October 27, 2009 by Knopf
Hardcover, 340 Pages
Purchased
Full of provocative moral reflections, Angel Time centers on hired assassin Toby O'Dare, a one-time aspirant to the priesthood until personal tragedy unmoored his life. Guardian angel Malchiah visits Toby, who's just consummated his latest kill, and offers him redemption for his sins. After accepting the offer, Toby is whisked away to 13th-century England, where, in the guise of a Dominican friar, he becomes the protector of a Jewish couple accused wrongly by the gentile populace of having murdered their young daughter for her conversion to Christianity.
How to begin…..? How do I write a review on a Jedi Master author?
Angel Time opens with the dreary story of assassin Toby O’Dare, his thoughts are heartbreaking and numb. As we follow Toby through a murder he struggles with the inner demon always taunting him, the darkness that pushes him and always underneath this shell of man we see the wanting. We suffer with Toby and his despair to be loved and have purpose.The first half of the book focused on Toby’s past and what lead to his murdering ways. His life an echo of so many others caught in the world of bad parents and growing up to fast, had a haunting tragic twist. He’s an undeniably fascinating character with tremendous flaws. Rice writes him in a way where we want to see him redeemed and almost understand why he's broken to the point of no return. Although cracks of his goodness seep out on the pages it isn’t until the second half of the book where Toby basically becomes a completely different character shown in an altered light. This is where I had some problems with the story itself. In part two, Toby seems to be more of a background character and one not recognizable from the first half. I understand the new found birth of religion here but as the story progressed I was never able to connect with any of the characters after Toby travels with Malchiah to the 13th-century. I felt there was this great story with rich detail but no real substance to draw me in emotionally.
Fans of Rice will recognize her descriptive style and her ability to make you see and feel what she is writing. Her gothic trend is seen a bit in Angel Time however, many of the old Rice fans will not be impressed. Rice focuses deeply on her Catholic faith, I myself found it heartfelt and refreshing. Others looking for the old scary vampire Anne Rice will be disappointed. I’ve always enjoyed Anne Rice’s work; her new found writing devoted to her faith did not fail to please me. Lacking in some areas overall I did enjoy reading it. Rice’s writing is as always, flawless and beautifully woven together on the page. Dive deep into the historical past and depiction of broken characters struggling to reconcile matters of the heart and cultural divides of personal faith.
4/5 Angels, Romance, Religious
This is a part of my Horns and Halos Book Challenge
This sounds so brilliant, Tina. Thank you for the excellent review! I love Anne Rice, and I'll definitely need to read this :)
ReplyDeletefantastic review, Tina...omg I can't wait to get to this one on my list - it'll be interesting to see if our opinions are the same!
ReplyDelete-Aimee
http://myflutteringheart.blogspot.com
I recently put this on my to-read list. Glad to see you enjoyed it overall.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Sounds like a good book to pick up. I have been on the wall regarding this one, not sure if I should get it. Thanks for this great review as you have made me want it more.
ReplyDeleteSee I think this is FINALLY an Anne Rice book I could read.
ReplyDeleteGod, I love your blog! It's beautiful, sheer delight! I liked Angel Time, but I noticed too how much Rice likes to go back through the centuries and weave a thread. I just started a new blog--mostly literary--and my first post happens to be about Angel Time and the books of Dan Brown. I would really appreciate your visiting and letting me know your thoughts. Thanks! I am now reading The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova. And you? Best, Margaret @ www.whattheowltoldme.blogspot.com
ReplyDelete