NOTICE: (Updated March 5, 2010)

Beginning December 19, 2009, Books 'N Border Collies will be posting but only intermittently while I pursue personal goals. I plan to share some reading I'm doing, but there will be no reviews. I will, however, be sharing my exploration of vegetarian cooking and the cookbooks and websites I use to educate myself. I hope you enjoy it!

Lezlie



Thursday, December 3, 2009

ANGEL TIME

by Anne Rice



"Haunted by his decision to become an assassin rather than a priest, contract killer Toby O'Dare prepares for another grisly mission. However, when an angel offers him the chance to redeem himself and save countless lives, O'Dare wholeheartedly accepts. Consequently, he is catapulted back to thirteenth century England, where a young Jewish girl has mysteriously disappeared and the town's Christians are accusing her parents of murder." (Based on the CD container summary.)

Anne Rice's vehicle has switched from vampires to angels in Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim, but the beautiful writing and explorations of spirituality are back. Yippee! Many would say they were never gone considering her previous two fiction books were about the life of Jesus, but they didn't feel like the same as the Anne Rice I had come to love. This book felt more like the original Vampire Chronicles -- dark and dream-like -- with more belief in the ability of humanity to reform its selfish ways.

I was concerned that Rice would be too preachy, using her new characters to push her recovered faith. There are those moments, but they are few and fleeting and served their purpose of causing this reader to reflect on her own thoughts about religion in general. Looking back, the Vampire Chronicles often did the same thing but with searching cynicism. Angel Time speaks with guided confidence. This is the first of a new series, and I'm greatly looking forward to its continuation.



18 comments:

Eva said...

I've been curious about this one, and now I definitely want to give it a try!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review. I've been wondering about this one. I loved her vampires and I think I'll have to give her angels a shot.

Lezlie said...

Eva ~ I've kept up with Anne's books even when I wasn't loving them. I'm so glad I did, or I'd have missed this. I hope you do give it a try.

Carol's Notebook ~ Me, too, and when this book got going I was *thrilled* to get nearly that same old feeling back! I hear rumor of a final Lestat book, so I wonder if she'll tie it in with this new series. It would be an interesting combination!

Lezlie

bermudaonion said...

Interview with a Vampire was one of the few books I just couldn't finish - it was too scary and creepy for me - so I wonder if I would like this one.

FiKaLo said...

I love the Christ the Lord novels. I have read a number of the Vampire Chronicles and loved them, but I felt like Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana was a magnificent masterpiece. I'm looking forward to checking out Angel Time.

Lightheaded said...

I missed reading The Vampire Chronicles. I have all of them devoured by termites some three or so years back and it was heartbreaking for me and yet I couldn't bring myself to get new copies (yeah, maybe when I'm filthy rich I'd do that).

But this sounds like something I might enjoy. And maybe I could use a little confidence and belief in angels as well.

Lezlie said...

Bermudaonion ~ The first half of the book is the hardest, where you're given the story of how Toby became a hitman. If you can get through that, the second half is much less scary.

FiKaLo ~ If you liked both the Vampire Chronicles *and* Christ the Lord novels, you will most likely *love* this one! Stop back and let me know what you thought once you have a chance to read it. I'd love to know!

Lightheaded ~ I would have been devastated also. How horrible! I think we could all use a little confidence and angels. It's a rough world out there! :-)

Lezlie

Anna said...

Glad to see you liked it. It sounds interesting, but I tried this author once and couldn't get through the book. I think it was called "Violin" or something about a violin. LOL

--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric

Lezlie said...

Anna ~ I think "Violin" is right. I haven't read that one. I've often thought that Anne Rice is somewhat of an acquired taste. I have to be in the right mood for her books, but when I am, I love them. If you wanted to try her again, this would be a good one. Or Interview With The Vampire.

Lezlie

Ladytink_534 said...

I used to adore her Vampire books but the last book I read by her was in 2003 when Blood Canticle came out.

Lezlie said...

Ladytink ~ I love the Vampire Chronicles overall, but I wasn't fond of the books once Mona Mayfair got involved. I didn't like her in the Witch series, and I *really* didn't like her showing up in the Vampire series. Just my own hang up there. :-) You might like Angel Time, as I thought it was very reminiscent of the early Chronicles.

Lezlie

kah said...

Thanks for the review. I looked at this one on Amazon (for my xmas list) but wasn't sure about it. Now I'll add it to the list. :)


Karen’s Blog

Lezlie said...

Karen ~ I'm glad I could help!

Lezlie

The Bookworm said...

I have read two of her books in the Vampire Chronicles and enjoyed her writing. This one sounds very good.
Great review!
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Lezlie said...

Thanks, Naida! I hope you enjoy Angel Time if you have the chance to read it.

Lezlie

Joanne said...

Thank you for this great review, Lezlie. While I know Anne Rice isn't to everyone's taste, I love that she makes you really dig deep sometimes and explore your own values/ethics/spirituality while entertaining you with her fabulous gift of storytelling. The Witching Hour and Interview with the Vampire are two of my favs from her; as a matter of fact, just yesterday I posted about the house of the Mayfair witches on my blog. Come by for a visit! ;)

Lezlie said...

I'm on my way right now!

Lezlie

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