Reviews for Angel Time (Songs of the Seraphim Series #1)

The average rating for Angel Time (Songs of the Seraphim Series #1) based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-12-16 00:00:00 Henry Reynolds It's probably been more than a decade since I last read Anne Rice. After the masterful fifth volume of Vampire Chronicles "Memnoch the Devil", the last one I delved into was, I guess, "Pandora." So I met "Angel Time" with its due enthusiasm. The plot was particularly odd, but engaging. There are nods to interviews with other-beings, with creatures of light. The tan colored tone is bothersome though, as her deep purples and crimson-blacks and erotic violence are what cemented Rice as the Literary Mistress of the Dark in the first place. But angels? (And, what's worse, no demons?!) And time-travel? Well, the plot that involves a peek at the 13th century IS insightful, educational, at least. But what else? Nuh-thing. This is a minor novel; but at least its not a tremendous disaster follow-up, such as "Dr. Sleep," or "Imperial Bedrooms," or "Saturday," or "Freedom," or "The Goldfinch," or "The Snow Queen," or "Bridget Jones III." There are salvageable parts here, which makes the fact that its pretty mediocre(ish) all the sadder.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-01-07 00:00:00 Tom Birkelund This is my 2nd novel to read of 2019. I start this in December in my car and had to stop in the middle for holiday. It didn't bother me a bit to put this down. It was difficult to keep going and there were several times I almost stopped and gave it up. I have read 20 novels by Anne Rice and she is an author I appreciate. I have always enjoyed her stories (accept for Violin which is probably the worst story I have ever read). I read the second one in this series first and I thought it was ok. So, I got around to reading the first one. I can't explain how much I loathe this book and I hate it. I still think Violin is worse than this, but this is Anne's second worst book in my reading opinion. This is a religious dirge that plods and ponders on. Our main character loves beauty, yet he kills people for a living. After listening to his inner dialogue, I can't see him being a killer, it didn't make sense to me and the dots weren't there. Then we have to hear his back story. I was enjoying the story until we went into the never ending back story - please save us. It was all self-loathing and I could hardly find an interest. Finally, the story goes back to the present where he meets an angel that helps him and gives him purpose. So the angel takes him back in time, because of course, there isn't anyone in the present to help and the angel couldn't possibly find someone from that time to help someone in that time. Now we are set down in the middle of a christian and Jewish debate over the death of a girl, a twin. The big ending set-piece is a legal battle to prove the twin is the dead girl so the Jews won't be punished. It could not be more boring. This whole setting was pure agony to listen to. The characters go on and on about their feelings and how much they loathe themselves and religion and spirit and on and on and on. It plodded and we had to listen to people say the same things over and over again. Well, I did finish this book and I should have put it down. It was not worth finishing. I still love most of Anne's work and her catalog, but this was not a novel for me. I'm sure people will love this, but she was not playing my tune here. I hope the next one I try of hers is back to form.