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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
“In vain, I love you; in vain, the dawn streaming onto you, beside me; in vain, I want to be yours, your angel. Angel of love, angel of Michael.”
Painfully beautiful. Flowery and lyrical. Eventually haunting, conveying subtle horror and a rage so deep it feels tangible. A million ways to describe this book, yet none of them feel sufficient. I usually expect biblical retellings to evoke strong emotion, though Angels Before Man accomplishes much more than just that; here, the fall of Lucifer unfurls in a way that makes the initial brightness of his creation feel blinding, while his gradual fall from grace evokes sympathy that later morphs into something dark and ugly. Binge-reading this book made it feel as if I was going insane with Lucifer’s punishments and the turning of his thoughts; it was impossible not to be sucked in by the gorgeous storytelling, and the terrible fate that Lucifer would pave for himself because of love and hatred. What a stunning book.
‘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 it’s peak. Beautiful—and just about to fall.’
The portrayal of Lucifer’s emotions in this retelling truly pried at my heart. The author takes their time describing the great splendor of Heaven so that it feels bright and cozy, with the timid and eager-to-please Lucifer fitting right in as the most newly created angel. It was hard not to grow attached to Nicolás’ depiction of the angel in his innocent early years, since Lucifer’s initial insecurities and slow learning to love (both Michael and more importantly, himself) felt painfully human.
Of course, Lucifer’s slow descent into madness was also stunningly written. The author’s take on God harbouring jealousy towards Lucifer finding love was an interesting twist. Lucifer’s initial punishment was terrible, so witnessing the angel’s sadness morph into an ugly hatred became simultaneously terrifying and cathartic. After enduring the brunt of God’s wrath, it was expected that Lucifer harbour some genuine rage in his heart. The way the slow bubbling over of those emotions was written took my breath away. Such vivid depictions of hate, and the sprinkling of sin whispered throughout heaven to the rest of the angels by Lucifer's lips. Nicolás’ writing is truly some of the most incredible I’ve read in a while, and certainly well suited for biblical retellings or that of ancient mythology. I'm eager to read their future works.
“We could do it, everything could be ours—the most perfect of the host. I want to make new things with you, build something bigger than this mirage of eternal pleasure. Haven’t you ever wondered why Father is so strict about out subservience? It’s because disobedience is creation,” a shivering breath, “create with me, Michael, and let’s call it sin.”
Lucifer’s relationship with the archangel Michael was so innocent and beautiful in the beginning, it hurt all the more to see their bond crumble alongside Lucifer’s corruption. Michael was such a sweet character, and his initial efforts to help the young Lucifer love himself really resonated with me. While Michael weighs on Lucifer’s mind throughout most of this book, their relationship is largely unspoken, with some on-page affection, and a lot of obsession on the younger angel’s part. As someone who didn’t really know much about Lucifer’s fall from Heaven, I was completely enraptured in the horror of the angel’s mind, and the destruction of his love for the archangel as punishment for all that he’s done. Even the side characters were great, with Rosier (the angel of fruit) being a favourite of mine. This was, undoubtedly, a stunning retelling with a fantastic sense of atmosphere, and beautifully tragic portrayal of the fall of God’s favourite angel.
dark
emotional
sad
Absolutely fucking ruined my life. HIGLY recommend!
UGHHH WORDS WORDS WORDS I LOVE WORDS! I loved everything about this book - the writing was gorgeous and the plot was undoubtedly perfect. I wanted every word in this injected into my veins. AHHHHHHH just wait ‘til I tell every queer reader to read this book, I swear. And as a person with religious trauma, this book made that trauma worse and I?? Can’t even be upset about it by how well done this book was
Quotes from the novel that absolutely ruined my day:
- - “I daydream of you, of loving you.”
- In vain, I love you; in vain
- I want to be yours, your angel. Angel of love, angel of Michael.
- ‘I’ve filled libraries with all the things I wanted to say to you.’
- “Is Father good because He is good, or because He says He is good?”
- “It was for us. It was always for us.”
UGHHH WORDS WORDS WORDS I LOVE WORDS! I loved everything about this book - the writing was gorgeous and the plot was undoubtedly perfect. I wanted every word in this injected into my veins. AHHHHHHH just wait ‘til I tell every queer reader to read this book, I swear. And as a person with religious trauma, this book made that trauma worse and I?? Can’t even be upset about it by how well done this book was
Quotes from the novel that absolutely ruined my day:
- - “I daydream of you, of loving you.”
- In vain, I love you; in vain
- I want to be yours, your angel. Angel of love, angel of Michael.
- ‘I’ve filled libraries with all the things I wanted to say to you.’
- “Is Father good because He is good, or because He says He is good?”
- “It was for us. It was always for us.”
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"i can't stop thinking about how it must feel to know nothing except that you can die"
no ha hitteado tanto como la primera vez que me lo leí (pero supongo que es normal). las dos partes son tan distintas que podrían ser dos libros separados (y probablemente por eso es de mis libros favs). precioso, unsettling, el mayor corruption arc de la historia ñom
pd: mirad trigger warnings antes de leerlo pq hay cosas bastante explícitas y gore !!
"i waited for your touch to save me"
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i have gone back and forth a lot with how i felt about this book. after reading the summary and hearing great reviews i was so excited bc this sounded like something i would really enjoy. i grew up in a strictly southern baptist church and so much of my childhood was spent there. as someone with quite a bit of religious trauma to unpack, i was so ready to read this, but it unfortunately fell kind of flat for me. i am still giving it the stars i did because i think it does bring up super relevant and significant thoughts and questions that so many people experience when they are submerged in a super religious lifestyle. i wish i read this in high school, i feel like it would’ve helped me organize all the crazy thoughts i was having at church lol. probably would’ve made me stop going a lot sooner than i did