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holl3640's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
whiskyrob's review against another edition
2.0
I had a hard time staying interested in the story. I guess I was expecting something like Harry Dresden with a halo, but was disappointed. The plot was pretty simplistic and predictable, I didn't really care about any of the characters, and none of the events seemed to have a lasting impression on Remy or the world.
Also, you'd expect an ageless angel with superpowers to not be so stupid and bumble around. All the clues and stuff are pretty much given to him on a silver platter. "Let's investigate this room where the missing person spent all his time to see if we can find clues to where he is. Oh look, a clue in the drawer of the desk that's the only object in the room, I'm such a great detective."
The best part of the book would have to be Marlowe the talking dog, and even then he doesn't get a lot of screentime and seemed to be there only because Remy needed a sidekick.
Also, you'd expect an ageless angel with superpowers to not be so stupid and bumble around. All the clues and stuff are pretty much given to him on a silver platter. "Let's investigate this room where the missing person spent all his time to see if we can find clues to where he is. Oh look, a clue in the drawer of the desk that's the only object in the room, I'm such a great detective."
The best part of the book would have to be Marlowe the talking dog, and even then he doesn't get a lot of screentime and seemed to be there only because Remy needed a sidekick.
mamap's review against another edition
2.0
when you get bored in the fight scene, it's not a good sign. i liked the premise. an angel who decided to share a life with humans even though he fought on the side of good .. working as a PI... and yet, the discussion of the nature of angels vs. the nature of humanity is not interesting to me as we can't really know the nature of angels.
misterjay's review against another edition
4.0
This is not really a detective story. Rather, it's a meditation on death and loss and grieving dressed up as a secular detective story with angels. And it's really good.
It's fast and actually fairly light reading given that the main character's grief over his wife's impending death is a constant refrain. The noir-ish aspects come across as a gentle homage and the religious elements of the book are given a fantasy brushing; there is no preaching in the novel.
Fans of Jim Butcher, Thomas Golden, and Kim Harrison ought to give this a try.
It's fast and actually fairly light reading given that the main character's grief over his wife's impending death is a constant refrain. The noir-ish aspects come across as a gentle homage and the religious elements of the book are given a fantasy brushing; there is no preaching in the novel.
Fans of Jim Butcher, Thomas Golden, and Kim Harrison ought to give this a try.
emimiwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
4.0
fun urban fantasy book - angelic lore meets noir PI novel
jeremybost's review against another edition
1.0
First of all, it made me feel like the whole world was worthless and everything was boring. Second, I'm a Christian. I like magical fantasy, since it is obvious that it isn't real. But I do believe in angels, demons, and God, and could pick out numerous mistakes and misrepresentations.
Third, too much bad language.
Third, too much bad language.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
3.0
I admit that I bought this book before I noticed the less than enthusiastic reviews of it here on Goodreads. I'm a picky reader at the best of times and I don't like angel related stories so I was concerned that I wasn't going to like it. I surprised myself by liking it and buying the next books in the series.
Remy is an angel who renounced Heaven to live amongst humans and work as a PI, marrying a human woman called Madeline. He has two friends-his cop friend Mulvehill who knows what Remy is, and his beloved dog Marlowe, who he can communicate with. Remy is suffering as he watches Madeline slowly die in a nursing home where staff think he is a younger relative, so the last thing he needs is to hear that an apocalypse could be coming. Someone is seeking the four scrolls, which if opened, will summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Despite his personal trauma, Remy is dragged into the battle to stop the apocalypse and has to locate and secure the scrolls before they can be used. However, there are those who do want to see the apocalypse and they don't like the fact that Remy and his friends are interfering with their plans. They are determined to stop him at all costs and it leaves Remy wondering who to turn to for help.
Israfil, the Angel of Death has decided to try living in the real world for a while, abandoning his job of taking the souls of the dead, who end up trapped on Earth and in pain. Remy cannot bear the thought of Madeline suffering this fate along with so many people and agrees to get involved. Israfil's story turns out to be quite human and I liked viewing the Angel of Death in a more sympathetic manner. I liked the story which centered around the Bible verses about the Four Horsemen. I thought the concept was interesting and a bit different from the normal urban fantasy.
It was interesting to see characters who were a bit different. It was refreshing to start the series with the cop already knowing who and what Remy is and being happy to be friends with him, treating him like a normal guy and hanging out with him. It is better than having the conflicts and refusal to believe what Remy is for half the book. So I applaud the author for skipping by all of that and having Mulvehill already accepting it all. Remy himself is a nice guy and I had complete empathy for the personal pain he was going through, as I have recently been in that situation myself. I found it harder to read this book second time round for review purposes because the story is now more personal to me. I thought the author handled this storyline well, with real emotion and understanding.
As I said, I don't like angel stories but this was different from the other angel ones I've read. In fact I think it is the first book with an angel MC that I've ever liked! Remy was an angel and has a few angel powers but he lives as a human and behaves as a human, caring more about the human population than most of his kind do. He is basically getting involved in a war between battling angels who want a different future and are willing to sacrifice humans to do it, which Remy finds unacceptable. We even have a group of them that both Heaven and Lucifer want nothing to do with, which was an interesting addition, along with the group of angel outcasts. The book certainly explores angel mythology so to speak but I actually found that and the religious themes quite fascinating as they were woven nicely with the urban fantasy story.
It is quite an emotional story as Remy struggles to deal with the coming loss of his beloved wife, enduring painful visits to the nursing home. Marlowe doesn't quite understand why Madeline can't be at home with them and doesn't get the concept of how ill she is. The scenes with Remy and Marlowe talking about missing Madeline are quite heartbreaking. Marlowe is totally adorable and sweet and I love him to bits! I wish I had a dog that I could share conversations with like that! I think dog lovers will fall in love with Marlowe from page one. I'm certainly going to enjoy seeing what is in store for Marlowe through the series. I admit that man talking to his dog was one of the reasons that I was attracted to reading the book!
This is not an all action book. The plot centres around locating the scrolls and evading the bad guys. Yes there are a couple of action scenes but a lot of the plot centres around Remy and his conflicting emotions, and the choices he makes. I feel that this helped to develop him as a character and made him easier to connect with, as did his relationships with Madeline, Marlowe and Mulvehill. I am certainly interested in where the story is going in the next book.
A few reviewers have indicated that they were not impressed by the author's writing but I honestly didn't have a problem with it. I found the plot cohesive and entertaining and I can't ask for much more than that. Have I read better urban fantasy? Yes. But I still liked this one and hope to get through the rest of the series soon.
Remy is an angel who renounced Heaven to live amongst humans and work as a PI, marrying a human woman called Madeline. He has two friends-his cop friend Mulvehill who knows what Remy is, and his beloved dog Marlowe, who he can communicate with. Remy is suffering as he watches Madeline slowly die in a nursing home where staff think he is a younger relative, so the last thing he needs is to hear that an apocalypse could be coming. Someone is seeking the four scrolls, which if opened, will summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Despite his personal trauma, Remy is dragged into the battle to stop the apocalypse and has to locate and secure the scrolls before they can be used. However, there are those who do want to see the apocalypse and they don't like the fact that Remy and his friends are interfering with their plans. They are determined to stop him at all costs and it leaves Remy wondering who to turn to for help.
Israfil, the Angel of Death has decided to try living in the real world for a while, abandoning his job of taking the souls of the dead, who end up trapped on Earth and in pain. Remy cannot bear the thought of Madeline suffering this fate along with so many people and agrees to get involved. Israfil's story turns out to be quite human and I liked viewing the Angel of Death in a more sympathetic manner. I liked the story which centered around the Bible verses about the Four Horsemen. I thought the concept was interesting and a bit different from the normal urban fantasy.
It was interesting to see characters who were a bit different. It was refreshing to start the series with the cop already knowing who and what Remy is and being happy to be friends with him, treating him like a normal guy and hanging out with him. It is better than having the conflicts and refusal to believe what Remy is for half the book. So I applaud the author for skipping by all of that and having Mulvehill already accepting it all. Remy himself is a nice guy and I had complete empathy for the personal pain he was going through, as I have recently been in that situation myself. I found it harder to read this book second time round for review purposes because the story is now more personal to me. I thought the author handled this storyline well, with real emotion and understanding.
As I said, I don't like angel stories but this was different from the other angel ones I've read. In fact I think it is the first book with an angel MC that I've ever liked! Remy was an angel and has a few angel powers but he lives as a human and behaves as a human, caring more about the human population than most of his kind do. He is basically getting involved in a war between battling angels who want a different future and are willing to sacrifice humans to do it, which Remy finds unacceptable. We even have a group of them that both Heaven and Lucifer want nothing to do with, which was an interesting addition, along with the group of angel outcasts. The book certainly explores angel mythology so to speak but I actually found that and the religious themes quite fascinating as they were woven nicely with the urban fantasy story.
It is quite an emotional story as Remy struggles to deal with the coming loss of his beloved wife, enduring painful visits to the nursing home. Marlowe doesn't quite understand why Madeline can't be at home with them and doesn't get the concept of how ill she is. The scenes with Remy and Marlowe talking about missing Madeline are quite heartbreaking. Marlowe is totally adorable and sweet and I love him to bits! I wish I had a dog that I could share conversations with like that! I think dog lovers will fall in love with Marlowe from page one. I'm certainly going to enjoy seeing what is in store for Marlowe through the series. I admit that man talking to his dog was one of the reasons that I was attracted to reading the book!
This is not an all action book. The plot centres around locating the scrolls and evading the bad guys. Yes there are a couple of action scenes but a lot of the plot centres around Remy and his conflicting emotions, and the choices he makes. I feel that this helped to develop him as a character and made him easier to connect with, as did his relationships with Madeline, Marlowe and Mulvehill. I am certainly interested in where the story is going in the next book.
A few reviewers have indicated that they were not impressed by the author's writing but I honestly didn't have a problem with it. I found the plot cohesive and entertaining and I can't ask for much more than that. Have I read better urban fantasy? Yes. But I still liked this one and hope to get through the rest of the series soon.
surfmonkey01's review against another edition
3.0
Yet more urban fantasy -- what can I say, I'm a sucker for it. Anyways, this was pretty good. The angel thing was different, and it's the first UF I can recall that wasn't in first person. So that alone made it unique in my book.
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
Below is my review from 2009 when I read this as a print book. It still stands. It reminded me why the author and the series is on the WWBL. I love it and can definitely recommend the author, the book and the series.
*************
An urban fantasy starring an angel who would rather be human averting the apocalypse. How cool was this book to read? I fell for Remy Chandler, former Seraphim, and his dog, Marlowe (I may have fallen harder for Marlowe - look at that face on the cover!) in the novella that Sniegoski wrote for MEAN STREETS that I read in January. I fell hard and had to add Sniegoski's books to my WantonWantin' Book List.
The Angel of Death has gone missing and this sets a whole bunch of incidents off towards the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the horizon. Some of Remy's former brethren show up asking for his help.
This is a gritty noir detective novel tinged urban fantasy and I highly recommend this if only to read the conversations between Remy and Marlowe.
Five angelic beans....image to follow...
*************
An urban fantasy starring an angel who would rather be human averting the apocalypse. How cool was this book to read? I fell for Remy Chandler, former Seraphim, and his dog, Marlowe (I may have fallen harder for Marlowe - look at that face on the cover!) in the novella that Sniegoski wrote for MEAN STREETS that I read in January. I fell hard and had to add Sniegoski's books to my WantonWantin' Book List.
The Angel of Death has gone missing and this sets a whole bunch of incidents off towards the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on the horizon. Some of Remy's former brethren show up asking for his help.
This is a gritty noir detective novel tinged urban fantasy and I highly recommend this if only to read the conversations between Remy and Marlowe.
Five angelic beans....image to follow...
bibliofiendlm's review against another edition
4.0
I liked it and I am always a sucker for a great dog w/ personality. The audiobook is read by Luke Daniels, the same narrator as Kevin Kearne's Iron Druid Chronicles.