Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780505523044
ISBN number: 0505523043
Label: Love Spell
Manufacturer: Love Spell
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 368
Printing Date: 1999-04
Publishing house: Love Spell
Sale Popularity Level: 551178
Studio: Love Spell
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A beautiful woman hiding her identity and a dark secret finds nirvana in the arms of a man who might be hurting her people in this futuristic romance from 1998 Winner of the Emily Award.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book is written in a fictional futuristic world that is real enough to make it very intriguing and completely believable. All of the characters in this book have very well developed personalities. The flaws of the characters makes them seem more human and realistic.
I easily sympathize with the main character, Nessa dan Ranul. Nessa has spent most of her life living alone, because of seizures and her crippled leg. She has been ostracized by the people of her home world. A deadly virus is killing her people, the Shielders. She offers to carry a deadly virus as host in hopes of finding a cure in time to save them. She has to travel to another planet to find the cure. She hopes to regain her peoples approval and acceptance by saving them. If she does not get to the other planet on time the virus will kill her.
Chase McKnight, a bounty hunter rescues her from her ship that is adrift in space. He is hunting the Shielders, her own people for money. She is unsure whether he will help her and the other Shielders or turn her in if she tells him the truth. If she does not get help in time the virus will kill her. She is very attracted to Chase and wants to trust him, but because of her history of having those who care about her abandoning her, she cannot.
The whole book is a very intense and believable story that keeps you on edge from beginning to end. There is danger and twists thoughout the story. I did not know until the last couple of pages how the story would end. I know I will be reading more of Catherine Spangler's books.
Rated by buyers -
This had been in my TBR pile for a long time. It had been recommended to me, but for some reason, I was dubious about trying it. Maybe it was the cover that scared me away. I have no idea what that cover is supposed to depict. I don't remember any tropical islands in the story...
Shielder is set in a futuristic world. Nessa is a Shielder, a race that's been persecuted and hunted by Controllers, who have all the power. Shielders are thus relegated to resource-poor areas and barely survive. And now her colony's existence is threatened by a deadly virus. Their only hope is to get the virus to scientists on another, more prosperous Shielder colony to develop a cure, and the only sure way of doing that is in a Shielder host.
Which is where Nessa comes in. Prone to seizures, she's defective, and should have been euthanized, rather than consuming scarce resources without contributing. Being the virus's host is her once chance to be useful. So she sets off in a decrepit ship, which promptly breaks down, and she's rescued by, of all things, a Shadower, a bounty hunter, Chase McKnight. And one of the main things the Shadowers hunt is Shielders.
Chase has his own reasons for becoming a Shadower, and he and Nessa guard their secrets, even as they're becoming closer.
It's not just the typical story of nominal enemies getting to know each other and falling in love, though. Nessa's mission, and her bone-deep belief in her inferiority keep her from trusting even when she'd want to, and Chase's past makes him view her actions in the worst possible light.
It's unusual to have a romance heroine with such a complete lack of self-esteem, and Nessa does take some getting used to. It makes perfect sense, though, with her upbringing, and it would have been too simplistic to have her be certain of her own worth when her entire life she's been made to feel guilty for even existing.
And there's the evil villain to defeat, and some truly engaging secondary characters, including cute alien pets, and a lovely secondary romance as well.
I'm very glad I read this--thanks to whoever recommended it so long ago. I'll be looking for the subsequent one.
Rated by buyers 
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I have read 3 books out of the series now (Shielder, Shadower, and Shamara) and I have the 4th one on my bedside table, to be read tonight. Love the books inspite of the bad science. In fact, I find the bad science highly amusing. While sci-fi authors typically think of tricks to deal with problems like gravity, communications and time-debt, this authors handles them by pretending they don't exist. In this universe you can travel between planets in 2 or 3 days. All aliens speak the same language and can reproduce with each other. A tracking device attached to a space vehicle works all the way across the galaxy. And best of all the universe is populated by approximately 12 people who are all conveniently related to each other or continually run into each other by happy coincidence! It's great!
Rated by buyers -
At first, because the romance reads like something I grew out of when I was 14 years old, I was convinced I wouldn't like this book, in spite of the rave reviews. But on closer inspection it was riveting, and I suspended my disbelief. The Shielder community is a poverty stricken group of outcasts in this world. Because of their poverty, they can't properly care for their physically challenged, so when Nessa's siezures show up, they cast her out to survive on her own. Of course this was an act of mercy (sort of) because they normally would have euthanized such a person so that they didn't draw down resources that would otherwise go to a contributing member of their society. Shielders are hunted by the Controllers, one of whom has engineered a despicable virus to wipe them out. Nessa volunteers to act as a live host and to travel to one of the outposts where they can find a cure. It is a desperate act for a culture that is in dire straits.
Unfortunately, Nessa's broken down transport ship malfunctions, and she is picked up in space by a bounty hunter on an urgent mission of his own. Since the bounty hunters work for the Controllers, Nessa doesn't dare confide in him about her mission, or the state of her health.
The romance is so cliche, and Nessa's innocence so profound (she's been extremely sheltered), that the read becomes irritating. However the compelling part of the narrative, involving the advancing stages of the viral infection, and Nessa's courageous involvement in the bounty hunter's mission, save the story. The narrative really takes off when Nessa skyjacks the bounty hunter's ship and becomes more than a helpless passenger in her own story. Nessa's compassion, basic humanity, and courage are believably conveyed, as is the underlying altruism of the bounty hunter - who has a surprising history of his own. This is no ordinary bandit. The secondary characters, Sabin, and Jarek are interesting. Sabin's humour and intuition are an important part of what makes this story enjoyable. Finally, learning the true identity of the bounty hunter makes the romantic passages read differently, and lifts the story out of the realm of cliche. Even his fumblingly enthusiastic attempts to make love to Nessa become endearing.
Chase McKnight has become one of my favorite male leads (along with Wolf from Lord of the Storm, and Slade from Tender is the Storm). I became fascinated by his hands, as did Nessa. He also reminds me, because of his name & behavior, of Mr. Knightly, from Jane Austin's Emma. ;-)
Rated by buyers -
The shielder was a excellent read and the characters were wonderful. The men and women both played dominate roles and the author lead you on to want to read more of the series. So far I have read all three books, The Shielder, The Shadower and Sharmara. This series tells the stories of a group of people who are hounded almost to Oblivion and what they do to over come adversity. You should really enjoy them if you like space travel, love, sex, lust, and lies. A really great read.
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