“ARCHANGEL — the debut science fiction novel by Marguerite Reed — powerfully invokes the wonder of myth: Reed draws on fairy tales, legends, holy works, and prayer to create the speech and personality of her protagonist.”
“It’s often difficult for a sci-fi novel to create a myth that resonates with readers, for an alien world’s truths to echo our own.”
“Even more difficult is the task of weaving our own myths into a world similar to ours in a way that feels fresh. Stunningly, Reed accomplishes both.”
“The question of advancement versus stewardship — so prevalent in our own lives — is here writ large on the scale of galaxies.”
“In Dr. Loren’s own words,
I cannot influence any party. I can only say that I, personally, opposed the overturn of the hundred-year ban on immigration. This ban was not put into place to spitefully or maliciously deny the human race a chance to colonize a new planet, but to protect both planet and people until the dangers and resources have been studied exhaustively.”
“Where should science draw the line? What is the higher cause? Dr. Loren’s opponent protests, saying, “This is not Eden … You are not Uriel.” The response? “No. I am Michael.” Seamlessly weaving together myths and philosophies, Archangel may span galaxies, but it is committed to its themes.”
“One of the most refreshing things about Reed’s world is that it offers true speculative fiction: instead of carrying prejudice over from the past, Reed rewrites our future. Science fiction and fantasy novels often create settings where — although they may be in other solar systems — white skin is prized or heterosexual monogamy is the norm. In Archangel, Reed examines these biases, questioning the basic tenets of human nature.”
“Do humans have to eat meat to feel connected to nature? Can a truly multi-religious and multi-cultural society function and thrive? What might gender equity in the military look like? When the novel explores the revulsion that most Ubastans feel at the idea of eating meat, the reader is thrown into a loop of self-evaluation: Are my own reactions natural? What are things that I take for granted that might not be true? Instead of projecting Roman-style conquest over multiple planets, or drawing upon the same tired European wellsprings of myth, Archangel presents speculative fiction that is truly and thoughtfully speculative.”
“Perhaps Archangel’s ease at playing with assumptions and its eagerness to delve into the heart of dichotomies are the inevitable byproducts of a feminist novel.”
“After all, such tendencies are often encountered both in feminist and LGBT literature and theory. Women, people of color, LGBT folk, and religious minorities are all familiar with the dynamics of Othering and the cognitive dissonance required to function in a society in which they have been Othered.”
“These same minorities are accustomed to the dichotomies they regularly encounter: a black woman will often be exoticized and prized for her sexuality while at the same time punished for it; a lesbian will often be sought after if she is too feminine but rejected and subject to violence if she is too masculine.”
“Living and thriving in the liminal spaces of society are what Others do: this is their power.”
“Is Archangel a feminist novel because of its broad brush with these issues, or does it excel in these devices because it is a gorgeous feminist piece? I hesitate to pigeonhole Archangel as feminist literature (potentially truncating its audience), yet at the same time the novel inclines the reviewer to trumpet a victory for women authors everywhere.”
“Reed’s prose evokes myth and liminal spaces rather than conforming to the expectations of the hard sci-fi skeleton that encases it.”
“Upon attempting to classify species of Ubastis, Dr. Loren muses, “Kingdom phylum genus family species, we wrote, cocooning the galaxy with our glittering myths. Dead gods spun in the void. I began to realize the myths and legends we humans carried with us were not a carapace or the dead skin to be sloughed, but were mitochondria.””
“The words of our protagonist crystallize the dichotomous themes of Reed’s novel — the cold logic of science and the animal emotion that drives behind it. For Dr. Loren, only by embracing both parts of herself, the scientist and the mother, by weaving seamlessly her mercy and ruthlessness, can she shepherd her planet into its next era.”
“This reviewer hopes that Reed continues to perfect her craft and that in the further adventures of Dr. Loren, the poetic prose is woven seamlessly into the narrative for a richer experience.”