Book Review: Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Title: Angel Mage

Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: Gollancz
Release Date: 30th September 2019 in HB

Synopsis: More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than nineteen, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara.
A seemingly impossible quest, but Liliath is one of the greatest practitioners of angelic magic to have ever lived, summoning angels and forcing them to do her bidding.
Liliath knew that most of the inhabitants of Ystara died from the Ash Blood plague or were transformed into beastlings, and she herself led the survivors who fled into neighboring Sarance. Now she learns that angels shun the Ystaran’s descendants. If they are touched by angelic magic, their blood will turn to ash. They are known as Refusers, and can only live the most lowly lives.
But Liliath cares nothing for the descendants of her people, save how they can serve her. It is four young Sarancians who hold her interest: Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, an adventurous musketeer cadet; and Dorotea, an icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic. They are the key to her quest.
The four feel a strange kinship from the moment they meet, but do not know why, or suspect their importance. All become pawns in Liliath’s grand scheme to fulfill her destiny and be united with the love of her life. No matter the cost to everyone else. . .

Review: A new Garth Nix is always a cause for celebration. I looooved his books growing up. The Old Kingdom and The Keys to the Kingdom series' were my jam ten times over and they're still books I remember and think back on fondly. So when we found out there was not only a new Garth Nix book coming out but an adult fantasy there was a palpable buzz in the bookish community. Just look at that cover, I mean come on, its beautifully evocative and all kinds of suggestive so that this became a highly anticipated book I needed to read. The pb has just come out and is equally beautiful but this review is a long time coming purely became I'm like a match with books and sometimes I need a while to sit and things about what I've read  

The problem then, when you build something up so much, is that you have a lot further to fall when your expectations don't match your realities. Don't get me wrong its not a bad book, it's just not the book for me, which is weird because the book does so much well. The book is heavily influenced by Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers drawing out thematic elements, characters and styles and weaving them into this new world and whilst I like a bit of historical fiction this didn't hit the mark for me in a number of ways. I;m just not into that musketeer style.

What I will say is that I loved the concept and the system of Angels. In this world Mages can control the powers of Angels through icons of said angel. Each angel has a different strength and scope of powers, from the lowest rung right up to the archangels themselves, powered through ring. The use of such magic comes at a cost, ageing the person depending on the power of the angel. It was quite beautiful that people couldn't necessarily see the angels when summoned but could feel their presence and the movement of their wings. This gave me some beautiful images and I was very interested in the icons and their creation and as a result the character of Dorotea. She was the purest soul for me and the one I wanted to protect and learn more about!   

The characterisations here have a lot of potential. We have a core four and a tiered political system where everyone is egotistically fighting against each other for the greater good of the Cardinal and through her the Queen. I loved how the king was depicted as a nuisance, giving the politics and the power to the women of the story which we had in abundance. There were many feisty moments that I loved for!

The plot didn't race for me, and initially with all the setting up there was a lot of repetition as each character expressed the same thing about their surrounding. But the more I think about it the more I enjoy the overall concert of the book, it conveys a very specific atmospheres and Garth's writing always keeps me going. You can't love ever book but I'm here for the story he told. This is one of those stories I'll be able to talk about but we might get into an argument over...But hey I love that so let's do it!