Jenna Starborn

Table of Contents

 

 

 

“Shinn is a good storyteller....
Archangel
takes advantage of the familiar—goodness, the Bible,
Paradise Lost—
through building its own lively quest narrative with these sure-fire building blocks so that one feels at home in the narrative very quickly; it also has a clean, often wryly funny prose.”

—
The New York Review of Science Fiction

 

“Taut, inventive, often mesmerizing, with a splendid pair of predestined lovers.”

 

“Displaying sure command of characterization and vividly imagined settings, Shinn absorbs us in the story ... an interesting SF-fantasy blend that should please fans of both genres.”

—
Booklist

 

“Excellent world-building, charming characterizations. A garden of earthly delights.”

 

“Shinn displays a real flair for [music and romance], giving music a compelling power and complexity, while the developing attraction between Archangel Alleluia and a gifted but eccentric mortal should charm the most dedicated anti-sentimentalist and curmudgeon. . . . [A] book of true grace, wit, and insight into humanity, past and future.”

 

“Some may raise eyebrows at Sharon Shinn's less-than-saintly angels, but they make for far more interesting characters than the winged paragons of legend. Many will no doubt find her end results quite heavenly.”

“Romantic ... delightful. I'm eagerly awaiting her next novel.”

—
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

 

“A warm and triumphant close to Shinn's Samaria trilogy.”

 

“A tale that makes for exciting, suspenseful, romantic, frightening, and even amusing reading.”

—
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Taut, realistic police work, an involving love story, and a fetching backdrop ... well up to Shinn's previous high standards.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

 

“Shinn deftly combines mystery, high-tech SF, and romance with a layering of fantasy in a fresh and innovative tale full of surprising turns of plot.”

—
Library Journal

 

“Offers a convincing view of human impulses toward both worldly and unworldly passions with a touch of the otherworldly to bring it into the realm of science fiction.”

—
Locus

 

“It doesn't get much better than
Wrapt in Crystal-interesting
characters, an intriguing mystery, a believable love story, and a satisfying ending.”

—
Starlog

 

 

Selected by
Locus
as the Best First Fantasy Novel of the Year

“Ms. Shinn takes a traditional romance and wraps it in a fantasy ... rousing.”

—
The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

 

“The spellbinding Ms. Shinn writes with elegant imagination and a steely grace, bringing a remarkable freshness that will command a wide audience.”

—
Romantic Times

“An elegant and suspenseful tale.”

—
Library journal

 

“A telling story of a racially divided society, and a pretty good love story, too ... another top-notch outing.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

 

“Will appeal to readers who enjoy unconventional romances and strong women protagonists.”

—
Science Fiction Weekly

 

“Smoothly written. Shinn has a talent for creating vivid, sympathetic characters. Nuanced and intelligent. A thoroughly entertaining reading experience.”

—
SF Site

 

“The love story of this book is balanced by deft examination of prejudice, intolerance, and inequality. This book is difficult to put down and will appeal to fantasy readers as well as fans of an intriguing love story.”

—VOYA

 

“A tightly woven SF story with touches of romance, intrigue, and fantasy.”

 

“Clever plotting, subtle characterization, and just plain good writing will keep readers fascinated from first page to last. Shinn is one of the most intriguing voices in speculative fiction today.”

—
Romantic Times

 

“Extraordinary. Science fiction of the highest caliber.”

—
Midwest Book Review

“Intensely emotional.... An exquisitely rendered coming-of-age tale in which Ms. Shinn shines as a powerful storyteller with a depth of feeling that touches the soul.”

 

“The latest enchantment from Crawford Award-winner Shinn combines romantic spice, a dash of faerie, and a pinch of intrigue to create a hybrid soufflé that is delicious.”

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

 

JENNA STARBORN

 

An Ace Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

Ace trade paperback edition / April 2002

 

All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2002 by Sharon Shinn.

 

This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission.
For information address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

 

Visit our website at
www.penguinputnam.com
Check out the ACE Science Fiction & Fantasy newsletter!

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

 

Shinn, Sharon.

Jenna Starborn / Sharon Shinn.

p. cm.

ISBN : 978-1-101-54964-3

1. Young women—Fiction. I. Title.

 

PS3569.H499 J46 2002

813'.54—dc21

2001056051

 

ACE
^®
Ace Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Putnam Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014.
Ace and the “A” design are trademarks
belonging to Penguin Putnam Inc.

 

 

For Jean,
with whom I had the conversation about tigers

Y
ou would think that if someone commissioned your conception, paid for your gestation, and claimed you immediately after your harvesting, she would love you with her whole heart; but you would be wrong. Aunt Rentley had had me created to fill a void in her existence, which was unexpectedly filled by others. I was quickly made not only redundant but unwelcome, and yet there I was, in her house, under her feet, a constant reminder of how much she had paid to purchase something she no longer wanted.

This was never clearer than on Jerret's ninth birthday, an event celebrated with as much flourish as my aunt could muster. The cooks spent a week baking special dishes for the delectation of the hundred guests. The housemaids cleaned every room in the fifty-room mansion down to the curtains, walls, and floorboards; the gardeners replanted the entire front lawn with a hybrid rose imported from Karian and doomed to die within a month in our unfavorable climate. The walls of the mansion were themselves recharged so they hummed with energy and delighted you with the faintest static shock if you ran your hand too rapidly over the simulated brick. Cold and sunless it might be outside, but inside existed an environment of warmth, light, cheer, and goodwill.

For those welcome in the house, of course.

During all this frenzied activity, I kept to myself as much as possible, for there was nowhere I was particularly wanted. As Aunt Rentley's ward, I was not exactly a servant, so there was no work for me to perform in the kitchen or laundry room; and yet neither Aunt Rentley nor Jerret wanted me to join in their family councils as they planned their guest list and considered activities for the celebration. I was used to being ignored by my aunt and her son, but during these planning stages, I was positively reviled. My briefest appearance caused her to shriek with impatience and order me from the room, stupid girl, did I not see how busy she was with important preparations? Jerret, a born bully, would leap to his feet and point a chubby finger toward the door, bawling at me to get out get out get
out,
he did not want me ruining his party with my sallow face and witch's eyes.

He stopped at verbal abuse if his mother or one of the servants could hear, but if I happened to cross his path when no one else was near, he would fall upon me in physical rage. I was a year older than he was, but he was by far bigger, and more than once he cornered me against some doorway or banister and threw punches into my stomach and raised bruises on my shins. This afternoon, he had wrestled me to the ground and twisted his hand in the collar of my shirt so that I could scarcely breathe. I truly thought I would lose consciousness or suffocate, but then I heard footsteps down the hall.