Some of the reviews I read for Shielder and its sequels led me to hope for great things from this series, but so far I am disappointed. There is nothing original about Spangler's science fiction setting, which seemed to be constructed to provide a thin backdrop for the romance. I prefer a little more science fiction in my science fiction romances. The lack of SF content would have been easier to tolerate if the romance itself had been more compelling. Unfortunately, the author relied on the ever-popular "big misunderstanding/lack of communication" plot device to create tension between her characters. I can accept that Chase McKnight (oh god, that name...) and Nessa have ample cause to distrust each other at first, but they both carry their distrust and uncommunicativeness to unreasonable lengths, in my opinion.Moreover, although the majority of the novel takes place on board a space ship and therefore focuses on character interactions rather than action sequences, it's surprising how little character development actually occurs. Chase's and Nessa's personalities are defined entirely by past tragedies and present missions, not by any of the ordinary thoughts, pursuits, or pastimes that fill in the corners of a real person's life. At the end of the novel, I found myself wondering what these two people would find to do with themselves or talk about now that their demons had been resolved. I think I would find both of them intollerably boring if I met them in real life. Finally, I have to mention the epilogue, even though it's a bit spoilery, because it annoyed me so much. (view spoiler)[Nessa has been shunned by almost her entire clan, including her own parents, since the age of ten because of her physical and health defects. She suffers from a disorder resembling epilepsy, and she once had a seizure which resulted in a leg injury that gave her a permanent limp. But in the epilogue, after she has saved her race from annihilation and has her health problems under control, suddenly her parents are willing to claim her as their daughter again. Am I supposed to consider this a happy ending? No, I'm sorry. Nessa's parents are irredeemable characters for physically and emotionally abandoning their sick, injured child, and I didn't want her to reconcile with them. That left a very bad taste in my mouth. (hide spoiler)]
Shielder is the first book in Catherine Spangler's well-loved Shielder sci/fi romance series. It's been years since I first read Shielder, and it was thoroughly enjoyable to reread this wonderful book.The heroine, Nessa, although physically flawed, is able to shield her mind from the murderous Controllers who have created a lethal virus specifically designed to kill only Shielders. In Nessa's rather primitive colony, which is in hiding from the Controllers, Nessa is shunned for her defects. But when there is an outbreak of the deadly Orana virus, Nessa, desiring to be worthy in her people's eyes, volunteers to be injected with the virus and journey to another planet, using the cover of a pilgrim, to a more advanced Shielder facility where a vaccine could be developed to save her colony. Time is critical as the virus spreads throughout Nessa's body, and she encounters a variety of obstacles in trying to reach the Shielder facility on Sonoma. Her ship breaks down and she is rescued by Chase, a shadower, employed by the Controllers to hunt down Shielders.They journey together and have many ups and downs as their relationship runs the gamut of emotions from fear and anger to desire and love as their adventure progresses. This book has everything: passion, suspense, humor, action, and adventure.The only "bad" thing about Shielder is the tropic-isle-type cover foisted on the author by her publisher. But I refuse to count that against this well-written, wonderful book!
What do You think about Shielder (2014)?
*spoilers*Good book, except for the epilogue which just really annoyed me. Nessa still trying to get her parents and peoples approval, when she should have realised that she never needed it in the first place.And how is it a happy ending that after saving their race her parents are willing to accept her, after abandoning her when she was 12 for TEN YEARS! It would have been better if they had tried to acknowledge her and Nessa had just been like screw you, you wanted me dead! (They did, at one point she thinks how only her brother saved her from being killed.) Oh and dont get me started on the forced sterilisation! A better ending would have been her fixing that or just being happy somewhere else.Anyways my other issues were I wanted to know more about the controllers, and also why Nessa's epilepsy and injured leg meant she was ostracised from her society in such a brutal way.
—Kirsty Bassett
This is my review from 2003:I really liked this book. Nessa, the heroine, is a cripple and for that she is banned by her own people, including her parents! She is a shielder, a race on the brink of extinction. The shielders are hunted down and killed by an evil dominion that rules the galaxy. When her help is needed for a dangerous mission, Nessa takes off in an old spaceship and encounters Chase. The story is really heartbreaking sometimes and also very original (I loved her pet). The love story between Nessa and Chase is convincing and there is enough action in the novel too. I liked this first book even better than the second book, Shadower (which actually takes place before this one)and the third, Shamara. But they are all 3 very good!
—Janet
This is an EXCELLENT romantic suspense SCI-FI book. There’s so few of them out there that they are a rare find and “Shielder” is a gem!STORY SYNOPSIS:This girl was shunned and threatened with execution by her own family for the audacity of having epilepsy. She was cast out and suffered alone since she was 12, Her colony needed someone willing to transport a dangerous virus inside a living host to scientists who could find a cure.Nessa volunteers to save the colony. En route, to the scientists, her space ship breaks down. She’s rescued by bounty hunter Chase. They’re attracted to each other. Problem is, she has literally 3 weeks to get to her destination or she dies, and she can’t trust her handsome bounty hunter cause she’s a Shielder, a secret race of people that the bounty hunter is charged with locating and turning in for extermination. Plus Chase keeps promising to set her down on a planet with transport connections so she can get to her destination, but knowing nothing of her deadline, he keeps getting sidetracked with his own bounty hunting and his personal vendetta.What a great set up right?OPINION:This is a throughly enjoyable book, but it did make me angry. Good writing does do that sometimes right? I was angry at her family. How could they turn their back on their 12 year old daughter? She was grievously injured in an accident, but they did nothing to help her. Parents are supposed to be willing to give their lives for their children, not cast them aside as unworthy when they are ill or weak. I don’t think her colony was worth saving, if they treat their members like that. But apparently Nessa did.This is good book. It’s part of a series, but can easily be read as a stand alone. If you like romantic suspenseful science fiction, this series is for you. Just try to choke down your revulsion for the cover.
—Monique Atgood
