Brimstone Angels is the first book in the Erin M. Evans series of the same name. Taking place in the Forgotten Realms setting, the story follows a set of teenage tiefling twins and their adoptive father. Although the dragonborn Mehen attempts to quietly raise Farideh and Havilar in their small frontier village, their tainted blood means they are never quite accepted. Havilar attempts to summon an imp but inadvertently brings forth a cambion half-devil named Lorcan. The power seeking Farideh makes a pact with him and becomes his tiefling warlock. The summoning also results in their home burning down and the three being kicked out of the village. So Mehen and his daughters take to a life on the road, collecting bounties, and working as swords for hire. Events unfold that eventually take them to the northern city of Neverwinter and a grand confrontation with the devilish forces of the Hells.
Evans is a very skilled writer. Without rambling, her ability of description is almost lyrical. However, her best strength is in her characters. Normally, when I read a fantasy novel, I stick with books where the protagonist is a human. Other than the Drizzt books from R.A. Salvatore, I tend to stay away from stories that focus on the other fantasy races. This is especially true for characters that are hell spawned, devilish, or demonic in nature. However, earlier this year, I heard a good podcast interview with Evans and thought I would give Brimstone Angels a try.
Farideh and Havilar are tieflings, a race of people with devil blood flowing through their veins. I think they are a creation that came out in one of the later versions of Dungeons & Dragons. Having not played in almost 30 years, I knew nothing about them and was pretty skeptical before this book. Farideh is the spell caster of the group. Her pact with Lorcan greatly increases her powers, but like her twin sister, she is seventeen and faces the same angsts and trials all teenagers do. Evans does a good job building romantic tension and describing the sometimes rocky father-daughter relationship between Farideh and Mehen.
The less brooding of the twins is Havilar. Very talented with a glaive, she is the light hearted fighter. She provides comic relief through the book as she repeatedly tries to figure out a name for her weapon. Mehen is a dragonborn warrior who, if this was a modern war movie, would be the crusty old NCO who struggles to keep the kids out of trouble.
The cambion half-devil Lorcan is probably my favorite character of the book. He lives in the Hells and tries his best to survive by not angering his more powerful mother and half sisters. Sometimes he appears to actually care for Farideh. However, as a cambion, Lorcan is evil, and his affections for her are always self serving, sometimes seem abusive, and never good for her relationship with her father and sister. He is the equivalent of the bad boyfriend that the family doesn’t approve of.
I rate Brimstone Angels four stars. It is a very well written and easy read. I still have a lingering bias against none human protagonists. However, I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked the characters of Farideh and Lorcan. As the first book in what promises to be an epic series, I am hooked. Indeed, Lesser Evils is already sitting on my shelf.
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Aloysius Kling
Lions and tigers and tieflings. Oh my!
Reviewed in the United States on September 10, 2016Verified Purchase
Reading 1000 Lives
Start to a fabulous series
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2015Verified Purchase
Jaycee
As good as any novel in Faerun
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2020Verified Purchase
doctorwhy88
The Devils You Don't Know
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2018Verified Purchase
ReddTop Contributor: Coloring
The start of something great!
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2015Verified Purchase
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D. Henwood
Love it =)
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 29, 2014Verified Purchase
Fwoon
I'm so glad to have been introduced to this terrific storytelling author
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 10, 2016Verified Purchase
squidbeak
Heavenly!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 6, 2012Verified Purchase
Bungle
Reading through this slowly, as I don't want to ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 9, 2017Verified Purchase
Shaz Hewitt
Top Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 27, 2016Verified Purchase