REVIEW: Angel Mage and Hero at the Fall

Angel Mage:

Angel Mage is set in a fantasy world where humans use things called ‘icons’ to call upon angels for their assistance for tasks. This may be something that is life-changing right down to the most trivial of tasks. 140 years ago, Liliath an angelic mage, unleashed the ash blood plague, which transformed its victims into beasts. These beasts were released upon Ystara where our story is set and caused chaos and mayhem. All she wants to do is be reunited with her Archangel lover but when she awakes 140 years later, she decides that now is the time to get to her goal. She looks for four young men and women who will help her reunite with her lover. These people are: Agnez Descaray, a cadet in the Queen’s Musketeers, a doctor named Simeon, Henri Dupallidin who is a cardinal’s clerk and Dorotea Imsel, a famous and talented icon maker. These teens decide to stop Liliath in her plans and are the only ones who are in her way. When they are drawn together by inexplicable forces and become friends, they find themselves apart of something bigger than themselves.

The one thing that I do love about this book is that this magic comes at a cost to those who conjure it. It remains me of Rumpelstiltskin from Once Upon a Time saying ‘all magic comes at a price dearie.’ The more powerful the angel who was summoned, the higher the cost. This plays a big part in the novel and is a theme throughout.

This was the first book that I have read by Garth Nix and so when Gollancz offered me the chance to read it just before the release, I was so excited. Nix’s writing is beyond amazing and he weaves such a tale full of excitement and intrigue. Nix’s magic system is very complex and sometimes is hard to get your head around but once you do, you enjoy it even more knowing that you understand it even better than before.

3 out of 5 stars.

Hero at the fall:

Hero at the fall is the last book in the rebel of the sand’s trilogy by Alwyn Hamilton. Having read the previous books, I never actually got round to reading the final book until this year, this may be due to the fact that I was putting off the trilogy ending but let’s dive in shall we.

Set in the desert country of Miraji, the rebel prince has just killed the crown prince leaving the sultan without an heir. The rebel prince is praised by some but called a traitor by others. Amani however believes that he is the one who lead her country into the next phase of its life and so puts all of her bets on him but when reports of him being dead start to become rumours she is the one who must lead the revolution. Amani with her Demdji powers must now decide what the true fate of the country is and whether it can put its trust in her. As she watches those, she love most lay down their lives, she has to contemplate whether she is the leader that they truly need.

I’ve been a big fan of Alwyn Hamilton for a long time now and I’m so sad to see this conclusion to the series wrap up. Hamilton’s writing is something that I truly enjoy. The majority of the book is spent making sure that there is a dynamic between the Sultan and Amani is concrete and that they despise one another. This started to come to a head when the Sultan started to take the girls and kill them. That was a truly tragic way to get what he wants but nonetheless effective in driving Amani to do what must be done. This novel is full of love and loss and Hamilton does a great job of describing what life at war may be like.

3 out of 5 stars.