Rating: 
Summary: No acceptable solutions to the problem of this novel
Review: This book seemed fairly promising, but unfortunately, it failed to deliver on most of the promises. I loved the basic premise and the idea behind the book, but that's pretty much it. The book started off incredibly slow. The first 80 or so pages are mainly background information, and could have easily been worked in elsewhere in the novel. Sheri S. Tepper went into incredible detail on things that weren't very important to the story, but left it mainly to the reader's imagination on the bigger elements. Such as Orphan's guardian angel. You can surmise fairly early on what it is, but you don't actually find out what it looks like until at least midway through the book. The whole book is done in past tense, however, for whatever reason, Sheri S. Tepper decided to switch to present tense for the last chapter. This made absolutely no sense to me. It would have worked had she started off the novel in present tense, then went through the middle of the book like a flashback, finally switching back to present tense at the end. Since this didn't happen, the present tense at the end of the novel had a really jarring effect on me. I could go on about the other problems I had while reading this book, but suffice it to say, it's pretty bad when you keep reading a novel in the hopes that it gets better to only be disappointed at the end that it didn't. My only real regret is that I purchased this novel new at bookstore. Had I bought it used, it wouldn't seem like such a waste of money. All in all, the book had the potential to be an awesome mix of sci-fi and fantasy. It's just sad that it didn't happen that way.
Rating: 
Summary: Deceptive
Review: This is a delightful novel. Parts had me hugging myself at the sheer cleverness and twisted logic. This is not genre fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Mental Recognition of a great book does not quite cut it
Review: This is an amazing book, but I wish I could have felt more for the characters. The story had all the elements of danger, intrigue and romance you could hope for, but there was something about the storytelling itself that seemed rather mechanical.
The logistical errors in the manuscript drove me crazy . . . doesn't this publishing house (Bantam) proofread anything? Still, it was worth hanging in for the climax. The book is rather long and if you don't read it consistently (ideally, every day) you might lose sight, like I did, of certain details the author brushed over -- seemingly minor points that become important at the end of the book.
I can't say I'm now a Sheri S. Tepper fan, but I'm glad I tried at least one of her books. The ending was gripping, I just found the path to get there rather tedious at times. The book didn't take me by the heart.
Rating:
Summary: Another Tepper Rave from me
Review: This is going to be a really simple review. But the thought that I'm having as I write this is "I'd love to meet this woman sometime". I didn't feel that this was "hypercomplicated" or "confused" at all. Tepper's plots are always intriguing and thought provoking. I really liked the addition of Coyote and Bear and the rest of their clan. They really seemed to almost be the precursor to the story line in "Family Tree".
Rating: 
Summary: Strange Tepper
Review: This is probably the strangest Sheri S Tepper book I have encountered so far. If you've not read one of Tepper's books before, this would not be the best one to start with. Her talents are best showcased in Beauty and The Family Tree. If you have read and liked other Tepper novels, then you'll enjoy this. On the surface it's very much to the Tepper formula - a strange and disturbing future resulting from modern society's monumental mistakes. But it's just a bit odd. The characterisations are deliberately starker and the plot takes a while to get going. 4 stars because I like it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Tepper
Review: This is probably the strangest Sheri S Tepper book I have encountered so far. If you've not read one of Tepper's books before, this would not be the best one to start with. Her talents are best showcased in Beauty and The Family Tree. If you have read and liked other Tepper novels, then you'll enjoy this. On the surface it's very much to the Tepper formula - a strange and disturbing future resulting from modern society's monumental mistakes. But it's just a bit odd. The characterisations are deliberately starker and the plot takes a while to get going. 4 stars because I like it, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in the best Tepper tradition.
Review: With every Sheri S. Tepper book I read, I wonder "why didn't I read this before?!". Her imagination, skilful writing and her social and environmental engagement in her stories makes you look around in the world we live in and raise an eyebrow... "A plague of Angels" is one more of her page-turners, which made me want to keep reading to understand the meaning of it all. Longing for that last page, where everything would become clear, yet sad when that last page, and thus the book, is finished and the dream ended. I could say that about every book of her I read so far. Besides terrific stories, her stories makes a person THINK. Well, *me* anyway ;-)
Rating:
Summary: Excellent in the best Tepper tradition.
Review: With every Sheri S. Tepper book I read, I wonder "why didn't I read this before?!". Her imagination, skilful writing and her social and environmental engagement in her stories makes you look around in the world we live in and raise an eyebrow... "A plague of Angels" is one more of her page-turners, which made me want to keep reading to understand the meaning of it all. Longing for that last page, where everything would become clear, yet sad when that last page, and thus the book, is finished and the dream ended. I could say that about every book of her I read so far. Besides terrific stories, her stories makes a person THINK. Well, *me* anyway ;-)
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