A horrific merging of dimensions looms for fans in the next installment as the teen archangels grapple their way toward...
This second book in the Revelation Saga finds teen archangel Gabriel in human form as he begrudgingly continues fighting demons from hell.
Drawing on Jewish tradition, this installment’s villain is the heartbroken and enraged Lilith, who has lost her child and her eternal love. She seeks seven magical vials that will bring about an apocalyptic union of heaven, hell, and Earth. The ring of Solomon, which binds demons and is Gabriel’s chief weapon, is slowly taking possession of the teen and sapping his strength. Micah, a female avatar of the archangel Michael, is still battling at Gabriel’s side. The archangels have yet to fully master their magic, though Micah wields her fiery sword with ever growing grace and Gabriel is better able to harness his power than in the series opener. Their journey to the story’s climax is treacherous, fraught with soul-eating demons. Duncan enriches the story with an Umberto Eco–esque essence, threading it with ancient religious lore, occultism, underground libraries with papyrus manuscripts, and cameos from the Templars. The flickering romance between Gabriel and Micah glows increasingly warm, but when Lilith captures someone Gabriel deeply loves, trap though it may be, there’s no stopping him from leaping headlong into a nightmarish battle.
A horrific merging of dimensions looms for fans in the next installment as the teen archangels grapple their way toward ultimate salvation. (Fantasy. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60542-602-0
Page Count: 388
Publisher: Medallion Press
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Opening episodes of a comic-book series created by an American teacher in Japan take a leap into chapter-book format, with only partial success. Resembling—in occasional illustrations—a button-eyed, juvenile Olive Oyl, Akiko, 10, is persuaded by a pair of aliens named Bip and Bop to climb out her high-rise bedroom’s window for a trip to M&M-shaped Planet Smoo, where Prince Fropstoppit has been kidnapped by widely feared villainness Alia Rellaport. Along with an assortment of contentious sidekicks, including brainy Mr. Beeba, Akiko battles Sky Pirates and video-game-style monsters in prolonged scenes of cartoony violence, displaying resilience, courage, and leadership ability, but not getting very far in her rescue attempt; in fact, the story cuts off so abruptly, with so little of the quest completed, and at a lull in the action to boot, that readers expecting a self-contained (forget complete) story are likely to feel cheated. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 8, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-32724-2
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This first fantastic installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy propels readers along with horror and high adventure, a...
Pullman (The Tin Princess, 1994, etc.) returns to the familiar territory of Victorian England, but this time inhabits an alternate Earth, where magic is an ordinary fact of life.
Lyra Belacqua and her daemon familiar Pantalaimon spend their days teasing the scholars of Jordan College until her uncle, Lord Asriel, announces that he's learned of astonishing events taking place in the far north involving the aurora borealis. When Lyra rescues Asriel from an attempt on his life, it is only the beginning of a torrent of events that finds Lyra willingly abducted by the velvet Mrs. Coulter, a missionary of pediatric atrocities; a journey with gyptian clansmen to rescue the children who are destined to be severed from their daemons (an act that is clearly hideous); and Lyra's discovery of her unusual powers and destiny. Lyra may suffer from excessive spunk, but she is thorough, intelligent, and charming. The author's care in recreating Victorian speech affectations never hinders the action; copious amounts of gore will not dissuade the squeamish, for resonating at the story's center is the twinkling image of a celestial city.
This first fantastic installment of the His Dark Materials trilogy propels readers along with horror and high adventure, a shattering tale that begins with a promise and delivers an entire universe. (Fiction. 12+)Pub Date: April 1, 1996
ISBN: 978-0-679-87942-4
Page Count: 397
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1996
SEEN & HEARD
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