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 Angel
Time by Anne Rice.
This is the first book by Ms. Rice of a new series she is
calling the "Song of the Serpahim". A metaphysical thriller
is what we are promised from the blurb and advertisements.
It wasn't what I expected.
Description:
"Anne
Rice returns to the mesmerizing storytelling that has
captivated readers for more than three decades in a tale of
unceasing suspense set in time past—a metaphysical thriller
about angels and assassins.
The novel opens in the present. At its center: Toby O’Dare—a
contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill
once again. A soulless soul, a dead man walking, he lives
under a series of aliases—just now: Lucky the Fox—and takes
his orders from “The Right Man.”
Into O’Dare’s nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions
comes a
mysterious stranger, a seraph, who offers him a
chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long
ago dreamt of being a priest but instead came to embody
danger and violence, seizes his chance. Now he is carried
back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark
realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made
against Jews, where children suddenly..."
The back of the book has the quote "There were omens from
the beginning" that REALLY captured my eye. The premise of
mixing a hitman with angels and redemption sounded
appealing. However, the blurb is a bit misleading. I
wouldn't say it is a thriller as more of a story about
redemption of a
lost soul.
It is a quick read as it is fairly short. The first half of
the book drags a bit. The beginning is filled with
descriptions of various architecture and art. Lots of
descriptions to the point where I wanted to skip paragraphs.
I don't mind description to show a setting or to let me know
what is going on, but this is massive amounts to the point
it was distracting.
The story picked up more once we get into the background of
Lucky told from the Angel's viewpoint. I found it
interesting how the Angel viewed his life as well as how
quickly the story picked up when told without ALL the
description of the buildings. It flowed quickly. The action
increased and helped make Lucky more "human" where just
listening to his earlier narrative on his actions before the
Angel came was filled with his enthrallment with
architecture and his lost Catholic faith, but no connecting
to his humanity or to the reader.
The rest of the book filled out the character better to
where he wasn't quite so dull as he was at the beginning,
but still not as interesting or fleshed out as Rice's
earlier characters like Lestat. At times he seemed to
perfect or too whiney or accepting for someone who is
supposed to be doubting his faith. His reaction to the
situations he gets in just seemed to easy at times. And I
admit, I was disappointed at how the interactions with the
angel went as it seemed like they didn't have as much of a
function as the title would lead you to expect. The angels
were different and more passive than I was expecting. And I
admit the description of how "beautiful" everyone was or how
much the angel kept looking "lovingly" at Lucky was
getting...repetitive.
Overall, the story was decent, but bland with no real fire
to it. It is a time-travel type story filled with Christian
or Catholic concepts. The story itself is more of an example
of how anyone can be redeemed and saved, but seemed a bit
disjointed at times from the switch in narratives and time
settings. Not a bad read for a lazy day, but not worth a
re-read. The ending does satisfy and fits and the second
half does pick up, but overall, it just seems like all the
characters lecture each other and the story lacks the
passion I have read in her other novels.
Recommended for
Anne Rice fans
(specifically those who love all her work or her Christ
series), readers of Christian fiction thrillers, and those
interested in medieval times historical fiction, Catholic
concepts and angels. |
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Shar is one of those rare readers
who doesn't want to write books. She just wants to read
everyone else's instead. Her dream is to own the most
massive book library on the planet. She lives somewhere in
the Appalachian Mountains where she can be found harassing
the local bookstores for more books. Her favorite genre
lately is adult or young adult
dark fantasy,
urban fantasy, and
paranormal romance. You can read more of her
ramblings at her
shartyrant.livejournal blog where she tries to corrupt
others into joining her on her quest to find more books to
read. |
