Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #874915 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Customer Reviews

The lastest Shielder adventure was well worth the wait.
I credit my new found love of futuristic romance in large part to Catherine Spangler. Ms. Spangler's Shielders have been the downtrodden determined underdogs everyone loves to route for. But what now? The Shielders have escaped tyranny through a wormhole to settle in a new quadrant, one where everyone is equal. Or are they?

Celie Cameron had used the excitement of her illegal smuggling ventures to keep her mind off her personal hell, now her life is dull and gives her much too much time to think about her past. That is until she delivers a shipment to the ninth sector. Something is very wrong there. The foul air and poor conditions on Joba remind her of Calt, a hell-hole in the old quadrant. Following her instincts she looks for her employer, Max, in a seamy bar, and finds him there.

After feeling him out to ensure that he is not responsible for the deplorable conditions on the planet, Celie leads him and his android, Rurick, to her ship to transfer the goods. While making the exchange, they are attacked. Out numbered and out gunned, they barely escape in Max's craft, leaving Ceilie's behind. Max had been injured in the attack, leaving Rurick to pilot the ship and see to its repairs.

Celie finds herself intrigued by the android, Rurick. Though obviously designed to be his master's double, he has far more personality than the human man. Warmth just seemed to radiate from him. Perhaps he was the answer to the questions that burned in her on long lonely nights. With him she could experience what she would never allow herself to experience with a real man?

Rurick too has secrets. His deception had been perpetrated for his own protection. Max is the real android and Rurick is the Crown Prince of his people. He had been in search of his late mother's relations when he had stumbled upon the deplorable conditions in the ninth sector. The attraction Celie feels for him is definitely mutual, but his mission of mercy has to take precedence. She could not discover who he was. -- Easier said than done.

Though often at cross purposes, both Celie and Rurick are determined to right the wrongs in the ninth sector. Can they fight the attraction that would be disasterous for both? SHADOW CROSSING is a grand adventure, filled with intrigue and incredible passion. It is a tale of greed, ignorance, and betrayal, of self acceptance, and of love. Ms. Spangler just gets better and better. I can't wait for the next installment!---Leslie Tramposch ~ PNR Reviews

Exciting futuristic space adventure
Life was boring for Celie Cameron--one milk run after another. While she wouldn't go back to the problems she's escaped, she wouldn't mind something interesting--at least that was what she thought before she found herself in the middle of a firefight. Celie learns that the sector is not as sedate as she had imagined--and that someone is systematically denying some people basic food and medical requirements. When Celie finds herself on a spaceship with an arrogant prince and a handsome cyborg, she decides that she can finally indulge in the sexual desires she's repressed for so long. After all, while she could never trust a man, she has nothing to fear from a cyborg--does she?

Rurick has uncovered evidence of a plot against justice and the legitimate authorities of the sector--but it couldn't have happened if some of those authorities weren't deeply involved. He's got to find the truth--and help the innocent people who are suffering. When Celie walks into his life and starts demanding sexual satisfaction, he is torn between his desire for her and the secret he holds. Celie can't trust men and she really shouldn't be trusting Rurick either.

Author Catherine Spangler writes an exciting saga of space ships, sabotage, secret identities, and cuddly aliens. Rurick is a powerfully alpha hero, a man who can keep up with a woman who has smuggled--and worse. If any male can break through the tough shield that Celie has built, it is Rurick, but she's determined not to let him. SHADOW CROSSING is a true romance, but it offers cross-over appeal to fans of the STAR WARS genre. SHADOW CROSSING is a part of Spangler's SHIELDER universe, but each of the books stands alone.

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.