A review by loyddl
Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

dark emotional slow-paced

3.75

I enjoyed the story until it neared the end where Lucifer’s character change became prominent. For as much build up as it got it still felt abrupt and completely disconnected from the Lucifer we followed in the rest of the book. I think the problem was that near the end of the book Nicolás stops giving us Lucifer’s perspective on important events that would impact his dramatic character change. For most of the book we get intimate detail from Lucifer’s perspective and thoughts but more and more  writing was put toward other characters point of view. As a result, even though we see the pain Lucifer goes through, his later actions feel like they are too extreme and come out of nowhere. 

I also think the writing fell flat in the story’s resolution. For something so long built up it also felt anticlimactic. And again, we’re taken out of Lucifer’s point of view and only given a finale description of him rather than any though or emotions felt by him as a result of his actions. 

A finale thing I would have loved to see, especially in the finale act, is the development of Micheal. Without giving any spoilers, Micheal is important in Lucifer’s fall yet I don’t understand his actions near the book’s resolution based on the relationship between him and Lucifer that had taken half the book to develop. 

While I enjoyed the story, it’s setting, and it’s characters, the ending makes me hesitant to pick the book up again. The book is all buildup but does not explain some characters most extreme actions. 
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