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raineydayreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
imagine if angels could form a union
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Torture, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content and Injury/Injury detail
starlesscircus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Sexual assault, and Blood
ina_pages's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75
I’d give this 5 stars if not for very minor grammar issues that I believe were addressed in the rewrite. I hope to get my hands on that since I also heard that new scenes were added to it.
This book pulled me out of a reading slump that lasted MONTHS. Rafael’s masterful prose will have you gripped from start to finish and will have you falling in love with characters literally against your own will. It was heartbreaking enough to read about a character you knew was doomed from the start, but this book makes you feel so much for Lucifer that watching his decent from grace was just that much worse.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested. The author lists down a set of trigger warnings at the start but they are only really applicable in the second half of the book.
If you want a feel good, slow burn, romance-y book then maybe pick this up and just stop after part one (like skip the interlude even) but if you have the headspace for it part two is an intense rollercoaster ride of emotions.
This book pulled me out of a reading slump that lasted MONTHS. Rafael’s masterful prose will have you gripped from start to finish and will have you falling in love with characters literally against your own will. It was heartbreaking enough to read about a character you knew was doomed from the start, but this book makes you feel so much for Lucifer that watching his decent from grace was just that much worse.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested. The author lists down a set of trigger warnings at the start but they are only really applicable in the second half of the book.
If you want a feel good, slow burn, romance-y book then maybe pick this up and just stop after part one (like skip the interlude even) but if you have the headspace for it part two is an intense rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
dead_colonel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Incest
athenian_frog's review
I was super, super excited to read this book. I never expected that I would keep bouncing between dropping it and trying to finish another chapter. I saw glowing reviews from people whose opinions I respect, so I think this might be a me problem...
There are some really cool and interesting scenes (Lucifer realizing his talents, the conversations with God) and I found the relationship between Luci and Michael fairly compelling, too. I have no doubt that Mr. nicolás is passionate about this work.
But nine times out of ten, the pacing feels like a sloooooow crawwwwwl. Maybe the point was that in comparison to the mortal realm, the bountifulness of Heaven makes it stagnant? But it really hurt the actual reading.
A lot of characters also felt a bit flat, like they were there just for plot reasons. I didn't feel all that attached. The other thing that prob contributed to the slow feeling was how densely packed the descriptions were. There was a LOT of description loading on the reader, some of it was very hard for me to conceptualize.
I would read a few chapters, put it down, then be reluctant to pick it back up again. The last time I made good progress (over ten pages) on this book before I set it free was a whole two months ago, and I didn't think about it twice. That's kinda what made me say: "okay, what am I doing this for?"
I will check out other rafeal nicolás works just in case another one piques my interest, but I think Angels Before Man might just not be my thing.
There are some really cool and interesting scenes (Lucifer realizing his talents, the conversations with God) and I found the relationship between Luci and Michael fairly compelling, too. I have no doubt that Mr. nicolás is passionate about this work.
But nine times out of ten, the pacing feels like a sloooooow crawwwwwl. Maybe the point was that in comparison to the mortal realm, the bountifulness of Heaven makes it stagnant? But it really hurt the actual reading.
A lot of characters also felt a bit flat, like they were there just for plot reasons. I didn't feel all that attached. The other thing that prob contributed to the slow feeling was how densely packed the descriptions were. There was a LOT of description loading on the reader, some of it was very hard for me to conceptualize.
I would read a few chapters, put it down, then be reluctant to pick it back up again. The last time I made good progress (over ten pages) on this book before I set it free was a whole two months ago, and I didn't think about it twice. That's kinda what made me say: "okay, what am I doing this for?"
I will check out other rafeal nicolás works just in case another one piques my interest, but I think Angels Before Man might just not be my thing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
axel_p's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pika_berry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A powerful work.
Quite unlike other LGBT fantasy, and warning:bad ending and gore.
Though it has it in the tag, technically, this book is not a genre romance.There is no HEA — a HEA is the prerequisite for a genre romance.
The first 30% or so was quite rough with POV issues.
Words like “ground level shrub” or “mahogany” would be used when it’s the POV of somebody who was literally just created and does not even know what a plant or a tree is.
Is was sometimes hard to tell who’s perspective we have shifted to, and had me wondering who did what. But these issues went away in the middle of the book. I think the writer got better at writing as they went along.
Another major drawback is the portrayal of god. The god is written as a petty, moody, middle aged man. He doesn’t seem very wise nor compassionate. He demands the angels to worship him, and makes dumb decisions.
Like creating an Angel that is supposed to be the most beautiful, and giving him special treatment … this doesn’t seem like a very wise thing to do, even from my limited mortal perspective…
And while I know this is in the original story, I don’t think this book depicted this very well. He feels more like an abusive cult leader than a holy being to me. But perhaps this is because the writer is a modern person, and at the end of rhe day, most modern people snicker at religion and the idea of god. They think it’s superstitious or foolish. It is natural for this broader sentiment to show in their work.
The entirety of the plot is based on poor decision making by this dumb god character, and that could pull you out of the book. I didn’t mind though. I don’t think anybody reads a retelling for plot, tbh.
The drama, the beautiful imagery and the motives make this a compelling read.
The book feels like a fanfic. It’s a retelling, but feels more like fanfic. It’s probably the generic characters. I like it though lol.
I can imagine the story doing well in the Japanese market, perhaps made into a manga.
Quite unlike other LGBT fantasy, and warning:
Though it has it in the tag, technically, this book is not a genre romance.
The first 30% or so was quite rough with POV issues.
Words like “ground level shrub” or “mahogany” would be used when it’s the POV of somebody who was literally just created and does not even know what a plant or a tree is.
Is was sometimes hard to tell who’s perspective we have shifted to, and had me wondering who did what. But these issues went away in the middle of the book. I think the writer got better at writing as they went along.
Another major drawback is the portrayal of god. The god is written as a petty, moody, middle aged man. He doesn’t seem very wise nor compassionate. He demands the angels to worship him, and makes dumb decisions.
Like creating an Angel that is supposed to be the most beautiful, and giving him special treatment … this doesn’t seem like a very wise thing to do, even from my limited mortal perspective…
And while I know this is in the original story, I don’t think this book depicted this very well. He feels more like an abusive cult leader than a holy being to me. But perhaps this is because the writer is a modern person, and at the end of rhe day, most modern people snicker at religion and the idea of god. They think it’s superstitious or foolish. It is natural for this broader sentiment to show in their work.
The entirety of the plot is based on poor decision making by this dumb god character, and that could pull you out of the book. I didn’t mind though. I don’t think anybody reads a retelling for plot, tbh.
The drama, the beautiful imagery and the motives make this a compelling read.
The book feels like a fanfic. It’s a retelling, but feels more like fanfic. It’s probably the generic characters. I like it though lol.
I can imagine the story doing well in the Japanese market, perhaps made into a manga.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
graygarrido's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In honor of Angels & Man releasing in 2024 I decided to reread Angels Before Man. This was one of my top reads of 2023 and as you can probably tell, one that has followed me into 2024. This Queer retelling of The Fall of Lucifer is as much of an open w*und of religious tr*uma as it is a celebration of queer joy, queer love, & queer bodies.
Rafael Nicolás does an incredible job at making a story both light & full of achingly sweet tenderness & in the same chapter explore the darkness within Religion & the harmful ways in which Religion can be taught to young minds.
One of my favorite themes was of queer identity & the queer Body & its relationship (or lack thereof) with Catholicism. How in this version of Paradise we are shown bodies of all shapes and sizes. Masculine and feminine blur together to create something entirely new, bodies decadently dressed in jewels from head to toe and covered in delicate fabrics.
I saw so much of my young queer self in Lucifer and Michael. The questions, the doubts, the love, the resentment, and most of all the fear. This book is a balm to my inner queer child, & I truly cannot recommend it enough especially if you were raised Catholic like I was.
I cannot wait to see what happens next in this world. & with that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“So if Lucifer had ever the choice, he might've decided to inspire the Lord's hate, rather than His quiet displeasure. A hand that strikes from the dark is at least proof of a hand. It's kinder to be beaten than to be left untouched.”
Rafael Nicolás does an incredible job at making a story both light & full of achingly sweet tenderness & in the same chapter explore the darkness within Religion & the harmful ways in which Religion can be taught to young minds.
One of my favorite themes was of queer identity & the queer Body & its relationship (or lack thereof) with Catholicism. How in this version of Paradise we are shown bodies of all shapes and sizes. Masculine and feminine blur together to create something entirely new, bodies decadently dressed in jewels from head to toe and covered in delicate fabrics.
I saw so much of my young queer self in Lucifer and Michael. The questions, the doubts, the love, the resentment, and most of all the fear. This book is a balm to my inner queer child, & I truly cannot recommend it enough especially if you were raised Catholic like I was.
I cannot wait to see what happens next in this world. & with that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“So if Lucifer had ever the choice, he might've decided to inspire the Lord's hate, rather than His quiet displeasure. A hand that strikes from the dark is at least proof of a hand. It's kinder to be beaten than to be left untouched.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Blood
v333spertine's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, and Religious bigotry
violetlunablossom's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
I genuinely have no words to describe how much I loved Angels Before Man. Never before have I read a book that was so raw and profound. Rafael Nicolás is a poetic genius who wove together an intimate story of love, betrayal, and religious trauma. He brings the energy that needed to be present when it came to writing a queer retelling of Satan's fall and I couldn't be more amazed that this was his debut novel.
Lucifer was an extremely compelling protagonist. His transformation from a wide-eyed, vibrant newborn angel to a vengeful, unhinged dissident was tragic and seamless. It all reads like someone who fell out of love with religion (and God), wrestling with feelings of guilt, anger, and overwhelming sorrow while everyone else around you seems normal. Michael, Asmodeus, and Rosier were also wonderfully engrossing supporting characters. Their unique relationships with Lucifer (Michael especially because good God was I hurting by the end) were what made this book in my opinion.
The way that heaven and its hierarchy of angels are portrayed additionally made this whole book for me. Angels have their purposes and tasks and they're not all copy + paste personalities. They're beautiful, nearly androgynous beings, who dress in fine silks and jewels but also enjoy watching violent and frenzied battles in a giant colosseum. Also side note, kudos to Nicolás for not making all his angels white. It's a small detail but reading about angels who have a variety of skin tones has never made me more happy.
Lucifer was an extremely compelling protagonist. His transformation from a wide-eyed, vibrant newborn angel to a vengeful, unhinged dissident was tragic and seamless. It all reads like someone who fell out of love with religion (and God), wrestling with feelings of guilt, anger, and overwhelming sorrow while everyone else around you seems normal. Michael, Asmodeus, and Rosier were also wonderfully engrossing supporting characters. Their unique relationships with Lucifer (Michael especially because good God was I hurting by the end) were what made this book in my opinion.
The way that heaven and its hierarchy of angels are portrayed additionally made this whole book for me. Angels have their purposes and tasks and they're not all copy + paste personalities. They're beautiful, nearly androgynous beings, who dress in fine silks and jewels but also enjoy watching violent and frenzied battles in a giant colosseum. Also side note, kudos to Nicolás for not making all his angels white. It's a small detail but reading about angels who have a variety of skin tones has never made me more happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts