Review: The Shivered Sky

The Shivered Sky' is a fantasy novel describing the adventures of five humans, Indigo, Dave, Hitomi, Rico and Gramm, after their death. Their adventures are actually a quest, although they do not realize this at the beginning.

The afterlife they find themselves in is not that of any single theology; it is certainly not what the human protagonists, who come from different cultures and backgrounds, are expecting. In a way, I found the novel's setting rather distracting. It was both a partial representation of ideas from several different traditions, and the adoption of traditional names for purposes of the story. For example, when Moloch was introduced, I expected a quite different sacrificial rite. Both angels and demons were far more human than alien or supernatural. In addition, technology and supernatural abilities do not seem to belong in the same story.

The humans do not realize at once what sort of place they have arrived in. They begin to explore it, guided by dreams and signs. These are confused and unclear; all they really know is that Gramm, the Navigator, is convinced they must travel to Cibola, the city of angels, and knows which direction to follow. None of them know why they should go to Cibola, and they soon discover the dangers of this new world when they are attacked by demons. They also find out that the angels are losing the war with the demons, and that humans rank lower than either angels or demons, and are despised by both. In fact, there are divisions among the angels, and especially among the demons, as to how to rule Cibola and how to deal with humans. Only a mysterious prophecy about this little group of humans gives hope for a solution to the terrible suffering in this dystopian afterlife.

Much to the surprise of the humans, the angels are not uniformly angelic. Some are quite hostile towards the humans, and they fight among themselves. The demons are less differentiated, but they, too, include individuals with different interests and motivations. This adds interest and depth to the story, but as I mentioned earlier, both demons and angels act like humans with special powers, not like truly alien or supernatural creatures. One situation, with the denuded' (mentally wiped clean) naked female sex slaves, is a stereotypical teenage human male fantasy - but it is worked into the story line.

The novel follows the humans through their separate adventures as they are separated and reunited while they try to fulfil the prophecy. The transitions among the various story lines are smooth, and the plot moves quickly, maintaining the suspense right to the end. In spite of the criticisms I have mentioned, I found this a gripping, fast-moving fantasy, with a plot that kept my interest to the end.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM

Book Review: The Shivered Sky