Archon: The Books of Raziel [Hardcover]

Sabrina Benulis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 27, 2011 | Series: The Books of Raziel

Angels and demons do battle for a girl possessed by the spirit of a powerful, dead angel in this fabulous paranormal debut by Sabrina Benulis. Archon is the first of the Books of Raziel, a truly fantastic and very hip new take on heaven’s warriors that readers of the angelic novels of Danielle Trussoni, Lauren Kate, Becca Fitzpatrick, and Alexandra Adornetto are sure to adore. Archon is new wave urban fantasy, a tale of the supernatural that brilliantly blends passion, obsession, horror, and suspense in a way that will appeal to dark fantasy fans and paranormal romance readers equally. Sabrina Benulis’s angels are creepy, sexy, and totally awesome—and, like Anne Rice’s amoral, ambiguous, and addicting vampires, they will seduce and terrify you at the same time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“These angels can be vindictive and cruel, more human than you might expect and oozing supernatural abilities…. If you think you have the guts to take on this novel pick it up.” (Boulder Examiner )

“A dark, bold story.” (Lexington Literature Examiner )

“With the first installment in her trilogy, Benulis uses lush descriptions and larger than life characters to tell the story of a battle between Heaven and Hell… I will definitely be on the lookout for the next installment in her book of Raziel series.” (Suspense Magazine )

“Angela is someone I would want to be friends with, someone I would want to have in my corner. She’s out of her mind, a little, but honestly – who isn’t?” (Fictional Distraction )

“Forget what you think you know and allow the book to show you a new vision of angels and demons. It’s a terrifying one, but extremely interesting.” (Sci-Fi Fan Letter )

“Even when I wasn’t reading, I felt a little like I had one foot in the book and the other in reality.” (Literary Feline )

“This plot is original in every way, and it resembles nothing that I have ever read before.” (The Wilkes Beacon )

“In this fascinating, well written first novel, Sabrina Benulis has created a world where it’s hard to tell the demons and angels apart. Be prepared to read this one in one sitting because it’s one of those rare novels that grabs you and doesn’t let go.” (The Baryon Review )

From the Back Cover

Angela Mathers is obsessed with visions of angels, supernatural creatures who haunt her thoughts by day and seduce her dreams by night. Released from a mental institution, she hopes her new university, West Wood Academy, will give her the chance at a normal life.

But such is not to be. . . . For a secret coven plots within West Wood, and demons and angels alike walk the streets of Luz, searching for the key to open Raziel's book—a secret tome from a lost archangel. Some wish to destroy Raziel, others, like the Supernal Israfel, one of the highest of the high, to free him. For when the Archon rises as foretold, they will control the supernatural universe.

Torn between mortal love and angelic obsession, Angela holds the key to both Heaven and Hell, and both will stop at nothing to possess her. . . .

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Voyager (December 27, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062069403
• ISBN-13: 978-0062069405
• Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 6.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #858,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sabrina Benulis lives in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania with her husband and a cockatiel that also loves birdwatching. When she isn't slaving away over another novel, you can find Sabrina enjoying old school video games, Japanese anime, and of course a good book. Archon is her debut novel, the first installment in The Books of Raziel series.

Book number 2 is currently in development.

Sabrina loves hearing from her fans, and you can write to her at the address provided on her official website: http://www.sabrinabenulis.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Reaches high but falls short of ambitious premise September 21, 2011

By SD VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'll be the first to admit that I was seduced by Archon's beautiful cover and the fascinating synopsis. I just came off of reading a wonderful angels and demons novel and so was receptive to this storyline. I was doubly encouraged when, upon reading the back of the ARC, I saw an enticing comparison to Angelology, one of my favorite reads of 2010. Regrettably, what initially lured me to Archon with promises of a heavenly read was not fulfilled.

I'll put the synopsis here since at the time of this review, there is none in the description:

"There are some things worse than death . . .

"For years, Angela Mathers has been plagued by visions of a supernatural being--an angel with beguiling sapphire eyes and magnificent bronze wings who haunts her thoughts and seduces her dreams. Newly freed from a mental institution where she has been locked away for two years, Angela hopes that being accepted at the Vatican's exclusive university, the West Wood Academy, will bring her peace and a semblance of normality.

"But Angela isn't normal. With her stain of dark red hair and alabaster skin, she is a blood head--a freak, a monster, and the possible fulfillment of a terrifying prophecy. Blessed with strange mystical powers, blood heads hold a special place in Luz, the remote island city that is home to the Academy. Among them, one special blood head is more powerful than all: the Archon, the human reincarnation of the dead angel, Raziel. And when the Archon arises as foretold, it will control the supernatural universe.

"Barely in control her own life, Angela has no ambition to control an entire universe, not when she's suddenly contending with a dangerous enemy determined to destroy her and a magnetic novitiate who wants to save her.... But the choice may not be her own. . . .

"Torn between mortal love and angelic obsession, the young blood head must soon face the truth about herself and her world. It is she who holds the key to Heaven and Hell--and both will stop at nothing to possess her."

Archon doesn't suffer for lack of intriguing ideas: A supernatural realm composed of fallen angels in various, deadly but beautiful states of being - Thrones, Jinns, Fae, in addition to the demons and witches. A female Lucifer. A Golem-like creature. I loved the fact that the line between which supernatural creature was evil and who was not was blurred or basically nonexistent. The demons resembled the angels and vice versa and the earthly priests were the worst sinners among the humans. I loved the sense of rotting menace and dark sin pervading this fallen world. Benulis has created her own unique and complex version of Paradise Lost; of heaven, hell, and life on earth; of how and why the angels fell in the first place; and the impending apocalypse prophetically called the Ruin.

I have no doubt that Benulis's vision of Archon's world is complete and convincing - in her mind; however, that did not come across on the page for me.

I'm not sure if, three months prior to the release date, the uncorrected proof I received will differ greatly from the final product but as it is, I will try to temper my review with the thought that perhaps some of my issues may stem from that.

I applaud novels which dispense with chapters of back story and start in media res, but maybe a little explication would have helped in this case. 80 pages in and I had very little idea what was going on, no idea about the rules of its world or why I should care about the Ruin the way all the characters did. And that state barely improved as the book progressed. I was so disoriented that I kept confirming that Archon was indeed the first book of the series because I continually felt like I jumped straight into the sequel.

Even worse, I didn't care about any of the characters (except for Sophia but she ... I would love to tell you what she is because that's one of Archon's fantastic ideas, but I won't spoil it for you).

I didn't care if the narcissistic heroine, Angela, lived or died. How could I when she was so dedicated to committing suicide? There were times when I wished she had succeeded. At one point, Angela comes across the dead body of schoolgirl and she only shows indifference; she had more reaction to a dead rat.

Angela did not interest me as she had no interest in living. All she cared about was the beautiful angel in her dreams. Which is why she wanted to kill herself - to be with him. Problem is, other than his beauty, I could not fathom why she would want to kill herself over him.

This obsession made no sense to me, as was Angela's sudden infatuation with a beautiful novice priest and he with her. He commented on her painting and pouf! an immediate passionate connection ensues, not to be dampened even when he was going to let her be killed by his demonic cousin.

I was more interested in the villains (hard to tell who they were exactly as I could hardly distinguish between the angels and demons since they all behaved in callous, murderous ways) than in Angela.

Archon is not Angelology; not even close. It reaches high and I would have loved for it to succeed; however, the story disappointingly fell below its ambitious premise. Read more ›

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, could have been better, but still compelling October 13, 2011

By Richard C. Drew TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

In two words: Not bad.

I finished the book in two evenings - it's better that way. There are so many characters that are very similar (almost interchangeable) that it's a pain to remember who is who. If you read a chapter here and there you'll be totally lost. I attribute this to author inexperience - the story itself is fleshed out well, but the characters need work - they have little dimension and it's easy to confuse them. They all "talk" the same and there is little to set them apart.

Archon reads like it's the continuation of a series, even though it's not. The writer assumes we know the history and slang and it takes a while to catch on. I give Archon 4 stars because it's original, the plot is well thought-out and the main character puts a new twist on "immortality" (Think "Tempus" from "Thieves World'". There are some places the editor should have requested changes and clarification, so I blame the editor as much as the author for the sometimes confusing characters and story.

It's worth the read - there are many new takes on old ideas and a different approach to the heaven/hell and Gothic genre.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing plot.... October 10, 2011

By JLW VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

After reading the first few pages of this novel, I was excited. I thought it was a fresh idea with potential. I had no clue how it was going to end, and I thought that was a good thing. I am rarely surprised anymore. I came to find out after further reading that my not knowing how it was going to end had more to do with the confusing plot and characters. The characters had little to no development. Even the main character just broke the surface of development. Because of this, I had no clue what was going to happen or how to feel about them. There were two supposed love interests but I didn't care what happened with them since I didn't really care about the characters anyways. There seemed to be a lot of characters, and I had a hard time keeping them all straight.

Why would I give this book three stars then? I am not entirely sure. I just couldn't bring myself to give it fewer. I think my wanting to like it overrode my actually liking it. There are more books planned, so I might be willing to get the next one from the library to see how this series pans out. I think the editors of this book were like me, seduced by the uniqueness of this book. They should have warned this author of how confusing the book comes across. If the publishers would push back the date for release and rework some of this, I feel that the book sales would improve as well as the product. Overall, if you are still tempted to read this book, I would try to find it in the library.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gothic adventure akin to Dracula only with angels October 8, 2011

By FairyQueen0316 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

"Archon" is a very gothic read!

The setting is the city of Luz in the Vatican. Angela Mathers is a blood-head sent there to reach her full potential. What makes her different as a main character is that though she is a very talented artist, she has severe mental issues. Angela has always dreamed of angels - one specifically that she would do anything to be with. Desperate, Angela has tried to kill herself on numerous occasions but without any success. Something is watching over her and making sure that she stays on this earth. When she gets to the city, events start to unravel. Angela's past is revealed little-by-little as she meets and interacts with new people. Angela meets angels and demons alike and gets caught up in some very fast-paced action leading to a huge climax.

What could have been better was the set up of the paranormal world surrounding Angela and the other characters. The setting is clear, but the exact definition of "Blood-heads" isn't really discussed. The reader can figure out what is going on, but more detail would have made a huge difference! (Since I read the ARC, I am hoping that those wrinkles will be ironed out in the final, published version). Also, the city and settings are all very dark and gothic - it always seems to be raining and the sun hardly ever come out during the story. It would have been nice to see a splash of light in the darkness. I think the same can be said for many of the supporting characters. Demons, witches, angels - even Angela herself - are all proudly showing the evil tendencies of their natures. Everyone is a moon with a dark side that they maybe shouldn't let others see, but proudly let it all out.... Don't get me wrong - there are some touching and tender moments, but other events seems to overshadow them a bit.

What I loved about the book was that the author told a story that dared to experiment. Angela is such a flawed person, but she has an integrity and vulnerably that kept me wanting to know what she would do or see next. The tug between her and Kim and then her and her angel, Israfel, makes a great triangle. Also, the back history of the main three angles - Israfel, Lucifel, and Raziel - kept me on the edge of my seat. Traditional they are not. Kudos to the author for being brave enough to take such an approach. I loved the descriptions of the gothic churches and buildings as well as the mention of the placements of the occasional gargoyle. The whole mood helped the story come alive.

I would most definitely recommend "Archon" for fans of paranormal thrillers or for those who like a story with something darkly twisted and different. Read more ›