9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Third Chandler Outing Falls Short, May 21, 2010
This review is from: Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Remy Chandler Novel (Paperback)
Three books into the series now (plus one short story), and I have to be honest: I love the concept, I'm disappointed in the execution.
The concept, for those just tuning in: After the War in Heaven and the banishing of those who followed Lucifer in revolt against God, the angel Remiel of the Seraphim Host decided to quit Heaven and dwell on Earth. Eventually, he decided to hide his divine nature in a human guise, and settled into the role of Remy Chandler, a Boston private detective. He fell in love with a mortal woman named Madeline, revealed his true nature to her, and they married. Unwilling to have children that would turn out "unnatural" due to the blend of human and angelic nature, they adopted a dog named Marlowe. Remy also revealed his true nature to a dying cop named Steven Mulvehill, who became one of his two closest friends, the other being a former guardian angel named Francis who had originally followed Lucifer but repented before the War was over and was given penance by God: stand guard over the door to Hell.
All of this back-story happens before the first book in the series, and is sprinkled liberally between the first two books in the series. The first two books were approached as somewhat from Remy's point of view -- not first person narrative, but everything definitely filtered (except for one scene in the first book) through the perspective of knowing only what Remy would know, when he would know it. The first two books were also heavy on the "series set-up" angle: the first book introducing Remy and pitting him literally against the end of the world; the second showing how that near-miss of an apocalypse has set the supernatural world of angels and demons into an agitated kind of motion.
Book three is the first in the series that seems to be more about a case than about the political machinations of Heaven and Hell (although, of course, there is a connection, and a set-up for something that will probably pay off in a big way later should the series last long enough). It's also the first to feature a main bad guy only peripherally associated with Judeo-Christian beliefs: the old god Dagon. There's also a subplot about Samson and Delilah and what they're doing now (no surprise they're immortal; in the one Remy Chandler short story, we found that Noah was still alive too). The Samson and Delilah plot, and the revival of Dagon, come together with the case Remy is currently working on: locating a missing six year old girl named Zoe (who is more than she seems) and the father who stole her away. Those three plots are enough to propel the book, and Sniegoski rightly leaves mentions of Heaven and Hell to a minimum. This is also the first book not told completely through Remy's perspective: chapters (and eventually, scenes within chapters) bounce between Remy, Delilah, Dagon, Zoe's father and mother, and several other supporting characters.
On the upside: 1) the three plots are interesting, and while the way they come together is not really shocking they at least fit together sensibly; 2) Sniegoski finds a somewhat trite but still workable way to keep the late Madeline as an active presence in Remy's life; 3) we get to see more of how the Biblical world is still extant in the modern world (the aforementioned blind Samson and near-demonic Delilah, still both paying some form of penance for the mistakes they made in Biblical times); 4) with this particular plot there is almost no way Sniegoski could have kept things only in Remy's POV, and the change in style makes the third book feel a little fresher (sort of like Jim Butcher writing the novella "Back-up" from Thomas Wraith's POV instead of Harry Dresden's); 5) the scenes between Remy and Marlowe are possibly the best-written scenes in the book.
On the downside: 1) Sniegoski's style is still choppy to the extreme, highly repetitive (not just from scene to scene, but characters repeating each other in the same scene). While he keeps the references to previous books appropriately brief, he has a tendency to repeat information from this story in places that felt out of place, or made it feel like he needed one more good edit; 2) what should be an excellent supporting cast is once again largely relegated to the background -- Madeline is dead, and still gets more screen-time than any of the living recurring characters. The bits where Remy and Mulvehill drink together are fun, but Mulvehill needs more to do than that if we're going to maintain interest in him; 3) with all the repetition of information, there's still a decided lack of sensory detail and what is there feels largely cliched except for a few nice turns of phrase -- Sniegoski's strong point is in the dialogue more than the description; 4) the scenes between Remy and his dog are possibly the best-written scenes in the book.
I really, really want to like this series. The concept is a strong one; the characters have great potential. But so far the potential is not realized, and the lack of immediacy even in the fight scenes made the book disappointing for me.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great installment to the Remy Chandler Series, March 2, 2010
This review is from: Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Remy Chandler Novel (Paperback)
March 2, 2010: I can't say that I have been the biggest fan of the urban fantasy genre but I have been totally hooked on Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden Files for a few years. Last summer I picked up the Mean Streets compilation to see what Harry was up to and discovered Sniegoski's Remy Chandler character in his novella "Noah's Orphans". It was a terrific story and an even more interesting concept: An angel living amongst humans working as a private investigator. I immediately picked up the first two novels at my local bookstore and read them both in a single sitting. The books offer an interesting take on the concepts of angels, gods, heaven and hell weaved into two very good mysteries. What I really love, and what I found very moving at times, are the depictions of Remy's relationships with his human wife, his human friend Steve, his friend Francis (a former guardian angel who once was on the wrong side during the war in heaven and now guards one of the gates of hell as a penance) and especially with his dog and best friend, Marlowe. Angels have the ability to talk to animals and we get to eavesdrop on these hilarious and believable conversations.
Sniegoski has not missed a beat with his newest installment in the series, "Where Angels Fear to Tread". Remy has been hired by the mother of young autistic girl to search for her kidnapped daughter who seems to have some clairvoyant abilities and may be the key to something big and powerful. He gets a little help from the Old Testament hero Samson, who is still alive, because the little girl is also being sought by Samson's former lover and betrayer Delilah for reasons unknown. Samson is still a little bitter over the breakup. It's a very enjoyable take on the biblical characters and it's obvious the author had a lot of fun making them contemporary and letting us know what they have been up to for the last four thousand or so years. I definitely recommend this book to anyone and I look forward to the next book!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful morose mystery with paranormal beings, May 24, 2010
This review is from: Where Angels Fear to Tread: A Remy Chandler Novel (Paperback)
A frantic mother comes to Remy because her husband took their 6 year old autistic daughter. Delilah has great power, but is seeking more. Samson is looking for Delilah (yes, them), to kill the betraying witch. A Sumerian god is wants to be a god again. Zoe, the six year old, who rocks and hand flaps, also draws the future, and is who they all seek. And Remy, either as a P.I. or angel, must stop most of them. I really like these urban fantasies/ mysteries because Remy and Marlowe (his dog) and the rest of his pals and allies are so delightful to spend time with.
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