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Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim, Book One [Mass Market Paperback]

Anne Rice
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (218 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 31, 2010 The Songs of the Seraphim

It’s the present day.  Toby O’Dare—aka Lucky the Fox—is a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again.  He’s a soulless soul, a dead man walking.  His nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions is disrupted when a mysterious stranger, a seraph, offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O’Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear.  In this primitive setting, O’Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.


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Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim, Book One + Of Love and Evil (Songs of the Seraphim, Book 2) + The Wolf Gift
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Q&A with Anne Rice

Question: You’ve written about many kinds of immortal or supernatural beings. What inspired you to turn to angels in this new book?

Anne Rice: I have always been fascinated by the idea of angels--these perfect beings who are God’s messengers, sinless, bold, and unfathomable to the human mind. I was deliciously challenged to be biblically correct about them, and theologically correct: to present Malchiah as truly perfect, yet sent to interact with my hero Toby, and commissioned therefore to take a human body and reflect human emotions and respond to Toby’s human emotions.

Question: How did imagining a character like Malchiah the angel differ from creating one like the vampire Lestat?

Anne Rice: Well, again, Malchiah is perfect and sinless. And to make such a character appealing is a challenge; he has to reflect God’s love for human beings, God’s compassion. He’s not sent to judge Toby; he’s sent to guide him to salvation, and to enlist Toby in working for the angels on earth. He must feel things; he must have a personality, but with marvelous theological constraints. Doing Lestat was entirely different: Lestat is sinful and ferociously human, a rebel who wants to be good at being bad; a rebel who is seeking redemption but turning away from it all the time. There is a certain joy in writing about Malchiah because he is sent from God. There was never a perfect joy in writing about Lestat: Lestat suffers too much and does too many bad things with relish.

Question: The hero of Angel Time is Toby O’Dare, a boy who had a tough life growing up in New Orleans and who goes on to become a skilled assassin before meeting Malchiah. How does Toby compare to your past protagonists? What is unique about him?

Anne Rice: Well, Toby is deeply flawed, much like the vampires. He’s an assassin, and he has done terrible things, and questionable things. But he turns around in the very first book of the series and sets out to do the bidding of the angels in helping others. I think of all those characters I’ve created, Toby is most like Michael Curry in The Witching Hour. But Toby has done things Michael would never do. Toby is a deeply flawed human who is offered a chance to be saved; and he takes it. Maybe he’s a first among my characters in that he is given an opportunity to redeem himself through the mercy of God, and then to do good to make up for all the evil he had done before. Toby is also a crafty character. He’s pragmatic. Having been a clever assassin, he knows how to plot to do good. That was interesting to me, to have him struggling to save people from harm, and having to figure out a somewhat complex way to do it.

Question: People who have read your memoir Called Out of Darkness will recognize some elements of your own life in Toby’s story. Did you identify with him as a character?

Anne Rice: Yes, I did identify with Toby, though my life has been nothing like his. I know what it is like to struggle with an alcoholic parent; I know what it is like to care for younger siblings in an alcoholic household. But of course Toby suffers a family tragedy that I didn’t suffer, and he turns to evil in a defiant way, whereas I only turned to writing about evil.

Question: How did you imagine the concept of Angel Time (as opposed to Normal Time)? And what sources did you reference while reading about angels?

Anne Rice: I came up with the concept of Angel Time through meditating on it; really, figuring that from God’s standpoint there is no linear time. I felt certain that the angels would be able to move back and forth in our linear time, and to grasp how some one can be lifted from one century and put down in another to work a solution that then becomes part of the very future from which the original person came. I think meditation led to this definition of Angel Time, more than any actual reading. It seemed logical to me that the angels could do this. I did read theology about angels, of course, including St. Thomas Aquinas and books by Catholic writers who have studied angels and all the biblical references to them. It all starts with the Bible, of course and how angels appear in those pages. But the scholars Pascal Parente and Peter Kreeft help me to cover the sources. I stayed away from other writers’ more fanciful conjectures about angels. I wanted the biblical facts, and the way that the theologians interpreted them.

Question: People are clearly fascinated with angels. Why do you think even those people who do not consider themselves religious are so drawn to the idea of angels?

Anne Rice: People are drawn to angels because there is a deep seated instinctive belief that they do exist, that creatures from Heaven are here on Earth looking out for us and playing a special role in our care. Of course we read of this in the Bible. And it is a very seductive idea. It’s sometimes easier to pray to one’s guardian angel than to pray to the saints or even to the Lord. It’s easy to imagine that our guardian angel is right here with us. In my novel, Toby really does believe this, though after he suffered tragedy, he blamed the angels in charge for not stopping it. And he lived as a cursed human being for ten years.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Full of provocative moral reflections, this kickoff to bestseller Rice's new Songs of the Seraphim religious romance series centers on hired assassin Toby O'Dare, a one-time aspirant to the priesthood until personal tragedy unmoored his life. Guardian angel Malchiah visits Toby, who's just consummated his latest kill, and offers him redemption for his sins. After accepting the offer, Toby is whisked away to 13th-century England, where, in the guise of a Dominican friar, he becomes the protector of a Jewish couple accused wrongly by the gentile populace of having murdered their young daughter for her conversion to Christianity. Two eloquently told if clunkily joined digressions give the backstory on Toby and on the persecution of the Jews in medieval Europe. Readers will revel in Rice's colorful recreation of the historical past and in her moving depiction of characters struggling to reconcile matters of the heart with their personal sense of faith. 250,000 first printing. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Anchor (August 31, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400078954
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400078950
  • Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (218 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #528,606 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master of Arts Degree in English and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. Anne has spent more of her life in California than in New Orleans, but New Orleans is her true home and provides the back drop for many of her famous novels. The French Quarter provided the setting for her first novel, Interview with the Vampire. And her ante-bellum house in the Garden District was the fictional home of her imaginary Mayfair Witches.

She is the author of over 30 books, most recently the Toby O'Dare novels Of Love and Evil, and Angel Time; the memoir, Called Out of Darkness;and her two novels about Jesus, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt and Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. (Anne regards Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana as her best novel.)

Anne publicly broke with organized religion in July of 2010 on moral grounds, affirming her faith in God, but refusing any longer to be called "Christian." The story attracted surprising media attention, with Rice's remarks being quoted in stories all over the world.

Anne is very active on her FaceBook Fan Page and has over 745,000 followers. She answers questions every day on the page, and also posts on a variety of topics, including literature, film, music, politics, religion, and her own writings. She welcomes discussion there on numerous topics.

Her latest novel, The Wolves of Midwinter, a sequel to The Wolf Gift and part of a werewolf series set in Northern California in the present time, will be published on October 15, 2013. In these books --- The Wolf Gift Chronicles -- Anne returns to the classic monsters and themes of supernatural literature, similar to those she explored in her Vampire Chronicles, and tales of the Mayfair Witches. Her new "man wolf" hero, Reuben Golding, is a talented young man in his twenties who suddenly discovers himself in possession of werewolf powers that catapult him into the life of a comic book style super hero. How Reuben learns to control what he is, how he discovers others who possess the same mysterious "wolf gift," and how he learns to live with what he has become --- is the main focus of the series.

Her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time. She continued her saga of the Vampire Lestat in a series of books, collectively known as The Vampire Chronicles, which have had both great mainstream and cult followings.

Interview with the Vampire was made into a motion picture in 1994, directed by Neil Jordan, and starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst and Antonio Banderas. Anne's novel, Feast of All Saints about the free people of color of ante-bellum New Orleans became a Showtime mini series in 2001 and is available now on dvd. The script for the mini series by John Wilder was a faithful adaptation of the novel.

Anne Rice is also the author of other novels, including The Witching Hour, Servant of the Bones, Merrick, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle, Violin, and Cry to Heaven. She lives in Palm Desert, California, but misses her home in New Orleans. She hopes to obtain a pied a terre in the French Quarter there some time in the near future.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
241 of 253 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Listening for the Songs of the Seraphim August 6, 2009
Format:Hardcover
I just finished an advanced reading copy of Anne Rice's "Angel Time." I've never read an Anne Rice book before, and almost passed it by, but I was intrigued by the medieval aspect mentioned on the jacket blurb.

I literally held my breath throughout the entire book. It was "unputdownable." The suspension of disbelief necessary to accept the concept of an angel or "heavenly being" in an earthly reality is not so farfetched with Rice's masterful development - I could easily imagine the "songs of the Seraphim" from her detailed descriptions. The senses of character, place and time enveloped the reading. The dénouement was amazing and showed perfect symmetry; I didn't imagine - much less predict - the fantastic ending. Toby O'Dare's personal quest was the most compelling aspect, and Rice's Catholic background and research is reflected in his every thought, word and deed.

I'll make a point of reading Rice's books now, and will encourage others to do the same. Recommended for Rice fans, those interested in medieval England and France, Catholic history and concepts, angels and heavenly beings and - in an understated but very present way - the relationship of architecture to the spiritual journey.
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71 of 73 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Back to where it all began November 14, 2009
Format:Hardcover
"Angel Time" is the first novel in a new series of books entitled Songs of the Seraphim written by international bestselling author Anne Rice. Rice, best known for her "Vampire Chronicles" and "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" novels, has taken a new direction in her writing. In 1998, Anne (who had left the church many years before and become an atheist) returned to the Catholic Church and in 2002 she consecrated her writing entirely to Christ, vowing to write for Him or about Him. This abrupt change left many fans scratching their heads in complete shock and left some feeling abandoned and others, angered.

That being said and following two books about Christ ("Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt" and "The Road to Cana"), and a memoir, "Called out of Darkness", Anne introduces us to Toby O'Dare; a hit man whose boss is "The Right Man." Toby, born in New Orleans to a corrupt cop father and an alcoholic mother, dreamed of becoming a priest, a scholar, a saint. Highly intelligent and musically gifted, Toby believed he could make a better life for his family and calm the demons that haunted his mother. Educated at Jesuit High School and earning a full music scholarship to The Conservatory, he had also fallen in love with Liona, a Jewish girl from a nearby school. Well on his way to making his dreams come true, his world comes crashing down when he discovers a gruesome and bloody scene that would change his life forever.

Leaving New Orleans for New York in secrecy, Toby begins a new life for himself and finds a father figure in a kindly restaurant owner, Alonso, who gives him a job and a place to live. When Alonso and his family are threatened, something snaps in Toby, thus beginning his life as a hit man known only as "Lucky the Fox".
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65 of 73 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Anne Rice - Angel Time October 4, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I really like the story here and how the first and second halves of the book tied together, seeing as how they were so different. Those most familiar with Rice's earlier works may have some issues with the material being so preachy, and it didn't bother me too much, but it does hurt the story a bit in my eyes. If you are of a religious persuasion, you may enjoy it, but I'm not and it did come off a tad bit trite from my viewpoint. It is expertly written and extremely vivid, much like her earlier, more Gothic pieces, so that's definitely another plus. The pace of the book is nothing short of brilliant for the first half but it did start to drag in the second, not too bad but it was noticeable. Overall this is a great book and allows the imagination to flourish but I just couldn't get into all of the religious aspects.
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82 of 100 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Lacking September 28, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I loved the old style Anne Rice. I was hoping that she was back and she is in some ways. Her descriptive style is back and her ability to make you see and feel what she is writing is back. However, her plot in this book leaves a lot to be desired. The description on Amazon, the title and the back of the book make a reader think that this book is about assassins and angels. It's not really. It's about a man who is finding himself. I was confused throughout the book about where it was going and where it really wanted to go. I felt like Ms. Rice was struggling in getting her true meaning across. I'm very conflicted about recommending this book. In some ways, I definitely want to recommend it because Toby is a fascinating character and I hope that Ms. Rice explores his life further. However, the book doesn't really make complete sense until the final two pages. It was frustrating to say the least. Of course the last couple books by Anne Rice have been frustrating to most of her fans. I would love her to continue the series to see what she has in mind.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Angel Time July 19, 2010
Format:Hardcover
I am a very passionate reader of Anne Rice's books, I have been a fan of hers since the "Interview with the Vampire", and I have read most of her books, I say most because there are still a few left that I haven't read, but life is long, winters here in Finland are also long and my passion for reading will never end.
"Angel Time The Song Of Seraphim" is her last masterpiece, and I have just been given it for Christmas. I started to read it immediately.

The first thing that caught my attention was the subdivision of the chapters, not just numbered but with titles. I think this is clever because as soon as you start to read that chapter you focus on that one thing , it gives a sort of chronology to what happens during the novel itself.
With this book Anne Rice returns to that which has made her famous,story telling that completely captivates the reader and sends them on a journey in time full of detailed description and high emotion, so much so that you feel like the story's main character Toby O 'Dare. You are suffering, you are confused and you are amazed.
Toby O' Dare is the main character, a young man of 28 who has dedicated the last 10 years of his life to killing people on commission, he is a serial killer who has never failed a mission. His boss is called "The Right Man". In the description of his next mission we see the protagonist's psychological shock and desperation as he must carry out his next job in "The Mission Inn", a luxury hotel where he often goes to be a "normal man" and takes refuge from the reality of what he has become. The story is mostly told in first person,so we feel his torment and we see that he may never be free from all his ghosts.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!
The main character was extremely likable despite his shortcomings. I enjoyed watching him grow and learn to live (& love) again.
Published 2 days ago by Shana
3.0 out of 5 stars Angel Time
Anne Rice didn't use her lush descriptions as in Interview With A Vampire. She doesn't weave her usual suspense and excitement. Read more
Published 12 days ago by Teresa
5.0 out of 5 stars Same but different Anne Rice
Ms Rice does it again, pulling you in to multiple times with the spectacular detail. A different side of Angels ...
Published 1 month ago by Christopher Sickler
3.0 out of 5 stars Not Anne Rice's best work
I thought the beginning was really draggy. I don't feel Angel Time was on the same level as most of Ms. Rice's books. Toward the second half the writing was much better.
Published 1 month ago by Sandra Gil
5.0 out of 5 stars Great gift.
Got this item for a friend's birthday, it makes a great gift. The item is as described, arrived in perfect conditions, brand new. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Larry
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving
Just like the books, "Life of Christ out of Egypt and Road to Cana", Anne Rice gift with the Angel Time (Books 1 and 2) are spiritually moving. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Karen Hodell
5.0 out of 5 stars Why did I like this so much?
I can't fully answer that question, but that doesn't change the fact that I really enjoyed this book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by AN AVID READER
4.0 out of 5 stars Vintage Anne Rice
I haven't finished this book yet, but that's not because of the lack of interest in the story. I fully recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense or mystery genre!
Published 2 months ago by Brandy DiFauda
5.0 out of 5 stars Great jump back into history
Wonderful book that opens one's eyes to the history of Christians and Jews together, however fiction. It was a thrilling read.
Published 2 months ago by Lucia D. Lopez
4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely story
Ripe for many sequels! Can't wait! Hopefully our hero Toby will be having more adventures in "Angel Time". Many Blessings!
Published 3 months ago by J. Wohlman
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Have you ever been visited by an angel?
I must disagree with all of you. Perhaps your understanding of the concept of angels is limited to wings and halos. But there is much more to it than that oversimplification. I am not a traditional Christian. I'm not interested in oppressing anyone. I don't even attend church. But I suppose you... Read more
Nov 16, 2009 by R. Manning |  See all 36 posts
Kindle edition higher than hardcover book??
Frankly, I have no idea. That's a good question, but I suspect only Amazon can answer it.
Oct 4, 2009 by Anne Rice |  See all 9 posts
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