with her dual role on the world. She has a literal daughter, a toddler, but often sees that being a literal mother is incompatible with being a leader, a voice for the planet as a whole. Because of her natural gifts as well as the reverence given to her, Vashti is also a literal mother to many Ubastians (and off-worlders?), as her eggs were frozen and used to create other offspring. There were striking scenes in the book where Vashti's grief/memories of her husband are interrupted by her daughter, perfectly capturing the issues with motherhood. Later in the book, as she realizes that she is in some way a mother to the planet, similar memories are jarringly interrupted by the politics of the planet, things she must stand up for.

Obviously, another topic in the book is that of genetic engineering and the...sense...in doing so. I won't go into details, but Vashti being a "natural" woman actually has a fairly important aspect in the plot. In particular, it seems that BEASTs can only really be "controlled" by natural humans, those without genetic modifications. This speaks volumes to the topic of genetic modification in general, but the topic is also touched upon by human nature. Because Vashti is a "natural," she has a "normal" level of aggression/willingness to kill. It seems that many people have that particular knob turned down. Vashti is looked down upon by outsiders because she is in fact willing to kill to study the fauna native to Ubastis and willing to kill in self defense. It seems that most others find killing repugnant in general, something to be psychologically educated-away/re-educated away. The people of Ubastis (and also the off-worlders, I believe) are vegetarian. In fact, many are Muslim, though it was never really clear to me why it was important that so many were Muslim (the rest seemed to be Christian of some sort).

Another topic commonly dealt with in science fiction is that of resource use/protection of a planet/avoiding a runaway situation like we have on Earth/that eventually dooms Earth in many books...this book is no different. In her role as scientist and "mother" on Ubastis, Vashti preaches for conservation and minimization of the human footprint on the planet. The Earth is looked to as a sign of the worst that can happen.

In all, Archangel is a book about revolution. There are many types of revolution in the story, both personal revolution for Vashti, but other aspects of revolution, too. Once I came to terms with being "confused" every now and then, it was actually a fun read. The narrator, Dina Pearlman, is one whose name is familiar but I can't find any other books that I've listened to that she's narrated. Her narration had an odd cadence that was particularly difficult to follow at first. I found speeding up the audio playback helped that significantly, though her pacing may also have contributed to my confusion at times. Once I got "used" to it (at the faster playback speed), I got more into the book, but it did take awhile.

This book might not be for everybody--and certainly might not be for everybody in audio form--but as for me, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next on Ubastis.

[Tudor Ciocarlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is equal parts a story about ecology, religion and super-humans. Yes, exactly like Dune! This excellent novel has a very Dune like feeling. But, is a better written book and has much more interesting and lifelike characters. And the central character is a kick ass female, that is both a loving mother and the most dangerous human being on the planet. From Mad Max and Star Wars to Aurora and Archangel, it looks like this year, for the first time in its history, the science-fiction genre really placed the woman in the center of the stage.

[Anya]

Not for me. I was intrigued until the scene where the love interest watches the heroine masturbating without her knowing and then comes in to join. He had no way of knowing it was him she was interested in and even if he did, really freaking creepy and has tainted my feelings of this book now.

[Danny Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vashti Loren was among the second wave of people to explore the planet Ubastis, where she both became a devoted protector of the pristine world, and met her mentor and future husband, Lasse Undset. Now she is a widowed mother on Ubastis after a Beast - a BioEngineered ASsault Tactician, genetically engineered humans bred for war - killed Lasse, and when her friend Moira smuggles another Beast onto Ubastis, Vashti's first and deepest compulsion is to kill him. But powerful people have their eye on resettling part of the population of the ravaged Earth onto Ubastis, which would all but ruin the planet in the process. The Beast may be Vashti's only chance to stop a military invasion of her home.

Vashti's desires and emotions run all over the place - she wants to protect Ubastis, protect her daughter, withdraw from the world forever, and more - which can be frustrating to the reader, especially when she trips over her own feet, but is totally believable, and likely spot on for someone living the life and in the world she is. The Beast reeks of a dark, blood-filled history. The best (and sometimes most frustrating - see above) parts of Archangel are the interactions between Vashti and the Beast, but everyone, except Vashti's toddler daughter, is on edge as they know their world is likely about to change, or, like Vashti, had their world ripped apart so badly the anger will never completely fade.

Marguerite Reed's writing style comes across like a parallel to Vashti and the others around her: tense, often curt, with a simmering ready to boil just below the surface and sometimes erupting over. Whichever mood came across, it kept propelling me forward. (On a personal note, I was reading this book by the time I took my first and long-dreamed-of trip to Europe, and the only reason it didn't go with me was because I finally decided to only take reading material specific to the trip. But I had it in the back of my mind until I got home.)

Needless to say, I'm much looking forward to the next book in the series.

[J.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The planet Ubastis is a paradise, a veritable Eden, and the teeming hordes of humanity, cooped up in tin cans in space, want in. Badly. It's up to people like biologist/hunter Vashti Loren to stand at the gate, surveying the place to make sure that humans can live there and that they won't ruin this planet like they've wrecked the Earth and others.

But there are snakes in this Eden this time as well. Some of them are in Vashti's head, since the terrible day she witnessed the horrific murder of her husband before her eyes. It doesn't help that someone's broken the rules by bringing one of the breed of enhanced super-soldiers who committed that atrocity onto the planet. Other serpents are hiding in plain sight. Vashti needs to figure out who her real friends and enemies are before it's too late for her and her beloved world.

This fantastic debut novel by Marguerite Reed is both brutal and lyrical--lyrical in the gorgeously written descriptions of Vashti's love for both her planet and her daughter, and brutal in its portrayal of the violence that threatens them all.

I can't wait for the next book in the series. Highly recommended.

[Christopher Eshelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminds me of my first experiences reading Anne McCafferty's Pern or Ballybran (Crystal Singer) series - or Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's tale. Powerful, challenging, richly developed, complex characters that I feel as if I've known for years and desperately want to know what happens next. A magnificent first novel that I will reread multiple times as I eagerly await Legion and further stories. I heartily recommend this novel.

There are two very, very short list of books I've read that I either intentionally slowed down to savor my enjoyment of OR immediately began to reread on completion. Archangel is on both list.

[Wesley F · Rating 3 out of 5]

A complex and at times difficult read, Archangel is an interesting and unique sci-fi novel. With topics ranging from genetic engineering to criminal law, author Marguerite Reed challenged herself with this novel and shares a lot of interesting ideas, but the story left something to be desired.

After Earth becomes a wasteland, humanity desperately searches for a new home world. Vashti Loren is a xenobiologist studying a prospective world named Ubastis. Scientists and explorers like Loren are there to ensure colonization is possible and safe for the people and indigenous life. Four years before the start of the novel, her husband, a famous colonial leader, was brutally murdered by a genetically engineered super soldier. These soldiers are nicknamed Beasts. To further complicate matters, the wife of the Ubasti governor illegally brings a Beast into the community, becoming a stark reminder of her loss.

The novel is about Loren confronting tragedy personified by the newly arrived Beast and finally moving past it for the good of her daughter and her world.

The first thing that struck me about the novel was the instability of the narrator. There are erratic swings in mood and occasional incoherence in her thinking. It makes me wonder if she was really the best first-person narrator for this story. There are abrupt changes in subject, strange word usage, and outbursts that don't seem to come with any consequences for her. At the same time, I found myself admiring her intelligence, strength and unique stereotype-shattering personality. She was very aware her behavior was odd and may threaten her custody of her daughter. Despite her struggles, she was surprisingly insightful, self-aware, and brutally honest.

She wasn't alone in odd behavior. It seemed many of the characters could swing from polite and cordial, to downright nasty in a split-second then back to normal. Dialogue and mannerisms shifted a lot, creating sudden tension then dissipating into nothing. At times, this led to somewhat incoherent exchanges. Some of the characters were absolutely awful, in particular the offworlders. It's clear the author is an advocate of an ecofriendly pastoral existence with population controls to protect the environment. The influence of Malthus is pretty heavy.

Unfortunately, her examination of these topics are painfully one-sided, using stereotypes and strawmen for the antagonists. As someone who prefers villains with depth and complexity, this was disappointing for me.

Ubastis has an interesting mixture of Muslim, Christian, and secular elements to its culture as well as a very progressive communal society. It was refreshing to read about a non-American, non-White future society. For me, this might've been the most interesting part of the novel. The author clearly intended it to be the ideal, utopian society and she did an excellent job describing it. People refer to each other as "citizen" and child-rearing is a shared responsibility among many people. Killing is forbidden, whether human or animal. Even self-defense is a questionable justification for homicide. Hunting is considered abhorrent. Individuals need permission to procreate, and political leaders conduct psychological examinations of citizens.

The writing style was very strong and at times beautiful, but the author made a habit of unnecessarily using obscure words. Some seem to come straight from graduate school exams, such as the word lugubrious. She also introduces several neologisms that require the reader to use context to figure out what she is talking about. This is not for passive readers. I'm also not clear on where the title Archangel comes from. I don't recall it coming up in the book.

Unfortunately, the ending was anticlimactic and failed to conclude many of the outstanding conflicts in the story. Instead, Archangel is a setup for a sequel and not a strong stand alone novel.

I think many readers will enjoy the unique world-building as well as the complex feelings of the narrator, while some may be annoyed that the novel doesn't have more of a conventional sci-fi style to it. My individual experience with the book was mixed. HOWEVER, I want to emphasize Archangel is deep and rich in detail, avoiding typical sci-fi plot devices. Unlike many sci-fi novels, Archangel is well-written, with some really great narration. The depth and range of the topics covered is impressive. It's been a while since I've read a novel this sophisticated. While this novel didn't move me, I think many will love it.

[Ian Mond · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a lot to like about Marguerite Reed’s début novel Archangel. The writing is good and at times sublime, especially when describing the colony world of Ubastis. The world-building is rich with detail, in particular the predominant Muslim culture that administer Ubastis. The characters – including our protagonist Doctor Vashti Loren – are complicated and while not necessarily likeable always compelling. The novel’s main themes, specifically the effect open immigration can have on a fragile environment, are crunchy and thought-provoking and just a tad controversial. And for the most part the pacing is well judged, with enough plot beats and dramatic moments to keep things moving.

However, the novel has one, near fatal, flaw that for me came close to undermining all of Reed’s good work. That would be the relationship between Doctor Loren and the Beast.

To provide some context, as noted above Archangel is set on the fledgling colony world of Ubastis. Vashti Loren is part of the second wave of colonists that, at the young age of 15, came to the planet to both tame it but also understand the flora and fauna. More than a decade later the administration of Ubastis is fighting a losing battle against profiteers and the like who want to open Ubastis to hundreds of thousands of colonists. Loren is against this move knowing that the planet’s fragile ecology, which they don’t entirely understand, is not ready for a significant influx of immigrants.

In addition Vashti’s husband, the revered Lasse Undset who led the second wave of colonists, was brutally murdered by a Beast (a genetically enhanced super soldier). Still coming to terms with Lasse’s death – which she witnessed and only just survived – Vashti is horrified and furious when the Governor’s wife smuggles a Beast onto the planet. Struggling to cope with this constant reminder, Vashti thoughts start to drift toward the topic of revenge.

Loren makes it clear that she has a deep and abiding hatred of Beasts and especially the one that has been smuggled onto the planet. But what’s also clear is that she’s attracted to this specific enhanced super soldier. Now, Loren shrugs off the attraction, maintaining her hatred, but it’s also abundantly clear that this is going to be the case of opposites attract, that at some point Vashti Loren will not only befriend The Beast but they will also become lovers. In other words whiles Vashti plans to kill The Beast, the reader knows that this isn’t going to happen, that Vashti will never pull the trigger, no matter how much she wants too. And while I’m not against a romance that starts from conflict, Loren’s stubborn refusal to deal with her emotions makes for a frustrating and predictable read as we wait for the penny to drop. If not for the prose, the setting and the themes I’d have given up.

Still, it’s hard to dislike a novel that’s brave enough to discuss the issue of immigration and its effect on the environment. While it’s clear that an ecology will be threatened by a sudden influx of people (or any new species, I’m looking at you rabbits) when this is then applied to the issue of immigration, or limiting the number of people that can come to a village, city, country or colony planet, the controversy meter goes up exponentially. This is where those frightened by the Other will hide behind the environment to disguise their racism. Reed doesn’t necessarily explore that side of the debate head-on, but it lingers in the words of the profiteers who talk about children trapped on spaceships who will never have the privilege or opportunity of breathing in the fresh air of Ubastis. Yes, Reed leans heavily on the side of those opposed to open immigration in support of the planet, and yes there’s an element of the strawman in the form of an evil politician looking to undermine the Ubastis administration, but I give Reed props just for raising the issue.

So while Archangel does have it weaknesses and one near deal-breaker for a flaw, there’s a strength of voice and character to the book that makes it a worthwhile read.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hell of a first novel! A very engaging story, that at the same time makes one slow down to really appreciate the lyricism of Reed's writing style. A lyricism that is occasional slammed back into brutal, blunt reality by the all too human worldview of the protagonist. A protagonist that, like everything else in the story, becomes known to us in perfectly realistic bits and pieces; there's not an info-dump to be found concerning the different peoples, worlds, politics, or humanity in general, in this civilization of the 24th century that Reed has created. It all feels like you're there, picking up information as you discover it for yourself. Which I heartily recommend anyone do, by reading this fantastic story. The first of many, I'm sure.

[Holly Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reed has written the book every writer wants to write. Nearly perfect in plotting, character development and world building, Archangel has something to delight even the most jaded science fiction reader. The story of Vashti and Ubastis is rich in detail, deeply researched and expertly combined into a tale so engaging it is difficult to believe this is the author's first outing.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book started a bit slow but I quickly settled in for a marathon session like I haven't done since I was in my teens. I read large chunks of this at work (don't tell the boss!) because I couldn't wait to find out what happened. Now I can't wait for the next book!

[Tate]

I think I would describe this book to people as: Jurassic Park meets the American Revolution... with clones.

[Morgan Dhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marguerite Reed's debut novel, Archangel (the first in a series), starts slowly, but doesn't take long to heat up. The narrator, Vashti Undset, is a complex character who plays many roles in her society - a relatively high-tech colony situated on a still untamed world with dangers ranging from carnivorous megafauna to as-yet unresearched microflora. She is a scientist, a big game hunter and guide, part of the co-ordinating body, an officer in the paramilitary organisation that provides both policing and search and rescue services, a "Natch" without genetic enhancement in a society where most people are at a minimum genetically modified to reduce aggressive behaviours, mother to a vivacious four-year-old and bereaved widow of the colony's beloved, almost deified, savagely murdered founder.

The colony she lives in is called Ubastis, a nominally Muslim society with strong associations to Egyptian and South Asian cultures, but which is in fact a mosaic of peoples and influences. Ubastis is a closed colony, with very limited immigration and strict population control - a decision made in an attempt to keep the colony's impact on the new world minimal, but one which is by charter revisited every ten years. The colony is under great pressure from the other homes of humanity - overpopulated earlier colonies and ecologically devastated Earth - to throw open its doors and accept the maximum number of settlers from other worlds.

As the novel opens, the time is drawing near for another vote on opening up the colony, and Vashti is about to be drawn into a web of plots and mysteries on both sides of the struggle in a way which will force her to confront her own grief and need for vengeance.

A multi-layered story, with some very interesting elements, and a few things that did not quite gel for me. A key part of Vashti's role in the escalating conflict hinges on her interactions with a Beast - a genetically enhanced clone soldier who has been illegally brought to Ubastis. The clone soldiers, we learn, are designed both to imprint on and produce pheromones which are only effective on Natches. This vastly complicates things for Vashti and the Beast, and is at the same tine extraordinarily convenient for certain later plot developments - and seemed a bit too contrived, all things considered.

Despite this, and a few other minor issues, I did enjoy the novel and am curious about where the next book in the series will take the people of Ubastis.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb Debut Speculative Fiction Novel About A Courageous Woman's Defense of Her Adopted Colony World

Marguerite Reed's debut novel "Archangel" features spectacular world building and great characterization in a novel that warrants ample consideration as one of the finest debuts in speculative fiction this year. Her protagonist, xenobiologist Vashti Loren, is one of the most intriguing female characters in recent speculative fiction, within a novel that deals compellingly with big ideas like preserving an alien planet's biodiversity and encouraging - or discouraging - further human colonization of it. "Archangel" is as compellingly readable as Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Word for the World is Forest" with Reed's prose nearly as memorable as Le Guin's. But what truly distinguishes Reed's novel from being more than a routine ecological speculative fiction thriller is in its strong, heart-felt, depiction of the love which Loren has for her young daughter Bibi, as the sole living reminder she has of her late husband, revered as one of the remote human colony world of Ubastis' "founding fathers". With "Archangel", Reed demonstrates she is one of the more unique, and original, newest voices writing speculative fiction today.

[Catalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liviu Ciocarlie said “exactly like Dune” and gave it 5 stars. So I jump on it.

Well, it’s not like Dune and I gave it 5 stars also. You see, this book was written by a woman; has a woman as main character who is also the narrator. If Dune’s author would have been a woman I guarantee you we had an entire different Bene Gesserit. The plot is quite simple, it’s only that Vashti’s personal feelings, sensations and emotions suffuse the narrative makes this book so enchanting.

So, it’s a myth. We have a Paradise, a Mother and a Warrior. In the background The Father – a retired god (deus otiosus) - an inspiration, a motivation, lost for this world. We have a child – because the children will inherit the paradise. Eventually, after the Good and the Evil forces will fight. It’s a modern mythological story, so the Evil forces are evasive, wrapped in inconsistent forms, stealth, but still there ready for the challenge. What we have to do is to watch closely the Good. Ubastis is a giant magnet, the eye of the tornado sucking all in. While the paradise - or more precisely the promise of the paradise – draws the humanity attention, what the Good will do?

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Complicated and slow. With odd pacing and choices of details. There's a lot in this one. And it's definitely a story started in the middle. And takes a long long time building. And then kind of misfires. Definitely a different take on many things from colonization to human genetic manipulation. And even the nature of good and evil. And one of the better portrayed little kids I've seen in print as a side but motivational character. Challenging but perplexing. 3.5 of 5.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! Science fiction with a strong female protagonist, who is not overly sexualized, not written for a YA audience (though I love those books too). The author even has an awareness of the way sexism often appears in the genre, which she uses playfully. The book tackles personal and political issues while leaving room for differences of opinion. And the writing is very good.

[Michael Hanscom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one that wasn't a bad book - better than many I've read, in fact - it simply didn't engage me. I'm not exactly sure why, but while the universe was interesting, the characters didn't grab me. Not a bad book at all, but likely not my favorite of this year's nominees.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different and mostly up my alley. Except for a bit of pedophilia, I was all in as they say. Worth the time. New planet, colonies, scientists, moms, soldiers and cool new biomes to explore.

[Keizen Li Qian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really get this one. The writing failed to come alive -- it reminds me of reading poetry that feels cold and abstract: the details are there but I don't feel them. The setting and characters were interesting, but there were many dialogues and lines whose purpose eluded me. Even the larger arc and themes fell short of expectations in adult literature.

The protagonist constantly deceives herself and behaves in pathological ways, then snaps out of it to do the bidding of others, including her late husband. Is this supposed to be feminist or admirable, or even humbling to our humanity?

Oh, and there's no mention of an archangel anywhere.

[Jacqie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extremely well-written debut novel that makes me want to read more of the series.

Ubastis is a multi-religious colony that has its growth carefully planned. Vashti, the protagonist, is a biologist and explorer. Unfortunately, it's been long enough since I read this book (goodreads apparently swallowed my first review) that I'm fuzzy on details. I remember genetically engineered humans, alien dinosaur-like creatures, a colony that has managed to mix religions without violence, and naturally, a big corporate/government entity that's interested in taking everything for itself. However, I'm still waiting for the sequel eagerly!

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vashti Loren—hunter, naturalist, mother, and the widow of a revered explorer—is a settler on Ubastis, a fertile, lush world where settlement has been intensely restricted to prevent the environmental collapse that ruined Earth and its other colonies. Tensions are rising between those who would protect Ubastis against further colonization and those who want to open it up to widespread settlement. As Vashti considers her role in the coming conflict, she confronts the wounds of her past through uncomfortable interactions with a bio-engineered super-soldier similar to the one who murdered her husband.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF page 30.

The beginning jumps a bit between time frames so it's not fully clear what the continuity is.

The main character has a toddler daughter that she brings into this lab with a creature she positively hates and it just doesn't make sense. I couldn't get into this.

The author does seem VERY well versed in her sci-fi terminology and maybe a bigger sci-fi nerd will appreciate this work more than me. But it's not an easy read for people who may not be fully emerged in sci-fi lingo.

[Tanya]

A lush book, dense with vivid characters. Often a little hard to push through the density. I learned a couple of new words! That was fun.

The environmental theme “will humans do it again to this planet” seems to be common now, and well worth examining from various angles, as this book does. Also, a very strong PTSD theme.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book even if I didn't always understand the choices the main character, Vashti, makes. It is also very much the first in a series and it leaves the reader with a lot of unanswered questions.

[Jrubino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is enjoyable … though it feels a bit empty. The world building and characters have moments of clarity, but the heavy reliance on a ‘motherhood’ emotional tug is too much at times.