Angel Time by Anne Rice – Book Review

Angel Time is writer Anne Rice’s first installment of her latest Songs of the Seraphim series. The story is told by Toby, aka Lucky the Fox, a contract killer with seemingly nothing to lose. He receives his orders from a man only known as The Right Man. On the surface, Toby would seem as a typical assassin, heartlessly taking out his marks with ease and collecting his paycheck. However, on Toby’s latest hit things take a different turn and more is revealed about Toby.

When Toby meets Malchiah, he’s in a state of shock. The mysterious Malchiah knows everything there is to know about Toby and through a good portion of the book he takes over as narrator and reveals the great details of how Toby’s life came to the state it’s currently in. A stunned Toby in need of redemption quickly puts his faith in the elusive Malchiah, though he’s still uncertain as to whether the events taking place are even part of reality.

The character of Toby is a fascinating one. Through Malchiah we learn of his past interests in religion and his aspirations to become a priest. We learn of his love for music and the arts. However we also learn the brutal tragedies that relentlessly struck his life and led him to the depressive and unfulfilled life of violence he now lives. It’s when these facts are unfolded we begin to feel for the character.

Rice’s writing is incredibly descriptive. She goes into great detail with every flower, structure, history, and thought. For me I felt this gave her prose that slight shade of purple, however it certainly did its job by giving me the full effect of every situation at hand. The details at times did lead me into phases of boredom, however the pace picks up nicely in the final act of the book.

While Toby ventures with Malchiah through what is known as angel time into 13th century England, Toby gets his chance of redemption. We’re introduced to religious turmoil as Christian and Jewish faiths clash in a small village. During this sequence the book picked up for me and I soon found myself entangled in the new characters and their predicaments. One aspect that slightly put me off though was the heavy use of religious terminology and history. A reader not well educated in religious history may struggle a bit with staying on top of certain facts and references.

Though I was discouraged by some of the unfamiliar religious aspects of the book, it is clear Rice did great research to back her tale with facts and characters inspired by real figures. This attention to history made the story all the more believable and relevant. The book leaves us with a satisfying and inspiring feeling, but also with a teaser that this journey is not yet over. Angel Time, though slow at points, ends up being a great uplifting adventure through time and a reflection of both the dark and light sides of humanity.