Thomas Sniegoski

I'm seriously behind on my book reviews, so I promise to try and catch up this weekend. I'm going to know three of them out right now. I've read three books by Thomas Sniegoski this month, and I'm finding myself loving each new one ever more than the one I just finished.

As I started reading the books, I was afraid they would remind me too much of The Prophecy movies that Christopher Walken starred in (which I absolutely loved). That wasn't a problem at all. I completely forgot about the films and got lost in Sniegoski's world.

The Fallen

First up I read The Fallen. The Fallen is the first in his young adult series, and the first two books have been reprinted and compiled in a book called The Fallen 1. The second half, The Fallen 2, comes out at the end of July. The first book tells the story of Aaron, a foster kid who being to think he's going crazy as he turns 18. He's hearing strange voices, and suddenly understand and speak languages he doesn't know, and it being followed by a strange man. As it turns out, Aaron is a Nephilim. Aaron doesn't have much time to adjust to his half angel parentage because he finds himself in the middle of a war that has been raging in Heaven for centuries.

Sniegoski does a great job of telling his story with an authentic teen voice. And while the story deals with Heaven and angels, it doesn't ever come across as too religious or preachy. Aaron could easily have come across as a whiny teen, and he doesn't. He's dealing with these big, crazy, life altering issues and he handles it all well. The story moves along quickly, and Sniegoski is able to not only give you a wonderful sense of the characters, but also build his world at the same time. It really helps that the reader is discover the world of angels along with Aaron. His companion Gabriel, his dog that he can speak with, adds humor to keep the story not too serious. I really felt Aaron's sorrow at the end of book 1, and couldn't wait to start book 2.

Leviathan

The second book (also included in The Fallen 1) is called Leviatian. It picks up right after the first book ends. I don't want to say too much about the plot because I don't want to spoil the first book. Leviatian is bizarre. Aaron and Gabriel find themselves in a strange town where every person the encounter seems off. They can't quite figure out what it is, but something clearly isn't right. The more Aaron investigates, the more strange things seem.

The book could have easily been confusing. It takes a bit of a break from the story set up in the first book, but does a lot to further the story and give you more insight into the characters. It was definitely a chance for Sniegoski to build more onto the world he started creating. I'm not even sure how to describe the second book. Bizarre is a really good word for it. The tension that builds as you read it is great. I was really tired as I was getting near the end of the book, but couldn't allow myself to go to sleep until I had finished the last 40 pages. Finding out how everything ended just couldn't wait until the morning!

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse is the first book in Sniegoski's Remy Chandler (Remy being the human version of his Angelic name, Chandler after the writer Raymond Chandler) series. Remy is a private eye who just happens to be an angel that his left Heaven. He lives his life as a human, and ignores the angel half of his being. These books take place in the same world as The Fallen but don't overlap. Sniegoski is just as adept at building his world in this book as he is in the young adult books. If I hadn't read the other books, I would have still been able to get an accurate picture of this world in my head.

As Remy is working on a case, he notices that people aren't dying the way they're supposed to. Their souls are trapped in their bodies. Pretty quickly, he learns that this is a global problem. Remy gets hired by a group of angels to find The Angel of Death. He's disappeared, and without him to claim souls, nothing on the planet can die. It doesn't take long for Remy to get in over his head, and he has to call on help of other angels, and immerse himself in a world that he's been trying to escape.

I really enjoy Remy's struggle with the human and angelic pieces of himself. It never comes across as too angsty. There book is full of plenty of action, battles, and twists to keep you turning pages as fast as you can. Like the young adult books, the religion never becomes overwhelming. Remy is fighting in the same battle that Aaron is, but in a completely different way.

The epilogue to the book is one of the most touching, and beautiful things I've read in a while. I was going to give the book a 4 star rating on goodreads, but the epilogue pushed it way into 5 star territory. The Remy Chandler series is great for fans of Jim Butcher. I'm definitely looking forward to more books in both series.