Angel with the Sword: Merovingen Nights, Book 1

Angel with the Sword: Merovingen Nights, Book 1
by C. J. Cherryh

Angel with the Sword: Merovingen Nights, Book 1
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Book Summary Information

Author: C. J. Cherryh
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1987-04-07
ISBN: 0886771439
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: DAW

Book Reviews of Angel with the Sword: Merovingen Nights, Book 1

Book Review: Worth seeking out. Great SF, great world, great storytelling
Summary: 5 Stars

This book is CJ Cherryh at her best. Six hundred years ago, an alien race declared that a human colony was in *their* space and the humans needed to leave. But not all of them were willing to be evicted, and they endured the "Scouring" when the Sharrh came to finish the job. The planet itself added to the survivors' problems, with earthquakes and floods, so the cities -- particularly Merovingen, where the action takes place -- began to sink into the sea. The descendents cursed their ancestors for fools, ever since.

The story itself -- about a 17 year old "canal rat" who saves the life of a rich and gorgeous guy -- is one of her best love stories, and the action is non-stop. But it's her ability to create a believeable universe that awes me about the author. The world Cherryh created is absolutely real, and she brings it to life with its grittiness, poverty, and refusal to embrace despair. This is definitely SF, not simply a love story with space aliens on a blue screen in the background; Cherryh extrapolates the religions and economics that would result from the abandonment of the human colony.

Sometimes, an author will have a very clear picture of the world but deftly keep most of the details in her head, revealing them only as the need arises. In this case, the world-building details are clearly described, complete with appendices at the back of the book -- because Merovingen became the setting for one of the better Shared Worlds book series. (This is a whole, standalone novel, which you could read without feeling that you're committed to a lifestyle; the others in the series are short stories tied together with a Cherryh-written frame.)

I've had this book since it first came out, and I've re-read it several times. The spine is almost worn through, and my name is scribbled inside the front cover because I've loaned it out so often. It's truly a great SF novel: not in a life-changing Dune sort of way, but just a "Darnit, that's a good story!" sense. With so many Amazon sellers having inexpensive copies of this out-of-print title, it's silly *not* to get a copy.

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