Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
19th out of 20 books
—
33 voters
Quatrain (Samaria Chronological Order #1.5)
by
Sharon Shinn
Four original novellas, all set in the fantastical worlds of national bestselling author Sharon Shinn.
National bestselling author Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books have fascinated readers and critics alike with their irresistible blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now in Quatrain, she weaves compelling stories in four of the worlds that readers love in Flight, Bl...more
National bestselling author Sharon Shinn's Twelve Houses books have fascinated readers and critics alike with their irresistible blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure. Now in Quatrain, she weaves compelling stories in four of the worlds that readers love in Flight, Bl...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Published
October 6th 2009
by Ace Hardcover
(first published September 23rd 2009)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,154)
Mar 10, 2013
Gloria
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
2009,
angels-demons-gods,
anthologies,
class-differences,
f-m-romance,
families,
fantasy,
short-story
Quatrain, as the title suggests, contains four novellas. Each of the four novellas are a sort of post-script to another series or stand-alone novel by Sharon Shinn. Due to spoilers I really recommend reading the related works first before reading Quatrain. The four stories are Flight, a prequel to Archangel, Blood, a sequel to Heart of Gold, Gold, a sequel to Summers at Castle Auburn, and Fire, a prequel to Mystic and Rider.
Flight is a 4 star novella. Sameria is a world ruled by angels, who inte...more
Flight is a 4 star novella. Sameria is a world ruled by angels, who inte...more
I'm not normally much into anthologies, often feeling a little bit ripped off by having to pay for stories I have no interest in, just to read the one I want. Quatrain, with all four of the stories being written by Shinn, didn't have that issue. It also turned out that the standard of the stories was really good. I loved one of them, really liked two, and found the fourth not too bad.
Each of these stories is set in a universe Shinn's already explored in another book or series. Loved the idea, as...more
Each of these stories is set in a universe Shinn's already explored in another book or series. Loved the idea, as...more
Quatrain is composed of four novellas.
Flight is about Salome, who must come to terms with her past as an angel-seeker. She spends most of her energy trying to convince her niece not to follow the same path. But (view spoiler) I enjoyed Flight, especially how hard Salome fights for her niece, although I think the story would have worked better as...more
Flight is about Salome, who must come to terms with her past as an angel-seeker. She spends most of her energy trying to convince her niece not to follow the same path. But (view spoiler) I enjoyed Flight, especially how hard Salome fights for her niece, although I think the story would have worked better as...more
This review ONLY deals with the novella, Flight.
So, this past weekend I found I had some time to kill in a Borders in Chicago, so I decided to pick up Quatrain by Sharon Shinn and read the Samaria novella. Quatrain consists of four novellas, each taking place in one of Shinn's worlds. I am a hug fan of the Samaria series, so was anxious to read this particular tale, but I didn't want to have to purchase the whole book for this one story (honestly, I haven't read any other of Shinn's series, so t...more
So, this past weekend I found I had some time to kill in a Borders in Chicago, so I decided to pick up Quatrain by Sharon Shinn and read the Samaria novella. Quatrain consists of four novellas, each taking place in one of Shinn's worlds. I am a hug fan of the Samaria series, so was anxious to read this particular tale, but I didn't want to have to purchase the whole book for this one story (honestly, I haven't read any other of Shinn's series, so t...more
I have loved nearly every Sharon Shinn book that I've read. With that disclaimer aside, I was really looking forward to reading Quatrain. Short stories set in four of her diverse worlds? Yes, please!
Flight- While I liked getting to see what was going on at Windy Point prior to Archangel, it was a little sad. To think that one character had a piece of information that could have done a great deal of good (and probably could have averted the crisis in Archangel) and did nothing with it... I just d...more
Flight- While I liked getting to see what was going on at Windy Point prior to Archangel, it was a little sad. To think that one character had a piece of information that could have done a great deal of good (and probably could have averted the crisis in Archangel) and did nothing with it... I just d...more
Quatrain is a set of four novellas each taking place in a different setting/world that the author has previously written about. So, for readers already familiar with the author, this book is a good chance to dive back into the worlds of good stories. For those who are new, it is a wonderful chance to sample the creativity of Sharon Shinn, as well as sample both her writing strengths and weaknesses.
The first story, Flight is a tale set in the world of Samaria (from her books Archangel, Jovah's A...more
The first story, Flight is a tale set in the world of Samaria (from her books Archangel, Jovah's A...more
Sharon Shinn can write some great books. She can also write some stinkers. This one is an anthology, each story taken from a different world that she's created.
First story is from her Archangel series. I avoided that series for awhile, fearing that it would be insipidly Christian, but then really enjoyed it when I tried it. I liked this story as well.
Second story was from her Heart of Gold book, which was not one of her better efforts. However, this short story was much more engaging than the a...more
First story is from her Archangel series. I avoided that series for awhile, fearing that it would be insipidly Christian, but then really enjoyed it when I tried it. I liked this story as well.
Second story was from her Heart of Gold book, which was not one of her better efforts. However, this short story was much more engaging than the a...more
There were four novellas here, of which I read three:
Flight (1 star): Boy am I glad I read this rather than slogging through the Angels of Samaria books. I'd rather discover in 90 pages that I really hate a fictional world than get sucked into a series of five books. "Angels" in this world are people with power (generally corrupted) who sleep around whenever they feel like it, sing really well, and just happen to have wings. They bear no resemblance to creatures of light.
Blood: Didn't read this...more
Flight (1 star): Boy am I glad I read this rather than slogging through the Angels of Samaria books. I'd rather discover in 90 pages that I really hate a fictional world than get sucked into a series of five books. "Angels" in this world are people with power (generally corrupted) who sleep around whenever they feel like it, sing really well, and just happen to have wings. They bear no resemblance to creatures of light.
Blood: Didn't read this...more
1 like · like · see review
I had to pick this up right away, now that I have read books in each of the worlds represented in this book.
The Samaria story was interesting, especially as it had been so long since I'd read the novels that the world was almost new to me. It spurred me on to start rereading the series. Besides, how can you not like a story about how strong the love between a mother (even if adoptive) and child is?
The Heart of Gold story was extremely welcome. That was another great Shinn story, so it was intere...more
The Samaria story was interesting, especially as it had been so long since I'd read the novels that the world was almost new to me. It spurred me on to start rereading the series. Besides, how can you not like a story about how strong the love between a mother (even if adoptive) and child is?
The Heart of Gold story was extremely welcome. That was another great Shinn story, so it was intere...more
Four separate stories almost certainly deserve four separate reviews. Overall, I did enjoy this book enough so that I wanted to read the author's other works. Each of these stories is a short story based in another series created by the author. A clever idea - it gets people like me interested in her other works.
FLIGHT: From the Archangels series, this is the first and most intriguing story. It tells the story of another world in which angels and men mingle freely, and while most of the world wo...more
FLIGHT: From the Archangels series, this is the first and most intriguing story. It tells the story of another world in which angels and men mingle freely, and while most of the world wo...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Sharon Shinn is one of my favorite contemporary authors because her stories are compelling, her main characters feel like people you know or want to know, and the worlds she creates seem real.
In Quatrain, Shinn tells four stories set in four separate worlds. The first--"Flight"--fits into her Samaria series--just before Gabriel becomes Archangel. Salome has spent the past 17 years avoiding angels and raising her niece, Sheba, and now her past is about to find her again.
In "Blood", Kerk's search...more
In Quatrain, Shinn tells four stories set in four separate worlds. The first--"Flight"--fits into her Samaria series--just before Gabriel becomes Archangel. Salome has spent the past 17 years avoiding angels and raising her niece, Sheba, and now her past is about to find her again.
In "Blood", Kerk's search...more
As I have not yet read Heart of Gold nor the Twelve Houses series, I will not be reading the two stories set in those respective worlds at this time.
As with the story "Fallen Angel" by Sharon Shinn, began this set of novellas because I was not quite ready to leave Samaria after finishing the five novels. After enjoying "Fallen Angel" I expected to have the same reaction to "Flight" which is the novella set in Samaria. This story, however did not live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, I'...more
As with the story "Fallen Angel" by Sharon Shinn, began this set of novellas because I was not quite ready to leave Samaria after finishing the five novels. After enjoying "Fallen Angel" I expected to have the same reaction to "Flight" which is the novella set in Samaria. This story, however did not live up to my expectations. Don't get me wrong, I'...more
In general, I'm skeptical of novellas and short stories. This is probably because I read a few too many of those "literary" short stories in college, which all ended up sounding the same in my mind after a while. But I just had to pick up this book, just because it was Sharon Shinn - and we all know I am just totally in love with Sharon Shinn. (What? You don't know that? Okay, more on that later.)
Quatrain is, like it sounds, a collection of four novellas, one set in each of four worlds that Shin...more
Quatrain is, like it sounds, a collection of four novellas, one set in each of four worlds that Shin...more
Actually a 3.5. This is actually four short stories apparently set in worlds of book Sharon Shinn has already written, but I found they were perfectly enjoyable without being familiar with her other work.
Flight: 4/5 Set it a world of angels--sexy, promiscuous, and with a steady supply of willing women. Despite the description (which isn't as bad as it sounds, really), I was intrigued by the idea of the angels and the set-up of the world.
Blood: 4.5/5 This was obviously my favorite story. It was a...more
Flight: 4/5 Set it a world of angels--sexy, promiscuous, and with a steady supply of willing women. Despite the description (which isn't as bad as it sounds, really), I was intrigued by the idea of the angels and the set-up of the world.
Blood: 4.5/5 This was obviously my favorite story. It was a...more
I bought this mostly for "Flight" which is set in the Samaria world, and it didn't disappoint. It's a standalone story set during the same time period as Archangel, and provides yet more evidence (if any was needed) of Raphael's evilness. "Blood" is excellent, if a little obvious in its social commentary, but has inspired me to finally read Heart of Gold which has been sitting on my bookshelf for literally years. No idea why I haven't gotten to it sooner. "Gold" was my least favorite, being a tr...more
Although I can only give one, averaged, rating for the entire book, I still have to review them separately here, because they are like night and day. I’ve read some of the other reviews which referred to Sharon Shinn’s writing as “hit or miss” and I guess I never really understood that until I read this collection. Prior to this, the only thing I have read is her Twelve Houses series, which I love and strongly recommend. Because of that, I was pretty surprised when I read the first three stories...more
It's hard to rate a collection of four stories--each is so different. And I read the book a little while ago and turned it in, so I'm having trouble remembering the names of the four stories. But here's what I can remember:
* The evil angels in the Samaria one are too creepy for me. I did really enjoy the aunt/niece relationship, though.
* I liked the indigo/gulden story a lot. Let's hear it for men standing up for morality, for healthy families and for the mentoring of young men. I appreciated th...more
* The evil angels in the Samaria one are too creepy for me. I did really enjoy the aunt/niece relationship, though.
* I liked the indigo/gulden story a lot. Let's hear it for men standing up for morality, for healthy families and for the mentoring of young men. I appreciated th...more
I'm so happy I read this book finally, these stories were so entertaining!
Flight made me very excited to finally read the Samaria books, but by itself it was a very good story and seemed really well-rounded for a new reader. I was confused at first while reading Blood, never having read the other book where the story takes place, but it pulled me in after awhile. I'll definitely be checking out some of her other books. In Gold I was very happy to be back in the world where Summers at Castle Aub...more
Flight made me very excited to finally read the Samaria books, but by itself it was a very good story and seemed really well-rounded for a new reader. I was confused at first while reading Blood, never having read the other book where the story takes place, but it pulled me in after awhile. I'll definitely be checking out some of her other books. In Gold I was very happy to be back in the world where Summers at Castle Aub...more
I picked up this book because of the 4th novella, Flame. I'd been reading The Twelve Houses series and was curious about the prequel. I was disappointed because it's an immediate prequel to Mystic and Rider, not a story of Senneth's 17 years of wandering. I'm not sure the tale of the moonstone bracelet makes sense in the context of the rest of the series -- it seems in the other books that Senneth's been wearing it much longer. Also, I thought the appearances of Kirra, Donnal, and Tayse were sup...more
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed by how immersed I was into each of Shinn's worlds in this book. I have read each of the Twelve Houses books, and her Safe-Keepers book. Having three stories set in worlds I was totally unfamiliar with didn't thrill me, and I planned to just read 'Flame' and return to the book another time. However, each of the stories completely enthralled me. Flight and Burn were my definite favourites, which surprised me since I came to the book from Twelve Houses. The small...more
Nov 21, 2011
Bt
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Lovers of the series these novellas borrow from
Recommended to Bt by:
Library search
It's hard for me to know how many stars to give this. I read two of the four novellas, and I hated one but liked the other.
The first one I read, "Flight" was no good - one star. It's from the world of Archangel, a series of books I would obvoiusly hate based on this novella; I found the whole world unlikeable and, as a Christian, just kind of over the line of irreverent and disrespectful [edit: after further research on the Archangel series, I have determined it may not be as bad in this area as...more
The first one I read, "Flight" was no good - one star. It's from the world of Archangel, a series of books I would obvoiusly hate based on this novella; I found the whole world unlikeable and, as a Christian, just kind of over the line of irreverent and disrespectful [edit: after further research on the Archangel series, I have determined it may not be as bad in this area as...more
Shinn revisits four of her worlds in this collection of short stories. It's a walk down memory lane and a reminder of the amazing fictional locations.
Why I picked it up: Wandering through the library in States, this one jumped out.
Why I finished it: Shinn is one of my favorite authors. I love her books, but if you haven't read any of her books start with Summers at Castle Auburn, Mystic and Rider or Archangel.
Why I picked it up: Wandering through the library in States, this one jumped out.
Why I finished it: Shinn is one of my favorite authors. I love her books, but if you haven't read any of her books start with Summers at Castle Auburn, Mystic and Rider or Archangel.
Having read all four short stories I have only one complaint. The Short Story format was not long enough. I did enjoy these stories - some more than others - and truly wished that a couple of them were more fleshed out.
Of them all I think that "Blood" and "Flight" were the most engaging. Certainly "blood" was the strongest piece in the collection, though it left you wanting more. I found "Fire" to be a bit predictable and "Gold" as weak as the novel it came from.
If you are a fan of Shinn's books...more
Of them all I think that "Blood" and "Flight" were the most engaging. Certainly "blood" was the strongest piece in the collection, though it left you wanting more. I found "Fire" to be a bit predictable and "Gold" as weak as the novel it came from.
If you are a fan of Shinn's books...more
This borders on "I really liked it" but I downgraded (Darn those non existent half stars!) to 3 stars since the stories weren't novels, were a little short, and were therefore unsatisfying to me. However, they piqued my interest enough that though I wasn't going to read anything else from this offer (some of her books sound dreadful); I may pick up the ones that relate to this book after all.
Explanation about the book in the author's own words below. In my opinion, who cares if they four storie...more
Explanation about the book in the author's own words below. In my opinion, who cares if they four storie...more
Ahhhhh....Sharon Shinn. This was a fun book and I loved all the stories in it! I even loved the story about the Gulden, even though the original book was not my favorite. Each story introduced us to new characters in familiar worlds, except for the Twelve Kingdom's story. The story was the final story and it didn't seem to fit because a)it wasn't about new characters, and b)it wasn't a romance like the other three stories. Now don't get me wrong, it was a great story, it was just very different...more
Like so many of Sharon Shinn's recent efforts, I have to give this one an "almost" -- almost as good as her earlier works, almost as good as I wanted it to be.
A collection of one novella for each of the four beloved worlds Shinn has created -- some with familiar characters, others with entirely new people -- this book ultimately falls short of the excellence of her first few novels, though that's more a comment on her earlier books than on her current ones. High expectations and all that. This i...more
A collection of one novella for each of the four beloved worlds Shinn has created -- some with familiar characters, others with entirely new people -- this book ultimately falls short of the excellence of her first few novels, though that's more a comment on her earlier books than on her current ones. High expectations and all that. This i...more
If you liked the worlds that Sharon Shinn created, you will enjoy a novella's worth of time revisiting each of them.
'Flight' set in Samaria (Archangel)
'Blood' set in the world of Heart of Gold (how I wish she'd write more set here!)
'Gold' set in the world of Summers at Castle Auburn
'Fire' set in the world of the Twelve Houses (Mystic and Rider)
I enjoyed them all, but my favorite story was 'Blood'.
'Flight' set in Samaria (Archangel)
'Blood' set in the world of Heart of Gold (how I wish she'd write more set here!)
'Gold' set in the world of Summers at Castle Auburn
'Fire' set in the world of the Twelve Houses (Mystic and Rider)
I enjoyed them all, but my favorite story was 'Blood'.
Shinn revisits her most popular worlds in these four novellas, and it is a treat to get to revisit them with her. A long lost love is reawakened in Flight, set in the Archangel world; a young man seeks to reconnect with his missing mother but finds unexpected romance; for her safety, a princess is sent to live with the faerie during times of war but faces another kind of danger, in a return to the world of Castle Auburn; and we go back in time to witness the events leading up to Senneth's first...more
I really do love Sharon Shinn. I've been disappointed in her Thirteen Houses series, and I've been waiting for something from her that I can get excited about for a while now and this definitely fit the bill. Quatrain is four short stories set in four of her universes. Some of them were stronger than others, and I think the Thirteen Houses story works better if you've read it more recently than I have. But it was interesting finding out what you did in that story.
Anyway, aces all around. The Gu...more
Anyway, aces all around. The Gu...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I’ve been writing stories and poems since I was eight years old. My first poem was about Halloween: "What is tonight? What is tonight?/Try to guess and you’ll guess right." Perhaps this inauspicious beginning explains why it took me till I was in my thirties to sell a novel. It occurred to me early on that it might take some time and a lot of tries before I was able to publish any of my creative w...more
More about Sharon Shinn...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“How did they find out?" Donnal inquired. "Did you set them on fire?"
"You know, it's so rare that I actually do that, and yet that's always the first question anyone asks me." -Senneth”
—
2 people liked it
More quotes…
"You know, it's so rare that I actually do that, and yet that's always the first question anyone asks me." -Senneth”
19 de Feb 09:52