Customer Reviews

Destiny (Rogue Angel, Book 1)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Take a pretty young archeologist who makes a career of stalking mysteries and monsters and turning them into TV episodes of "Chasing History's Monsters," and add, of course, a medieval monster known as La Bęte, a magic sword, two 500 year old men, an exceptionally nasty villain, and a host of Joan of Arc legend, and you have the basic plot of Rogue Angel. It is an interesting first novel in a series that, for a change, is not an endless regurgitation of Knight's Templar tidbits. Alex Archer has chosen to mine a different set of French legends, those of Joan of Arc. As much as I'm addicted to the stories of the Languedoc, this shift to 15th Century is welcome. I know little about that period of history and Annja Creed's mysterious relationship to the saint is an excuse to discover a whole new cache of odd facts.

Creed begins this story searching the mountains if Lozère, a small town between the Languedoc and Auvergne, for the trail of a mysterious beast that was responsible for a string of killings in 1690 and then again in 1760. One wouldn't thing that a long dead serial monster would attract much attention, but Annja finds that she is in competition with Corvin Lesauvage a very unpleasant local criminal. In short order Annja has miraculously found the monster and a specual amulet, and is fleeing for her life from LeSauvage. In the process she meets Roux and Garin Bradin. Roux has spent 500 years looking for the amulet, and Garin has spent 500 years trying to make sure he doesn't find it. It is the key to reconstituting the pieces of Joan of Arc's sword, which materializes and promptly adopts Annja. Now Annja, who has an amazing number of martial arts skills now has a sword she can pull out of mid air. All the better to fend of Lesauvage with and anyone else who threatens her. Fortunately she is reluctant to start slicing everyone in sight or the ensuing battle would be a forgone conclusion.

Barring a few somewhat unbelievable moments, this turns out to be a good story with characters that are off the beaten track for this kind of tale. Archer has a very solid writing style that keeps you focused on the story. And, from what I can tell, he has done the homework that keeps the underlying story feeling realistic (although Archer romanticized the breaking of the original sword considerably). The telling is well paced entertainment with some very different twists. Future volumes will find Annja righting various metaphysical wrongs with a sword and a thoroughly modern attitude. If you hunger for mysterious hidden treasures and legends gone modern give this series a try.

Destiny, the first book in Alex Archer's Rogue Angel series, caught my eye at the bookstore, as did its interesting premise. I don't usually read novels that are part of a massive (read: over three, like Forgotten Realms or something) series, but I thought I would give it a try.

Destiny focuses on 20-something archaeologist Annja Creed and her adventures while on assignment for the fictional TV series, "Chasing History's Monsters." While Annja is in Lozere, France, searching for information about the Beast of Gevaudan for the show, she finds that several ominous men are stalking her, representing various groups interested in her research.

The book actually contains two different storylines. There's the research on the Beast that Annja is conducting, the people interested in it (or stopping it) and how she deals with them. There's also the finding of Joan of Arc's sword and how Annja is drawn to it and the only one who can wield it. The Joan of Arc connection is Annja's "destiny" and introduces several characters who will probably show up in later books.

The book is non-stop action, and that's not necessarily a good thing. The first 150 pages or so are completely devoted to the different groups pursuing Annja. It's not until the last third of the book that she even learns why she is being hunted. It sort of feels like that the author remembered to include the plot and needed to wrap it up quickly, as the last third of the book wraps up all the ends from the first few pages that are introduced and then quickly put aside.

Destiny reminded me of Tomb Raider with a bit of the Bourne Identity thrown in. All action, all mystery, with few plot points thrown in until the last minute. I found some of the fighting scenes a bit hard to believe (and a bit hard to follow) - I think I prefer my action/adventure with more adventure and less action.

But once the plot came back, it was solid. There were a few things that I think the author missed (why did Lesauvage pick the Wild Hunt as the persona for his gang of thugs?), and some parts felt like they were wrapped up a little too neatly (a brief introduction to the inspector, then he disappears until the epilogue where his storyline is tied up in a few sentences). But overall, it was an interesting read.

I think it will be interesting to see what the author does with the open characters (Annja, Roux, Garin), if he'll introduce a love interest, and if he'll start explaining Annja's mystical and historical connection to the sword. That alone should make the other books worth reading.

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Annja Creed loves her job as an archeologist. There's nothing she enjoys more than digging into the past, quite literally, to uncover secrets and solve the mysteries behind many popular myths. Her current job has her in France trying to uncover the truth about the Beast of Gevaudan where she falls into a cave at the top of a mountain and receives the shock of her life.

Annja has found an artifact, a small coin, which becomes her Destiny. Now she's on the run from a brotherhood of monks who have secrets to protect, and a blood thirsty occult follower who wants the coin for himself. Her strongest ally is the mysterious Roux who has his own reasons for helping Annja, believing she is the answer to his own Destiny as well.

Wow! I've been wanting to read the Rogue Angel series forever and never seem to find the time. When I happened across the audio versions of the books quite by accident on Amazon, I just had to buy the first three. I've since ordered the rest of the series that is presently available in audio. I love all the stories of Joan of Arc and I was quite excited to read this new twist on one of the most infamous women in religious history.

We have many mysteries linked together through Destiny and Annja had no idea what she was in for upon her discovery in a French cave. As I was listening, I couldn't help but wonder how all of these stories were connected yet when the climax is reached everything melds perfectly and I was amazed at how Alex Archer concludes the story.

Annja is a fascinating and complex character. Her history begins to be explored and we find out quite a bit about her. She's an intriguing blend of innocence, courage, heroism, and a thirst for adventure. She has her moments of weakness and strength with her selflessness usually winning out. I look forward to more of Annja's Destiny being explored in future novels in the Rogue Angel series.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, April 2008. All rights reserved.

I didn't know that Mel Odom was the author until I was his name inside the book after I had already bought it. This was one of two books I picked up in my hour-long bookstore search for something readable. Had I known, I probably would have looked for it, being a big fan of Buffy books. Anyways, I found this by accident after too much looking and not finding. Taking a chance I found that I really liked it.
The plot is simple - I don't know where "rogue Angel" comes from - it's never mentioned, but it's about an attractive, young, female archeaologist working for a cheesy cable show to earn money to explore on her own. In this assignment, she discovers her powers beyond just all the fighting skills she learned as an orphen, while searching for the truth about a mythical French beast. Never dull, the only fault I could find was that the ending and parts of the book are reminiscent of the Da Vinci Code. The fault there that the truth remaining a secret to the public isn't a very satisfying ending. Tha addition of a cop character that likes her, but is engaged to some other girl only serves as an annoying, out-of-place distraction to all the excitement in the story. Next book out in September, then a third. I will be getting the 2nd to see if there are changes, but otherwise a good series.

Rogue Angel - Destiny is a present day adventure of a young female archaeologist who is in search of the truth about The legend of the Beast of Ge`vaudan for a cable TV show, but also for her own curiosity. She is pursued by many people who they themselves become part of the mystery she tries to uncover. As her journey becomes more difficult, she encounters a strength and sense of responsibility to maintain order between good and evil. She discovers more than she ever bargained for about the past, about unknown mysteries and about herself.

Not much is known about Alex Archer, the author. By the way he writes, the reader can tell he enjoys doing his research into the history of archaeology. He weaves his story around factual wonders of the past. This book came out in bookstores July 11, 2006.

Most women readers will identify with the heroine, Annja. She is a strong-willed independent woman that is feminine in spite of it. The story has magical qualities that earn it the Science Fiction category. It could very well be a suspense or mystery, because of the hellacious ride from start to finish with barely enough time to breathe. The character, Roux is likable and funny. The story comes to life with great description of the surroundings and the fight scenes.

This is the first in a series. Annja believes she is too busy for romance. Although romance was left out of this book, the character is hot and the future holds promise of it.

This book is recommended to those that like a story that unfolds before them and feel like they are discovering the mystery along with the characters. It is easy to follow and would be enjoyed by readers of THE DA VINCI CODE and THE EIGHT.

For the text version :-

Looking at the publisher, you might be suprised by a book with a title like this, but it does fit for them and is not a romance type story.

The book opens with a man witnessing the execution of Joan of Arc, and the splintering of her sword, and he is helpless to do anything about either.

Shift to the present, and we begin to follow the exploits of Anja Creed, a junior tomb raider. A tall, good looking (of course) archaeologist that works for a cable tv show called Chasing History's Monsters. She is in France looking into a local French werewolf legend, when suddenly she is hunted.

Mysterious monks, immortal sword chasers, drug-addled 'Wild Hunt shapeshifters' and more are to be found as she jetsets around the world. Needless to say, she finds Joan's sword, and this means people are more interested in her. It also appears to give her enhanced physical abilities, and she can make it vanish at will.

An action packed ending, not a bad start to the series.

For the Graphic Audio version :-

This is something I didn't expect either. Out of the blue, Graphic Audio emailed me and asked if I would like to listen to their production of the first Rogue Angel book, given I had written about it earlier. Seeing I liked the novel, I said sure, why not.

They are here, for people that are interested Graphic Audio - Rogue Angel : Destiny Their email said you can get audio cd, mp3 cd or download, so that should pretty much cover anyone. Mp3 download perhaps is a good idea too for those that don't do the windows media thing, but I suppose you can always get a cd instead. It would be a useful option for overseas readers, certainly.

Generally speaking, I am not one for audiobooks, as, for me, to listen to an audiobook will take several times longer than reading the novel of the same length. On occasion while working or on a long car trip I have done so.

I have listened to many more radio presentations, or old time radio episodes like The Shadow, or Tarzan, or the Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, or Superman. I much prefer those if I am going to listen to something, as they have acting and the whole thing in there. Some radio shows from the 1980s, and a Sherlock Holmes vs Dracula production that was also pretty much the same as the book, but not as fancy as this.

However, it appears what Graphic audio is doing is a combination. There is a narrator that is basically reading the parts of the book that is not dialogue. In this case it is a woman, which makes sense, as the hero of the piece in this case is female. However, all the dialogue is played by different actors of the appropriate gender. Also, there is a soundtrack, and sound effects. Gunshots, cars, thwackings, and a really cool noise when Annja does the disappear and reappear the mystical sword trick, which is excellent. The mobile phone noises were realistic enough to annoy my wife.

So, this is a hybrid production that is pretty much the full book, which all the added benefits an audio production can bring to enliven the experience. The tagline on the website says 'A Movie In Your Mind', for their books/productions in general. It seems they are not far wrong, as that is the production they are going for.

It all appears to be done quite well. The narrator/actress in effect is playing the straight woman (in a comedic sense), while the male character dialogue flows around her, as she tolerates them to greater or lesser degrees.

The Rogue Angel concept I think is a good one, and designed for crossover appeal. I am guessing that Annja is going to run into a love interest or two to appeal a bit more to romance fans, and there is also the female superhero arse kicker, for fans there, and a bit of the running around with guns for fans of that sort of action. Throw in some monsters and ghostbusting, and a magic sword, and you certainly have an interesting combination. Elements of Witchblade, Highlander, Tomb Raider and/or Relic Hunter, but featuring a character who is a little younger than that crowd.

If you like audio drama, I don't see why this wouldn't appeal, and if you like audio books (or old time radio dramas, or radio drama), there is a lot of that there, as well, which seems to me to be somewhat clever, but this is an area I am not particularly familiar with.


The actual content is pretty much the same, so that rating doesn't change, after a second run through. If I was tempted to change it, it would probably go slightly higher I think, after the repeat. However, I may be new to this sort of thing. This may mean it impresses me more than a highly experienced listener to books and drama I will give the production itself :

4 out of 5

DESTINY by Alex Archer is the first book in the new Rogue Angel series launched under the Gold Eagle Book imprint. It keeps us reading to the very last page.
Heroine Annja Creed is reason enough to keep reading. She is young and smart and good looking; a professional woman who never turns away from challenge. Trained as an archaeologist, she follows a day job to provide funding for the "digs" and the archaeology she loves. The day job is lucrative free lance assignments for the cable show "Chasing History's Monsters" - a job which can lead her into danger . Her current assignment sends her to caves deep in the Cervennes Mountains in southern France in search of La Bete (the beast) and its story and - as it turns out - to sheer, compelling danger. The prologue of DESTINY sets all this in a larger, complex mixture of history with a seamless interweaving of the past with the year 2006 - and also of the wondrous with the fearful , and evil with a magic that becomes believable.

To explain this skilled narrative in detail would be to spoil it. Suffice it to say that Annja's very first steps toward unraveling La Bete in the provicial town of Lozere and later in the caves of the Cervennes triggers inexplicable danger. From there things only get more complicated, notwithstanding the fact she is a heroine who makes sound, common sense decisions. There is a religious order of monks with a desperate secret buried out of sight from the world at large; there is hidden treasure and men without scruples engaged in crossfire-action that endangers Annja, themselves, and each other. There is no one Annja can trust. Certainly not the knight who steps forward from history, claiming to be 500 years old and hiding his own secret powers and wicked goals, but acting as a very able man of the present. And certainly not the skeptical, sophisticated editor back in New York City who only wonders if the assignment will be finished quickly.

From the very beginning Annja is involved in no-holds-barred danger and action and her adroitness at facing challenges does not solve her myriad troubles. She is resourceful and skilled. So is author, Alex Archer (a.k.a. Mel Odom). His abilities at smooth, engrossing plot work is all the more impressive that each of his characters is well drawn and believable.

I had some trouble with the chief villain - Le Sauvage - and his gang. The gang's pure black clothing and their habit of monolithic motorcycle raids along mountain roads more or less on cue threatened to create a flaw in my belief system - but I would dismiss that as sheer personal taste. It never constituted any stall in the fast pace of the story. Nor did even highly believable instances of magic divert the pace.
As the book ends we are bound to have questions. Why was Annja chosen for this singular role? What is her relationship to Joan of Arc? Will she try to unravel some of the mystery that surrounds the tragedy of Joan of Arc? And there are two knights who belong back in history but are active in the present. In short, Mel Odom, writing as Alex Archer, has only begun unraveling some fascinating stories in this series. Gold Eagle Books is lucky to have him and his readers will be waiting to hear more.

Annja Creed is an archeologist with a problem. She is broke. She takes a job as a reporter for a cable TV archeological tabloid show called Chasing Histories Monsters . Her income helps to support her serious archeology work. She is the only person associated with the show that takes the history seriously. She is a professional and is disappointed that the others involved with the show are not.
The book starts off in France where she is searching La Bęte, a local mythological creature responsible for many deaths in the late 1600s. The book starts off with a great action sequence that introduces her main antagonist for this story, a vicious criminal named LeSauvage, who for his own reasons is searching for the monster.
Annja is a scrappe, and has been her entire life. She grew up in a Catholic orphanage in New Orleans. Her life has been a series of tests that have tempered her character into someone that you have to respect. A comparison may be made between her and Lara Croft, but I think that Alex's development of her intellect, drive and passion put her well above the level of the video game vixen.
In the course of finding the remains on La Bęte, she finds a mysterious medallion which holds the keys to several mysteries. Not only does LeSauvage want it, but so does a secret order of the Catholic church and the mysterious characters, Roux and Garin.
Ultimately Roux and Garin are instrumental in Annja gaining the Sword of Joan of Arc. The sword is a focal point for mystical or holy energies that allow Annja to become a hero. Roux is of the opinion that she was chosen by God to be an instrument of change, to defend weak and right the wrongs of the persecuted. The sword definately imbues her with power. She is faster and stronger, a true warrior.
I do not want to ruin the book for readers. It is a good read. Alex writes a fast paced book, woven throughout with interesting facts and places. The characters are wonderful, the bad guy is really bad and the hero is pure. I like that. After reading the book, I just have one request. I want more of Garin. His character was the most intriguing of them all.

I have a shelf full of GOLD EAGLE books, having read them for the last 20 years. Most are action/adventure books, so when Rogue Angel came out was a bit tentative. But seeing the good reviews decided to try the series. Recently GOLD EAGLE printed a trade volume containing the first three books of the Rogue Angel series, great I thought, time to try this series.

The first book starts slowly but quickly pulls the reader in. And with the first page starting back in the 1400s during the Hundred Years War, one not only gets a fiction story but a non-fiction history lesson of both that war and Joan D'Arc. The first thing I did after finishing this first book in the Rogue Angel series was pick up a couple non-fiction books on Joan of Arc or Joan the maiden as she was known during her time.

Anyone wondering whether they should read this book or not should consider whether they enjoy a good story. As mentioned, I have shelves full of GOLD EAGLE books on Mack Bolan, Able Team, Phoenix Force, Stony Man, and the newer Room 59, but none, I repeat, none of them read any better than this new series entitled Rogue Angel. Archaeology, Joan D'Arc's sword, men over 500 years of age who served Joan still alive today, bad guys, good guys, are part of the plot in this new 'science fiction' labeled trade paperback and mass market books.

Best to try one and you will be 'hooked' too.

Semper Fi.

With Rogue Angel: Destiny, we have a new series from the Venerable Company of men's action adventure Gold Eagle.

The first novel is an almost 360 degree change from the formula that has been the standard fare for several decades now.

Over the years we've seen men's adventure from Gold Eagle, starting with Mack Bolan and its various spin offs (Super Bolan), Stony Man, and so forth. They have delved into the post holocaust genre with the longest running series Deathlands, and its spin off, and vastly superior Outlanders.

They've tried their hand at several other series, all of which have gone the way of the Dodo bird. These have delved into different genres such as cyberpunk and time travel, just to name a few.

But other than their flagship books, the Bolan series (and the spin offs) and both Deathlands and Outlanders, nothing has remained of all these other potential series. Gold Eagle has even dropped the ball on several, leading to their cancellation. The Destroyer is a perfect example of this. Thus, the birth of the Rogue Angel series.

The executives at GE have finally decided to go in a different direction with this brand new series. Instead of blood and guts with an almost homoerotic fixation on firearms and manly men, we have a svelte, strong, intelligent and beautiful heroine as the lead character. Annja Creed may or may not be the embodiment of the long dead Joan of Arc. Who knows, as the series progresses we may or may not find discover the truth.

Even though there are quite a few female readers of both Deathlands, Outlanders and the Bolan novels, this should definitely attract more readers from the kinder, gentler gender. A brilliant marketing strategy? Time will tell. Female readers will be far more interested in character development and interaction than the muzzle velocity of various handguns or rifles, not to mention the lack of graphic description or sexual situations that is the mainstay of many of the novels put out by the company.

Again, the series takes a major departure from the other fare we've been offered over the decades from GE. The series delves into what appears to be the paranormal. Magic, reincarnation, curses, immortality - just to name a few of the events that were described in this novel.

Now, there is no way that the creator of the series (which, incidentally is NOT Mel Odem or Victor Milan), can deny that GE's other long running series - Outlanders, has had a great deal of influence on this new offering.

The lead character is female. They deal with exotic locations and delve into the past, bringing life to ancient and forgotten mysteries. Something that we have seen in Outlanders, but in a different form.

If handled carefully, I can see this series lasting a long time.

Mel Odem did a wonderful job wit the first offering for this new series, and if he keeps up this level of writing, I will be sure to purchase and read his contributions. I will be purchasing the second novel, written by Victor Milan, but I have to say that I do so with trepidation. I hope that I'm wrong and that he will do an equally bang-up job as Mel has.

Time will tell.