Two Songs This Archangel Sings [Hardcover]

George C. Chesbro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1986

Mongo and his brother Garth are changed forever, as is their view of the world, because they possess a secret that must never be told. Here the epic adventure continues as the brothers become fugitives and outcasts struggling to solve the puzzle of an extremely dangerous Vietnam veteran with information that could topple the government.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the latest of Chesbro's esteemed series (King's Gambit, The Beasts of Valhalla, etc.), his gallant hero fights corruption against formidable odds. Dr. Frederickson, aka the dwarf Mongo, starts his search for friend Veil Hendry in Manhattan when Hendry leaves a cryptic message before vanishing. A renowned artist, the missing man is also a disturbed Vietnam veteran. Mongo, accompanied by his brother, detective Garth Frederickson of the NYPD, follows a serpentine trail to remote locations, which include a Hmong settlement in Seattle. Everyone Mongo meets is killed by a faceless gang who tail the brothers, ultimately leading them to Hendry, the prime target. The novel's climax occurs at a Congressional hearing, with an explosion that strains one's nerves to the limit. (October 27
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Having invented the most unlikely fictional heroMongo Frederickson, a dwarf who graduated from circus performer to professor of criminology and private detectiveChesbro appears to have run out of steam. Assisted by his policeman brother, Mongo looks into the disappearance of his friend and martial arts instructor Veil Kendry, who has overcome enormous psychiatric problems to become a respected abstract painter. Kendry's disappearance is related to his earlier covert activities in the Vietnam jungles under the name Archangel. Despite assorted assassination attempts by a cast of improbable villains, a high-level government coverup, and many grisly murders, the depressing duo wrap up their fifth case by surviving a shootout at a joint House-Senate Investigating Committee. John North, LRC, Ryerson Polytechnical Inst., Toronto
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 249 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (October 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689116594
• ISBN-13: 978-0689116599
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,224,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The 5th Mongo novel, continuing the 'Valhalla trilogy', June 20, 2005

By 

Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Songs This Archangel Sings (Paperback)

"Let me tell you something about Veil Kendry...He is, or was, Archangel, and there are two songs this Archangel sings. One song is of gentle, almost aching beauty; the other is of savagery, violence, and death."
- Mongo Frederickson, herein, about his friend Veil (a painter and martial arts expert)

TWO SONGS follows THE BEASTS OF VALHALLA. The characters' continuing emotional distress over the events of VALHALLA is a factor in this story, and a major motivation driving the events of THE COLD SMELL OF SACRED STONE, so please read VALHALLA first. Furthermore, TWO SONGS has a cliffhanger ending that is resolved in the next book, so I suggest ensuring that COLD SMELL is at hand before tackling TWO SONGS.

You've been warned.

Mongo drops in on his sensei and old friend, Veil Kendry, for a workout a couple of hours before Mongo is scheduled to give an important talk at the university where he works as a criminology professor. Veil's a freelance martial artist who makes his living as a painter and acting as a sort of benevolent warlord in the rough neighbourhood he lives in. Nobody sensible messes with him, but after checking the place out, Mongo finds that Veil has apparently disappeared after a sniper took a shot at him. The only clue Mongo finds upon a thorough search is a single painting - obviously *not* part of the masterwork currently in progress - featuring a robed gun-toting angel hovering over a stretch of Asian jungle.

In fact, Veil has literally left a piece of a puzzle. Each of his individual canvases fit into assemblies of 36 - 40 canvases, each of which may appear abstract on its own but which create a larger image when seen together. What could Veil have painted from his past in Vietnam that would make him need to disappear? And who would be so paranoid as to begin stalking Mongo at the mere show of interest in Veil's disappearance?

Garth, Mongo's big brother in the NYPD, looks upon Veil with little enthusiasm; Veil's vigilante reputation cuts no ice with the police, who're struggling with a heavy workload thanks to the newly-elected president being in town to announce his selections for the Cabinet - including one Orville Madison as Secretary of State, the former Director of Operations of the CIA.

Couldn't be any connection there, of course...

Veil Kendry is a series character in his own right. For best results, TWO SONGS THIS ARCHANGEL SINGS (his first crossover with the Mongo books) should be read before VEIL, which also came out in 1986, because Mongo in TWO SONGS must deduce the story told in VEIL.

5.0 out of 5 stars This One Has It All!, August 7, 1998

By 

Timothy Arnold ([e-mail]) (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Songs This Archangel Sings (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow! Action, suspense, martial arts, betrayal, intrigue and explosions...what more could an adventure fan ask for? Although this is the 5th Mongo mystery written by Chesbro, it was the first one I read. Since then, I have managed to track down and read 11 others. What sets these books apart from the competition are the characters and Two Songs This Archangel Sings is no exception. This book introduces Mongo fans to Veil Kendry, black belt, artist and mystery man extraordinaire. As we begin the story, Veil is missing and his dwarf, former-circus-star-turned-private-investigator, black belt, martial arts student, Mongo, must sift through the lies, disinformation, clues and cover-ups that make up Veil's shadowy background in order to find him before it's too late. Along the way he encounters more than a few people who have no intention of seeing him complete his task including covert operatives, a ninja and...well, you'll just have to read the book. This is one of my all-t! ime favorite books and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, mystery and action.