Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #381236 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Customer Reviews

Spangler shines in this her best tale!
There are some hot names in Furturistic/Sci-Romance today, but to those who embraced the sub genre years ago, you will know one name was there leading the way: Catherine Spangler. She just gets better and better with each book in her Shielder series - Sheilder, Shamara, Shadower, Shadow Crossing and Shadow Fires (Dorchester Publishing). Shadow Crossing, I think is my favorite of all her talented works. I just love the premise!

Celie Cameron was raised in a rough part of the Universe, saw horrors done to her family that have left their scars, deep scars. Now, after escaping through a worm whole with other Shielders, she is a smuggler, skirting on the edge of the law in Quadrant 9. In the past two years, she has been more legit - okay, boring. Her deliveries are almost always legit, there is no need for laser blasting, fights with The Controller ships. So when she lands, delivering her next shipment on time, she is caught off guard by the condition of the planet where she lands. The place are slums, and it smells of trouble. In fact, the whole place smells.

She has little time to consider this appalling condition, because she discover Raven, has stolen away and plans on having an adventure with Calie. Nineteen, Raven is a Shielder, an orphan, who had been sold into slavery by the Anteks. Nessa and Chase rescued her (Shielder; Lovespell 1999) and raised her as their daughter. With the apprehension over the planet's condition, and now the burden of worrying over Raven, Celie just wants to make contact with Max, her client, get her money and "get the hell out of Dodge" before something bad happens.

She meets Rurick, who she thinks is Max. The sexy man, with the golden eyes, turns out to be Max's android. One made to look just like Max. Max, Rurick, Calie and Raven and making the transfer of merchandise, when they are attacked. Max saves Raven, and Calie and Rurick escape into Max's ship. Calie is upset, leaving her ship behind means she has nothing, but Rurick and Max refuse to return Raven and her. Calie soon learns that Max and Rurick are on an important mission to fight an ever-growing evil.

I cannot reveal more without ruining the delightful tale. It's Spangler at her very best. Max and Rurick are both sexy, hunks, but with a great sense of humor that keeps you smiling at their antics, especially as Raven falls for the stoic Max, and Calie lets down her walls of fear to let Rurick near.

So if you love highflying Sci-Romance, then don't hesitate. This is one super read.

Very highly recommended
There was a time when Celie Cameron smuggled contraband all over the quadrant, surviving by wit and bravado. Now with Shielders safely settled in a new quadrant, questions of inequality and poverty seem to be solved. That is, until Celie takes an illegal shipment to the planet of Joba. The government certainly has failed to eliminate poverty and need on this desolate planet. And when she tries to make her delivery, things go dangerously wrong.

Shocking discoveries once rocked Rurick and shook the foundation of his beliefs when he realized the failure of the Interstellar Council to uphold the life quality codes they established. Poverty and disease are rampant, and he intends to do what he can to help the planet of Altair. Indeed, he fears how many might die before he can bring much needed supplies. Then gunfire forces Celie, her assistant Raven, his robot, and himself to retreat to Rurick's ship, leaving Celie's ship behind. Celie soon finds herself intrigued by the robot that seems almost human, especially when she learns of his pleasure programming. But she and Rurick both have secrets and one is that Rurick dare not reveal his true identity.

Author Catherine Spangler's gift for memorable futuristic romance absolutely sparkles in SHADOW CROSSINGS. While it works just as well as a standalone, SHADOW CROSSING takes its part in the series of books about Shielders with aplomb. As always, Spangler populates her universe with characters readers come to love. Celie and Rurick share a powerful passion even as they work at cross purposes. Seemingly insurmountable differences present challenges they most overcome. Secondary plots likewise dazzle, especially with the return of fan favorites from previous novels. An absolute reading pleasure, SHADOW CROSSING comes very highly recommended.

Android or Human
This was the first Catherine Spangler book I have read, and it prompted me to by the rest of her series. This book has a multitude of twists and turns, some subtle and some not. The first bing Rurick, posing as an android to hide the fact that he is the Prince of Jardonia. He and Celie start into a relationship that is rocky at best. And later in the book when it comes into the light that he is really the prince and not his andriod double, Max, who he was poising as, things really start to get rocky.
This book was a great read, with intreging secondary plots. It pulls in other charitures from her other books to show the continuation of thier lives. And although they get off to a rocky start the book gets better and better as you continue to read. Action and adventure, life and death, love and lust, all play into this intreging story line that I couldn't put down untill I was finished!
The one thing I will say aginst this book is that I didn't think they went far enough into the betrail of his friend to full empasize the deep hurt it caused. It seemed more to me as the meens of a way to tie things all together at the end. I would give this book 4.5 stars but they didn't have that option. It is still a great read!