Really nice turn on the angel-demon opposition. I like how effective suspicions are deflected, so in the end everyone was suspicious at least once and the ending is reasonable and satisfying without tossing a random character under the bus.
I'm a big fan of [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1400640324p2/10746.jpg]'s Dresden Files series, and not at all fond of [a:Richard Kadrey|37557|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252945001p2/37557.jpg]'s [b:Sandman Slim|5776788|Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim, #1)|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311727590s/5776788.jpg|5948537], and I mention these because (other than generous amounts of cultural osmosis) they represent the sum of my personal experience with the Hard-Boiled Detective genre... until now.
Bobby Dollar lies considerably higher on the lighter side of the morality scale than Sandman Slim or Harry Dresden, but there's still plenty of the growly irreverence about him, essential to making an angel the hero of a story like this.
I'm a big fan of [a:Jim Butcher|10746|Jim Butcher|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1400640324p2/10746.jpg]'s Dresden Files series, and not at all fond of [a:Richard Kadrey|37557|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1252945001p2/37557.jpg]'s [b:Sandman Slim|5776788|Sandman Slim (Sandman Slim, #1)|Richard Kadrey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1311727590s/5776788.jpg|5948537], and I mention these because (other than generous amounts of cultural osmosis) they represent the sum of my personal experience with the Hard-Boiled Detective genre... until now.
Bobby Dollar lies considerably higher on the lighter side of the morality scale than Sandman Slim or Harry Dresden, but there's still plenty of the growly irreverence about him, essential to making an angel the hero of a story like this.
This was an interesting one. I've read quite a few of Tad Williams's books, and this one did not disappoint.
The premise: Heaven and Hell are real, and so are angels and demons. The main character is an angel. A hard drinking, fighting, womanising, cynical angel called Bobby Dollar.
Bobby used to be human but like all angels, he cannot remember his life on earth (although based on his sense of humour, there's a good chance he used to be an English teacher). Now, he's an advocate, the angel that appears to you when you die. It's his job to argue your case against his hellish counterpart, a demon advocate. Depending on whether he does his job well, you go to heaven, hell, or purgatory.
Dollar keeps his head down for the most part, but on the day the story starts, something truly strange happens. A man dies, and instead …
This was an interesting one. I've read quite a few of Tad Williams's books, and this one did not disappoint.
The premise: Heaven and Hell are real, and so are angels and demons. The main character is an angel. A hard drinking, fighting, womanising, cynical angel called Bobby Dollar.
Bobby used to be human but like all angels, he cannot remember his life on earth (although based on his sense of humour, there's a good chance he used to be an English teacher). Now, he's an advocate, the angel that appears to you when you die. It's his job to argue your case against his hellish counterpart, a demon advocate. Depending on whether he does his job well, you go to heaven, hell, or purgatory.
Dollar keeps his head down for the most part, but on the day the story starts, something truly strange happens. A man dies, and instead of his soul waiting for judgement as it should...it simply disappears. Suddenly, Dollar is in the middle of a nasty power-play between Heaven and Hell, both sides believing he is responsible.
Bobby Dollar is a great character. In some ways, he's the ultimate macho hero. In others, not quite. He's one of those people who can't help questioning everything -- and this gets him in trouble with "The House", as the angels call Heaven. He is thoughtful and sensitive too, and prone to empathize even with his enemies.
You've probably already figured out that this is not exactly Christian Fiction :) There's a lot of violence -- very gory violence, and some quite explicit sex. It's also really funny. Bobby Dollar's irreverent take on all things Heavenly pops up even in the most dire situations. He doesn't take anything seriously, even himself.
That's my favourite thing about the book - the humour.
This is the first book in a series - the next one is "Happy Hour in Hell". But I'd say it could also be a stand-alone read. Doesn't end on too much of a cliff hanger.
Great book, well paced. But the ending . . . well I am a bit dissatisfied with the ending. Hopefully there will be a second book to resolve some of the problems.
Enjoyable read, good world building, angels who seem to be nearly agnostic which is amusing. The religious side is actually interesting.
Abrupt ending though, I blinked thinking I was missing some pages.
I'm assuming now there will be a series.
