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A review by hartd
Envy of Angels by Matt Wallace
5.0
This is fantastic! It made me smile a lot and laugh out loud more than a few times, which is not really all that easy to achieve. I'm very excited to continue with the series. I can't believe this is not a hit TV show already, and I won't be at all surprised if that happens. I don't know why it took me so long to hear about this series, but I know I'll be recommending it far & wide.
It's original, as you can tell from the summary, with some very appealing and realistic characters, but it plays with a lot of concepts that will be familiar to any fan of urban fantasy. Buffy/Angel fans really need to read this in particular, as the humor is similar. It's as fun (if not more so) as the original voyage to Lorne's home dimension. But unlike Buffy/Angel, there is not any heavy interpersonal stuff, at least not in this first outing; it's pretty lighthearted in that way, although I did really like the friendship between Lena and Darren. I can imagine so many potential stories in this world.
This is in third-person omniscient, although we don't see everyone's PoV all the time, and it works well for the story that's being told. It focuses on several sets of characters: the young chefs Lena and Darren (who is gay, although that's only mentioned once); the catering company's procurement team, a group of fantasy-quest-type characters led by a grizzled magician in the vein of John Constantine; and the world-weary executive chef, Bronko. There are lots of other fun characters, too, such as the pothead busboys, who felt a little bit like Statler and Waldorf at first, and the douchebag chef, who seems like he's going to be permanently at odds with Lena, but probably not in a tiresome sexual-tension way, as the narrative makes it pretty clear the guy is an actual jerk.
The plot is about orchestrating a major banquet for warring demon clans. The pace is fast, and the story takes more than a few surprising turns. It's fun, hilarious, and smart, and none of the humor made me uncomfortable at all. I only cringed at a few disgusting moments, and I'm sure I was meant to.
Great book, and I am diving into the rest of the series immediately.
It's original, as you can tell from the summary, with some very appealing and realistic characters, but it plays with a lot of concepts that will be familiar to any fan of urban fantasy. Buffy/Angel fans really need to read this in particular, as the humor is similar. It's as fun (if not more so) as the original voyage to Lorne's home dimension. But unlike Buffy/Angel, there is not any heavy interpersonal stuff, at least not in this first outing; it's pretty lighthearted in that way, although I did really like the friendship between Lena and Darren. I can imagine so many potential stories in this world.
This is in third-person omniscient, although we don't see everyone's PoV all the time, and it works well for the story that's being told. It focuses on several sets of characters: the young chefs Lena and Darren (who is gay, although that's only mentioned once); the catering company's procurement team, a group of fantasy-quest-type characters led by a grizzled magician in the vein of John Constantine; and the world-weary executive chef, Bronko. There are lots of other fun characters, too, such as the pothead busboys, who felt a little bit like Statler and Waldorf at first, and the douchebag chef, who seems like he's going to be permanently at odds with Lena, but probably not in a tiresome sexual-tension way, as the narrative makes it pretty clear the guy is an actual jerk.
The plot is about orchestrating a major banquet for warring demon clans. The pace is fast, and the story takes more than a few surprising turns. It's fun, hilarious, and smart, and none of the humor made me uncomfortable at all. I only cringed at a few disgusting moments, and I'm sure I was meant to.
Great book, and I am diving into the rest of the series immediately.