Bokrecension: Linnea Sinclair - An Accidental Goddess

Review after re-reading 2015:

In this book we meet Captain Gillaine Davré – a military adviser for the Khalaran Confederation who has a liking for pub-crawling. We also meet the Kiasidira; a great sorceress from a legendary people called the Raheirans.  As it happens, these two are one and the same, though not necessarily friends. Gillaine wants to be “just Gillie”, but possesses powers that she never asked for. Powers that make her feel isolated even among her own people.

When an accident flings her, and her sentient crystalship Simon, three hundred years into the future she sees a chance to have people look at her and just see her. Not a captain, not a sorceress, just a person. She sees a chance to develop normal relationships with people, most especially with one Admiral Mack Rynan. But things are not quite so easy, because three hundred years ago she saved the Khalaran people, and in the centuries since they have made her into a deity, the titular accidental Goddess. When an old enemy re-emerges Gillie has to decide if she’s willing to destroy in order to save; destroy an integral part of her adoptive people’s culture in order to face their adversary as her true, sorceress self.

An Accidental Goddess is a science fiction romance, with some elements that are arguably fantasy, and it’s a balanced blend of all those things. It’s a good science fiction story, atmospherically reminding me of Babylon 5, with culture clashes and space battles in and around the space station Cirrus One. It’s also a good romance novel, where Gillie and Mack are believable characters, their relationship moves forward with realistic bumps along the way. There are sex scenes in here, but they are well integrated, tasteful and not the main focus of the story (a mistake made by many authors who try to write science fiction romance, but end up writing science fiction erotica instead).  

It’s debatable if a religion such the Khalarans belief in their Lady Kiasidira would have developed in span of just three hundred years, but I know too little of actual religion history to speak with any authority.

I love this book. It’s not perfect, but it ticked off so many of my favourite feel-good elements that I can do nothing but adore it. If you are a romance reader, I say give it a try. If you are a science fiction reader, I’d also say give this a try. It’s fun and easy, but also thought-provoking and action filled.

Original review from 2014:

When I started reading this I expected it to be a good romance, and it was, but this was also a surprisingly good science fiction novel. I got some Babylon 5-vibes from the atmosphere and setting (and I love me some B5!), and I also really liked the theme about how people's perception and memory of your actions will change with time after your death (or disappearance and subsequent time-travelling, as the case might be). For our main character, Gillaine Davré, that has resulted in an unexpected Goddesshood. I'm not entirely convinced a religion, such as it is in the book, would have developed in a timespan of merely three hundred years, but it is an interesting idea nonetheless. Furthermore, I would have liked it if the author explored the cultural ramifications of Gillaine's reappearance more than she did, but I still feel the futuristic elements are sufficiently thought-provoking to appeal not only to romance genre fans, but also to a majority of science fiction fans. There were some sex scenes in the book, as is to be expected of a romance, but they were well integrated in the story and none were overly graphic or alienating to non-romance readers. Overall this is a very enjoyable book with likeable characters, exciting action scenes and some sweet moments in-between.

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