Az: Revenge of an Archangel (Azrail - The Angel of Death Chronicles)

I enjoyed Az: Revenge of an Archangel (Azrail - The Angel of Death Chronicles Book 1) immensely. The author has done an amazing job of humanizing mythic characters. I loved the various ways that you framed the notion of free will and the concept of good and evil.When Az discovers the murder of Abel and deduces it's Cain that was the killer, I truly felt the cosmic disappointment of Az and the Joy of Satan. One of the many high points for me.I love mythology for many reasons including how the stories reveal what Freud calls the id and the ego. The two things that control us. Humans have survived millennia by basic instincts, the id. The modern world requires what Daniel Kahneman calls thinking fast and slow. The thinking fast part is the intellect, ego. When we act with our instincts the Nobel laureate quantified that we are wrong sixty percent of the time. The characters in this novel struggle with both, which is what makes them so compelling.Highly recommended.

Good story about angels and their fight with humanity and for humanity. Good vs. Evil! Who wins? Not exactly an easy fight. You think you know how its going to go but than the twists and turns take you by surprised. A good book worth reading if you like the thought of angels protecting humans and fighting for their lives. And if you don’t mind a fight that’s pretty descriptive with other angels. Than read this book!

I ADORE this book. The depth of feeling, the crisp descriptions of the characters, the anticipation for the next page. I could see everything so clearly in my head as I read. Even Lucifer came across as the deceitful, petulant archangel he is/was/might be? (Covering all bases). I hope this series goes well past the main four characters. The adversarial relationship between them was wonderful! And I hope they keep writing books in this series after the first four.

Azriel, the Angel of Death, has seriously had it with the human race. Since biblical times, Azriel has watched endless butchery and cruelty and is ready to let his brother, Lucifer, have the whole lot of them. But when a set of circumstances leaves a young girl in Azriel's care he begins to see something worth saving. If only he can keep his brother from destroying it all.Overall I thought this book began and ended strong. It started off with an interesting concept and ended with an angelic battle royal that reminded me of a fight scene from a Japanese anime. It was action-packed and engaging. However, it feels like the story loses its way and wanders in the middle. Its as if the author knew how the story began and ended but wasn't sure how to connect the two. The writing is clear and vivid. It sometimes gets a little purple for my tastes, but is otherwise solid.The biggest issue I had was consistency. There were several instances in the story where the author referred to events earlier in the book but the way he describes them later were not how they were written earlier. Characters appear and disappear without anything establishing where they came from or where they went. Some of the established 'rules' of this universe are broken without explanation. All in all I spent a lot of time flipping to earlier pages to try and figure out if I missed something only to realize that I hadn't. Things were just missing or not as later described.Also I feel this book could benefit from some more world building. Through most of it I felt like I was missing something. I found myself with tons of questions with no clues and no guidance. For example, how Death works in this universe is never defined. Does Azriel have to show up to every death? What exactly happens to human souls once they die? How exactly are angels different from humans? Can humans harm angels? Do they have more physical strength or is their power more ethereal? What about human - angel interaction? Are humans allowed to know they exist? Maybe there are some conventions in fantasy genre, especially when it comes to angels, that I am just ignorant to but I feel a lot of the consistency issues would be solved with an established lore against which the characters can act.To be honest, this book is far enough out of my area of expertise to know exactly who this might appeal to. There are some moral messages that might appeal to fans of Christian literature as well as some themes and ideas that might appeal to the YA crowd. But as a comparatively quick, fun read with plenty of action it wouldn't surprise me to have it find traction across multiple genres and tastes.

This heroic tale by A. A. Bavar is unique and eminently enjoyable. It is ambitious in scope, rife with dramatic imagery and epic battles. Bavar's angels are gritty yet monumental. They can be hurt in battle, but never killed. The central figure, Az, or Azriel, is one of the four archangels. He is the angel of death, harvesting souls for God and presenting them with one last chance at salvation. The main conflict of this story is a central one for all humankind: with so much hatred and sinfulness in mankind, is there anyone worth saving? Does mankind deserve the chance the Father has given it for salvation and eternal glory? The young Az believes in mankind and initially does his job with zeal. Then, he loses hope as he sees the centuries upon centuries of man's atrocities. It only the purest love that can change his mind, which he finds in the heart of a young girl named Kay. I have never read anything like Az in modern times. It reminds me of older classics, like Milton's Paradise Lost, except with the drama and excitement of a modern action movie. Az was a delight to read and one I highly recommend. This will be on my favourites list for a long time to come!-T. M. Wallace, Award-winning author of "Under A Fairy Moon."

Azrail, the Angel of Death, is about to be replaced. His life from inception, metaphorically spills into his memory and is shared with the reader. The writing is strong, lyrical and full of dark wit—Az's personal commentary on good and evil throughout the ages since the dawn of man. Through his filter we meet the other three arch-angles Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. The latter becomes his nemesis. Using Biblical events as a plot map, Az relives his transformation from a dispassionate taker of souls into the compassionate saver of souls. The tale feels like a classic allegory with a modern twist.It's an interesting read. Clever idea. Well executed. Because I read it on Kindle, more paragraph breaks would have been nice… especially before and after dialogue. I give this a 4.5—rounded up to a 5.

This is an action thriller that somehow still manages to interweave a story highlighting the fact that no soul is beyond restoration. A clever gripping page turner that will leave you looking at things in a whole new light. Well worth the read!

A sharp and clever take on biblical teachings with a good story line.Loved the fast paced nature of this book

'I am thousands of years old and have won many battles, but tonight I lost the war.'Az is Azrail the Angel of Death. He is an archangel, created by 'Father' and his brothers are Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer. Having accomplished something none of the others had dared, Az was rewarded by being custody over human souls. But that meant he had to take them from life on earth. We follow him in his fight for human souls against Lucifer from Cain and Able, via Sodom and Gomorrah , through the Crucifixion and into the modern day. The book is a wonderful mix of myths and we get a really creative and fitting explanation for why Death carries a scythe and wears black.If you park accepted religious interpretations of angels and Biblical stories, this is an interesting variant on the 'reaper' theme using a lot of well-known religious names and themes and a few quite original ideas. It is a very human story of emotional hardening, cynicism, betrayal, pride and family in-fighting. It traces the journey of Az from heartless disconnection to compassion through the redeeming power of love. It is a powerful, moving and beautiful story."Fear always supersedes love when obedience is concerned.”This is a very well written book and I was drawn in from the first intriguing line and read it right though in one sitting. The use of language is almost flawless and the development of the characters we encounter, from archetype into individual personality is a fluent and effective journey. The use of familiar landmarks from religion and myth are woven into a tightly paced narrative which keeps the reader moving forward and wanting to know what will happen next. Even when the end of the event is a known, the way it will be told and its consequences in the story remain a fascination. I found the story itself a really gripping and unusual urban fantasy. The mixing of magic and modernity, so often the downfall of such books, was well achieved, blending them in a believable way."Ultimately, it’s the legacy you leave behind defined by what you’ve done and the choices that you’ve made because of your circumstances."So why am I not stamping this with five blazing stars? Well, for a couple of rather impacting reasons.Primarily, because it fell into the trap that too many such stories fall into. It is supposed to be about angels - creatures of a nature that is higher than human. But, as I said earlier in this review, 'it is a very human story'. This is a story of very human characters. They might be immortal and have super-powers, but they still have totally human emotions, outlooks, weaknesses and strengths. It would be completely understandable that Az becomes the cynical and callous individual he does, if he were a human trying to do the job he does. Az comes over more like Louis in 'Interview With the Vampire' than any idea I have of what an angel might be like. But he is not human and not a vampire, he is an arch-angel, supposedly the highest rank of spiritual being. So the whole basis of the story just does not wash.The second reason it fails, is too much internal inconsistency. The story is predicated on the idea that Christian belief is true, all humans are offered redemption and when you die you still exist. But Az seemed to act as if he sees death as an utter ending - as if when someone he cares for dies, they are lost forever. And this despite the book presenting the case very strongly, more than once, that this is not so. This all too human view of death as an end, rather than the beginning of life eternal. is an internal inconsistency which leads Az to making some plot crucial important decisions which run against the knowledge he should have, regarding the true nature of mortal death in his reality.These two flaws I struggled with a lot as I read, even wondering in parts of the book if it was intended as a deliberate satirical effect, if the final denouement would be a cynical slap in the face for religious sensitivities. But no. So, sadly, for me, it left a rough edge which the brilliance of the storytelling could not quite completely obscure.This is still a really great book which, despite the flaws I have mentioned, is one I would recommend as a thoroughly good read. But suspend your disbelief, forget any religious preconceptions and try and buy into it as urban fantasy.

A little incongrous US influence in some of the writing, but overall a good read. How often does an angel reveal their human side?