A Plague of Angels

Sheri S. Tepper's "A Plague of Angels" dates from 1993 and it continues the theme that first emerged in this author's writings in 1984, with "The True Game", and developed through that book's second set of prequels, "The Jinian Chronicles", and that has continued in recent years with books such as "The Visitor (Gollancz)". All of these feature an imagined distant future in which mankind (or what is left of it) leads an unsettling, often strange existence, manipulated or controlled by some alien/planetary über-power. The interventions of these agents of some higher authority have usually been precipitated or enabled by the actions (usually misdeeds) of long-dead previous generations of Man (the race) and whilst we are usually led towards a recognition of our own times, many of the sins, particularly of men (the gender) are equally recognisable as pertaining in almost all ages. As a result, Tepper's writings are often branded (one might almost say dismissed) as falling within the genre of feminist science fiction. Which sadly is often to miss the point. "A Plague of Angels" is set in a land which is clearly the remains of south-west/central North America many years after some global catastrophe has rearranged continental coast-lines, altered climates, and thrown the remnants of civilisation back into some Dark Age. The bulk of humanity supposedly departed for some distant and unknown future among the stars many generations previously; what remains of city life is now contained either within heavily-secured high-tech Edger enclaves, or else given over entirely to drug-fuelled power-struggles between various warring Ganger groups, whose daily street battles are broadcast routinely to public entertainment screens as some kind of obscene game-show. Outside of the cities, scattered farmers do their best to eek out an existence from the land, providing produce for the cities, whilst a network of Archetypal Villages preserve the full range of human archetypes, such as Oracle, Orphan, Bastard and Hero, the latter gainfully employed ridding the land of the myriad mythical beasts and monsters which have mysteriously returned to Earth to menace the population. Add in the extra threat to the remaining human population of widespread and rampant sexually transmitted immune deficiency diseases, plus the machinations of a handful of in-bred groups inhabiting a mysterious fortress known as the Place of Power and squabbling over plans to complete and fly a shuttle to the ruins of a former Moon-based mining colony and you will get some idea of the extraordinary range and complexity of notions that Sheri Tepper routinely throws into her books. Given the complexity and variety of the mix along the way, coupled with her propensity for misdirecting the reader at almost every turn, it is scarcely surprising that many accuse Tepper of spoiling her books with seemingly unsatisfying endings. And certainly if you like endings where everything is neatly wrapped up and bro

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 ;-)

This is a delightful novel. Parts had me hugging myself at the sheer cleverness and twisted logic. This is not genre fiction.

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".

I wasn't quite certain what to expect in reading this work. Initially, the blend of future history, sci-fi, and fantasy seemed incongruous, but made more and more sense as the story progressed. One of the things which I've often been troubled by in other novels is the tendency to make everything out to be some huge cataclysmic battle. In this case, the real battle is something that no one ever quite expects, which is probably how such things would really go. And somehow, despite all of the disparate elements and varying foci, it works. In fact, it is one of my favorite future history novels due, in part, to the fact that Tepper doesn't shirk from making very unpleasant analyses of and decisions about issues that are facing our future. I don't agree with her about everything, but I will say that she is remarkably tough-minded and consistent, while writing a wonderful story and believable characters.