Angels and Demons

No, I am not going to talk about Dan Brown’s novel here. Two library holds that came for me at the same time prompted my interest in this subject. Let me first admit that I am not by any means a religious expert. The only angels that I can think of at the top of my head are Gabriel, Clarence (from a Wonderful Life) and children’s guardian angels.

So I got an education from the novel, Angelology (M) by Danielle Trussoni. The story itself is interesting but it produced in me a curiosity about angels. I had not realized that there are nine types of angels. Each classification seems to have a different body structure, some have up to six wings and others just two. I also got curious about Orpheus and church history. It is not only the Christian churches that have angels but also Judaism, and Greek and Roman religions.

Trussoni’s novel has all this and more. She has created a rousing tale of bad and fallen angels, particularly the offspring of human and heavenly beings. Genesis 6 states “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they choose”. It is stated in the novel “ Angel and devil…one is but a shade of the other.” It is a battle of good (the Angelogogist) and evil (the Nephilim) that drives the plot of this novel. The Nephilim are the offspring of angels and humans that have used their magic (for lack of better word) to gain power over the wealth and influence of humanity. The author has brought together the ending of the millennium, the Rockefellers, Nazis, Nuns, Angels, and musicology in a pleasant blend of history, religion and a wonderfully clever thriller. It has a twister ending that has you wanting more. And that you shall get it with the sequel Angelopolis. (M)



Quite by coincidence the very next library hold that came in for me was The Demonologist (M) by Andrew Pyper. I have admired this authors works in the past. When his lastest work came in just hot off the presses (published March 5, 2013) it was a perfect read for after Angelogogy. Another coincidence that has me going HMMMM is that I received the novel April 22 and the action in the novel focuses on place April 27th! How spooky is that!

Anyway, this novel is definitely a page turner. Like Trussoni’s novel, Pyper had me wanting to know more about the materials mentioned in the novel, specifically John Milton’s Paradise Lost. Don’t get me wrong. You do not have to be a biblical scholar for either novel. The authors just presented their stories so well that I wanted to find out more. Pyper has written a novel rich in character, meaning and symbolism. I usually have one or two (or more) books on the go. This was definitely one that I did not want to put down and I can hardly wait to start again (having only read 125 pages so far). Damn how life interrupts good reading, eh!

There are a couple of review quotes I want to add here because I thoroughly agree with them"

“Smart, thrilling and utterly utterly unnerving. Pypers gift is that he deeply respect his readers, yet still insists on reducing them to quivering children. I like that in a writer” – Gillian Flynn.

“Plenty of books claim to be scary, but this is genuinely terrifying, don’t read late at night stuff. Thrilling. Compelling and beautifully written, The Demonologist makes Rosemary’s Baby feel like a walk in the park”. – S.J. Watson