JOSHUA GREYMAN BOOK REVIEWS/SUMMARY

Visit the review page for Little Feather's Woman.

Fiction/Romance/Paranormal
Title:Joshua Greyman
Author:Maeve Sidhe Fitzgerald
Publisher:Maeve Sidhe Fitzgerald/Xlibris Corp (October, 2007)
Copyright 2006
ISBN: 978-1-4257-1973-9
Soft cover/ 254 pages

     Ancient Egypt, some ten thousand years ago, is the background for author Maeve Fitzgerald’s second
novel Joshua Greyman. Fitzgerald (Little Feather’s Woman) mixes aliens, time travel, violence, and
seduction in a story that features a bright, feisty Egyptologist and a space traveling biogenetic
engineer.
     Oshua Iey’mann sets off from his planet, Se’phreema, to attend to experiments on a planet far from
his home. The scientist has genetically altered animals by increasing their levels of testosterone
so they can fight off predators. Even though his mother, the queen of his planet, has a disturbing
dream about his journey, Oshua and his shape-shifting, cradle-bonded brother, Om, go anyway. A meteor
shower causes the ship to crash. Oshua is left injured and alone. The medallion that his mother
insisted he take with him is his one hope for survival. When it is stolen and ends up in the hands
of Hattie O’Brien, Professor of Egyptology, a strange turn of events pulls her into the world that
Oshua is stuck in.
     Fitzgerald’s main characters are accomplished and beguiling with unexpected assets that allow them
to survive in their violent surroundings. Hattie is a karate sensei with a PhD and Oshua (whose name
Hattie misinterprets as Joshua Greyman) is a prince, a scholar, and a perfect specimen of the Se’phrim
race complete with telepathic and empathic abilities. Oshua’s "irresistible response" to Hattie
incites in the alien a ferocious desire to have her as his wife. They quickly become a couple
despite Hattie’s cynical nature ("Hattie did not believe in love at first sight, so how to explain
this violent attraction she felt for Joshua, her Joshua?"). The author presents the two as a team,
with both Hattie and Oshua contributing equally to each other’s survival: Oshua uses his extraordinary
skills and Hattie, her intellect and superior fighting ability. It is a true partnership.
     Joshua Greyman offers romance fans a spicy combination of adventure and passion, and the delightful
portrayal of a strong woman and a compassionate, protective man who loves her.
Melissa Levine
For Independent Professional Book Reviewers at bookreviewers.org

BookReview.com: Joshua Greyman
Romance - Science Fiction
Title: Joshua Greyman
Author: Maeve Sidhe Fitzgerald
Rating: Very Good!
Publisher: Maeve Sidhe Fitzgerald/Xlibris Corp
Web Page: www.maevesidhefitzgerald.com; xlibris.com
Reviewed by: Les Chappell |View Bio

(Author's comments in navy blue)

     We all know literature loves the unlikely romance: the union of rich and poor, popular and
outcast, dead and alive. There's something innately appealing about mismatched couples, finding
a shared attraction against all odds and combining in a manner both tragic and hilarious. Maeve
Sidhe Fitzgerald advances this trend with "Joshua Greyman", a poignant story of two lovers
crossing the barrier between Earth and space.

     The players in this unlikely romance are Oshua Iey'mann, Prince Royal of the Se'phrim and Hatshepsut
"Hattie" O'Brian,professor of Egyptology. United by an astral disaster and a mysterious
amulet (technological device) respectfully, Oshua and Hattie are transported into an ancient Egyptian cave 10,000 years in
the past. Confronted with native tribes, language barriers and an unmistakable sense of displacement,
the two still manage to establish the deepest of connections.

     The book is ostensibly a science fiction story - alien cultures, time travel and shapeshifting - but
it's really more a story of two people falling in love, just under unusual circumstances. As Hattie
shows Oshua Earth customs and Oshua tries to use his special abilities without her catching on, there's
the tender awkwardness of a couple on their first date. Even though it's cross-species, it's touching
without being bizarre and more familiar than many romances.

     While the romance of "Joshua Greyman" gives it fine heart, the pacing could use more development. The
first quarter of the book is devoted to Hattie's relationship with her students and her CEO boyfriend,
all of whom lack interest and are never heard from again; (Gulp! It was hard moving all of her students and her CEO
boyfriend 10,000 years into the past. I thought they would be happier where they were.) and the ending is an abrupt
scene change that lacks explanation. ( Gulp! Gulp! This abrubt scene changes has been changed.) Other parts feel repetitive - yes,
it's important to develop courtship, but do we really need to see them cook figs at least five times (I thought about having them cook oranges. )
or keep rubbing each other's legs? (This complaint has been eliminated in the
story being rewritten.)

     That's not to say the book is structurally flawed, ("Whew!") only uneven in places.
Fitzgerald does a fine job setting the scene in Africa, providing the details necessary to paint
the picture and throwing in a few speculative asides on an ancient world. The science fiction side
is helped along by Oshua's shapeshifting adopted brother, a genuine comic relief to the book - though
the funniest line relates to Oshua's biological reaction to seeing Hattie, (in his words) "an
erection from the blackest pit of intergalactic space."

     Little flashes of humor and history like that are what sustains "Joshua Greyman" and supports the
romance being built. The book ends on the note of "To Be Continued" and Fitzgerald has
established the case for the next book - with the romance established in Hattie's world, it's
an open question how it will survive in Oshua's.


LOVE, PEACE, JOY, LAUGHTER, AND GOOD HEALTH UNTIL NEXT TIME!


home