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Jenna Starborn
Jenna Starborn was created out of frozen embryonic tissue, a child unloved and unwanted. Yet she has grown up with a singularly sharp mind — and a heart that warms to those she sees as less fortunate than herself. This novel takes us into Jenna Starborn's life, to a planet called Fieldstar, and to a property called Thorrastone — whose enigmatic lord will test the strength of that tender and compassionate heart.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Sharon Shinn
65 books2,335 followersI’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative writing, so I pursued a degree in journalism at Northwestern University so I’d be able to support myself while I figured out how to write fiction.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
I’ve spent most of my journalism career at three trade and association magazines—The Professional Photographer (which, as you might guess, went to studio and industrial photographers), DECOR (which went to frame shop and art gallery owners), and BizEd (which is directed at deans and professors at business schools). My longest stint, seventeen years, was at DECOR. Many people don’t know this, but I’m a CPF (Certified Picture Framer), having passed a very long, technical test to prove I understood the tenets of conservation framing. Now I write about management education and interview some really cool, really smart people from all over the world.
I mostly write my fiction in the evenings and on weekends. It requires a pretty obsessive-compulsive personality to be as prolific as I’ve been in the past ten years and hold down a full-time job. But I do manage to tear myself away from the computer now and then to do something fun. I read as often as I can, across all genres, though I’m most often holding a book that’s fantasy or romance, with the occasional western thrown in. I’m a fan of Cardinals baseball and try to be at the ballpark on opening day. If I had the time, I’d see a movie every day of my life. I love certain TV shows so much that knowing a new episode is going to air that night will make me happy all day. (I’m a huge Joss Whedon fan, but in the past I’ve given my heart to shows all over the map in terms of quality: "Knight Rider," "Remington Steele," "Blake’s 7," "Moonlighting," "The Young Riders," "Cheers," "Hill Street Blues," "X-Files," "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica"...you can probably fill in the gaps. And let’s not forget my very first loves, "The Partridge Family," "Here Come the Brides" and "Alias Smith & Jones.")
I don’t have kids, I don’t want pets, and all my plants die, so I’m really only forced to provide ongoing care for my menagerie of stuffed animals. All my friends are animal lovers, though, and someone once theorized that I keep friends as pets. I’m still trying to decide if that’s true.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 198 reviews
July 30, 2011
This started out as an intruiging twist on Jane Eyre and I was totally sold. However, it became increasingly apparent that in essentials the story follows the original a little too closely when you consider that the characters and their motivations were changed enough that the events that transpire and the actions the characters take cease to make sense in the original context. It's as if the author really liked Jane Eyre but the more she thought about it, the more she realized, "Hey, despite the sense of romance this story satisfies deep down, this is a really unhealthy and unbalanced relationship here. Maybe I'll make Jane(Jenna) a little older with more life options and the reason she'll put up with all the bullshit will be explained by the fact that a) Jane(Jenna) is really shy, and b)The future cultures have gone back to a very formal way of interacting to uphold the intense social stratification between classes."
Unfortunately, once you take out all the unhealthy stuff, you're not left with a very emotionally impactful (not to mention bodice-ripping) story. This is especially true when you add in the governess (since Jenna does not fill that role as Jane does) and the young ward that is no longer actually dependent on the main character. This, PLUS the fact that it's just a hop skip and a jump away to a town where she can and does buy good and interact with other people, Jane(Jenna)'s world is just too open. You start to miss the close, lonely, claustrophobic feel of the original and the desperate light that Rochester brings into Jane's world. Sick and unhealthy? Yes. Emotionally satisfying and utterly romatic? YES.
In the end I couldn't bring myself to finish this book.
Unfortunately, once you take out all the unhealthy stuff, you're not left with a very emotionally impactful (not to mention bodice-ripping) story. This is especially true when you add in the governess (since Jenna does not fill that role as Jane does) and the young ward that is no longer actually dependent on the main character. This, PLUS the fact that it's just a hop skip and a jump away to a town where she can and does buy good and interact with other people, Jane(Jenna)'s world is just too open. You start to miss the close, lonely, claustrophobic feel of the original and the desperate light that Rochester brings into Jane's world. Sick and unhealthy? Yes. Emotionally satisfying and utterly romatic? YES.
In the end I couldn't bring myself to finish this book.
June 10, 2008
This book slavishly follows Jane Eyre, upon which it is based. Even though it's been several years since I last read Jane Eyre, I recognized, almost scene for scene everything in this homage to the original.
Now, as someone whose writing frequently draws upon myth or fairy tale, I have no problem with basing a new work on something older. Unfortunately, taking an old book, even a classic you adore, and creating a [psuedo-]science-fiction setting in which to translate, almost word-for-word, the original story is not what I expect when a novel claims to draw inspiration from a prior work. This novel not only follows the original too closely, it does so to the detriment of the story. Characterizations appropriate to the time at which Jane Eyre was published, 1847, simply didn't work in the multi-planet space-faring future posited by Shinn, despite her conceit that replaced the British class system with one based on property rights.
Now, as someone whose writing frequently draws upon myth or fairy tale, I have no problem with basing a new work on something older. Unfortunately, taking an old book, even a classic you adore, and creating a [psuedo-]science-fiction setting in which to translate, almost word-for-word, the original story is not what I expect when a novel claims to draw inspiration from a prior work. This novel not only follows the original too closely, it does so to the detriment of the story. Characterizations appropriate to the time at which Jane Eyre was published, 1847, simply didn't work in the multi-planet space-faring future posited by Shinn, despite her conceit that replaced the British class system with one based on property rights.
June 19, 2018
I'd forgotten this was a Jane Eyre retelling, so I spent the first few chapters going, "Huh, this reminds me of Jane Eyre." IMAGINE THAT.
Ultimately, though, it was one of those retellings that stuck too closely to the original, maybe especially so because it's a sci fi retelling! I was very bored with the second half.
Ultimately, though, it was one of those retellings that stuck too closely to the original, maybe especially so because it's a sci fi retelling! I was very bored with the second half.
September 5, 2009
The best Jane Eyre retelling I've come across. Unlike the others I've read, this book doesn't try too hard and come out like Jane Eyre in different clothing, all cutsey and stupid, nor is it some completely unrelated plot which the author is insisting is a retelling of Jane Eyre. (I always think of the Monty Python sketch making fun of the "with a twist" phenomenon by doing a Shakespeare play with a cast of dairy cows. Shinn avoids this kind of less-than-legitimate "retelling.") Instead, I found myself liking this science fiction novel on its own merit and enjoying the author's inventions, rather than being bored to death or outraged by attempts at 'borrowing the glory' of Brontë's classic.
November 15, 2010
It had been years since I’d read Jane Eyre, and Sharon Shinn is amazing at everything else, so I couldn’t wait to read Jenna Starborn. I loved it. I’m skeptical when it comes to re-tellings, but Jenna Starborn was in such a different setting and time period, I couldn’t complain about anything. I loved Jenna. What a spunky and strong woman. The science fiction aspect was very cool and creative, and she followed the original Jane Eyre almost to the T, save the fact that it wasn’t as dark. Where Jane Eyre is a classic gothic novel, I thought Jenna Starborn was a lighter and more hopeful story. Brilliant creativeness with the “mad wife” idea! You rock Sharon Shinn.
May 7, 2008
A truly wretched recreation of Jane Eyre's story. Instead of being the actual governess the protagonist Jenna is a mechanic hired to work at the estate. There is a governess however because there had to be a ward. Every character is included and Jenna remains true to Jane's stark principles but the language simplistic verging on slow witted. The only reason this retelling got two stars was for trying to place a valuable story like this into a mode that would make it more available to young readers. With little exposure to the historic context of the original reading Jane Erye itself is a trial to many. It really needs to be read with annotations to the setting and culture.
The technical aspects of the story were very weak. The author is not grounded in the fields she tried to use as a backdrop and it showed.
The technical aspects of the story were very weak. The author is not grounded in the fields she tried to use as a backdrop and it showed.
January 8, 2012
As an English teacher, I have a dirty secret, I don't LOVE Jane Eyre like I think I'm suppose to. I wasn't required to read it as a high school student or even as a college student. I taught English at the middle and high school level for almost 10 years before I finally picked it up. At first, I listened to it from Florida's Lit2Go site, which is a pretty decent unabridged reading of the book. Then I began teaching AP English and decided that I better read the book myself. I liked it, but didn't love it. I felt bad for Jane, who through no fault of her own was born into a society and situation that limited who she could be and what could do. I didn't get the deep passion between Jane and Mr. Rochester that everyone else seems to analyze and brood about. However, I do appreciate the influence the book has had on literature, feminist thought, and cultural memes. Plus, there are some really fun sentences! But, my feelings for Jane Eyre changed when I stumbled on the author Sharon Shinn and her sci-fi/fantasy retelling of the story. The story and sentence structure/style is recognizable as Jane Eyre, but it is set in a time and place that includes Victorian clothing styles and morays and interstellar travel and cloning.
Jenna Starborn, the title and main character of the story, is a laboratory gestated child for a wealthy and powerful but childless women, who regrets her gen-tank half-citizen as soon as she had a biological child of her own. For years, Jenna is systematically neglected and mistreated, which results in a visit to the hospital. With clear indications of abuse, Jenna is taken away from her "aunt" and sent to an engineering school/orphanage. There she learns the maths and sciences and excels enough to become an instructor. However, her wanderlust gets the best of her and she applies for a generator technician at a remote outpost and is quickly accepted.
Thorrastone Park is a compound servicing the mining company of Mr. Ravenbeck. In a very hostile environment, it depends on the generators not only for power, but for the force-field that provides a comfortable atmosphere. Shinn does a great job here providing a thoroughly familiar Gothic setting in a science-fiction setting. The story continues to follow the themes of Jane Eyre - societal expectations, the push-pull of attraction between Jenna and Mr. Ravenbeck, and the mysterious incidents that indicate all is not what it seems at Thorrastone Park. Jenna befriends Mr. Ravenbeck's ward, Ameletta, and her governess, Miss Ayerson, and begins to integrate herself into the daily life of the compound. Once they give into their attraction, Jenna and Mr. Ravenbeck attempt to be married, only to find that Mr. Ravenbeck is already a married man. He had been duped into marrying a cyborg, and a damaged one at that. But, money and power were tied to the marriage, and Mr. Ravenbeck felt a sense of duty to protect and care for his malfunctioning barely human wife, and so he moved to one of the remotest parts of the universe and hired tech-savvy nurses to care for his wife. But, then he fell in love with Jenna. Not being free to marry her, and unable to live with him daily, Jenna leaves the compound and assumes a new identity and new life on Appalachia. There she meets new friends and becomes part of a community, for the first time in her life, she feels as if she belongs somewhere. However, her feelings for Mr. Ravenbeck do not diminish. When her aunt dies, Jenna becomes a wealthy woman who can do anything with her life and money. But, on hearing Mr. Ravenbeck's anguished cries in her meditations, she returns to Thorrastone Park. However, all has not gone well. The cyborg wife went crazy and destroyed the force-field and buildings, blinded Mr. Ravenbeck, and killed herself. The ending, like Jane Eyre, is peppy and uplifting - they marry, bring Ameletta back into their lives, have their own children, and Mr. Ravenbeck heals.
This book made me love Jane Eyre, well, technically, Jenna Starborn. I was rooting for her throughout the story and I sincerely cared about what happened to her. The interesting juxtaposition of Victorian fashion and culture with nuclear generators and space ships continued to intrigue me. I savored the language throughout the book, and for the first time in a long time, I slowed down my reading pace to dwell over the words and rhythm. I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.
Jenna Starborn, the title and main character of the story, is a laboratory gestated child for a wealthy and powerful but childless women, who regrets her gen-tank half-citizen as soon as she had a biological child of her own. For years, Jenna is systematically neglected and mistreated, which results in a visit to the hospital. With clear indications of abuse, Jenna is taken away from her "aunt" and sent to an engineering school/orphanage. There she learns the maths and sciences and excels enough to become an instructor. However, her wanderlust gets the best of her and she applies for a generator technician at a remote outpost and is quickly accepted.
Thorrastone Park is a compound servicing the mining company of Mr. Ravenbeck. In a very hostile environment, it depends on the generators not only for power, but for the force-field that provides a comfortable atmosphere. Shinn does a great job here providing a thoroughly familiar Gothic setting in a science-fiction setting. The story continues to follow the themes of Jane Eyre - societal expectations, the push-pull of attraction between Jenna and Mr. Ravenbeck, and the mysterious incidents that indicate all is not what it seems at Thorrastone Park. Jenna befriends Mr. Ravenbeck's ward, Ameletta, and her governess, Miss Ayerson, and begins to integrate herself into the daily life of the compound. Once they give into their attraction, Jenna and Mr. Ravenbeck attempt to be married, only to find that Mr. Ravenbeck is already a married man. He had been duped into marrying a cyborg, and a damaged one at that. But, money and power were tied to the marriage, and Mr. Ravenbeck felt a sense of duty to protect and care for his malfunctioning barely human wife, and so he moved to one of the remotest parts of the universe and hired tech-savvy nurses to care for his wife. But, then he fell in love with Jenna. Not being free to marry her, and unable to live with him daily, Jenna leaves the compound and assumes a new identity and new life on Appalachia. There she meets new friends and becomes part of a community, for the first time in her life, she feels as if she belongs somewhere. However, her feelings for Mr. Ravenbeck do not diminish. When her aunt dies, Jenna becomes a wealthy woman who can do anything with her life and money. But, on hearing Mr. Ravenbeck's anguished cries in her meditations, she returns to Thorrastone Park. However, all has not gone well. The cyborg wife went crazy and destroyed the force-field and buildings, blinded Mr. Ravenbeck, and killed herself. The ending, like Jane Eyre, is peppy and uplifting - they marry, bring Ameletta back into their lives, have their own children, and Mr. Ravenbeck heals.
This book made me love Jane Eyre, well, technically, Jenna Starborn. I was rooting for her throughout the story and I sincerely cared about what happened to her. The interesting juxtaposition of Victorian fashion and culture with nuclear generators and space ships continued to intrigue me. I savored the language throughout the book, and for the first time in a long time, I slowed down my reading pace to dwell over the words and rhythm. I can honestly say that I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a very long time.
December 9, 2013
It’s January, and one of the things I resolved to do in the New Year was participate in Long-Awaited Reads Month. I’m sure any avid reader will agree with me – sometimes you buy a book that looks absolutely wonderful, and then for one reason or another, you don’t read it for YEARS. It sits on the shelf (or e-reader) gathering dust, and though you know it’s probably wonderful, you keep putting it off. Well, I’m finally reading a few of those books. Sharon Shinn's Jenna Starborn was up first. Shinn writes beautiful, deep, heart-wrecking books, including Archangel from the Samaria series, and Troubled Waters from the Elemental Blessings series. Jenna Starborn is a sci-fi standalone, and perhaps even more relevant to a potential reader, it’s a retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.
In this science fiction future, there are five levels of citizenship, and one’s place in the hierarchy determines everything (or almost everything) in life. Jenna Starborn is a half-citizen – she was commissioned, ‘grown’ in a gen tank, harvested, and then raised by a citizen, but never formally adopted by her ‘creator.’ As a half-cit, her future is precarious at best. In the beginning she must face it alone – but Jenna is quietly extraordinary, and she wins friends and family for herself. While working at Thorrastone Park on the terraformed planet of Fieldstar she finds love, but there are mysteries, complications and machinations to maneuver before the tale comes to a (satisfying) conclusion.
The plot of Jenna Starborn is, of course, well-known to anyone who has read Jane Eyre, or seen the film versions (Michael Fassbender as Rochester in the latest incarnation = hello, dreamy!). When I first read Brontë’s classic in the 9th grade I mooned over it for several months – reread it and identified with it and thought it enormously romantic. I am a different person now, and I’ve had many years to consider whether or not I’d like a Mr. Rochester of my own. The answer has changed to an emphatic ‘NO.’ I can still see the romance in the tale, but I would not want to live it… and I think that knowledge kept me from sinking completely into Shinn’s web of words.
Like the original Jane, Jenna is a private, quiet person. She prefers quiet environments and smart, purposeful people. She’s guided by strong moral principles and believes in justice, equality and kindness, though she knows that in practice the world around her is unfair. Unlike in the original, she’s a highly proficient nuclear technician, and she is no one’s governess. Jenna is also a member of the PanEquist belief system, and what one gathers of this religion and its believers fits in nicely with her ideals and uprightness (and also makes for a nice differentiation from the 19th century Christianity that was Jane Eyre’s faith).
The most interesting part of the book, for me, was seeing the ways in which Shinn was faithful to the original tale, but still made it her own, and made it sci-fi. An unapologetically brilliant and scientific heroine is a lovely rarity in my reading life. At the same time, Jenna doesn’t discard her feminine side or lack for emotion – she feels deeply, but organizes her hopes quite strictly according to her inner moral compass. This combination adds to generally practical, rational Jenna’s humanity and empathy. She’s a character that the privileged modern reader can access.
I’d say Shinn has done a marvelous job of evoking the classic in Jenna’s character. I can also tell that Jane Eyre must be a huge influence on everything Shinn writes, because it contains her standards: a heroine who knows herself, and a hero who has made (or is still making) dubious choices, even though he means well. Shinn writes the most beautiful, shattering romantic moments, and though I’m not as partial to Jenna Starborn as I am to other of her works, I can’t say I escaped unscathed – I cried!
Jenna Starborn is a noteworthy tribute to a classic, and at the same time a delightfully deep sci-fi romance, with wrenching emotion and difficult choices that make up real life, and the requisite happy conclusion.
Recommended for: fans of Jane Eyre, and anyone looking for sci-fi, romance, or beautiful, emotion-filled writing.
In this science fiction future, there are five levels of citizenship, and one’s place in the hierarchy determines everything (or almost everything) in life. Jenna Starborn is a half-citizen – she was commissioned, ‘grown’ in a gen tank, harvested, and then raised by a citizen, but never formally adopted by her ‘creator.’ As a half-cit, her future is precarious at best. In the beginning she must face it alone – but Jenna is quietly extraordinary, and she wins friends and family for herself. While working at Thorrastone Park on the terraformed planet of Fieldstar she finds love, but there are mysteries, complications and machinations to maneuver before the tale comes to a (satisfying) conclusion.
The plot of Jenna Starborn is, of course, well-known to anyone who has read Jane Eyre, or seen the film versions (Michael Fassbender as Rochester in the latest incarnation = hello, dreamy!). When I first read Brontë’s classic in the 9th grade I mooned over it for several months – reread it and identified with it and thought it enormously romantic. I am a different person now, and I’ve had many years to consider whether or not I’d like a Mr. Rochester of my own. The answer has changed to an emphatic ‘NO.’ I can still see the romance in the tale, but I would not want to live it… and I think that knowledge kept me from sinking completely into Shinn’s web of words.
Like the original Jane, Jenna is a private, quiet person. She prefers quiet environments and smart, purposeful people. She’s guided by strong moral principles and believes in justice, equality and kindness, though she knows that in practice the world around her is unfair. Unlike in the original, she’s a highly proficient nuclear technician, and she is no one’s governess. Jenna is also a member of the PanEquist belief system, and what one gathers of this religion and its believers fits in nicely with her ideals and uprightness (and also makes for a nice differentiation from the 19th century Christianity that was Jane Eyre’s faith).
The most interesting part of the book, for me, was seeing the ways in which Shinn was faithful to the original tale, but still made it her own, and made it sci-fi. An unapologetically brilliant and scientific heroine is a lovely rarity in my reading life. At the same time, Jenna doesn’t discard her feminine side or lack for emotion – she feels deeply, but organizes her hopes quite strictly according to her inner moral compass. This combination adds to generally practical, rational Jenna’s humanity and empathy. She’s a character that the privileged modern reader can access.
I’d say Shinn has done a marvelous job of evoking the classic in Jenna’s character. I can also tell that Jane Eyre must be a huge influence on everything Shinn writes, because it contains her standards: a heroine who knows herself, and a hero who has made (or is still making) dubious choices, even though he means well. Shinn writes the most beautiful, shattering romantic moments, and though I’m not as partial to Jenna Starborn as I am to other of her works, I can’t say I escaped unscathed – I cried!
Jenna Starborn is a noteworthy tribute to a classic, and at the same time a delightfully deep sci-fi romance, with wrenching emotion and difficult choices that make up real life, and the requisite happy conclusion.
Recommended for: fans of Jane Eyre, and anyone looking for sci-fi, romance, or beautiful, emotion-filled writing.
August 12, 2007
I love Jane Eyre. I readily admit that I read it at least three times a year. So when I was strolling through the Yellow Room in the downtown Powell's a couple of years ago, and saw the little RECOMMENDED tag under this title, I paused to read the blurb. Jane Eyre... sci fi.. what's not to like? I'd never read any of Sharon Shinn's work before - and I haven't read any of her other works, so I'm not sure if this indicative of her usual quality - but I figured it would be an interesting read.
I'm glad I picked it up. It was fun - a little Jane Eyre, a little sci fi. There are whole blocks of writing that caused the original text to echo in my head. Of course there are some tweaks here and there - there is only the cousin John to torment Jane in her youth, for example - but overall it was a rather good re-working of one of my favourite novels. I took this with me on a trip and enjoyed reading it several times. I have since read it at least five or six times and it is well-worn from all of the handling it has received. If you are a staunch Jane Eyre purist, stay away from this novel. But if you like to see well-executed genre-hopping retellings of classic works, give this one a shot. I think you will enjoy it.
I'm glad I picked it up. It was fun - a little Jane Eyre, a little sci fi. There are whole blocks of writing that caused the original text to echo in my head. Of course there are some tweaks here and there - there is only the cousin John to torment Jane in her youth, for example - but overall it was a rather good re-working of one of my favourite novels. I took this with me on a trip and enjoyed reading it several times. I have since read it at least five or six times and it is well-worn from all of the handling it has received. If you are a staunch Jane Eyre purist, stay away from this novel. But if you like to see well-executed genre-hopping retellings of classic works, give this one a shot. I think you will enjoy it.
October 15, 2016
Well, Reeder, I read it.
No, that wasn't a typo. Jenna (our erstwhile Jane Eyre) is given a recording device much like a diary, and she occasionally addresses it as "Reeder" (instead of Reader, har har).
The ratings are pretty low for this book, considering the author, and it's a bit sad. Some reviewers said that the author read Jane Eyre and really, really liked it. Yes, she must have, considering the amount of work she put into this story. I used to read Jane Eyre every year almost religiously, and although I haven't read it in a couple of years, I can tell you that pretty much every single scene in Jane Eyre is lifted and revitalized in this book, aside from John Reed's sisters (who have disappeared), and the dreams of ruin and devastation just before Jane's wedding, and Bertha Mason's crazed slashing of her wedding dress. Sharon Shinn put an incredible amount of work into placing all of Jane Eyre into a futuristic era, complete with space shuttles, cryosleep, and cyborgs. That's pretty amazing in and of itself. She even translated Jane's morality and faith in God into faith in the Goddess and Jane's Christian belief in equality into belief of the Pan-Equists. Jane's first intriguing conversation with Mr. Rochester in the parlor at Thornfield -- this conversation is intriguing because of the time period and place. The book is filled with different barriers, that of age, of class, of gender, of formality -- for Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, of different situations in life, not to mention as employee and employer, to have a quirky first conversation with that initial spark -- it's no wonder that Mr. Rochester suddenly had his eye on the very plain Jane Eyre. Sharon Shinn replicated this feeling with remarkable accuracy.
In fact, what Sharon Shinn was able to emphasize was the degrading thing that Mr. Rochester was about to perpetrate on Jane -- this which is almost left out of the original book, simply because the gothic overtones overwhelmed the entire book. Here, Everett's actions were seen for what they really were - selfishness. Yes, he may have loved Jenna, but there's no doubting that he was a purely selfish, grasping person who did not deserve Jenna yet. Because, honestly, if Mr. Rochester was already married, and he was truly looking for a meeting of the minds in a bigamist marriage, then what was he doing encouraging Blanche Ingram? Seriously, if not for the ending, Mr. Rochester would be another lowest of the low scumbag.
The wonder of this book was that set in a different time period, a different planet, you can see the characters and the situation for what it really was -- Jenna, a half-cit harvested from gen-labs, and Everett, a first-class citizen, and yet, both of their situations were from circumstances neither could control. Did I find Jenna a bit more uptight and annoying than I found Jane Eyre? Yes, but I put that down to the change in time periods. Did I also find Everett less attractive than Mr. Rochester? Yes, and I found his difficulties in not marrying Jenna less compelling and more selfish as well. Someone noted that given the futuristic setting, life should not be as lonely and segregated, and yet there maintained still a very lonely, unpopulated feel. I suppose, if infinity's the limit, then that could prove lonely as well.
What made Jane Eyre into the romantic tale that it was was Mr. Rochester's frantic, pathetic grovel at the end -- this which was somewhat glossed over in the book. And that, I thought detracted from making this book an almost perfect adaptation of the original, the fact that things seemed to be glossed over from when she returns to Fieldstar after running away and inheriting a bundle of money that she shares with her newfound "relatives" -- also a very cunning twist. All in all, even if the book didn't engage me as thoroughly as did the original, I have to give this book high marks for being the first adaptation to mimick the ideas, culture, and relationships of the original so closely. Have you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? I have, and there were not nearly enough zombies to make the book an interesting endeavor or echo the sentiment without being an almost verbatim copy. This book, while it took itself a bit more seriously, was the better effort.
No, that wasn't a typo. Jenna (our erstwhile Jane Eyre) is given a recording device much like a diary, and she occasionally addresses it as "Reeder" (instead of Reader, har har).
The ratings are pretty low for this book, considering the author, and it's a bit sad. Some reviewers said that the author read Jane Eyre and really, really liked it. Yes, she must have, considering the amount of work she put into this story. I used to read Jane Eyre every year almost religiously, and although I haven't read it in a couple of years, I can tell you that pretty much every single scene in Jane Eyre is lifted and revitalized in this book, aside from John Reed's sisters (who have disappeared), and the dreams of ruin and devastation just before Jane's wedding, and Bertha Mason's crazed slashing of her wedding dress. Sharon Shinn put an incredible amount of work into placing all of Jane Eyre into a futuristic era, complete with space shuttles, cryosleep, and cyborgs. That's pretty amazing in and of itself. She even translated Jane's morality and faith in God into faith in the Goddess and Jane's Christian belief in equality into belief of the Pan-Equists. Jane's first intriguing conversation with Mr. Rochester in the parlor at Thornfield -- this conversation is intriguing because of the time period and place. The book is filled with different barriers, that of age, of class, of gender, of formality -- for Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, of different situations in life, not to mention as employee and employer, to have a quirky first conversation with that initial spark -- it's no wonder that Mr. Rochester suddenly had his eye on the very plain Jane Eyre. Sharon Shinn replicated this feeling with remarkable accuracy.
In fact, what Sharon Shinn was able to emphasize was the degrading thing that Mr. Rochester was about to perpetrate on Jane -- this which is almost left out of the original book, simply because the gothic overtones overwhelmed the entire book. Here, Everett's actions were seen for what they really were - selfishness. Yes, he may have loved Jenna, but there's no doubting that he was a purely selfish, grasping person who did not deserve Jenna yet. Because, honestly, if Mr. Rochester was already married, and he was truly looking for a meeting of the minds in a bigamist marriage, then what was he doing encouraging Blanche Ingram? Seriously, if not for the ending, Mr. Rochester would be another lowest of the low scumbag.
The wonder of this book was that set in a different time period, a different planet, you can see the characters and the situation for what it really was -- Jenna, a half-cit harvested from gen-labs, and Everett, a first-class citizen, and yet, both of their situations were from circumstances neither could control. Did I find Jenna a bit more uptight and annoying than I found Jane Eyre? Yes, but I put that down to the change in time periods. Did I also find Everett less attractive than Mr. Rochester? Yes, and I found his difficulties in not marrying Jenna less compelling and more selfish as well. Someone noted that given the futuristic setting, life should not be as lonely and segregated, and yet there maintained still a very lonely, unpopulated feel. I suppose, if infinity's the limit, then that could prove lonely as well.
What made Jane Eyre into the romantic tale that it was was Mr. Rochester's frantic, pathetic grovel at the end -- this which was somewhat glossed over in the book. And that, I thought detracted from making this book an almost perfect adaptation of the original, the fact that things seemed to be glossed over from when she returns to Fieldstar after running away and inheriting a bundle of money that she shares with her newfound "relatives" -- also a very cunning twist. All in all, even if the book didn't engage me as thoroughly as did the original, I have to give this book high marks for being the first adaptation to mimick the ideas, culture, and relationships of the original so closely. Have you read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies? I have, and there were not nearly enough zombies to make the book an interesting endeavor or echo the sentiment without being an almost verbatim copy. This book, while it took itself a bit more seriously, was the better effort.
October 14, 2008
Due to Jenna Starborn's heavy debt to Jane Eyre for everything from plot to characters to dialog, this is not as hopelessly dreadful as Shinn tried to make it. Point by point, Shinn copies Jane Eyre into space, never bothering to be the least creative.
February 4, 2014
I love Sharon Shinn's other books and I love Jane Eyre, but this was just too directly a retelling. I like retellings to veer a bit from the original story, but all the big plot twists were here in the order they appear in the original, so I knew what was going to happen the whole time. It was, literally, Jane Eyre in space. Yeah.
June 27, 2021
It took such a weird turn about 70% in. Honestly felt like the writer was bored with the story and just wanted something different.
Did Not Finish
January 22, 2023DNF
Nope. Didn't work for me.
Nope. Didn't work for me.
January 8, 2018
I have loved previous reads by Shinn, but this was kind of... meh. It's not badly written, and the premise -- a retelling of Jane Eyre in a science fiction setting -- is intriguing, but the execution is lacking. The problem for me is that the story follows the original much too closely, not only plotwise but also when it comes to characters and language. The nineteenth century-style prose is well done but it clashes with the setting, which is in the future in interstellar space on various colonised planets. However, the far-future setting didn't add anything at all to the story, the science-fiction elements were vague and uninteresting, and both plot and characterization retained so much of the original that it kept all its flaws too, one of which is that the love story between Jenna / Jane and Mr. Ravensbeck / Mr. Rochester doesn't really make sense to me as a modern reader. Mr. R. is still selfish, heavy-handed and inconsiderate toward J, and J is still such a strange mix of stubbornness and meekness and Moral Superiority that you just grow frustrated with her. There is so much that could have been done with a story like this (and the characters) that just failed to happen here. In the end, the changes were inconsequential and nothing was gained. Just read the original instead.
August 24, 2012
1.5 stars
This sci-fi retelling of the classic Jane Eyre is inventive and seeks to set itself apart, but sadly relies far too much on its source material to really stand on its own. One having never read the original might find it a decent work, but to my mind it played the copy-cat too closely. It also never really gave any great individuality to its heroine and her great love.
Ameletta came off slightly better here, but still was a hugely spoiled pain. Janet Ayerson, the governess/tutor could just have easily not been in the story. The cousins were fine. Mrs. Rentley is dealt with more sympathetically here than in the original. Jane's stalwart faith in God and her firm determination to follow His will that sees her through the trials of her life is here replaced by Jenna's adherence to the Pan-Equist religion and their belief in the great Goddess, the unifying spirit of the universe that oversees the atoms and molecules that make up everything and which means that all things are equal to one another in every respect. Jenna herself is a nuclear reactor technician, her position as teacher having been taken over by Janet. There are some nice turns of phrase, but ultimately entirely unmemorable, so I would give it a pass.
This sci-fi retelling of the classic Jane Eyre is inventive and seeks to set itself apart, but sadly relies far too much on its source material to really stand on its own. One having never read the original might find it a decent work, but to my mind it played the copy-cat too closely. It also never really gave any great individuality to its heroine and her great love.
Ameletta came off slightly better here, but still was a hugely spoiled pain. Janet Ayerson, the governess/tutor could just have easily not been in the story. The cousins were fine. Mrs. Rentley is dealt with more sympathetically here than in the original. Jane's stalwart faith in God and her firm determination to follow His will that sees her through the trials of her life is here replaced by Jenna's adherence to the Pan-Equist religion and their belief in the great Goddess, the unifying spirit of the universe that oversees the atoms and molecules that make up everything and which means that all things are equal to one another in every respect. Jenna herself is a nuclear reactor technician, her position as teacher having been taken over by Janet. There are some nice turns of phrase, but ultimately entirely unmemorable, so I would give it a pass.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2015
Jane Eyre is one of my favorite pieces of literature. I read it when I got into high school and fell in love with Janes strength, loyalty, and passion. I've read a couple of retellings. Some I liked, some I didn't care for. Unfortunately Jenna Starborn fell into the second category.
The first half of it up until she met Mr. Ravenbeck was really good. It was believable. And it seemed like, while some parts were going to be similar to Jane Eyre, most of it was going to be original. Let me repeat that, up until meeting the lead male character it seemed like the story was going to veer off into its own semi-original story. But once the male lead came into the picture all I could see were people in garish 1840s costumes in outer space. And it didn't work. They talked like they were in the 1840s, even their reasoning fit for that time period. So when a detail came out of the boom that some character was wearing some brightly colored futuristic outfit it had trouble fitting. Some parts fit the futuristic setting very well (I'm really trying to not give away any spoilers) but most of it was almost a word for word retelling of the original story. And that fact is what doomed it.
The first half of it up until she met Mr. Ravenbeck was really good. It was believable. And it seemed like, while some parts were going to be similar to Jane Eyre, most of it was going to be original. Let me repeat that, up until meeting the lead male character it seemed like the story was going to veer off into its own semi-original story. But once the male lead came into the picture all I could see were people in garish 1840s costumes in outer space. And it didn't work. They talked like they were in the 1840s, even their reasoning fit for that time period. So when a detail came out of the boom that some character was wearing some brightly colored futuristic outfit it had trouble fitting. Some parts fit the futuristic setting very well (I'm really trying to not give away any spoilers) but most of it was almost a word for word retelling of the original story. And that fact is what doomed it.
March 30, 2010
I hope this is the most horrible book I've read in years. Please!! Even though the blurb claims it makes you feel - this is exactly what's lacking in this narratives: none of the characters has nearly enough depth to sympathize with them...
Very early on, you find out that this book follows its source quite literally, so that by chapter 2 you know exactly what will be going on. And sadly, the novel doesn't have any surprise up its sleeve. Shinn sets her novel in the future and preserves values from the 19th century. That doesn't work either. There's no contradictions, ambiguities and no creative reworking of 19th century society.
If you want to read a re-do of Jane Eyre try Winterson's Wide Sargasso Sea.
Very early on, you find out that this book follows its source quite literally, so that by chapter 2 you know exactly what will be going on. And sadly, the novel doesn't have any surprise up its sleeve. Shinn sets her novel in the future and preserves values from the 19th century. That doesn't work either. There's no contradictions, ambiguities and no creative reworking of 19th century society.
If you want to read a re-do of Jane Eyre try Winterson's Wide Sargasso Sea.
August 4, 2010
This is an amazing, beautiful retelling of Jane Eyre. If follows the original book so well, and the characters, especially Jenna, are so compelling. I love the amount of spirituality that Shinn contributed to the story (but, thinking on that, it seems to be a common theme in many of her books). And the new setting is a lot of fun. This really isn't the book for people who don't like science fiction.
I adore this book, and I'm absolutely ashamed that I've never gotten around to purchasing this book yet (shame on you, libraries, for always having a copy available when I need it!). I read it again every couple of years. In fact, I'm due for another reread soon. But first to get through the stack of other Shinn books from the library.
I adore this book, and I'm absolutely ashamed that I've never gotten around to purchasing this book yet (shame on you, libraries, for always having a copy available when I need it!). I read it again every couple of years. In fact, I'm due for another reread soon. But first to get through the stack of other Shinn books from the library.
February 19, 2017
I knew I was getting a SF retelling of Jane Eyre but I have to admit I was surprised to find it SO beat-by-beat faithful to the original narrative. That made it feel a little dull & hard for me to feel invested in, although the specific ways Shinn comes up with to SF-ize the elements of the story are often inventive. Unfortunately, this focus on adhering to the narrative beats neglects to carry over the highly political & subversive soul of the original. I would have preferred less faithfulness to the story & more faithfulness to the heart. Unfortunately, it also lacks the charm of Shinn's original love stories. I had hoped that this combination would be greater than the sum of its parts; sadly, it was less.
January 27, 2009
Compared to Sharon Shinn's other works, I found this book extremely difficult to read. At first, I quite enjoyed the spunky heroine, but shortly after her installation as a nuclear technician, I began to distrust her motives. She went from being a delightfully independent creature to a woman who declared she was independent, but her thought process & behaviors did nothing to support this. At the end of the book, I found myself wondering if she could live with her choices, especially since she had made this point very clearly with deep anguish earlier in the book ... but by the end, she had conveniently discarded such important issues! I was entertained by the book, but not enthralled.
December 1, 2010
The blurb on the front cover says it is a new twist on Jane Eyre: the only twist was changing the setting to a sci-fi future across multiple planets. Otherwise the plot moved in lockstep with the original Jane Eyre. I had problems with that story the first time around, but the Victorian notions of morality that made sense for Bronte didn't make as much sense in this setting (although I agreed with them). I had hoped to enjoy this more, but knowing exactly what plot points were coming next blunted the pleasure.
April 14, 2007
I picked this up on a whim and tore through it. It's supposedly a retelling of Jane Eyre in a science fiction setting, which worked a lot better than I thought it would. Shinn didn't deviate from the original plot at all and it was interesting to see how SF-elements would play into the plot. It was even written in a very Bronte-esque style and made me want to reread the original again (it's been two years). Charming.
November 29, 2011
So this story is Jane Eyre in a sci-fi setting. There is almost no deviation from the original story, except to change it to sci-fi. I didn't realize this when I picked it up. The science fiction plays very little part in the story. It is written in dark, gothic style, much like I remember Jane Eyre. Readers looking for an adapted classic will like this, however someone interested in a sci-fi book will probably not.
November 9, 2013
Jenna Starborn is a re-telling of Jane Eyre, set in the distant future. It is, perhaps, not quite fair to call it a re-telling, because while it skims over the childhood of Jenna/Jane, it differs in no significant way from Jane Eyre. I found that it caused me to compare Jenna Starborn to Jane Eyre, and not in a particularly favorable light. It doesn't seem to engage the story of Jane Eyre, but merely changes the setting. I prefer Sharon Shinn's more original works.
October 18, 2018
This would only be okay if someone had never read Jane Eyre, but the story still doesn't work when transplanted into the future. This is in the same category as pride and prejudice and zombies and such... Same story, but too weird and really lacking originality. An idea with potential, but it fell quite flat.
August 28, 2007
This is an awful rewrite of Jane Eyre. As Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books, and as I like Sharon Shinn, I was really excited about this book. But, it was very poorly written, and just made a mockery of Jane Eyre.
February 2, 2010
This is the first book I read by an author that I have come to love. I decided to pick it up almost 11 years later and see how I felt about it now. It definitely is not one of her best, but I still enjoyed it. I will keep my original rating of: 3.5 Stars
May 23, 2010
The premise sounds bizarre (Jane Eyre in space!), but this is truly a well-crafted, elegantly told story, a lot of fun for anyone who enjoyed Jane Eyre but enjoyable even if you've never read it.
April 10, 2013
Jane Eyre IN SPACE! I thought this retelling would be too cutesy and vapid. Come on, it takes place on several different plants. But it turned out to follow the Jane Eyre plot line and tied in sci fi elements.
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