Review: Witty and inventive tale of demons and angels
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 14, 2013
Anael, an ethereal beautiful angel enters a seedy bar in Purgatory. This isn't the set up for a joke, it's the first chapter. Anael stole a pair of wings so that she could escape Heaven and see some other realms. Unfortunately, her naivete ends up getting her kidnapped and mutilated by the baroness of Hell (who wants her wings to construct a dress for a ball). Gaap, a reluctant transporter demon, is tasked with getting Anael somewhere safe. Anael's thirst for adventure and travel just got fulfilled threefold.The cover sure didn't pull me in, but I'm still very glad I decided to give it a whirl. Almost from page one, this book is all over the place. I mean that in a good way. The characters are absurd oddballs, and nearly everything they say is funny. This was a fairly refreshing read, to combat all of the serious books I've been reading lately. The themes aren't very subtle (for example, turns out heaven is run like a dictatorship that squashes individuality, according to Anael several times). The main plot was still rather fascinating, and pulled in various tales and myths, even turning a few well-known figures right on their head. I loved the characters. Gaap was a bit more likable or relate-able, since he's probably the most "normal" character in the book. Still, Anael's child-like innocence is charming, and even if a character (like the Baroness) is being downright evil it's hard to hate them. You're in for lots of banter and quotable lines. The setting covers Hell, Heaven, Earth, and everything in between. The characters do spend a lot of time talking, but the plot rarely drags and keeps moving at a steady clip. The writing is a descriptive delight, and I basked in both those places that were familiar and unfamiliar to me rendered in words that made me feel as though I could read out and touch. I highly recommend The Seraph Contingency!The formatting and editing looks nice, and there's even a nice section for pronunciation of names and terms at the back.