Reviews with content warning for Death - Angels Before Man

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

31 reviews

tzemin's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I wanted to love this book.

The author wrote it with a lot of heart, and his emotions he tried to convey through his writing were genuine. There were a good number of moments where I wondered if this was what the author had felt.

Like this:

He tried not to think of Michael, who was still up in the stars somewhere. There had been weeks, not long after the chief prince grew absent, that Lucifer traveled through meadows and orchards, climbed onto the highest branches of the tallest trees, staring upward, waiting for the moment Michael would descend magnificently into Heaven, holding an entire universe on his back. But a soon return wouldn’t come, and his duties had taken over, and if there’d been hope, it had dwindled. Hope, it seemed, ought to wither sometimes; Lucifer knew his gaze should remain on God, who was his solace, his comfort. His love. He was happy, at His side; he couldn’t be happier.

Or this:

“If you would have me, Father.” Lucifer chased after God’s hand, feeling terribly alone without His touch, as if he were starved of water and tasted it in His fingertips. “I will come into your garden every day and worship, worship until you tire of me.” He clutched the grass by his knees, felt it between his fingers, kept attempting to look at Him but was too weak to hold His gaze for any more than a second.

Oof

But I wish the book had an editor, because the pacing and choice of words left a lot to be desired. The first 20% of it was slow, and it featured every character sighing, breathing and gasping. I couldn’t differentiate between Lucifer’s fellow angel friends, Asmodeous and Baal and Rosier, because they didn’t have agendas or strong personalities until halfway through Part II. I imagined them as anime men. Throughout the book were phrases such as “chuckling, sounding much like the taste of chocolate” and “melted ruby” (aka blood). Reading them stunned me and not in a good way. 😭

I’m also hoping I got these plot points right:

In Part I, Lucifer starts out as an angel with no self-image outside of being a beautiful adornment and damn good worshipper. He obeys God and is therefore “good”, but he’s got intense amounts of shame and hollowness within him. He falls in love with Michael, who teaches him to take pride in his own body and develop a sense of self. In Part II, the archangels are like “no don’t do that” and God is like “no don’t love anybody other than me” and so he takes out his wrath on Lucifer, so viciously and appallingly that Lucifer’s mental state starts unravelling. But the real stories behind Lucifer’s severe punishments don’t get out to the other angels, who apparently gossip a lot. They stay as secrets and sure never reach Michael’s ears. If they had, maybe he wouldn’t have turned against Lucifer in the end?

This was never made clear though, which I feel was a missed opportunity.

But yeah… to enjoy this book, you need to match its vibes and look past its writing flaws. Vibes-wise: a way of describing the novel is 41 chapters of Lucifer getting fucked over by God

(quite literally)

and y’know what, go ham, Lucifer, be your best fallen angel self. I dig it. I just couldn’t see past the flaws though; the writing seriously needed tightening. 😔

To be fair, some lines were pretty solid. Like “Lucifer’s heart — withering into gratitude”. Or this:

When the chants flowed out from the crowd, next, along with the blares of excited drums and horns, all Lucifer did was clap. He didn’t get swept away by the fervor, not in the manner he used to. That was melancholic to realize — all the excitement of youth was fading away, revealing something unknown; it was exciting, also.
‘I feel aged. I feel as if you’ve aged me with your own hands, Michael. Ripened me. Like a red fruit, at the edge of a branch, hanging at its peak. Beautiful — and just about to fall.’ A little laugh, his own thoughts embarrassing him. ‘Maybe I’m the dramatic one.’

Just wish the whole book was more like that. Coherent.

Content Warnings

nadstorro's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing was difficult at times.
Internal monologue was confusing. The ‘ ‘ following a quotation—I was unsure who said it and whether it was a thought or apart of dialogue. Or whether it was a dream.

It was emotional. Definitely thought Michael would side with Lucifer and would follow him. The outcome made it even more sad.

Content Warnings

jacksons_books_and_music's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

carolani's review

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adventurous dark inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really enjoyable, unique, freshly written. Wildly inspiring language. The personification is amazing. Only drawback is the plot isn’t riveting, it’s more of a character piece but outside of Michael and Lucifer and the Lord I wasn’t super interested in the characters. I would’ve liked some more complexity in character choices and in the overall plot, but genuinely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read. I’ve never marked up a book as much as this one.

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wjquick32's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is intense, and you need to take the last 20-25% slowly because it’s dense and complicated if you aren’t well versed in Abrahamic religion. But wow, is it good! It’s so many things all in one book.

Content Warnings

neonsonight's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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fanboyriot's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read For:

✓ Slow Burn

✓ Forbidden Love

✓ Religious Themes

✓ Hurt/Comfort (mostly hurt)

✓ Amazing Character Development

˗ˏˋ ★ REVIEW ★ ˎˊ˗

A bit of a slow start for me, it took me several chapters to get into the writing style but after that I really enjoyed it, the author did a great job with the descriptions and character development. Part one of the book was really good. The storyline, the trust building between Lucifer and Michael was so wholesome. And while it might have taken me a moment for me to get into the story the characters I loved right away; especially Lucifer. He was my favorite.

Overall, it was a really beautifully written story; but also VERY emotional and a bit unhinged, in the second part of the book. It was written really well but damn, was not expecting all of that.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Angst Level: 💧💧💧💧💧

POV: Third Person

Release Date: 24, September 2023

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aromarrie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The singing, the pleasant indulgences, no troubles, and innocent affections — it would all be memories, because that paradise had shattered itself, and he thought, ‘I overthrow God, or I immolate myself until I become as close to death as death.

Creation at last — the death of an angel.’

sometimes you read something so astoundingly beautiful, that you’re literally left with no words….i have no words. there’s no need for them bc nothing i say will even come close to the feelings this story got out of me.

this was stunning….and with no surprise, i it was part II that really sealed my heart!!

thank you so much to my friend, bri, for begging me to read this book all this time and giving me the motivation to finally pick it up after two years. i saw it at its first release, but i could never quite find the courage to pick up a story that encompasses so much.

it’s thanks to you that i crossed that barrier, and all your annotations absolutely made me smile, even at the most painful parts. it felt as if i was reading alongside with you and thats made this book very special to me. i can’t wait to continue investing in this series because of you 🧡

Content Warnings

maritzelle's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Wow, excelente para los amantes de la mitología. Un retelling como ningún otro. Cuidado con las advertencias.

Content Warnings

weirdassfanta's review

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Beautifully gruesome.
Unfortunately I hit a reading slump right before starting this, so I feel I didn’t get to savor it as much as I would have otherwise, even so, this is a remarkable, gut wrenching book. Truthfully I have always been a sucker for pomegranate/cannibalism symbolism in love, and this took that part of me and made it into a book. Watching the process of Lucifer being used and toyed with by God and his love for Michael slowly making him realize what abuse he’s been through and him taking a similar power to work towards freeing not just him, but anyone who chooses to follow him. Even when he knows he will not overcome God, and will be punished yet again, he fights so he does not feel trapped under the lies again. The only I have to say is that I dislike the ending, but I do with many books when they tears me to shreds in such a way. I dislike the ending in a way that I am captivated by it. Just don’t expect the fall of Lucifer to be a happy story ig. A book that time and time again left me simply saying, what the fuck.

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