Super lame. Any book would have suffered coming on the heels of Cutting for Stone, like this one did, but honestly. the book stinks.

It starts with a good idea, but then gets absolutely, dreadfully, boring, and then sort of perks up a bit before finishing with a stupid, twist ending that annoys me because it means that there will be more bad books that I am probably going to waste time reading.

Save yourself and stay away!

My biggest problem: I never really understood why the angels were so evil. ( )

Der letzte Kampf der Engel hat begonnen Seit Jahrtausenden wollen sie die Macht über die Welt, und dafür benutzen und töten sie jeden – die Nephilim, die Nachkommen jener Engel, die einst gegen Gott rebellierten. Ihr Sieg hängt von dem Besitz eines Musikinstruments ab, einer Leier. An einem 24. Dezember sind sie ihrem Ziel ganz nahe. Doch ihre Widersacher, die Angelologen, die Anhänger der Boten Gottes, versuchen das Instrument vor ihnen in Sicherheit zu bringen. An ihrer Seite kämpft die junge Nonne Evangeline. Seit jeher trägt sie eine Kette mit einem goldenen Anhänger: einer Leier ... (lovelybooks.de)

Really enjoyed this bood, sort of a fantasy thriller, similar in vein to Dan Brown but so much better. ( )

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

As usual, a short spoiler free summary first, and then a little discussion.

I didn't like it.


How's that for in depth?

Here's my dilemma, I'm not sure why I didn't like it. It has all the right elements. It was
Highly hyped. The author grew up in my neck of the woods (not a guarantee of a good book,
but in all honesty I will find myself over looking faults when the author could be a
neighbor). The book has been optioned for a movie, and it sounds like it's moving ahead.
Again, not really a strong indicator of a good book, but you'd think it would have to be
middling to decent to pick up a movie contract. The subject matter, and even the plot in
general are engrossing. You've got a secret society called the Angelologist, they study
angels (you probably guessed that part) and use their knowledge along with angelic
artifacts and even angels themselves, as tools in an ongoing war against the nephilim.

I love angel lore. I will pick up pretty much anything that touches on nephilim
mythology. Oh, and nuns. And a young attractive nun at that.

But it just doesn't come together. I finished the book last night, and as I go through the
plot in my memory I find myself thinking "you know what, that was a good story". But it
was a chore to read. I was so close to giving up on it, something I rarely do. More out of
stubborness than anything else. I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for the WWII
flashback part in the middle. I actually started enjoying the book a bit there. But it
ended, and when we came back to present day I found myself ploughing through it again.
When I finished it last night, I dropped it to the bedside floor. It made the same thud
that my ass makes when I sit down after the annual spring "i'm going to start running
again" failure. Mostly I'm just glad it's over.

This is an example of a wonderfully conceived story with some really good subject matter,
and Trussoni seems well versed in the lore, but lack luster execution. It's ironic that I
read this one right after The Black Prism by Brent Weeks. I can't even relate the high
level summary of that book without breaking in and saying "I know this sounds back
but..." But in that good writing carried an ill conceived story. This is, unfortunately, the
opposite.

I won't be reading the next book, and I won't be seeing the movie. Based on a few other
things I've read just this morning, I think I will pick up her nonfiction book 'Falling
Through the Earth'.

Here there be spoilers....

First, I couldn't tell one character from the next. I literally had to keep going back to
remind myself who was the character being focused on at the moment. They all just blend
together. Male, female, human, angel, they all seem the same. The exception is Celeste in
her WWII flashback. And again, that was the part of the book that I found the most
interesting. That was the part where I found myself actually getting engaged in the
story. I just could sink into it at an other point.

Second, as I was reading it, even up to the last chapter, I kept thinking "this has got to
be the longest book where nothing happens." This morning, I realize that's absurd. A ton
happens in this book. The nun becomes de-nunned, a romance blossoms, finds out about her
mother and father, solves the mystery or the angelic artifact, participates in a nun-fight,
and then like a winged pokemon of heavenly origin, evolves into an angel herself. And
that's the boring part. The WWII flashback had just as many twists and turns. The problem
is that as you're reading the book it doesn't 'feel' like anything is happening.

The passage that portrays this the best is the nun-fight part of the book. The Grigori,
the angel elite, have rounded up 100s of lesser fallen angels to descend up and wreak
general havoc upon, the convent where our heroic nun along with a smattering of
nun/angelologists have holed up. Also in said convent, clues to the where abouts of the
Orpheus Lyre, an angelic artifact that could remake reality.

Just that description is epic. That is setting the stage to a throw down that should go
down in history. The box is locked! The lights are on! It's angel/nun fightin' time! (ohhh
battlebots, I miss you so)

How does it go down?

The angels light the place on fire and use their wings to fan the flames. Most of the nuns die of smoke inhalation. There's some hinting that there was direct violence, but either I missed it, or it didn't go past the implied off scene. Which is mostly fine. I don't need gratuitous nun violence. Though I do like to say it... "gratuitous nun violence" The surviving nuns gather in the sanctuary, summon a big daddy angel, who splits into a bunch of little killer angels. And all of the bad angels die. I'm assuming there was some angel on angel action mixed in there, but again I either missed it, or it was implied.

Do authors ever read these? I kinda hope not, I'm not arrogant enough to pretend that even the best of anything I write will even be on the same level as Trussoni's worst, that goes for most authors I read. So reviewing always feels a little weird. I digress.

I just had an epiphany. Danielle Trussoni, if you are by any chance reading this, or if this somehow get to someone who can drop a bug in her ear... go to one of Jim Butchers workshops on writing action sequences in books. Seriously. I don't think many would argue that Jim Butcher is phenomenal at putting that *snap* *crackle* *pop* ...!!!EXPLOSION!!! in action sequences. And as I try to pick apart why this book didn't work for me, I think I'm realizing that's a big part of it. If this book a few of those big action sequences, I think I would have won me over.
( )

Ridiculous. I am ashamed I read this. ( )