Flight of Shadows: A Novel (Caitlyn Brown Series) Paperback – May 18, 2010

This book is the sequel to Sigmund Brouwer's equally awesome Broken Angel. The one and only reason I refrain from all five stars is I am tentative to rate any book as a five-star book for fear of setting another reader's expectations too high, although on this one I debated before falling back on four. In Broken Angel, the narration ends with a young woman named Caitlyn, having just discovered her newly matured wings and her father's selfish decision to withhold the existence of them from her beforehand, making her decision to leave Appalachia, her home since birth. Flight of Shadows picks up where Broken Angel left off: Caitlyn struggles to hide the secret of her genetically engineered wings in the dangerous world outside everything she has ever known, all while staying distrustful of every unfamiliar face. Any stranger might notice the semi-disguised lump on her back and turn her in to the authorities hunting for her. Stereotypical? Maybe a little. But still, somehow, any buyer won't be able to put it down.

Fast paced and exciting reading. It completes the story perfectly. This is necessary reading after reading Broken Angel. Gives faith in good versus evil. Must read to finish the story.

also a gift

From the beginning, this book piqued my interest. Christian sci-fi? While I am familiar with the fantasy genre within the Christian publishing industry, I haven't seen that they have much to offer in the sci-fi genre. Flight of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer is a good example of what such a genre could be.Flight of Shadows takes place in a bleak post-war future where the societies of earth have fallen apart and re-structured themselves into a caste system where the "Influentials" are given carte blanche, while the people at the bottom have no rights at all and are essentially slaves. The people stuck in the middle just try to stay out of the way and not make any waves.Insert into this society a young woman, Caitlyn, who is the product of genetic experimentation resulting in a rather amazing deformity - wings. Having recently left her father, and the relative safety of her home in Appalachia, she is now hunted on all sides by those who want her body and blood for their own gain. She meets Razor, a mysterious young man who is a master of illusion. He offers his help, which she does not welcome. But when he helps her out of some tight spots, she is forced to trust him in order to survive.There is a lot of back story prior to this book. Flight of Shadows is the sequel to Broken Angel, which I have not yet read. Of course, it was advertised on the back cover in the "About the Author" section that Flight of Shadows was written by the author of Broken Angel, but other than that little tidbit, it was not readily apparent that Flight of Shadows was a sequel until I started reading it. Therefore, in the beginning it was a bit confusing for me. The author, however, did a great job of filling in the gaps throughout the book without giving away all the details of the previous book. He still left enough unanswered questions that I am definitely going to read Broken Angel as well.Most of the characters were very well developed so that I cared about them, or abhorred them, accordingly. Caitlyn's character is complex and conflicted. Razor is mysterious and seductive. The villain of the story is very convincingly, and disgustingly, portrayed in all his evilness. The only exceptions were Caitlyn's friends from Appalachia, with whom I had trouble connecting because I hadn't been introduced to them in the first book, and they aren't major players in this book until the near the end.The story progresses at a good pace, with no time for the reader to get bored. Each chapter follows one of the characters, and then the next chapter takes over the story from another point of view. Most of the chapters are short, so it isn't difficult to find a good stopping point. Then again, I had trouble putting it down when I saw that the next chapter was only a few pages long, and then the next one, and the next, too. So, like most good books, Flight of Shadows is quite compelling and suspenseful.While the Christian worldview does not obviously dominate the book, it does provide much food for thought for the reader in ways that are often sorely lacking in much modern Christian fiction. Flight of Shadows brings forward the issues of the sanctity of human life, immigration, and other moral and societal issues. The world created by Brouwer is not as far-fetched as some would like to believe. It serves as a kind of warning of what our society could become if left unchecked. Though I haven't read it yet, I assume that Broken Angel also contains such nuggets of wisdom, perhaps on the other side of the coin. While Flight of Shadows is set in a secular society, Broken Angel apparently takes place in Appalachia, a theocracy which seceded from the United States. I am curious to see what kind of atrocities can be found within this "godly" fictional nation.Even despite the disadvantage of not having read Broken Angel, I thoroughly enjoyed Flight of Shadows and highly recommend it. Of course, it would be best, (and I recommend) reading Broken Angel first. Besides catching up with that book, I also plan to read more from Sigmund Brouwer in the future. Though I did receive a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for writing a review, I can honestly tell you that Flight of Shadows was well worth my time and yours. This book will have a permanent place on my bookshelf.

Her genetic secret could change humanity forever.Her DNA grants her the ultimate power.But all she wants is to disappearLooming buildings rise into the sky of near-future America, shadowing the desperate poverty of the soovie parks, death doctors, and fear bombs. In this world of walled cities, where status matters most, Caitlyn Brown is desperate to remain invisible, wrongly believing that what shy needs to hide is the deformity on her back. However, the powers of the city want her for so much more.Caityln is forced to take flight again and ends up relying on the help of Razor, a street-smart illusionist she cannot seem to trust. Her only hope is to reach friends who are already being tracked by government.With a twisted bounty hunter in full pursuit, she and Razor begin to learn the unthinkable about her past and the unique gifts of her DNA. It leads Caitlyn to a choice between the two men who love her, and whether to keep her freedom or sacrifice herself for human destiny.'Flights of Shadows by Sigmund Brouwer is a fast moving novel that deeply explores the consequences of removing morals from both science and society. As the sequel to Broken Angel, I would highly recommend reading Broken Angel first. While Flight of Shadows would be fine as a standalone novel, the storyline is easier to follow if it is read after Broken Angel. It had been a couple of years since I had read Broken Angel, so it took a little while for me to pick up the storyline.The plot line of Flight of Shadows moves quickly and is full of unexpected twists and turns. There are unseen enemies, surprising friends, and a very unexpected ending. While I liked the ending of the book, I felt it was kind of cop out. The way out, so to speak, left the problems of the world untouched and seemed to recommend escapism from one's problems. However, I still enjoyed the flow of the story.The characters were well developed, and the reader learns even more about Caitlyn, Billy, Theo, Jordan, and Carson as the book progresses. New characters, such as Razor, add more dimension and mystery to the story and help keep the plot moving. I liked Razor a lot. He added humor and depth to the novel. I did not like how the author resolved Caitlyn's decision between the two men who loved her. If anything, I think the revelation author made should have caused Caitlyn to choose the other man. I agreed with man she chose, I just did not like how she made the decision.The themes of Flight of Shadows are very intriguing. While Broken Angel explored the consequences of "if religious extremists in America managed total political control over society, Flight of a Shadows reveals even darker possibilities of a society that reverts to total loss of freedom for all except the wealthy. The novel explores the idea of America becoming a place of extreme poverty with people broken up into the wealthy Influentials in walled cities, with Industrials living in shacks outside and basically enslaved to the Influentials. Below that there are the Illegals who have no status, no money, no work, and are ruled by gangs. Flight of Shadows clearly showed the frightening consequences of when a society is content to stand by while freedoms are denied to some people groups and taken away slowly from everyone.Flight of Shadows also explores what happens when all moral constraints are removed from science, specifically genetic experimentation with humans.Overall, Flight of Shadows was a very interesting and intriguing novel, and I would highly recommend it.I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah Press in exchange for an honest review.