A Terrible Fall of Angels by Laurell K. Hamilton Pages: 400
Series: Zaniel Havelock #1
Genres: Sci Fi
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Goodreads
Angels walk among us, but so do other unearthly beings in this brand new series by #1 New York Times Bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton.
Meet Detective Zaniel Havelock, a man with the special ability to communicate directly with angels. A former trained Angel speaker, he devoted his life to serving both the celestial beings and his fellow humans with his gift, but a terrible betrayal compelled him to leave that life behind. Now he’s a cop who is still working on the side of angels. But where there are angels, there are also demons. There’s no question that there’s evil at work when he’s called in to examine the murder scene of a college student—but is it just the evil that one human being can do to another, or is it something more? When demonic possession is a possibility, even angelic protection can only go so far. The race is on to stop a killer before he finds his next victim, as Zaniel is forced to confront his own very personal demons, and the past he never truly left behind.
The first in a new series from the author of the Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series.
A Terrible Fall of Angels is a different take for Laurell K Hamilton. The last time I read one of her books was an Anita Blake book many years ago. At the time, those got WAY to spicy for me (I read super spicy now, though). However, this book is different. First, the focus is a male protagonist (LKH writes great kick ass females). Second, this is a whole new world that is being built from the ground up.
Zaniel, the protagonist, is a supernatural cop of sorts. There is the classic battle between angels and demons with the human world caught in the middle. Zaniel is an Angel Speaker, and is turned on to this new demonic possession that is breaking all the rules. The raping/murdering demon possessed human leads to some pretty gruesome crime scenes, so be prepared for that. Lots of religious overtones both with the angels/demons angle and with Zaniel’s past in the College of Angels.
Here was my struggle with A Terrible Fall of Angels: I was so lost more often than anyone should be while reading. This is a complex world to establish, but Zaniel is a complex character to unpack as well, and then there are the side characters too. It was just a LOT to take in. Zaniel’s past and present (messed up relationships galore), the rape/murder plot, creating this new world…there is a lot of diversion from the main plot as I saw it (the murders). I’m hoping that it will become a little less tangental and more focused as the series goes on or I don’t think I could stick with it! Also, Zaniel is a hard protagonist to like. I had to really remind myself that not all protagonists are likable people. I think because 90% of what I read is romance, you expect likability or at least redemption. I kind of just want to throat punch Zaniel and find a replacement.
- Triggers: View Spoiler »
- Series/Standalone: book 1 in a series
Honestly, I am not even sure what to compare A Terrible Fall of Angels to. It has the police procedural type vibe, the paranormal/supernatural vibe, and all kinds of stuff going on that it is really difficult for me to compare this to something!
A Terrible Fall of Angels
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