Viking New York. 2013. 320 pages.
ISBN-13: 978-1-101-60606-3
Angelopolis by Danielle Trussoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a worthy sequel to Angelology, book #1 in this series. In some ways, it's even better. Here Trussoni goes much deeper into the world of descendants of angels who walk among us. But this isn't a spiritual book, or one that is preoccupied with religious messages. It's a fantasy novel set in the real world.
Book #1 is an absolute prerequisite to this one. Angelopolis assumes that you understand that there are Nephilim (plural of Nephil), whose ancestors were angels cast out of Heaven for falling in love with human women. It also assumes readers know that there are angelologists, humans who seek to track down Nephilim. You must understand these things, and more, before you attempt to read Angelopolis. The plot quickly becomes quite complex and the list of characters grows like Topsy. But the writing style, lush and accessible, kept me reading.
It's filled with the same features that made the first book so tantalizing: apocryphal religious texts (in this case, The Book of Jubilees), real-life figures (such as John Dee, Peter Carl Faberge, Rasputin and the Russian royal family) that are obliquely related to the plot, and the general sense of esoteric knowledge moving beneath the surface of what people think is reality. Wait until you read the "truth" about the origin of Easter eggs.
I don't like to be critical, but books aren't perfect and no review can be all positive. So, as to my issues with the book: Trussoni introduces so many characters that I had to create a sort of reader's guide listing them and their relationships (see below). Also, the author occasionally resorts to forcing plot exposition language into the mouths of the characters, but the thinking here is rich and original, so I can easily forgive that.
A third installment in the series is reportedly in the works. In the meantime, I can't wait to read Trussoni's gothic novel The Ancestor (2020).
This is a list of key characters in "Angelopolis." Years have passed since I read the first book. The plot of the second one became so convoluted that I found it necessary to put this reader's guide together for my own aid - and to help me understand the third and final book, which has not yet been published. Warning: This list may contain spoilers.
Watchers: angels banished from Heaven for falling in love with human women. Imprisoned in "The Devil's Throat," a cavern in Bulgaria.
Evangeline Cacciatore: central character of both books. Raised by nuns at St. Rose convent. Has both human and Nephil characteristics. Mother: Angela Valko. Father: Lucien. Grandmother: Gabriella Valko. Grandfather: Percival Grigori, a Nephi. Descendant of "the great Semyaza, great-grandaughter of Sneja."
Percival Grigori: Nephil seeking to engineer an alternate world wholly constructed for Nephilim.
Grigori: a family of particularly vicious Nephilim.
Lucien: angel hatched from a Faberge egg. Not Nephilim, he is something higher up in the hierarchy. Evangeline's father.
Angela Valko: One of the most daring angelologists. Child of Raphael and Gabrielle Valko (or Percival Grigori and a human woman, according to Merlin Godwin - ???). Creates a virus that kills Nephilim. Breaks into Merlin Godwin's laboratory. Gives Faberge egg to Vladimir Ivanova. Murdered. Husband: Luca.
Raphael Valko: Angela's father. An angelologist. Explored The Devil's Throat in Bulgaria. Made three Valkine amulets for self, Angela and wife Gabriella Valko. In book 2, he is 100 years old and continuing his research in his Bulgarian mountain laboratory.
Vladimir Ivanova: Visits Evangeline in the convent in book 1. Gives Faberge egg to Evangeline. Dead by the time book 2 gets underway. Wife: Nadia. Daughter: Xenia.
Nadia: Angela Valko's assistant. Parents were servants to Tsar Nicholas who brought eight Faberge eggs out of Russia during the revolution. Nadia hides them in safekeeping for decades before the events of book 2.
Verlaine: angel hunter. In love with Evangeline.
Bruno: angel hunter. Head of Paris bureau of "The Society." Trained Verlaine.
Merlin Godwin: turncoat angelologist who works with Nephilim to remove weak Nephilim from the population.
Azov: angelologist. Trying to replicate the medicine of Noah cited in the apocryphal Book of Jubilees.
Eno: an Emim angel. Assassin. Exceptionally powerful.
Emim: an order of angels that serve Nephilim. Assassins, enforcers.
Gibborim, Raiphim: an order of warrior angels.
Mara, Golobium: orders of lesser angels.
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