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pasteldemon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
porgyreads's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.25
Gut wrenching tragedy littered with intense dialogue.
The stylistic choices do not eclipse the joy of the first half of this novel, in fact they emhance them. However in the second half, perhaps where most clarity is needed, it became easy to find myself lost.
I thought the choice to distinguish between internal and external thoughts worked really well as lucifer begins to challenge the world around him. Seeing how he withholds his true thoughts and feelings as they grow more erratic.
The lyrical prose which when it works WORKS devolves into a pulpy mash of poetic language that casts us out to sea at times. I found myself scrabbling for the threads of the narrative as the language became more figurative. Which took away from the achingly emotional content.
The section where uriels past is introduced and we get both his thoughts and lucifers was a hard adjust at first. But I came to enjoy it, even if I didn’t feel the payoff for the inclusion. It felt like knowing how god had treated him and his kind set uri up to have the most believable corruption arc of all the archangels, and so, not dipping back into his head more as the chaos and arson begins felt like a missed opportunity. Even if he never acted on the thoughts of vengeance lucifer inspires.
I think overall this book does what it sets out to achieve. It reminds me of paradise lost obviously but also a picture of Dorian Grey. The only difference being the purple language choice don’t always work in ABM. Even still it unfolds In a way that would make Milton shiver imo. The modern adaptation, exploration of ambition, selfhood, purpose and malice feeds into an equation that makes perfect sense to the reader, even if it is dizzying to watch it be solved. Had it not become convoluted and lost here or there I would’ve said solid 5 stars. But for the emotional poison that was the tragedy we were promised, I can’t fault it.
Lucifer is born before us, we grow to love him, we anguish for him, we want his revenge. We feel the searing pain of the final moments, of him asking Micheal why he is hurting him too and it breaks us just as entirely.
I think fans of TSOA will love this especially the first half. I wished the last third was tighter but I also know that writing is fucking hard. And experimentation is fucking hard to pull off without alienating the reader. That being said the calibre of writing displayed throughout cannot and should not go without praise. At its end you leave asking yourself over and over: “Is love meant to pierce?”
The stylistic choices do not eclipse the joy of the first half of this novel, in fact they emhance them. However in the second half, perhaps where most clarity is needed, it became easy to find myself lost.
I thought the choice to distinguish between internal and external thoughts worked really well as lucifer begins to challenge the world around him. Seeing how he withholds his true thoughts and feelings as they grow more erratic.
The lyrical prose which when it works WORKS devolves into a pulpy mash of poetic language that casts us out to sea at times. I found myself scrabbling for the threads of the narrative as the language became more figurative. Which took away from the achingly emotional content.
The section where uriels past is introduced and we get both his thoughts and lucifers was a hard adjust at first. But I came to enjoy it, even if I didn’t feel the payoff for the inclusion. It felt like knowing how god had treated him and his kind set uri up to have the most believable corruption arc of all the archangels, and so, not dipping back into his head more as the chaos and arson begins felt like a missed opportunity. Even if he never acted on the thoughts of vengeance lucifer inspires.
I think overall this book does what it sets out to achieve. It reminds me of paradise lost obviously but also a picture of Dorian Grey. The only difference being the purple language choice don’t always work in ABM. Even still it unfolds In a way that would make Milton shiver imo. The modern adaptation, exploration of ambition, selfhood, purpose and malice feeds into an equation that makes perfect sense to the reader, even if it is dizzying to watch it be solved. Had it not become convoluted and lost here or there I would’ve said solid 5 stars. But for the emotional poison that was the tragedy we were promised, I can’t fault it.
Lucifer is born before us, we grow to love him, we anguish for him, we want his revenge. We feel the searing pain of the final moments, of him asking Micheal why he is hurting him too and it breaks us just as entirely.
I think fans of TSOA will love this especially the first half. I wished the last third was tighter but I also know that writing is fucking hard. And experimentation is fucking hard to pull off without alienating the reader. That being said the calibre of writing displayed throughout cannot and should not go without praise. At its end you leave asking yourself over and over: “Is love meant to pierce?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and War
lizardgod's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
- Spoiler Free Review
- Angels Before Man is a wonderfully written book and creative retelling of Lucifer's fall from Heaven. The way Nicolás begins the book as an airy, feel good fluff story but begins to slowly incorporate the themes of horror and manipulation is unlike anything I've read in a long time. As you read about the angels lives being wonderful and fulfilling, Nicolás will insert a scene regarding Lucifer that makes you think 'this is it, this is when things are going downhill', he pulls back in a subtle way to lull you back into a false sense of serenity. The gradual back and forth between horrific scenes and the wonders of Heaven put me on edge wondering so that when the climax truly began, it was capturing. The characters around Lucifer weren't static and the pain they go through is just as impactful as what Lucifer goes through.
- I see other readers reviews stating they took the themes as 'homosexuality is a sin' and I do agree, but that's the point. Angels Before Man is a religious commentary overall, one that is angry and hurt with how God is portrayed and angry with the people who follow that god. If you haven't experienced religious trauma in a similar way, I understand why it may seem Nicolás is wagging a finger a being gay, but he is instead showing just how convoluted religion, in this case Christianity, truly is. While I would recommend Angels Before Man to those seeking a diverse LGBTQ story dripping with religious disdain, there are still points that draw from it leading to why I put it below a 5 star rating.
- I appreciate when books, especially when it comes to themes of angels, make their characters diverse in not only personality but also in their race. My issue comes with the fact each time a darker colored character is introduced in many books, including Angels Before Man, they are compared to the color of food with instances such as a black angel having 'cocoa' colored eyes. It's only a few mentions, but one is still too many.
- When the angels are addressing each other they all call each other 'brother' similar to other religions as a way to further ensure people do not stray from the religion to make it seem they would also stray from their 'family'. Even with this being said, it was still greatly off-putting that when angels (slight spoiler?) begin to be sexual with another and they continued to refer to each other as 'brother'.
- The ending internal monologue was a struggle to get through. While I was focused on the events happening, Lucifer's internal monologue was an absolute drain. It's wordy and extensive with no real purpose after several instances of it. When his internal monologue begins to really pick up towards about 60% through, it's perfectly done, however by the end where his monologue is several paragraphs long of generalized religious symbolism I ended up just skimming through it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Sexual assault, and Vomit