Thursday, April 01, 2010

Book Review: "Angelology"

Danielle Trussoni's Angelology (Viking, 2010) has gotten decidedly mixed reviews, and I'm afraid that's just what mine's going to have to be: mixed. In the parallel universe Trussoni's book takes us to, angels are real, they're here among us, and they're not to be messed with lightly.

There were elements of the book that I really liked (it's nice to be able to dive into an alternate world for a bit, even if it is one where nasty-but-seductive hybridized human-angel creatures are trying to regain their lost power over humanity), but there were also points that absolutely strained my credulity to the breaking point. Some plot elements seemed made for the big screen, not the page, and some were just plain silly.

Those things said, I enjoyed it, the same way I enjoyed Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian. Great literature it's not, but it's decent entertainment, and the historical topics she explores (most prominently the study of angels down through the centuries, how they've been seen and portrayed in literature, art, religion, &c.) are well worth examining. Unfortunately there's a lot more potential here than Trussoni puts to use. I suppose there's time, though - the end of this book is undoubtedly sequel-bait.