Review: True Believers is captivating
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 19, 2010
Well ladies and gents I believe I am a sci-fi romance fan.  This is my first *thinking*thinking* full length sci-fi romance I've read besides a short story a year ago. I am hooked.Hands down True Believers is captivating.  The story will grab you and the pace will keep you quenched.Something is killing off the immortals, one by one.Taelen Jessit, an alien emissary on a mission sanctioned by the U.S. government is searching for his peoples' ancient gods. His hunt leads him to a dig headed by archeologist Rachel Cruz. When his military entourage forces Rachel's team out of the cave they were exploring, a flash flood hits the riverbed and Rachel is swept into the deluge.Taelen rescues Rachel and they wash up on a forbidding alcove where he  witnesses the miraculous healing of Rachel's broken ankle. Now he is certain the gods are here. He is inexplicably drawn to her, and she to him.Rachel is not a god, but a Nephilim, and she needs more than a miracle. She needs the technology Taelen can provide to help her find and destroy the god-killer, a weapon so precise and powerful, it will mean the genocide of an entire species. She's given Taelen her heart, but can she trust him with her secret?True Believers has a motley crew of characters: humans, Nephilims, aliens and artificial intelligents.Rachel's character is unlike her father.  Rachel knows she is no God and she knows that claiming to be will only repeat a cruel history when the truth surfaces.  Gilgamesh, her father, loves the lime light.  He basks is the Godliness attributed to the Nephilims.  With an etheral form that can separate from the body as if it a mere vessel and their undeniable power Jessit, a True Believer, is not convinced easily that Rachel is no God.Bubba is my absolute favorite character.  Bubba is a computer but not just any computer he has Artificial Intelligence.  Bubba is capable of thought, reasoning, and emotion.  Is it possible to think an AI as adorable and brave?  But really all the characters were well developed and played their own distinct role.  Maria Zannini has given me characters that I wanted to gear up and fight for.The blend of mythology and technology is well written.  The balance of the two is perfect for new sci-fi readers like me.  The American gov't  has created another AI that has shown remarkable abilities.  FAIA, Focused Access Intra-Viral Arsenal, started out as a communication device to connect the world but the AI exhibited the means to be a weapon.  Now classified FAIA is put through tests after tests.  She can generate an electromagnetic shield around Earth acting as a defense but what they are unaware of is it also effect the Nephilims.  Since the Nephilims are Gods to the Alturians Earth has just made two enemies.Alturians are from a planet far away from Earth with advance technology to rival the strong Faith in their Gods. I find it fascinating that as advanced as Alturians are their belief in the divine is just as great, equal rather.Personally, I enjoyed reading about Na'hala and Nephilims in their ethereal form.  Before I give anything away I will leave it here.All in all, True Believer is an gratifying read.  I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys using their imagination.  Imo, True Believers is especially wonderful as an introduction into the Science Fiction Romance genre. I  followed the storyline effortlessly.  The technology content is delivered with ease and comprehension so fear not with this sci-fi novel.