BOOK REVIEW: Angel and the Flying Warhorses - Jacki Bentley

ANGEL AND THE FLYING WARHORSES
Jacki Bentley
New Concepts Publishing
ebook 2006

Ms. Bentley’s first published book is a mildly sensual (meaning satisfyingly romantic rather than naughty and nasty!) far-future science fiction romance with plenty of plot surprises to entertain.

Mastering space travel and terraforming inhospitable planets for colonization, Earth’s descendents have spread far and wide through the galaxy and have developed genetically dissimilar races with unique cultures and bio changes. The Alliance, a militarized governing body, helps shepherd these different populations toward civilized coexistence.

Angeni, a healer working aboard a medical ship orbiting the moon of her home planet Olandia, finds an unlikely soul mate when she supplements her medical training with some unorthodox techniques to save the life of Garek, a wounded Alliance Guard officer brought in after a skirmish with Aldorian warriors.

Aldorians, a primitive warlike faction, overrun other communities and steal their women, treating them as property suitable only for mating and producing warriors. The stories of fierce winged warhorses and the mystical healing powers of Aldorian women are more myth than legend. But Angeni – or Angel as Garek prefers to call her after his bout with semiconscious delirium aboard the hospital ship – soon discovers there’s more truth to the myth than any would believe. Angeni hides a secret about herself and her past she can’t let anyone discover. This secret puts her in danger from an old Aldorian warlord scheming to capture her, and a coworker planning to boost his political leverage by making her his second wife in a polygamous arrangement.

With economical description and crisp dialog, Ms. Bentley crafts a fast-paced read with believable world-building and characterization. Cultural differences and secret conspiracies combine to complicate and ensure this story is not just a simple love tale but a suspenseful struggle making the reader wonder whether Angeni and Garek can survive the dangers surrounding them – and each other – as they come closer to a level of intimacy neither admits they want until it happens.

I liked the story concept, and the romance was satisfying although fraught with doubts, conflicts, and interference from meddling characters. The economical yet lyrical writing style makes it a fast read. While I stumbled over a few instances of confusion involving punctuation and character points of view, I didn't feel this detracted from my enjoyment of the story as a whole. Readers who are used to multiple character viewpoints per scene (also known as "head-hopping," a writing convention often employed by romance writers) probably won't have a problem with it.

I’d recommend this book to anyone seeking a suspenseful and enjoyable romance in the sci-fi subgenre. I'd like to see this come out in print version too, and hope Ms. Bentley plans more stories in this setting. I’ll be eager to read them.