Lately I’ve noticed you can’t swing a bag in a bookstore without taking out a shelf of angel stories. YA, Adult, manga, coloring books, faux tattoos…the new crack is angels. Good, bad, bad but will become good, good but will become bad. They are all there. I recently read four angel stories and realized what it is about them that annoys me.
Religion.
I find the addition of Christianity (or any religion) as the main plot line to be, well, a mood killer. Bear with me. I have nothing against religion. I grew up in a Roman Catholic household so believe you me…I KNOW about angels, and even in Sunday school, they were boring. Angels were given free will, then some became jealous when God created humans, there was a war, God tosses Lucifer down to hell and angels go on an emotional lock down. *sigh* Same storyline each and every time. There is nothing new to intertwine with it. Nothing that elevates them to a more engaging read. Sometimes they bring in vampires. Sometimes they bring in werewolves. The only difference I’m seeing though? The names of the characters.
We have the requisite human who falls in love with the “I always knew you were trouble” angel and vise versa. The angel is not suppose to love the human. Friends tell angel this is a HUGE no-no and chances are they will be severely punished for bucking the system. But love has no off switch so there is an overflow of angst, self recriminations, and despair. So much damn despair. *sigh* While I understand loving someone will hurt sometimes, it shouldn’t bury you under so much pain that you need a ladder to crawl back out of the dark hole of your emotions. It shouldn’t make me want to toss you back into that dark hole and bury you alive. With the book.
Everyone who knows me knows I absolutely adore Nalini Singh’s Archangel series. Why? Because religion plays no part in it. The characters are angels but only in the sense they have wings. There is no God. No divine plan. No heaven versus hell. While the emotional aspects are compelling, it’s not a black soul crushing experience that has you speed dialing your therapist. There is no waxing philosophical asking, what if? Why? Because the question has been asked and answered thousands of times. What there is here is humor, arse kicking, individually well developed characters, and enough smexiness to make my glasses fog up.
I know some of you are thinking, “Geesh Tori, lighten up.” I am. Really. I just had to get this off my chest because after reading book four I realized that there wasn’t a single dang thing about the book that was memorable. Nothing about the other three either. As I was writing the reviews, I was shocked that I had written the same review for all 4 books and only changed the names of characters, authors, and a few sentences here and there. I shouldn’t have been able to do that. Something, anything, should have been different about each of them.
I’m not saying that angels and religion have no place in the fiction literary world. All I’m saying is that they are all beginning to read remarkably alike.
So tell me, what genres are starting to read similar to you? What is your carbon copy storyline?
I also get tired of the fallen angel theme running rampant through the angel books. Besides Nalini, I’m trying to think of any that I really enjoy….how many times can an angel fall in love with a girl he is not suppose to?
I agree at the moment that angel stories are the ones I am getting tired of. Also – PNR stories with a human heroine, and any type of supernatural hero that she is suppose to be scared of because she has no idea the supernatural exists – but of course for some reason or another must trust him, and they fall in love.
Oh yes, the “Im so scared so Im going to screw upi then fall in love with you” is getting pretty old too.
This made me laugh because not only do I have an angel and demon story currently out (The Devil To Pay), I also agree with you.
Religion in fiction makes me think of mean-eyed Sister Calistus slapping a ruler against her palm, waiting for me to look up.
Like Nalini Singh, I do not reference God. The angels and demons in my new series are supernatural, but not super-beings. Heaven isn’t for the pious and hell isn’t for the evil. They’re just different ways to reach a common goal.
I thank poor old Sister Calistus who kept me from adding holy war references and good vs evil. I was afraid her ghost would smack me with that ruler.
Tori, I found your post very enlightening. I have to say I haven’t read any angel stories yet but I noticed there are quite a few books on them out.
I’ll have to watch out for the ones you recommend then.
You should try Sharon Shinn’s Samaria books.
The best Angel series that has a religious storyline in it that I’ve come across so far.
Especially Jovah’s Angel is a book that’s both awesome story and that makes you think.
oooh..I have Sharon Shinn in my tbr and others have rec’d her too. Will def have to try her stuff
Thanks for the rec. I also have Shinn in my tbr.
Insert “vampire” for me…they find a human to love, do I turn them into a vamp or not, agonizing decision, the human wants to, but what about all the junk that comes with it…oy. So then, why are so many similarly themed angel/vampire/wolf books out there?
Good question..LOL. I think angels are the new vampires right now and authors want to explore the whole fall from heaven, fall in love with human girl etc.. But then it turns out we get the same story, time and time again. (With a few exceptions).
It goes along the same lines if it is a vamp book, where vamp hero turns human heroine. Or shifter hero turns human heroine.
I wonder how many angel books out there do not place emphasis on religion (like Singh)? I need to investigate
Hmm. Well, I don’t mind angels. But then I didn’t grow up religious, nor am I now, so I don’t have that whole angel mythology going for me. I’ve probably learned something reading m/m romance. LOL So for me they haven’t hit the repetitive point yet.
I do find weird coincidences though. I read a book about a fire starter, one book later pick up a book out of the blue not knowing the content and fire starter (although turns out they are dragons with fire), randomly pick up next book? Dragons. WTF? I know not every book had dragons and fire starters but I seem to be predisposed to randomly pick books with similar themes sometimes. It’s strange.
I haven’t run into to many dragon books lately. Two that come to mind for me are D. Cooke and Allyson James. I enjoyed those.
Don’t forget Dragon Bound! Not to go off topic, but I hope more dragon books come out. I am loving dragons. ;)
G.A. Aiken has a popular dragon series, too. (also w/a Shelly Laurenston)
Guilty. I have a book where the main characters are angels. There is also biblical reference in their history. I don’t mind Angels. I like mine. It’s not the beginning of a long series. There are two books and that’s its. I enjoyed writing about them but it’s not something I could see myself doing long term because I know I would get jaded with them eventually.
Biblical references aren’t a problem when they are used as points of reference. It’s when the entire story line is built upon the mythos that it starts to become repetitious.
what Sullivan said! it does have religious undertones and explores faith but is also sci-fi/fantasy.
As for angel stories, haven’t come across very many of them and if you put me on the spot I can only think of the two that have been mentioned- Singh and Shinn’s books. Oh wait no I lie, there’s Faith Hunter’s Rogue Mage trilogy (that I bought bc the original covers are GORGEOUS)- not overtly religious but it does allude to the Christian faith. More post-apocalyptic/UF.
There’s also Thomas E Sniegoski’s Remy Chandler series- also UF. But with these angel books, they’re all very different and unique takes on the angel mythos.
Then there’s (oh wow I’m on a roll) Joey W Hill’s Daugther’s of Arianne series, it has (very hot) Angelic warriors, not religious though does take names and allude to Christian fatih- even less so than Faith Hunter’s above.
As for books that are remarkably alike the only one that comes to mind is Lara Adrian v JR Ward- suffice to say that I stopped at book 4 with Adrian because I felt that it was too similar to the Brothers but I did enjoy it, although sadly, not enough to continue.
With historical books it’s more repetative with similar tropes but I don’t mind- it’s how well written the characters are and more about a tightly woven plot than anything else. It’s a pretty restricted genre in terms of what you can do with it and is usually more character driven than paranormal books and romantic suspense (though about the same as contemporary) IMHO.
Jim Butcher (UF) also features angels in his story line and uses it to explore faith and he does it quite well without trying to impress anything on anyone. As a Roman Catholic myself I do enjoy some religious undertones in my novels though I don’t necessarily pick up Christian fic if you know what I mean. I like the way Anne Rice did it too- always fun to see different versions of the devil (who most seem to forget, is a fallen angel lol).
Hey, that would bring Eve Langlais to mind (LOVE HER WRITING SRSLY FTW)…ok it might be getting late over here in Australia xP that’s enough for me right now!
-Camille/@Envyious
Thanks for all the recs!
I think bottom line is that if it is written really well, we can excuse the same tired trope. Right? And as you point out, there are many ways to bring in the religious aspect, but keep it unique or at least engaging.
I have Thomas E Sniegoski on my TBR. I have read the first of Faith Hunters Rogue Mage series-not sure why I stopped there. lol
Using religion or mythos to spice up (for lack of a better word) is acceptable and often enjoyable to me. It’s only when the entire storyline is religious and the plot is the change up I have to wonder if I’m reading PNR or Christian Lit.
I think Nalini could write the phone book and it would be fascinating! She spins words together with sheer magic.
Vampires, Angels, Dragons, none of this is new stuff. It really depends on the writer’s talent to make it fresh. I think it also depends on if the the writer really loves what she is doing or if this is strictly a jump on the Twilight bandwagon let me make a quick buck cause this writing gig is so easy thing.
I have a problem with Demon Books. I really don’t want to read about Demons. REALLY. It just bugs me on so many levels. But Kresley Cole’s Kiss of the Demon King is probably one of my favorite books. But she is very good at separating mythology and religion. And I am crazy about Sherrilyn Kenyon’s character Striker. He’s a trip. But again, mythology not religion.
So I agree, leave religion out. Stick to mythology and try to find the right combination of words. OH and give a damn about what you are writing!!!!! We really can tell the difference.
See, Tori, I don’t think you should lighten up at all!!!!!
Succubus-es is my problem character. lol I have yet to read a book about them that doesn’t have me making the unhappy face. lol
Yes Kenyon does well with taking known mythos and twisiting it enough to keep it interesting and fresh.
I am sorry, but isn’t mythologie just an other kind of religion, just older than Christianity? I was raised with prayers and stuff, and it didn’t catch on. I also dislike reading about religion where there are prayers and lots of God/Devil issues.
A book I did love is Annette Blair – Bedeviled Angel. Yes, Angel fallen to earth to help human woman. But the story itself is so much more, so vibrant.
I am tired a lot of good story lines are YA. I want more grown up books ;)
I like mythology more because while there is the good vs evil, there are so many characters involved that you have more variety and sub stories in which to explore. In christian religion it’s God vs the Devil. Period. You can’t variate on that much. You have to use the characters to expand upon it and there aren’t that many ways the angel vs humans or demons can go when you build the entire story line on interpretations of God’s will.
Those I am a huge fan of Andrew Greeley’s Father Ryan stories.
I was never happy with angel books for just the opposite reason. The books I read didn’t have enough adherence to the religious background of angels. I’ve never been happy when I picked up a book claiming angels and delivering a generic winged critter. Without the religious background in the worldbuilding, it just isn’t an angel to me. Go ahead and talk about God and Satan, heaven and hell.
Bring on the angels.
Ah..nice point :) For me, I can do without, but I’m sure there are many that share this view
I can totally enjoy an “angel” book that doesn’t have religion in it. Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series is like crack to me.
But I’m also inclined to see fictional angels without a religious framework more as winged paranormal creatures than as actual angels. Angels are a biblical construct. In my mind, the two are inseparable.
However, I know from experience with my Marked series that religion in fiction is a gamble for a writer. For some readers it hits too close to home. For others it’s too familiar or too serious a subject matter to play with. Some readers want revisionist biblical themes, while others want it to be rigidly in line with what they know. Religion as entertainment is a fine line. A dear friend of mine can’t watch horror movies with religious themes because they’re too “real.” Another feels like he’s being preached to. (I dig ’em.)
For me as a reader, I can go with or without. But I have to say that if the book does build off a biblical framework I prefer the framework to be more than passingly recognizable. More of a “deleted scene” experience than a rewrite.
Oh, one Exception
I LOVE when Acheron tells Tori (In ACHERON) that he once saw Jesus at a distance but felt unworthy to approach him.
It was such a sweet moment in a painful book and totally out of the blue.
Just loved Sherrilyn Kenyon for doing that!!!!
I admit to tearing up a little there. Actually, I cried through out that book. *sigh*
Hi, I have to say that I love angel stories that use their original mythos to outline a plot. It’s what they are known for and I hated, absolutely hated reading angel stories and getting a vampire with wings instead. A very WTH moment. I want the agnst and glory and awe of them and the fact that yes, they are so good it’s bad.
Many, many stories run on mythos. Vampires drink blood, Weres shift into animals and Greek gods are well…. greek.
Sure we want a mix, but we’d also want to get something *actually* not afraid to shy away from the mythos/religious aspects.
Just my 2c
Using an well known mythos is wonderful and yes, necessary. It’s part of the PNR/UF base. But I liken it to Stroker’s Dracula. While I loved the original story, I don’t want to continuously read it re written over and over in other author’s books.
well, us PNR/UF peoples love the whole forbidden love thing. That is one of the things that makes this genre go round, if you know what I mean. So most stories are going to be a human and a paranormal angsty hook up and right now Angels are hot. Let’s face it, they make awesome man titty covers ;)
any way…the key is for the author to come up with a new angle on the whole mythos and make characters that are swoon worthy. I am also having a hard time writing reviews cause they all sound alike!
I wonder which paranormal hottie will be next? Fey? I do have a certain weakness for them, or mage…I have a weakness for them too.
great post by the way :)
LOL I think romance in general loves the forbidden love thing. Historicals have the heroine falling for the inappropriate rake, PNR/UF have the critter, ROMSUS has the guy who *might* be trying to kill her, contemporaries have the boss or best friend or bad-boy.
Where’s the fun in falling for someone completely acceptable?
OooO I am a complete Fey groupie. lol Anya Bast’s Enchantment series and J Kawiga’s Iron series are favorites of mine.
New angle and great writing and I don’t think anyone would have complaints! :)
How do they get those T-shirts on over the wings? Do they have to squeeze the wings through little slits as well as their arms? Or is there some kind of strap arrangement?
I don;t know. I shall investigate this thoroughly for you and report back. ;)
LOL..I know in Singh’s books they have special shirts made.
In some other angel books I have read their wings disappear when they want them to.
Shhhh Mandi. We have to “investigate” this for Lynne.
Oh! Right! I mean – go find an angel and investigate Tori…*giggles*
I know it’s bad form to leap into discussions and plug one’s own books, but I have an angel story out at the moment, with what I hope is a pretty nifty solution to the wings/tee shirt/other clothing dilemma. ;)
Oh reeeeeallly? I wonder what this solution is? ;)
Well, glancing down the thread, and reading Lynne’s comment, I suppose it might be classed as a little bit of a cheat…
Me and my big mouth, eh? LOL
I’ve only read YA angels as of right now, but I’ve been meaning to try a few adult angel PNRs. I actually really enjoy the subject, and don’t mind people using religion as a reference for it.
In my mind, I can handle it because the religion can be so keyed into the world-building that it feels smart. Angelfire used mentions of God and such, but it was still very action-oriented and surprised me – though the writing was simplistic. I don’t think Hush, Hush focused too much on the religious aspect, though it is about fallen angels and such related to it. YA, for whatever reason, seems to need to keep up with the angel stereotype.
Just don’t ever read Halo. Ever. Even as an angel fan, I disliked that book. It’s basically Inspy fiction, where everyone is Christian and they are doing God’s work. It was bad enough before the world-building around said religion went to hell and a handbasket.
To late. :( Halo was my first YA angel book. I found it to similar to Twilight myself.
Oh. :( Yes, it was. The author lauds Edward as a romantic guy. That worried me before I read it. The boyfriend was so controlling – I still remember an instance where he bit her head off because someone just asked her to hang out with him. Plus, he sulks like the dickens if he doesn’t get his way.
Then there was the whole, “I’m an angel and I’m going to go get drunk and sleep next to my boy naked – but we’re not gonna have sex, so this is all cool.” Everything just felt really off.
That was a little…strange for me too.
how do they work with those wings or dress?! Sometimes I feel like the author doesn’t account for them – they’re just there when she/he wants them to be.
I love your post – I find it to be true as well. I am not against the idea of books with Angels, but if they always are so EMO + falling for humans + all being so much the SAME…
well maybe I’d like it.
But I think I’d rather have gryphons, dragons, and other mythical like shifters
I admit-I need humor to balance the emotional turmoil of angel/human tropes.
Paranormal brotherhood books. They’re all pretty much the same. It’s the quality of writing and the character quirks (if any) that make a particular series interesting or better than the rest of the pack.
I agree. I get so sick and tired of the same old same old. It’s generally why I have to genre hop. I can’t read the same types of books in a row.
Nalini accounts for wings in her series when they dress. They have special clothes :P
I have not read many angel books. I don’t like preachy religious themes as a rule.
I agree Angels seem to be the new ‘thing”
what’s next? Hm what about gargoyles? lol
Sydney Somers write a gargoyle series – and I actually like them :)
…I think I’ve read a Gargoyle story. In fact I know I have. I just don’t remember the book (be it anthology or standalone). Ah ha, a little research shows it’s “When Gargoyles Fly” by Lori Devoti in Mammoth Book of Paranormal Romance (2008). So it’s already been done at least once I know of. So I’m sure it’s not long for a trend to arrive.
Much as I loved the Disney series, I don’t know if I’d want a man that turned to stone on top of a building every night. I’d be worried about the pigeon poop he’d have to clean off before stepping foot into our home. (Self wish fulfillment, not to subtle are you?)
CE Murphy did a trilogy with gargoyles, as well as dragons and djinn. They did turn to stone, but didn’t need to be on a rooftop at night. :)
I think the hottest dijinn live in Rachel Caine’s world. I mean, seriously so hot. Ferally so.
Kim Harrison has a gargoyle in her series-Biz. He’s a teenager though and rather cute. :) Kelly
Disappearing wings is a bit of a cheat, isn’t it? Wouldn’t that make them shapeshifters?
Not really… but that goes back to biblical worldbuilding. There are many instances in which angels appear as men. Daniel (of the lion’s den) was visited by Gabriel, who he described as a man. in other places, the angels are clearly described as being angels.
Firm support for the theory an angel’s wings can simply vanish.
Some books their wings only come out when they are ready to fly. And they somehow fold into their back (maybe?) when they want to walk around as “human”
One of the reason why I love Singh’s angels so much is because she puts such great emphasis on how heavy their wings are. And how strong you have to be to fly. The new angels can’t fly and that puts them at great risk. Their backs hurt, and their wings hurt. Love it.
Ditto, I thought this was a great, realistic (LOL) touch.
Shifters become something different when they transform into their other “personality” lol. I think the wings are always there; they’re just able to cloak them.
I’m not an angel fan, at all. Even though I adore Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changling books, I couldn’t get into the angel ones at all. Her writing, characterizations and world building were fantastic as always, but angels just seem to fall flat for me.
I think one of the reasons is that, as supernatural beings, they are incredibly limited. If you take the religious aspect out of it, then what are angels, really? Just dudes with wings? What makes them special or more interesting? I’m not a fan of heavy reliance on Christian mythologies in the books I read, but without that part, there’s nothing to make angels anything other than monsters with wings. Or nice guys with wings. Or whatever with wings. Some authors basically make angels a replica of vampires (bloodthirsty, vicious, sexy, immortal, tortured souls), but with wings. It seems like once the publishing world declared vampires over and done with, a lot of authors went back to their manuscripts, scratched out ‘vampire’ (or demon or shapeshifter or fey) and penciled in ‘angel’.
I personally hate reading about dragons and mermaids, too, and I’m sad that this seems to be one of the new hot trends in UF/PNR. But at least I can see how the settings, the supernatural abilities, the power dynamics can be unique from one to the next. Angels? Not so much.
“Just dudes with wings”
LOL – very true – but within the story an author can make a dangerous, entertaining plot.
I guess it depends on how much back story you need about the angels. Do you need in-depth information about where they come from? I think it depends on the story
Mandi,
I totally agree a good author can weave an excellent plot with angels, but for me it comes down to the angels not being interesting in and of themselves. Most other paranormal creatures have built-in internal conflicts that draw us to them. Vampires struggling with their blood-thirst, shapeshifters fighting their explosively violent natures, etc. But I’ve yet to find the same thing with angels. Raphael only became moderately interesting to me once he started worrying about Elena making him ‘more human’, but that only came after the love interest was introduced. By himself, he wasn’t an interesting character, in my humble opinion.
I’ve yet to read about angels with any internal conflict other than ‘some generic force that the readers never learn about a long time ago said I shouldn’t fall in love, but this bland TSTL teenager girl calls to my emo-nature!’ There’s no real stake that keeps me interested. I just get the feeling most authors are writing about angels *because* they aren’t vampires or werewolves, not because angels are intrinsic to the story they are telling.
I get that. There is a lack of internal conflict besides the forbidden love. Which is why within whatever world the author has built, the angels need to confront an engaging conflict.
Raphael’s interest to me comes in the form of being in charge of “the world” and the conflict he has with the other angels. They vying for power. I also really enjoy Elena’s struggle to become an angel. How her wings weigh her down and she can’t fly at first. She doesn’t become an automatic “superhero”
That is what draws me in. BUT – honestly, I don’t read a lot of angel stories for the reasons you and Tori mention.
I like the dragon stories I’ve read so far. I agree with mermaids though. Not a huge fan. Though Liu’s Dirk & Steele series deals with them periodically and it works for me.
After reading everyone’s comments I began to try and dig deeper into my ambivalence towards angels and religion. I’m a huge fan of Andrew Greeley’s Father Ryan series which does deal primary with religion. So why do these appeal to me and not others? One, because it’s not emotionally deafening. Two, the main conflict is resolved. Three, because it deals with real people and real problems and while there are angels and demons-they are not the main characters. Good and bad are relative and presented more in a metaphorical sense; our choices determine our destiny . God is not presented as an ambivalent being sequestered in his/her own little world. His books show us that God loves us all and while free will is encouraged, he/she is not above helping us out.
I have only read Nalini’s angels and won’t be going back to that series. The first one was great, it was unlike anything I’d read, but oh, book 2 & 3 dragged for me.
Ericka – don’t even mention gargoyles…somebody might hear you & make that the new “thing”. Yikes!
I’m tired of the young girl at boarding school who discovers she’s ‘special’ through the love/murderous intentions of some boy
Also tired of the YA love triangle.
There are a lot of YA boarding school books!!
I don’t think the love triangle is going to go anywhere. Prevalent in UF as well.
The YA love triangle is here to stay. If they take it away then we are stuck reading a story Tiger Beat. :)
I hear mermaids are the next big thing. Gag me please.
So many carbon copy vampire stories. Boring…
Maybe I’ve just become jaded.
I heard of a mermaid book and they had sex through their “anal fin”
I choked on my dinner. True story.
Um… ew?
Mermaids intrigue me..if they don’t revert to human form – then HOW DO THEY HAVE SEX? Anal fins it is! LOL.
I kind of want to read some mermaid stories (I think the one with the anal fin was Joey Hill).
You owe me a new keyboard. Mine has spit and coffee all over it now.
I love mermaid stories if they’re like MaryJanice Davidson’s Fred and mermaid culture/looks. Or something like the original The Littlest Mermaid (grim with a few bright spots added for something to end/begin the next book with). I just don’t want some lala version where everyone’s screaming in joyous wonder while ripping off panties in expectation.
For a young adult story line, I really liked the Disney Channel movie where the boy found out he was a mermaid – the character growth and learning about himself along.
My mermaids are anthropomorphs, which means partial shapeshifters. Angels could be anthros.
And they have normal sex organs, but they’re protected by a kind of pouch, which they push down to do the deed. Like you would, wouldn’t you? Who wants to swim past a coral reef with everything hanging out?
My merpeople are anthropomorphs, which means they are partial shapeshifters. Only the fish bit changes. Got the idea from Hans Christian Anderson.
Their sex organs in the ones I write about are hidden in a kind of natural pouch that they push down when they want to do the deed. You’d want some protection, I mean, you wouldn’t want to go swimming around in a coral reef with everything hanging out, would you?
Ooh..a pouch..I like. And no – if I’m swimming by a mermaid I would not like to see their junk hanging out. LOL
Hide the junk-that’s all I’m saying.
I really enjoy angel stories, but some of the ones with strong religious tones are my least favorite. I love the way Nalini Singh presented them. Have you read Meljean Brook’s Guardian series? I have to admit, that series is my absolute favorite take on angels and demons.
I have yet to read a book by M. Liu I didn’t like. She’s one of the few who can do emo without making me whine to Mandi. lol
I would be totally with you, if I’d read any like that! But as I read the comments, I realized I, too, have mostly read YA angel books. I’m reading book 2 of the Fallen series, and it’s all mythology, no real religion, but it DOES have the forbidden angsty stuff.
Angel Burn by LA Weatherly was awesome, though. Angels are the bad guys! And not Christian in origin, either.
Bad non religious angels? I will go check those out. Thank you. :)
Fallen angels *yawn* Yes I am tired of them too and I am not at all interested in the whole Christian angle in books and good and evil and the bad will burn
I was raised in that mentality and I have never believed in it so it annoys me.
It’s been a couple months since I read it, but didn’t Christine Warren’s Black Magic Woman have an angel-like character (Asher)? I know he had wings that were huge and was all grrrrr Guardian. I’m asking because it seemed like God never played a part in that equation. Asher was simply Other, like the werewolves/shifters, fae, and vamps.
I wasn’t fond of the story at all, but I did like that someone with wings not attached to this God creator where my feelings on the subject of religion don’t consistently shake me out of the story.
Zombies. Zombies are everywhere now. Please, help save me from the zombie books. – I’ll take all the angel-shifter-vampire-mermaid-gargolye-dragons you can throw at me, but please….no zombies in romance.
I don’t understand the whole zombie-romance trope.
I like Nalini’s Archangel series but the one thing that has been bothering me is a LACK of “Why”. The idea of creator vs. creation is sort of a basic trope of humanity. When explored well it can be very interesting. Angels fall into that “this goes with the Christian mythos” category. So if you USE them in books our minds automatically reach for that allusion whether the author wants it or not. What lacks in many of these angel stories is any type of substitute for the creator concept.
For me, Nalini just has a bunch of overpowered ass-monkies with wings controlling others. How is that any different from an over controlling creator? How is that any different than the falling angels of the Catholic mythos? It’s really not. The one thread I keep mentally searching for, and it probably IS just me, is that creator concept. The reason WHY the angels are doing what they are doing. How THEY showed up. Why THEY seem like territorial freakazoids.
I am not, in any way, poopooing Nalini’s world or idea. I’m just saying I do look for the allusion of religion or creator concept because it is something that goes along with the concepts of angels.
I agree 100%
If you stick religion into an angel/urban fantasy romance then it just becomes murky and uncomfortable. And it can feel like the author is hitting you over the head with their subtlety.
That’s why I have high praise for Nalini Singh – she uses angel mythology, but she takes religious context out of it and just plays around with the supernatural aspect. Genius!
I agree with Catherine who recommends Meljean Brook’s Guardian books. She includes religion (mostly from the Hell side of the equation) and yet it doesn’t drag away at the character development — maybe it’s because she’s not lazily relying on religion as an external conflict, but instead has great, varied characters with their own issues. I also love the Sharon Shinn Angel books mentioned by a few others. They remind me of Ann Mccaffrey’s Dragonriders books in the best ways (science fiction as history for a more agrarian setting).
Religion doesn’t make me want to chuck a book against a wall necessarily; one of my favorite all time books is “Requiem for the Devil” by Jeri Smith Ready and there’s no escaping the religion in that one, but it is soooo well done. Well written is well written no matter what the trope or genre. The problem is popularity and generic wanna-be authors churning out a product rather than a heartfelt work of fiction.
The problem is popularity and generic wanna-be authors churning out a product rather than a heartfelt work of fiction.
Well said. Lately I’m seeing angel stories that are nothing more then in to a generic story line.
I completely agree with what you said about the Guardian series. Her characters and world are so complex. I can’t wait for the next one to come out.
I’ll have to check out the books you mentioned. I’ve never heard of most of them.
Hey, that’s pretty much why I can’t /don’t read books about angels. And I’m burned out on vamps. I hardly read them anymore (unless it’s by an amazing writer). @kujo317
I don’t read any books that have to do with succubus. Just the word alone is like nails on a chalk board to my brain.
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