Angel Mage

De: Garth Nix

Narrado por: Kristin Atherton

A new fantasy masterpiece from Garth Nix, best-selling author of the Old Kingdom series.

More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than 19, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara.

It's a seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding. Four young people hold her interest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, a glory-seeking musketeer; and Dorotea, icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic.

The four feel a strange kinship from the moment they meet but do not suspect their importance. And none of them know just how Liliath plans to use them, as mere pawns in her plan, no matter the cost to everyone else....

Fans of Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and Leigh Bardugo will fall in love with Angel Mage, a feminist fantasy that takes place in an alternate European world ruled by fearsome magic and deadly passions.

©2019 Garth Nix (P)2019 Listening Library

unexpected delight

I really enjoyed the twist and turns. A little different from Nix's other stories. It was a great adventure!

Decent

Very slow build, I got bored several times. The ending wrapped up very quickly. I’ve enjoyed Nix’s other works more.

wonderful new world

love this aurther and everything he writes this book is independent of his old kingdom books but it's absolutely amazing I can't wait for more books in this world

Another wonderful Garth Nix Novel

I loved this story, its various characters and how their lives intertwine. A grand adventure, danger, evil plans to overcome and all of it seen through multiple characters with different viewpoints.

God I hope this becomes a series

I always expect great worldbuilding and wonderful characters from Garth Nix. What I wasn't prepared is to get caught in a delightful adventure.
So many powerful and incredible women of vice and virtue in this book, so many stories and personalities that made my time with this worthwhile.
The changes from the original inspiration (Dumas' works) were more than welcome, especially to have a growth in Rochefort that didn't ended unnecessarily in a trágica way.
Also, her side plot of the blooming complicated romance and devotion with Dorotea was only bested by the unshakable unresolved sexual tension. Never a hand holding was so intense.

Most of the action in the book were focused at the start and end of the story, but I didn't mind. It was a journey to get to know each character.
I love it and I hope it becomes a first book in a new Garth Nix series.
Oh and excellent job on the audiobook narrator.

Another amazing Nix world

I am continually amazed by Nix’s world building and ability to write characters and a storyline that remains consistent and is logical within the framework created.
If you enjoyed Sabriel and the Old Kingdom you should enjoy this book.
Atherton does a very good job of narration.
Recommend

Applause

I loved this book and the narrator's performance was outstanding! it is a very immersive and intriguing world the author has created.

Love this story!

This book keeps you thinking about the parallels to the 3 musketeers yet, it is very different in many ways. I kept thinking and wondering about the the characters and how they intertwined with each other.

I must say this is a favorite books for sure

Not sure how to rate this book

Should I rate it based on the story alone, or how well it messes with the original Three Musketeers, or the current trend of "inclusiveness" that a lot of authors put in their stories where they make sense or not?

On the Story by itself, it not a bad story and the angelic magic not too unreasonable to make the story too far fetched. Probably a 4 star. How it messes with the original story, well its been way too long since I read that and have seen some of the movies more recent. So can't give a fully educated evaluation, but the character interactions seem similar and the over all plot does seem to at least be possible. So probably again around a 4 star.

Where I think the story loses some of it points is two areas, the first is some parts of the story are weak, like the scene in the tower at the end when Liliath and Dorotea are having their discussion so to speak (trying to avoid spoilers). Its just very lacking, like telling someone yes 2+2 does equal 4 not 5. there was a could of other spots but to me that was the biggest huh moment. The second area is the changing the characters and setting to be "inclusive", granted this book is mild and not really bad changes. I've read a few lately that this need to be "inclusive" was the whole story and trashed any real plot. When changing a well known story universe, i feel care needs to be done to make sure the changes make sense. Well except for parodies, pretty much everything up for grabs. The author did a good job in the changes but a little less from the original would have been better. IMHO

Since we can't do half stars, I gave it a 3, i think the two areas of mention above is a negative half star, so a 3.5 on story.

I hope there'll be more.

Angel Mage is an enjoyable adventure. Surprisingly, it is also more adult oriented, which was quite refreshing, but I'm trying to put my finger on what it is about the story that makes me give it four stars, instead of five. It...has the feel of an introduction. It's a complete story, for sure, but maybe that 'it's not all there' impression is because of the writing style. It feels like I only got the bare bones of the complex social levels of the varying classes, guilds, religious orders and military divisions. They've been sketched out, hinting at the much grander picture. I know I'm sounding overly critical here. I liked Angel Mage. I enjoyed it very much. It kept my attention throughout. It's both politically complex and a fun, rousing adventure, but there's a distance to the story, where it kept me at arms length, more of a bird's eye view of things for the most part, interspersed with vivid interludes with the different characters. All the characters are interesting and engaging and Kristin Atherton does an excellent job bringing them to life. So I sincerely hope this is the start of a new series, because I want more of this fascinating world.