A review by wardenred
Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

And he looked upon himself, but not for long — still couldn’t meet the features of his face because they could spur a need, this need to take. To grab Lucifer and save him — what is there to save him from, in Heaven?

Well, damn. I’ve seen quite a few positive reviews for this book, and it’s one of those times when I just feel I’ve read a different story? I would love to read the one all those reviewers got, it sounds rad. The one in front of me, though… not so much.

I really like the concept here, to be clear, but sadly not the execution. I guess I may retain a few fond memories about the first half, although it was unbearably slow and full of cardboard cutouts in place of characters. Seriously, most of the angels we meet seem to be there only for the author to go, “wink wink, nudge nudge, see that name? THIS HERE IS A FUTURE DEMON.“ And despite spending all those endless pages there, I’ve still got so many question about why Heaven here is the way it is, or how it functions exactly in many aspect. Also, all those big joyous worshiping scenes made me feel weirdly uneasy, almost on part with the gore and sexual assault from the second half. Still, there were also some nice turns of phrase here, some beats that evoked emotion in positive ways, and an overall feeling of “this set-up is sure lengthy, but whatever’s to come when it pays off looks promising from here.“

And then I reached the second half, and, eh. It got worse. On one hand, the pacing no longer was so abysmally slow, but on the other, it got incredibly patchy. The narrative jumped all over the place. There was a lot more focus on the characters’ reactions to pivotal events than the events themselves, so part of the time I genuinely found it hard to figure out what was going on, or how we transferred from one plot point to another. The sudden introduction of gratuitous headhopping didn’t help matters at all (seriously, *why*). 

My main takeaway from this book sadly is, “I just don’t get it.“ I don’t get why Lucifer’s fall from grace was driven so greatly by shame (I find it interesting, actually! But. The execution. I don’t get it). I don’t get a single thing about God, like what did he even want, what his motivations were, why. I have no idea what most of the characters’ agendas were, if they had any in the first place. I think I maybe see what the author was trying to do, and the ideas are interesting, but the shape they take is just confusing.
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