Angelology

A Novel

By: Danielle Trussoni

Narrated by: Susan Denaker

Length: 21 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time - between a hidden society and heaven's darkest creatures.

"There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them." - Genesis 6:5

Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her father entrusted her to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in upstate New York. Now, at 23, her discovery of a 1943 letter from the famous philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller to the late mother superior of Saint Rose Convent plunges Evangeline into a secret history that stretches back a thousand years: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans, the Nephilim.

For the secrets these letters guard are desperately coveted by the once-powerful Nephilim, who aim to perpetuate war, subvert the good in humanity, and dominate mankind. Generations of angelologists have devoted their lives to stopping them, and their shared mission, which Evangeline has long been destined to join, reaches from her bucolic abbey on the Hudson to the apex of insular wealth in New York, to the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris and the mountains of Bulgaria.

Rich in history, full of mesmerizing characters, and wondrously conceived, Angelology blends biblical lore, the myth of Orpheus, and the Miltonic visions of Paradise Lost into a riveting tale of ordinary people engaged in a battle that will determine the fate of the world.

©2010 Danielle Trussoni (P)2010 Penguin

Enjoyable Listen

I'm new to the audible book universe. I recently purchased an MP3 player for the first time and someone suggested I LISTEN to books instead of reading them. I have to admit, I was initially put off, but no more.

I find the reviews on Audible.com comprised of equal parts people complaining about the narration and people complaining about the complainers. I guess that's to be expected.

The only gripe I have with the novel is the character of Verlain. He was supposed to be a young man, but the way he spoke and acted reminded me of a middle-aged dandy. This made the inevitable attraction between Verlain and Evangelne seem somewhat perverse, like I was bearing witness to a reverse Demi Moore/Ashton Kutcher situation. Nothing wrong with that mind you, just an impression I had.

The novel ended with "dangled threads" as another reviewer mentioned. The author, no doubt, depending upon the success of this venture, will be writing a follow up--and I hope she does. I will gladly shell out some greenbacks or utilize my credit for the privilege of listening to it.

Cheers!

Chris

Loved the book. Loved the audiobook as much!

If you could sum up Angelology in three words, what would they be?

exciting, slow-burning, different

Who was your favorite character and why?

liked most characters

Which character – as performed by Susan Denaker – was your favorite?

no favorite - but I loved her french and german accents

Loved it.

More please. What an interesting and intricate story. Can't wait to read the sequel.

Creative and Entertaining

Here is a writer who does her research. The story is entertaining and thought provoking. Sure, the theology has some conjecture but unlike Brown, she doesn't make it up from scratch. There were memorable scenes, well developed characters and an entertaining story.

The concepts, creatures, Hebrew names and motivations all have historic basis.

Pale imitation of Dan Brown

This is a Dan Brown sort of action book. It's well read but there's not a lot of there there. I find Dan Brown thin at best and this is even thinner.

Angelology

Stands Alone Unchallenged - Extremely well researched in the academic area referring to texts, geography, history etc. Creative with relation to genetic hypothesis on fictonal hybrid creatures. Such extreme detail is given to this sort of fiction aspect of "Angelology" career in the book that it makes it seem real. Even the hierarchal political rules of the creatures in the book have order. Yet there is adventure and plot and so so many twists and turns. The visual prose is amazing..truly breathtaking. Besides the gem this book is to behold, it is an extreme value due to the length of the book. A good many days may be spent in this world. Great naration as well. I completely believed the different characters.

Good read...

Much like the book "The Historian" is a long and delicate story, this one too spends time going back and forth in time but it's very well knitted together and nobody gets lost in the telling of the tale. A surprise up until the ending.

Read/listen to it yourself

So I purchased the physical copy of the book about 5 years ago. I really couldn't get into it and ended up selling it back. Then I purchased the physical copy again 2 years ago and pretty much sat on it until last week. I read all of the negative reviews and was very hesitant but I'm here to say just read it for yourself. I'm not going to say I particularly loved it but I did like it. This book definitely delves deep into the history and mythology of angels, their origin, and the thousand-year-old conflict between the Nephilim and the angelologists and that apparently seemed to turn a lot of people off but that was legitimately the Saving Grace of this book for me.The myth of The Devils Throat Cave in Bulgaria was actually quite interesting and added a bit of history and mythology that I haven't seen in Angel fiction, from what I've read thus far. Angels, especially dark/fallen angels, are my second-favorite supernatural/mythological creature (my favorite being witches).
The toughest part of the book to get through is the first part (the first 125 pages). In fact, that was pretty much the least memorable part of the book.
The book also has a few parts that are really dull and feel like filler but the action kicks up eventually.
Overall the primary thing that saves this book is the depth of its mythology and history (the latter was actually the main complaint that I was reading from reviews but I found that to be the best thing about the book). I think people were picking this up and expecting urban fantasy/paranormal romance but got The DaVinci Code. Read for yourself and draw your own conclusions, especially if you like angels.

Hoping for the rest of the story

I enjoyed the premise and would love to know what happens next. Do the lovers unite? Will good triumph over evil? Or will the earth remain the crucible where good and evil both flourish?

What a Sad book

it's a pretty good story. it does with some details within the story. so you kind of get lost on exactly what happened with certain characters and then the ending is like so sad