Resurrection Man [Paperback]

Sean Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Raised among mortals in a world that perpetually tests his restraint, reluctant angel Dante is challenged to hide his powers and is ultimately compelled to fulfill his fate. Reprint. NYT. PW.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

After World War II, magic began leaking back into the world. By 1990, Dante Ratkay's father, a physician, gives charms to his patients as well as prescriptions, and cops investigate crimes with the help of angels, people who are possessed and changed by magical ability. An angel stirs within reluctant Dante, and his sly, rivalrous adopted brother Jet shows Dante his own corpse, called into being by Dante's magic. Magic always has meaning, but what does Dante's corpse signify? What magic marked Jet as an infant, stalking him through life? This brilliant novel about magic, family ties, and identity has the answers, but they aren't easy.

From Publishers Weekly

Dante Ratkay has always tried to deny his special powers?until he is confronted with his own dead body. Reading this as a sign that his death is imminent, Dante finally feels compelled to tap his psychic "angel" abilities, if only to aid his shadowy, mysterious foster brother, Jet. Dante's unpredictable psychic journey delves simultaneously into the hidden evils of his family's past and the strange possibilities of the future. The trip is quite marvelous, as Stewart (Nobody's Son) slowly and surely reveals his alternate America. This present-day world is much like ours, but it was profoundly altered by WWII and the increasingly monstrous magic it unleashed. Minotaurs spring from the darkness of ghettos; cops wear "walk-aways," charms crafted from the remains of near brushes with death. It's not only the magic that fascinates in this novel. Stewart's descriptive details are finely chosen, making settings palpable; his characterizations are rich and imaginative (Where else would you meet a character who keeps rust as a pet?). The end is a bit disappointing because, although the Ratkay family secrets have been fully probed, not enough has been said of Dante's future or of the consequences of the rising magic. But Stewart shows a true talent for inventive and intelligent fantasy.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441003397
• ISBN-13: 978-0441003396
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sean Stewart is the author of the innovative I Love Bees and Beast search operas, two short stories, and seven previous novels: Galveston, Mockingbird, The Night Watch, Clouds End, Resurrection Man, Nobody's Son, and Passion Play. His novels have received the Aurora, Arthur Ellis, Sunburst, Canadian Library, and World Fantasy awards. He presently writes lots of things that have Non Disclosure Agreements attached so he cannot talk about them. Stewart is tall, energetic, uses big words easily, coaches his daughter's soccer team, is a great reader, has taught writing, and lives in Davis, CA, with his wife and two daughters.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eerie, compelling, and fascinating, July 20, 1999

By 

Genevieve M. Ellerbee (Alexandria, Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Resurrection Man (Paperback)

I picked up this book on a reccomendation, and read it in one night, literally unable to put it down. The book is marvelous - full of unusual and vivid imagery and well drawn out characters that draw you into this alternate Earth. The author has a knack for tiny touches that add huge amounts of detail to the overall story. A fantastic book, in every sense of the word.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rewarding Puzzle, August 31, 2001

By 

"marrael" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resurrection Man (Paperback)

The first chapter of this book has to be one of the most incredible I've ever read anywhere. There's a lot that will shock and intrigue readers in this book, even with its modest number of pages; I thought the story was wonderfully packed and layered.

The downside is that this is going to be a tougher book to read and understand than most sf/fantasy/urban fantasy books--Sean Stewart has got a very different Earth here, and only reveals it piece by little piece. A lot is unexplained (this book is almost absent of all "info dumps" so conspicuous in sf/fantasy); most information about the world must be inferred, at the same time Dante is trying to understand the mysteries happening inside him and within his family.

The patient reader will be rewarded--this book is emotionally gripping, imaginative, funny and intelligent, and the quality and intensity never lets up. Once I reached the middle of the book, I lost hours of sleep trying to finish the rest of it in one night because I couldn't put it down. The puzzle pieces do fall into place in the last chapter. The whole book was a unique and incredible experience, unorthodox in a lot of places, which was really part of its strength.

This was the first book I've read by Mr. Stewart, and I'm looking forward to reading his other books.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Odd but compelling, June 20, 2000

By 

Jean Polen (WEST CHESTER, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Resurrection Man (Paperback)

The book starts slowly and requires some work on the reader's part, but the effort is well worth it. One of the joys of this books is the author's slow and subtle presentation of the world he creates -- at first it seems almost exactly like our world, then quite thoroughly different (sinister magic is a large part of it) and finally, not so different after all. The characters are all believable, given the oddity of their existence. The author also is extremely good with descriptions and the ordinariness of much of the phsycial surroundings only serves to heighting the eerie atmosphere. The book combines elements of fantasy and horror but doesn't easily fit into any category.