Monday, December 21, 2015

Evolution of Angels

 Rating:

About the Author:
(Taken from Amazon)

Nathan Wall is a husband, father, author and wanna-be part-time superhero (because new legislation limits the benefits and tax deductions he can receive as a full-timer) who lives in Texas. He's been creating stories since before he can remember. He says creating stories, and not writing them, because - as a boy - he had a healthy addiction to superhero action figures, and used to stage his own homemade adventures/movies in his room. His love for story telling morphed when he entered high school, as countless spirals of paper knelt before his pen. In college, that love for story telling morphed into other media. In 2010, he was nominated for an Emmy award. Nathan is the author of "Evolution of Angels," a science-fantasy/ action thriller. The ebook version was launched in June of 2014. The subsequent installments are set to be released soon, including a shared-world novella later this year. Other writing credits to his name is the highly praised "Money Ball for Fantasy Baseball," a non-fiction strategy guide series. The 2014 edition was featured by many independent fantasy baseball sites. When he is not busy writing, Nathan can be found interacting with his numerous fans on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.



Blurb:  

After finding angelic DNA characteristics hidden throughout the population, a secret agency decides to recreate angels of their own. The agency's "Double-Helix project" manipulates the DNA of certain humans, creating soldiers who can wield the armor and weapons of Angels, the Aurascales: a sentient armor that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host. In the pursuit of perfection, and the hopes of helping his wife conceive a child, William Sanderson clones an Angel, making a warrior far superior to anything they've seen before. The only problem is the clone's powers can't be controlled, so his memory is erased and a mental wall is erected to keep what lingers inside from breaking out. One day, to battle a force the likes which have never been encountered, this clone is recruited by the agency and his mental wall is broken.



Review:



Fascinating concepts reside in Evolution of Angels.  Nathan Walls blends mythology together to create an interesting story about a man being recruited to save the world from deadly threats.

The characters are interesting, although they all speak in similar manners.  At times, I found it difficult to keep up with who was talking and at what point.  That being said, I really enjoyed getting to know and following Jarrod!  His sense of humor and personality stuck to me.  I also found it interesting how he first came across like the fun loving side-kick, but by the end he is shown to be the hero.
My other favorite character is Oreios!  He's demented in a pretty fun way.

 
The writing is... efficient.  It wasn't bad and I could imagine the scenes fairly easily, but there was something missing.  This is definitely personal aesthetics, since I tend to enjoy more poetic writing.  A few moments, the type of descriptive writing I enjoy did pop up.

For examples:

"Saliva in his mouth strung together from tooth to tooth like spider webs."
Disgusting, but also vivid.


"... launched him thirty yards, causing him to skip across the ground like a smooth stone on a calm lake."

And my personal favorite:

"Jarrod jumped onto the railing, overlooking the bottom floor like a terrifying gargoyle."

 
There was one other issue that I had with the story, and that was the excessive use of backstory.  Most of it could have been discovered through narration and dialogue, but the reader is taken back to months and years in the past to relive certain moments.  The most frustrating part was with Episode 4.  Right after an amazing battle, an entire section (set up like a chapter, but a little longer) was dedicated to back story, and most of the information would have been perfectly acceptable if a character had sat down and explained one or two points to another character.  It wasn't hard to keep up with the time jumps, they just seemed to come at a time where I wanted resolution on something specific.  Essentially, they delayed satisfaction, which at moments can be very frustrating.

 
So, the reason for three stars is a combination of characters not being distinct enough, prose lacking a bit more flare, and backstory interrupting the much more interesting current story.


Other than those three things, however, I still have to recommend this book.  If you enjoy action-packed novels which explore fascinating ideas, you should enjoy this!
 
Also, extra kudos for this line and knowing the difference between the man and the monster!
 
"I feel like Frankenstein's monster," he joked...

If this title interests you, please check this novel out on Amazon.