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readingthroughthelists's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
An audiobook for the second time around, which definitely made the book better. Imogen Church reads well, minus her aggressive and stereotypical American accent that only becomes more grating overtime.
A few things improved on this second read: I picked up on more nuances related to Crow’s precarious situation as a not-Fallen angel who nevertheless refuses to embrace the angelic Consensus and lose his hard-won individuality and identity. Crow and Doyle’s relationship is also better fleshed out than I had given Addison credit for the first time, and while Crow’s absences from the later parts of the book still lack explanation, I appreciate Doyle having a chance to shine as a detective in their own right. A Watson moving out from the shadow of Holmes.
Certain sequences of the book also work very well: The Sign of Four sequence is certainly the best, though I enjoyed The Hound of the Baskervilles too. Later, the combination of “The Speckled Band” and “The Crooked Man” was also pleasing.
The question of Doyle’s gender identity is still muddled and messy, especially since there is no explanation given for when or why Doyle began to present as male. Maybe to escape home and/or become a doctor? But that’s only conjecture. In the Epilogue, Doyle states that they can no longer comfortably identify as a man or a woman anymore, I guess like Gren in the best two episodes of Cowboy Bebop? But what CB managed to do in two episodes Addison somehow cannot manage across the span of an entire book: explain a character’s story, explore their identity, and recount their (sometimes tragic) fate. Gren has less than 15 minutes of screen time and still makes perfect sense as a character, whereas Doyle still feels incomplete and underwritten 15 hours later.
The Angel of the Crows is easy to read, fast-paced, lacking in depth, and skimpy on character development. A solid 3 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Deadnaming
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