“Where Angels Fear to Tread” by Thomas Sniegoski, published by Roc (Penguin Books), 0451463145.
Released: 2 March 2010
**Disclaimer: I purchased this book**
Six year-old Zoe York has been taken and her mother has come to Remy for help. She shows him crude, childlike drawings that she claims are Zoe’s visions of the future, everything leading up to her abduction, and some beyond. Like the picture of a man with wings who would come and save her-a man who is an angel.
Zoe’s preternatural gifts have made her a target for those who wish to exploit her power to their own destructive ends. The search will take Remy to dark places he would rather avoid. But to save an innocent, Remy will ally himself with a variety of lesser evils-and his soul may pay the price…
Overall: Even though I later found out that this is the third book in the Remy Chandler series, Sniegoski’s writing is so clear that I didn’t find myself confused at any point. He did a great job of re-orienting readers who’d already read the first two books in the series, and at orienting new readers to his universe. I usually don’t pay much attention to blurbs on the cover by another writing endorsing the book, but in this case, Christopher Golden www.christophergolden.com/ couldn’t have been more right when he described the book as “The most inventive novel you’ll buy this year.”
Sniegoski’s Remy Chandler is a well-developed, fully-fleshed out character, a former Seraph of the Heavenly Host who abandoned his angel state to become human (although he still has a few perks, like heightened senses, invisibility, communication in all languages, and the ability to unleash the Seraph within when necessary). This book seems him joining forces with Samson (yes, that Samson) to fight Delilah (yes, that Delilah) when it turns out that there’s an even bigger enemy on the scene: Dagon. As a villain, he was okay. He did everything he was supposed to do, said everything he was supposed to say, etc, but what interested me most was that Delilah, who could have easily turned into the “drunk on greed for more power” type, she didn’t. The exchanges between Remy and his dog, Marlowe (who can speak) were amusing when appropriate, but Sniegoski wisely kept the dog away from the “trouble is coming” plot device, which was refreshing.
If you’re into an urban fantasy that features more ass-kicking and less moping around, this one’s a gem. And it’s so good that I’ve gone back and I’m reading the second book in the series, “A Kiss Before the Apocalypse.”
