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Darkangel Trilogy #1
The Darkangel
Aeriel is kidnapped by the darkangel, a black-winged vampyre of astounding beauty and youth. In his castle keep, she serves his 13 wives, wraiths whose souls he stole. She must kill him before his next marriage and comes into full power, but is captivated by his magnificent beauty and inner spark of goodness. Will she choose to save humanity or his soul?
281 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1982
About the author
Meredith Ann Pierce
24 books621 followersMeredith Ann Pierce is a fantasy writer and librarian. Her books deal in fantasy worlds with mythic settings and yet overturn standard expectations, frequently featuring young women who first wish only to love and be loved, yet who must face hazard and danger to save their way of life, their world, and so on, usually without being respected for their efforts until the end of the story.
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November 14, 2007
First published in 1982 'The Darkangel' by Meredith Ann Pierce is the first in the Darkangel trilogy. The series is being reissued by Little, Brown & Company with gorgeous new covers. I have to admit that the cover is what first caught my eye. But I was lucky that it wasn’t just another pretty face, what I found within the pages is a solid young adult fantasy worth reading more than once.
The Darkangel, once a mortal and not quite a vampire, must have 14 brides before he can come into his full power and immortality. He keeps his wives in his cold castle, wraiths without their souls, which he wears in lead vials around his neck. When the Darkangel steals away Eoduin, Aeriel, her slave and friend, vows to avenge her mistress and waits for the Darkangel to return.
But when the Darkangel comes back to claim Aeriel, she finds that he is too beautiful for her to kill. At first she thinks she too will become one of his brides but he scoffs at the idea, claiming that she is too ugly. Instead he has brought her to his castle as a servant; she is to weave the clothes for his brides and when he chooses his 14th and final bride it will be Aeriel that weaves the bridal gown.
Below the castle, in deep caves, lives a little man by the name of Talb. A magician of sorts, he helps Aeriel survive her first few months there, providing her with food and company when the voices of the wraith brides become too much. Aeriel also makes friends with the Darkangel’s gargoyles, bringing them food and coming to love them. She even becomes close to the Darkangel, sharing stories with him and coming to care for him, although she does not realize it at first.
While the Darkangel is cruel and seems heartless, Aeriel still sees some good in him. But when she realizes that with the Darkangel’s final bride he will not only come into his full power but that he will join others of his kind to take over the world, she takes action. With guidance from Talb, Aeriel escapes the Darkangel and goes on a quest to find an object that will help her save his withered soul.
'The Darkangel' is not the vampire story you might expect. Written years before a revolution was led by authors everywhere towards bodice-ripping novels that featured blood-sucking hunks, Pierce crafted an original fantasy with a vampire at its heart. More adventure and self-discovery than romance, this is a story of Aerial and her growth. Nevertheless the idea of romance is there; the pale beautiful face, the night black wings, the other worldly power, all elements that have followed the vampire into more modern settings.
But leave whatever vampire expectations you have behind you. 'The Darkangel' is solid, finely wrought fantasy with hints of science fiction thrown in. The second book, 'A Gathering of Gargoyles', was released with its new cover this month with the third and final volume, 'The Pearl of the Soul of the World', hitting stores in February 2008. If you can’t wait that long, of course there is always local used bookstores and the used section on Amazon. But I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty cover, so I think I’ll just wait it out.
The Darkangel, once a mortal and not quite a vampire, must have 14 brides before he can come into his full power and immortality. He keeps his wives in his cold castle, wraiths without their souls, which he wears in lead vials around his neck. When the Darkangel steals away Eoduin, Aeriel, her slave and friend, vows to avenge her mistress and waits for the Darkangel to return.
But when the Darkangel comes back to claim Aeriel, she finds that he is too beautiful for her to kill. At first she thinks she too will become one of his brides but he scoffs at the idea, claiming that she is too ugly. Instead he has brought her to his castle as a servant; she is to weave the clothes for his brides and when he chooses his 14th and final bride it will be Aeriel that weaves the bridal gown.
Below the castle, in deep caves, lives a little man by the name of Talb. A magician of sorts, he helps Aeriel survive her first few months there, providing her with food and company when the voices of the wraith brides become too much. Aeriel also makes friends with the Darkangel’s gargoyles, bringing them food and coming to love them. She even becomes close to the Darkangel, sharing stories with him and coming to care for him, although she does not realize it at first.
While the Darkangel is cruel and seems heartless, Aeriel still sees some good in him. But when she realizes that with the Darkangel’s final bride he will not only come into his full power but that he will join others of his kind to take over the world, she takes action. With guidance from Talb, Aeriel escapes the Darkangel and goes on a quest to find an object that will help her save his withered soul.
'The Darkangel' is not the vampire story you might expect. Written years before a revolution was led by authors everywhere towards bodice-ripping novels that featured blood-sucking hunks, Pierce crafted an original fantasy with a vampire at its heart. More adventure and self-discovery than romance, this is a story of Aerial and her growth. Nevertheless the idea of romance is there; the pale beautiful face, the night black wings, the other worldly power, all elements that have followed the vampire into more modern settings.
But leave whatever vampire expectations you have behind you. 'The Darkangel' is solid, finely wrought fantasy with hints of science fiction thrown in. The second book, 'A Gathering of Gargoyles', was released with its new cover this month with the third and final volume, 'The Pearl of the Soul of the World', hitting stores in February 2008. If you can’t wait that long, of course there is always local used bookstores and the used section on Amazon. But I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty cover, so I think I’ll just wait it out.
November 22, 2009
Aeriel was bought at the slave markets as a baby and raised alongside her young mistress, Eoduin, the beautiful daughter of the town syndic. Now nearly a woman grown, she accompanies Eoduin in the climb up the mountain to collect hornbloom nectar for Eoduin's cousin's wedding - the tradition being that you are not married until the bride and groom have shared the bridal cup, and the bride's cousin must collect it on the day.
But when they reach the mountaintop, the Darkangel flies down, all pale luminescent beauty and a dozen black wings, and snatches Eoduin, carrying her off to make her his bride. No one in the town believes Aeriel - the Darkangel is just a story, after all - and some even accuse her of causing her mistress' death. Knowing that Eoduin's father means to sell her, she goes back to the mountain, hoping the Darkangel comes again so that she can kill him.
When he comes, the Darkangel is too strong and beautiful to kill, as cruel and selfish as he is. Instead he takes Aeriel back to his home, an abandoned palace carved out of the side of a mountain, to spin clothes for his thirteen brides. His brides are all indistinguishable, fragile wraiths, their hearts cut out, their blood drunk, their souls collected into little vials that hang from a necklace around the Darkangel's neck.
When the Darkangel has acquired his fourteenth wife in a year's time and collected her soul, Aeriel learns, he will take all the souls to his mother, a water witch, and become a full-fledged vampyre with his six brothers. Together the vampyres will carve up the world and rule absolute. Only Aeriel can stop him, but to do so she will have to escape the palace and find the starhorse, one of the wardens of the land created by the Ancients, those who first arrived and made the air and atmosphere, the plants and animals, before sealing themselves inside their domes, forgotten in all but name.
Even though the vampyre is a monster who must be stopped, Aeriel doesn't want to kill him, doesn't want his beauty and majesty to leave the world. But time is running out, and the stakes are high. Soon Aeriel will have to make the hardest decision of her life in order to prevent the vampyres from taking over the world.
The prose of this book reminded me of Alphabet of Thorn: they both have that fairy-tale quality, a slight distance between voice and character even though, especially here, you only get one perspective (Aeriel's). I don't know if there's a word for it, and it's hard to describe. It creates a certain tone, a kind of mythological or biblical tone, a flavour that works especially well with Fantasy and works very well here.
Aside from the sad fact that there was at least one typo on almost every single page (surely, Little, Brown & Co, when a book has been out for more than two decades, you'd have plenty of time to fix these glaring mistakes?), it's well written, with a controlled, measured pace that only adds to that fairy-tale quality. Aeriel is a sweet girl, the Darkangel an almost sulky, petulant teen who whines about how ugly his wives are in one breath, and threatens to strangle Aeriel in the next. He does have charisma, and even though Aeriel is in his thrall you can understand why she'd want to save him.
The other main character in the story is a duarough, a little man called Talb who turns to stone if he's caught in the sun. He lives in the caves beneath the palace and helps Aeriel against the Darkangel. Every fairy-tale needs a fairy godmother! and Talb fits that role. There is the Lorelei, the water-witch who steals little boys and turns them into vampyres, and a quest story that's pure Fantasy. Then we have Narnia-inspired beasts: magnificent talking animals who guard their part of the land with wisdom and fierce pride; and a dash of science fiction in the story of the Ancients. There's plenty going on here but it never loses its quiet, patient tone or measured pacing. Despite the variety of characters, the plot is simple and straight-forward, with no real surprises.
The only part I found lacking, which undermined the story, was Aeriel's love for the Darkangel. Even though she qualifies it as love "in a way", I thought she pitied him, felt compassion for him, and believed in the "spark of good" that still lay in him - maybe that is love "in a way", but there was so little interaction between the two that it was hard to see how she could develop these feelings for him, good girl or no. I don't like it when stories take emotions like these for granted, and don't spend time on developing them for the reader - it smacks of mere convenience for the plot's sake.
I never really understood the measures of time - Solstar is both "daylight" and the sun? I think the world might be a moon - they refer to Oceanus, a planet they guide by, which might actually be Earth. They say "day-month" and I was never sure if they actually meant months or not. It was so confusing it was distracting because I was trying to figure it out. An author's note would have been helpful.
But when they reach the mountaintop, the Darkangel flies down, all pale luminescent beauty and a dozen black wings, and snatches Eoduin, carrying her off to make her his bride. No one in the town believes Aeriel - the Darkangel is just a story, after all - and some even accuse her of causing her mistress' death. Knowing that Eoduin's father means to sell her, she goes back to the mountain, hoping the Darkangel comes again so that she can kill him.
When he comes, the Darkangel is too strong and beautiful to kill, as cruel and selfish as he is. Instead he takes Aeriel back to his home, an abandoned palace carved out of the side of a mountain, to spin clothes for his thirteen brides. His brides are all indistinguishable, fragile wraiths, their hearts cut out, their blood drunk, their souls collected into little vials that hang from a necklace around the Darkangel's neck.
When the Darkangel has acquired his fourteenth wife in a year's time and collected her soul, Aeriel learns, he will take all the souls to his mother, a water witch, and become a full-fledged vampyre with his six brothers. Together the vampyres will carve up the world and rule absolute. Only Aeriel can stop him, but to do so she will have to escape the palace and find the starhorse, one of the wardens of the land created by the Ancients, those who first arrived and made the air and atmosphere, the plants and animals, before sealing themselves inside their domes, forgotten in all but name.
Even though the vampyre is a monster who must be stopped, Aeriel doesn't want to kill him, doesn't want his beauty and majesty to leave the world. But time is running out, and the stakes are high. Soon Aeriel will have to make the hardest decision of her life in order to prevent the vampyres from taking over the world.
The prose of this book reminded me of Alphabet of Thorn: they both have that fairy-tale quality, a slight distance between voice and character even though, especially here, you only get one perspective (Aeriel's). I don't know if there's a word for it, and it's hard to describe. It creates a certain tone, a kind of mythological or biblical tone, a flavour that works especially well with Fantasy and works very well here.
Aside from the sad fact that there was at least one typo on almost every single page (surely, Little, Brown & Co, when a book has been out for more than two decades, you'd have plenty of time to fix these glaring mistakes?), it's well written, with a controlled, measured pace that only adds to that fairy-tale quality. Aeriel is a sweet girl, the Darkangel an almost sulky, petulant teen who whines about how ugly his wives are in one breath, and threatens to strangle Aeriel in the next. He does have charisma, and even though Aeriel is in his thrall you can understand why she'd want to save him.
The other main character in the story is a duarough, a little man called Talb who turns to stone if he's caught in the sun. He lives in the caves beneath the palace and helps Aeriel against the Darkangel. Every fairy-tale needs a fairy godmother! and Talb fits that role. There is the Lorelei, the water-witch who steals little boys and turns them into vampyres, and a quest story that's pure Fantasy. Then we have Narnia-inspired beasts: magnificent talking animals who guard their part of the land with wisdom and fierce pride; and a dash of science fiction in the story of the Ancients. There's plenty going on here but it never loses its quiet, patient tone or measured pacing. Despite the variety of characters, the plot is simple and straight-forward, with no real surprises.
The only part I found lacking, which undermined the story, was Aeriel's love for the Darkangel. Even though she qualifies it as love "in a way", I thought she pitied him, felt compassion for him, and believed in the "spark of good" that still lay in him - maybe that is love "in a way", but there was so little interaction between the two that it was hard to see how she could develop these feelings for him, good girl or no. I don't like it when stories take emotions like these for granted, and don't spend time on developing them for the reader - it smacks of mere convenience for the plot's sake.
I never really understood the measures of time - Solstar is both "daylight" and the sun? I think the world might be a moon - they refer to Oceanus, a planet they guide by, which might actually be Earth. They say "day-month" and I was never sure if they actually meant months or not. It was so confusing it was distracting because I was trying to figure it out. An author's note would have been helpful.
October 21, 2015
*Almost 4 stars*
I first came upon this story when I was looking at books under the GRs tag 'Villains As Romantic Love Interests'. I had never heard of this author and the thing that came to mind when I began reading the story was THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. It contained an alternate reality, the theme of 'light versus dark', and a hidden meaning waiting for the reader to discover.
I also thought Ms. Pierce might have been a pseudonym of the New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan. Their writing styles were similar and they both wrote young adult fantasy-adventures with strong like-able females. But I discovered they were two separate individuals.
THE DARKANGEL was beautiful in appearance but hollow and evil on the inside. Referred to as a vampyre, he murdered his brides and forced Aeriel, a plain-looking maid, to attend to his wives' wraith-like bodies and perform other duties in his castle.
She knew he would kill her if she displeased him and learned never to take his wishes for granted. It boiled down to Aeriel exploring the real truth versus what had been imagined with the help of a mage-like little man named Talb, the duarough.
~Get use to Ms. Pierce's particular vocabulary.~
On more than one occasion, she took the common spelling of a word and twisted it around or would add a hyphen to give it new meaning. She also made up some new words that added dimension to the plot. You were expected to figure out the definition on your own. At first I had issues with this but once I got use to it, I felt these 'words' added a richness and substance not found in other fantasies.
The story started out a little slowly for me because I did not understand Aeriel's importance. I wouldn't classify this book as scary, paranormal or even a romance though it brushes each area. Some words of warning: if you find yourself enjoying this fantasy, be prepared to have the second story on hand once you near the finish. There is closure with THE DARKANGEL but the ending leaves you asking questions that are pursued in A GATHERING OF GARGOYLES.
I first came upon this story when I was looking at books under the GRs tag 'Villains As Romantic Love Interests'. I had never heard of this author and the thing that came to mind when I began reading the story was THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA. It contained an alternate reality, the theme of 'light versus dark', and a hidden meaning waiting for the reader to discover.
I also thought Ms. Pierce might have been a pseudonym of the New Zealand author Sherryl Jordan. Their writing styles were similar and they both wrote young adult fantasy-adventures with strong like-able females. But I discovered they were two separate individuals.
THE DARKANGEL was beautiful in appearance but hollow and evil on the inside. Referred to as a vampyre, he murdered his brides and forced Aeriel, a plain-looking maid, to attend to his wives' wraith-like bodies and perform other duties in his castle.
She knew he would kill her if she displeased him and learned never to take his wishes for granted. It boiled down to Aeriel exploring the real truth versus what had been imagined with the help of a mage-like little man named Talb, the duarough.
~Get use to Ms. Pierce's particular vocabulary.~
On more than one occasion, she took the common spelling of a word and twisted it around or would add a hyphen to give it new meaning. She also made up some new words that added dimension to the plot. You were expected to figure out the definition on your own. At first I had issues with this but once I got use to it, I felt these 'words' added a richness and substance not found in other fantasies.
The story started out a little slowly for me because I did not understand Aeriel's importance. I wouldn't classify this book as scary, paranormal or even a romance though it brushes each area. Some words of warning: if you find yourself enjoying this fantasy, be prepared to have the second story on hand once you near the finish. There is closure with THE DARKANGEL but the ending leaves you asking questions that are pursued in A GATHERING OF GARGOYLES.
April 21, 2015
1.5 stars
When it comes right down to it, this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Sure there is a "quest" in there but it is, essentially, Beauty and the Beast. I suppose I was hoping for something more interesting than I found, the author was clearly trying to be interesting but I found it largely dull.
First of all there is little to no character development. The vampyre was the most interesting character and that is largely only because he had a variety of moods (which is saying a lot that he was the most interesting since the bastard tortured animals at one point). Speaking of the vampyre, why the hell did he need so many names? The author chose to refer to him at a whim by vampyre, icarus, darkangel and perhaps one or two I am forgetting. Seriously, just pick one and stick with it.
The quest Aeriel takes I must say was rather uninteresting and felt out of place for the rest of the story. Magical lions (I'm sorry, lyon apparently) and horses and a random desert tribe aaaaaaand I was left nonplussed. Of the magical elements I did enjoy the gargoyles, although they were largely characterized as dogs.
I did not like the focus on appearances. The vampyre is always commenting on this woman being ugly, this woman being beautiful, Aeriel can't imagine killing the vampyre because of his beauty. *sigh* And why the hell are we supposed to buy the love Aeriel has for the vampyre? Where was this character/plot development exactly? And the heart scene, as I will call it, near the end? Are you kidding me?
Aside from these issues I am still confounded as to what day-month means in this world. Sometimes it seemed to be a day, other times it seemed to be a month. Is that what I was supposed to take from it? Also, the world itself is odd and the planetary/star/sun movement was confusing. I felt like I needed to diagram the movements myself to figure it out. Unfortunately I question whether this would even make it wholly clear.
Overall there were elements of the story that were decent but it was largely uninteresting and tedious. I do not know if I will be continuing in the series.
When it comes right down to it, this is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Sure there is a "quest" in there but it is, essentially, Beauty and the Beast. I suppose I was hoping for something more interesting than I found, the author was clearly trying to be interesting but I found it largely dull.
First of all there is little to no character development. The vampyre was the most interesting character and that is largely only because he had a variety of moods (which is saying a lot that he was the most interesting since the bastard tortured animals at one point). Speaking of the vampyre, why the hell did he need so many names? The author chose to refer to him at a whim by vampyre, icarus, darkangel and perhaps one or two I am forgetting. Seriously, just pick one and stick with it.
The quest Aeriel takes I must say was rather uninteresting and felt out of place for the rest of the story. Magical lions (I'm sorry, lyon apparently) and horses and a random desert tribe aaaaaaand I was left nonplussed. Of the magical elements I did enjoy the gargoyles, although they were largely characterized as dogs.
I did not like the focus on appearances. The vampyre is always commenting on this woman being ugly, this woman being beautiful, Aeriel can't imagine killing the vampyre because of his beauty. *sigh* And why the hell are we supposed to buy the love Aeriel has for the vampyre? Where was this character/plot development exactly? And the heart scene, as I will call it, near the end? Are you kidding me?
Aside from these issues I am still confounded as to what day-month means in this world. Sometimes it seemed to be a day, other times it seemed to be a month. Is that what I was supposed to take from it? Also, the world itself is odd and the planetary/star/sun movement was confusing. I felt like I needed to diagram the movements myself to figure it out. Unfortunately I question whether this would even make it wholly clear.
Overall there were elements of the story that were decent but it was largely uninteresting and tedious. I do not know if I will be continuing in the series.
February 10, 2009
Negative, negative stars. Quite possibly the worst book I have read, ever. Or, rather, pseudo-read. I read, with great torture, the first 100+ pages. In these, I found there was much monotony. Much, much monotony. Very little contact with the icarus, no character formation there. Basically, accept for appearing at the beginning and again at the end, he was a nonentity. Aeriel was barely formed, and there is no connection with her. I only know she had feelings because the author said so. There was no display of these feelings, no connection to how she felt, how, or if, she suffered. I then skipped the next 100 pages and picked up as if I had missed nothing. In 3 pages I gathered that in the previous 100, Aeriel had left, got what she needed, and returned. The ending was non-conclusional. Not just leading off into the next story, it was totally and completely without closure.
I totally don't get the awards this book recieved. It is entirely too dark for children.
I totally don't get the awards this book recieved. It is entirely too dark for children.
October 29, 2023
This book got me out of a reading slump.
Anyway, if you're looking for a wonderfully written fantasy about winged vampires, you're in the right place. The only thing I'd criticize is Aeriel, or rather the enigma that she couldn't decipher since I knew the answer to it at less than halfway through the book. Still, it was a most welcome change to the usual vampire lore.
Anyway, if you're looking for a wonderfully written fantasy about winged vampires, you're in the right place. The only thing I'd criticize is Aeriel, or rather the enigma that she couldn't decipher since I knew the answer to it at less than halfway through the book. Still, it was a most welcome change to the usual vampire lore.
April 8, 2011
I'd been hearing lots and lots about Meredith Ann Pierce long before I ever picked up one of her books. For the longest time I associated her in my head with a book called The Woman Who Loved Reindeer. And neither the title nor the cover did anything for me. But, as is so often the case, I had several friends who highly recommended her Darkangel trilogy. And they were persistent enough and vociferous enough that I finally picked up the THE DARKANGEL (much more interesting title and premise) to give a new author and a new series a go. This was probably somewhere around ten years ago. And I'm still so glad I gave in and picked up the trilogy. That way I didn't even have to wait before diving into the second book. And this really is a series that builds upon each previous book until the final showdown is indeed something to behold. This was Ms. Pierce's first book, written when she was just 23 years old, but you would never be able to tell. It's a treasure trove of creepy ambiance, layered characterization, and suspense. First published in 1982, the entire trilogy was fairly recently rejacketed nicely and released to (hopefully) a new crop of readers.
Ariel is a slave. Accompanying her mistress on a flower-gathering expedition, Ariel is dismayed when her mistress is abducted by the terrifying Darkangel--a vampyre who is destined to only come into his full power when he acquires his fourteenth and final bride. Yes, you read that right. He's got twelve of 'em locked away in his fortress and Ariel's mistress gets to be unlucky thirteen. But not if Ariel has anything to do with it. Somewhat taciturn by nature (and life status), she sets off in pursuit of her mistress, determined to fetch her back before the Darkangel drains her all but dry of life like his other wives, finds a fourteenth, and ascends to the dizzying heights of power of a seventh son and a full vampyre. Then he will be immortal and have truly left the last of his humanity behind. Unfortunately, Ariel herself is captured on her journey, and the Darkangel forces her into servitude to his bevy of wraith-wives. Soon Ariel begins to form a plan to kill the Darkangel and set the wives free.
I remember reading that line and feeling chilled, wondering just exactly what he carried inside those little vials. This is a vampyre novel of a different kind from the sort you may be used to. The mythology is woven very densely here, as the title character himself is more of a icarus-vampire hybrid than your typical broody night dweller. Everything about this dark fantasy/scifi is slightly left of what you expect it to be, and I love it for that very reason. Ariel is at times shy, furious, fearful, and bold. Her captor is coldly indifferent, with his black wings and his all-but-dead heart, but with a multitude of reasons lurking behind his violent search. And once Ariel discovers the truth of his history, his family, and his existence, she becomes determined to go on her own quest to recover the one object that might release him from his terrible fate. She makes this decision on her own, in the face of his certain disapproval and the possibility of her own annihilation. She is strong and sympathetic and her motivations never struck me as weak or dubious. The world these characters inhabit is as frigid as the Darkangel himself. Craggy and desolate, it provides an excellent backdrop for each character's isolation. Plus, it has friendly gargoyles, crafty dwarves, and one incredibly terrifying Lorelei. And this is only the beginning. It gets endlessly complicated through the course of the next two books as the reader grows fonder of both Ariel and the Icarus. I adore the entire trilogy and highly recommend it to anyone tired of the same old paranormal rigmarole. This one is different. A keeper.
Ariel is a slave. Accompanying her mistress on a flower-gathering expedition, Ariel is dismayed when her mistress is abducted by the terrifying Darkangel--a vampyre who is destined to only come into his full power when he acquires his fourteenth and final bride. Yes, you read that right. He's got twelve of 'em locked away in his fortress and Ariel's mistress gets to be unlucky thirteen. But not if Ariel has anything to do with it. Somewhat taciturn by nature (and life status), she sets off in pursuit of her mistress, determined to fetch her back before the Darkangel drains her all but dry of life like his other wives, finds a fourteenth, and ascends to the dizzying heights of power of a seventh son and a full vampyre. Then he will be immortal and have truly left the last of his humanity behind. Unfortunately, Ariel herself is captured on her journey, and the Darkangel forces her into servitude to his bevy of wraith-wives. Soon Ariel begins to form a plan to kill the Darkangel and set the wives free.
His hair was long and silver, and about his throat he wore a chain: on fourteen of the links hung little vials of lead.
I remember reading that line and feeling chilled, wondering just exactly what he carried inside those little vials. This is a vampyre novel of a different kind from the sort you may be used to. The mythology is woven very densely here, as the title character himself is more of a icarus-vampire hybrid than your typical broody night dweller. Everything about this dark fantasy/scifi is slightly left of what you expect it to be, and I love it for that very reason. Ariel is at times shy, furious, fearful, and bold. Her captor is coldly indifferent, with his black wings and his all-but-dead heart, but with a multitude of reasons lurking behind his violent search. And once Ariel discovers the truth of his history, his family, and his existence, she becomes determined to go on her own quest to recover the one object that might release him from his terrible fate. She makes this decision on her own, in the face of his certain disapproval and the possibility of her own annihilation. She is strong and sympathetic and her motivations never struck me as weak or dubious. The world these characters inhabit is as frigid as the Darkangel himself. Craggy and desolate, it provides an excellent backdrop for each character's isolation. Plus, it has friendly gargoyles, crafty dwarves, and one incredibly terrifying Lorelei. And this is only the beginning. It gets endlessly complicated through the course of the next two books as the reader grows fonder of both Ariel and the Icarus. I adore the entire trilogy and highly recommend it to anyone tired of the same old paranormal rigmarole. This one is different. A keeper.
March 5, 2013
Simply put, The Darkangel is one of the very best of vampire/fantasy novels I had read in the recent years. Yes it’s a YA book but so what, it is well written, it’s one hell of magical and fascinating book to read anyway.
The Darkangel is a story of fantasy and supernatural mixed with a hint of sci-fi. The tale begins when a slave-girl Aeriel, went to confront the fearsome darkangel(winged vampyer created by the evil water witch) after her young mistress and friend was kidnapped to be the darkangel’s 13th bride. However, being stunned by the darkangel’s unearthly beauty and terrifying power, Aeriel was spellbound, not able to avenge her friend, instead she ended up being the vampyer’s maid(since the darkangel thought she wasn't pretty enough to be a bride) and forced to serve his thirteen wives, whose hearts were eaten, their souls and blood sucked out and they ended up a group of living corpses called ‘the wraiths’.
In the darkangel’s castle, Aeriel befriended a duarough(little people) who might be a mage. The duarough told her that the darkangel had not yet lost his soul until he found his 14th bride and consumed her, before that they would have to kill the vampyer in order to ruin the water witch’s plan to complete her army of seven powerful darkangels and enslaved the human kingdoms with their forces. Caught between her affection and pity toward the darkangel (whom she sensed still had some goodness in him) and the responsibility to her lost friend and the rest of the human race, Aeriel must find a way to save her own life, the wraiths and even the darkangel himself before it was too late……
It dosen’t sound like the most unique kind of plot, isn’t it? but what is fascinating about Pierce’s writing is that she could make up imaginative details and plot-twists to make her text rich. In the alternative world she created, she had winged vampires, brides who are living corpses, talking beasts, wedding sari made of charity and love, etc. Pierce even managed to make something as simple as a rainfall look magical. There're magic in her writing that is able to put simple, ordinary things under different light to make them shine brightly. Ah, that’s what skill and talent are for!
The Darkangel series is also a good example that vampire story doesn’t really need typical formula of love triangle, nor does it need to be a boring, predictable mixture with a bunch of witches, werewolves and shapeshifters!
The characters are good too, colorful and believable, even though the true identity of the darkangel becomes kind of obvious in the middle of the story. We can watch the lead character Aeriel develops from the courageous yet confused slave to a true heroine in the end, and how she formed friendship with the people around her. I also like how Pierce delivered the ending(even though it really isn’t the ending that I’d prefer). I wish the author would somehow develop a sequel to tie the loose ends for good. And I also strongly wish that someday, some talented film makers would make the books into motion picture or a tv series. I mean, The Darkangel is the kind of books that deserve such treatment.
To sum up, it’s an amazing trilogy, even though the first book came out as early as 1982 still it doesn’t look outdated! Read it if you still haven’t!
The Darkangel is a story of fantasy and supernatural mixed with a hint of sci-fi. The tale begins when a slave-girl Aeriel, went to confront the fearsome darkangel(winged vampyer created by the evil water witch) after her young mistress and friend was kidnapped to be the darkangel’s 13th bride. However, being stunned by the darkangel’s unearthly beauty and terrifying power, Aeriel was spellbound, not able to avenge her friend, instead she ended up being the vampyer’s maid(since the darkangel thought she wasn't pretty enough to be a bride) and forced to serve his thirteen wives, whose hearts were eaten, their souls and blood sucked out and they ended up a group of living corpses called ‘the wraiths’.
In the darkangel’s castle, Aeriel befriended a duarough(little people) who might be a mage. The duarough told her that the darkangel had not yet lost his soul until he found his 14th bride and consumed her, before that they would have to kill the vampyer in order to ruin the water witch’s plan to complete her army of seven powerful darkangels and enslaved the human kingdoms with their forces. Caught between her affection and pity toward the darkangel (whom she sensed still had some goodness in him) and the responsibility to her lost friend and the rest of the human race, Aeriel must find a way to save her own life, the wraiths and even the darkangel himself before it was too late……
It dosen’t sound like the most unique kind of plot, isn’t it? but what is fascinating about Pierce’s writing is that she could make up imaginative details and plot-twists to make her text rich. In the alternative world she created, she had winged vampires, brides who are living corpses, talking beasts, wedding sari made of charity and love, etc. Pierce even managed to make something as simple as a rainfall look magical. There're magic in her writing that is able to put simple, ordinary things under different light to make them shine brightly. Ah, that’s what skill and talent are for!
The Darkangel series is also a good example that vampire story doesn’t really need typical formula of love triangle, nor does it need to be a boring, predictable mixture with a bunch of witches, werewolves and shapeshifters!
The characters are good too, colorful and believable, even though the true identity of the darkangel becomes kind of obvious in the middle of the story. We can watch the lead character Aeriel develops from the courageous yet confused slave to a true heroine in the end, and how she formed friendship with the people around her. I also like how Pierce delivered the ending(even though it really isn’t the ending that I’d prefer). I wish the author would somehow develop a sequel to tie the loose ends for good. And I also strongly wish that someday, some talented film makers would make the books into motion picture or a tv series. I mean, The Darkangel is the kind of books that deserve such treatment.
To sum up, it’s an amazing trilogy, even though the first book came out as early as 1982 still it doesn’t look outdated! Read it if you still haven’t!
September 11, 2009
I am so happy that I found this book. I read this book at least twice growing up and it touched my heart. It was a very good love story in a very unusual way. It was about the power of love and sacrifice, and all that sappy stuff that I just love. I searched for this book for many years because I didn't remember the title and it was one of the books I read from the library and habitually checked out. This is supposed to be a vampire story, but I always thought of it as a fallen angel story. I can't wait to reread this and the sequels.
February 11, 2008
I picked this book up at Barnes&Noble last night because it stands out in my memory as a book I loved when I first read it in the seventh grade. Indeed, ten years later, it is still an enjoyable read.
Surprisingly, what I most enjoyed about this book is the author's detailed and beautiful description of the landscape and creatures of Solstar, the fantasy world in which this story takes place. The land and the beings that reside in it are familiar, and yet different and quite unique. I found the customs, folklore, and mythology of the various tribes to be intriguing, as well.
It was interesting to watch the gradual development of the main character - from a timid, self-conscious servant to a determined, courageous young woman. And to me, the change was subtle enough to be believable.
I did have a few minor issues with this book that I can recall. One, there were several typos. Each time I saw one, it made me pause and think, "....What? Come on." Poor editing. Secondly, I found the ending to be slightly disappointing. Although this is a fantasy book and certain things that seem implausible could be accounted for by magic, the resolution to the conflict nevertheless seemed to be a bit too easy and convenient. I'm probably just being picky, though.
Mentioning the last issue would spoil the ending, so I'll refrain. It was also a bit short at 238 pages, but I suppose longer isn't always better. All in all, it was an inventive and memorable fantasy, and I will most certainly read the second in the trilogy soon. =)
Surprisingly, what I most enjoyed about this book is the author's detailed and beautiful description of the landscape and creatures of Solstar, the fantasy world in which this story takes place. The land and the beings that reside in it are familiar, and yet different and quite unique. I found the customs, folklore, and mythology of the various tribes to be intriguing, as well.
It was interesting to watch the gradual development of the main character - from a timid, self-conscious servant to a determined, courageous young woman. And to me, the change was subtle enough to be believable.
I did have a few minor issues with this book that I can recall. One, there were several typos. Each time I saw one, it made me pause and think, "....What? Come on." Poor editing. Secondly, I found the ending to be slightly disappointing. Although this is a fantasy book and certain things that seem implausible could be accounted for by magic, the resolution to the conflict nevertheless seemed to be a bit too easy and convenient. I'm probably just being picky, though.
Mentioning the last issue would spoil the ending, so I'll refrain. It was also a bit short at 238 pages, but I suppose longer isn't always better. All in all, it was an inventive and memorable fantasy, and I will most certainly read the second in the trilogy soon. =)
March 15, 2013
Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2012/02/b...
While gathering the ceremonial herbs and flowers on the eve of a great wedding celebration, handmaid Aeriel and her mistress Eoduin ascend the highest peaks overlooking their village – and Eoduin’s natural grace and beauty attracts the eye of the Darkangel. A cruel, blood-drinking, soul-stealing vampyre, one of seven icari, the Darkangel steals Eoduin as his thirteenth bride, much to Aeriel’s terror and dismay. In her quest to avenge her friend and mistress, Aeriel is also stolen away by the vampyre, not as a bride, but as a serving girl and weaver for the Darkangel’s thirteen existing brides. Trapped in an impossibly cold palace of death and despair, Aeriel is horrified when she meets her new mistresses – ghostly, shrunken wraiths without blood, substance or soul, and only a far gone memory of the women they used to be. With the help of an ancient mage, Aeriel vows to stop the Darkangel from taking his fourteenth wife and coming fully into his power as a full vampyre – for if he gathers his fourteenth soul, he will join his six icari brothers to wreak havoc and descruction on the world.
And yet, for all of Aeriel’s determination, for her fear of the Darkangel and his cruelty, for her vow to help the wraiths and her lost mistress Eoduin, Aeriel senses that there is still some kernel of goodness in the Darkangel. Aeriel holds the fate of the world in her hands – to trust in the buried, locked away remains of a good soul within the Darkangel’s leaden heart, or to slay him to protect everything good and living in the world.
I confess that I’ve never read anything from Meredith Ann Pierce, and had not even heard of The Darkangel until this year – but I am so very glad I did. This is a lush, almost poetic tale with prose that is both sweet and pure, though not without its share of darkness (as is true of the best dark fantasies and fairy tales). In style and in form, The Darkangel feels very similar to Clare B. Dunkle’s The Hollow Kingdom, tossed with Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and Beauty, with a touch of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (yes, there’s a magical talking lyon in this book). This is pretty excellent praise, as all of these books are pretty freaking fantastic, and The Darkangel conjures images and likenesses of different aspects of them all. Truly, it is the writing style and the descriptions that won my heart with this book – from the phrasing of certain passages, to the descriptions, there’s something almost…well, darkly magical about The Darkangel, as cliched and hackneyed as my own words sound. Take, for example Aeriel’s first encounter with the Darkangel’s wives:
Isn’t there something so beautifully lyrical in the cadence of the passage? Something beautiful in how Ms. Pierce’s prose depicts something so terrible? Like Robin McKinley’s older work, there’s something unexpected and gorgeous in The Darkangel‘s turns of phrase; something sadly missing in many contemporary fantasy novels, for young readers and adults alike. It’s the type of quality you forget about until you read it, and The Darkangel has this ineffable essence packed into every gorgeous sentence on the page.
Beyond the care and detail Meredith Ann Pierce’s novel gives to phrasing, the worldbuilding of The Darkangel is similarly lush and unexpected. I loved that this actually is a science fiction novel in addition to being a fantasy, with a sad story of colonists long come and gone, and the wasted aftermath of their efforts on Aeriel’s strange planet, where days are much, much longer than those on Earth.
From a character perspective, however, things are a little shakier. As a heroine, Aeriel is sweet and honest, and her motivations are utterly believable and never feel forced or contrived. That said, she is, perhaps, a bit too good to be true; a bit too selfless, and good, and moral. There’s nothing wrong with a heroine that never falters or balks in the face of danger, or hesitates in making self-sacrifice for the good of others – but it does leave her character feeling a bit bland and lacking in complexity. My only real complaint, however, lies with the eponymous Darkangel himself. I didn’t really believe that there was any good left in him, and even though the slightly-saintly Aeriel senses this innate humanity, buried beneath his cold, beautiful, and cruel exterior, I don’t know that I bought the romantic angle of the book. And yet…perhaps this is just a matter of personal taste. In any case, with two more books in the trilogy, perhaps these characterization issues are addressed more in-depth.
Overall, The Darkangel is a beautiful, unexpectedly lush book, with a style that is unrivaled in the current YA Fantasy space. Absolutely wholeheartedly recommended – now I just need to figure out where I can get my hands on copies of books 2 and 3 in the trilogy.
Notable Quotes/Parts: From one early chapter in the book:
While gathering the ceremonial herbs and flowers on the eve of a great wedding celebration, handmaid Aeriel and her mistress Eoduin ascend the highest peaks overlooking their village – and Eoduin’s natural grace and beauty attracts the eye of the Darkangel. A cruel, blood-drinking, soul-stealing vampyre, one of seven icari, the Darkangel steals Eoduin as his thirteenth bride, much to Aeriel’s terror and dismay. In her quest to avenge her friend and mistress, Aeriel is also stolen away by the vampyre, not as a bride, but as a serving girl and weaver for the Darkangel’s thirteen existing brides. Trapped in an impossibly cold palace of death and despair, Aeriel is horrified when she meets her new mistresses – ghostly, shrunken wraiths without blood, substance or soul, and only a far gone memory of the women they used to be. With the help of an ancient mage, Aeriel vows to stop the Darkangel from taking his fourteenth wife and coming fully into his power as a full vampyre – for if he gathers his fourteenth soul, he will join his six icari brothers to wreak havoc and descruction on the world.
And yet, for all of Aeriel’s determination, for her fear of the Darkangel and his cruelty, for her vow to help the wraiths and her lost mistress Eoduin, Aeriel senses that there is still some kernel of goodness in the Darkangel. Aeriel holds the fate of the world in her hands – to trust in the buried, locked away remains of a good soul within the Darkangel’s leaden heart, or to slay him to protect everything good and living in the world.
I confess that I’ve never read anything from Meredith Ann Pierce, and had not even heard of The Darkangel until this year – but I am so very glad I did. This is a lush, almost poetic tale with prose that is both sweet and pure, though not without its share of darkness (as is true of the best dark fantasies and fairy tales). In style and in form, The Darkangel feels very similar to Clare B. Dunkle’s The Hollow Kingdom, tossed with Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and Beauty, with a touch of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (yes, there’s a magical talking lyon in this book). This is pretty excellent praise, as all of these books are pretty freaking fantastic, and The Darkangel conjures images and likenesses of different aspects of them all. Truly, it is the writing style and the descriptions that won my heart with this book – from the phrasing of certain passages, to the descriptions, there’s something almost…well, darkly magical about The Darkangel, as cliched and hackneyed as my own words sound. Take, for example Aeriel’s first encounter with the Darkangel’s wives:
He led her up a winding stair, down a long narrow hall to a little door at the very end. It opened onto a tiny windowless room in which were twelve-and-one emaciated women. Some stood in corners or crouched, leaning back against the walls. Some crawled slowly on hands and knees; one sat and tore her hair and sobbed. Another paced, paced along a little of the far wall. All screamed and cowered at the entrance of the vampyre.
Isn’t there something so beautifully lyrical in the cadence of the passage? Something beautiful in how Ms. Pierce’s prose depicts something so terrible? Like Robin McKinley’s older work, there’s something unexpected and gorgeous in The Darkangel‘s turns of phrase; something sadly missing in many contemporary fantasy novels, for young readers and adults alike. It’s the type of quality you forget about until you read it, and The Darkangel has this ineffable essence packed into every gorgeous sentence on the page.
Beyond the care and detail Meredith Ann Pierce’s novel gives to phrasing, the worldbuilding of The Darkangel is similarly lush and unexpected. I loved that this actually is a science fiction novel in addition to being a fantasy, with a sad story of colonists long come and gone, and the wasted aftermath of their efforts on Aeriel’s strange planet, where days are much, much longer than those on Earth.
From a character perspective, however, things are a little shakier. As a heroine, Aeriel is sweet and honest, and her motivations are utterly believable and never feel forced or contrived. That said, she is, perhaps, a bit too good to be true; a bit too selfless, and good, and moral. There’s nothing wrong with a heroine that never falters or balks in the face of danger, or hesitates in making self-sacrifice for the good of others – but it does leave her character feeling a bit bland and lacking in complexity. My only real complaint, however, lies with the eponymous Darkangel himself. I didn’t really believe that there was any good left in him, and even though the slightly-saintly Aeriel senses this innate humanity, buried beneath his cold, beautiful, and cruel exterior, I don’t know that I bought the romantic angle of the book. And yet…perhaps this is just a matter of personal taste. In any case, with two more books in the trilogy, perhaps these characterization issues are addressed more in-depth.
Overall, The Darkangel is a beautiful, unexpectedly lush book, with a style that is unrivaled in the current YA Fantasy space. Absolutely wholeheartedly recommended – now I just need to figure out where I can get my hands on copies of books 2 and 3 in the trilogy.
Notable Quotes/Parts: From one early chapter in the book:
The icarus paused gracefully at the steps; all his moves were grace. “Do you come?”
Aeriel turned back to him. “I am to be your bride,” she said, not questioning. The certainty of it overwhelmed her.
The darkangel looked at her then and laughed, a long, mocking laugh that sent the gargoyles into a screaming, chattering frenzy. “You?” he cried, and Aeriel’s heart shrank, tightened like a knot beneath the bone of her breast. “You be my bride? By the Fair Witch, no. You’re much too ugly.”
August 16, 2020
I was fascinated to notice that this book came with an endorsement from Madeleine L'Engle, which altered my expectations going in. Sure enough, this book turned out quite different from what I had initially expected: it's a fable firmly in the style of George MacDonald or CS Lewis. As such, there is not a great amount of interiority to the characters, and if you're looking for a compelling romance that is definitely not this book. But it is a beautiful and eerie myth about the life-giving power of love. A love that sees without blindness or infatuation (); a love that finds room for justice as well as mercy (); a love that does not bypass but rather facilitates the process of dying to self (). This is not quite a monster romance - but rather it's a concise and beautiful parable of redemption that shows, in stark relief, just how and why these stories work so well.
September 22, 2007
I have to wonder now if I loved this book because I read it in high school (and reread, and reread, and reread). I borrowed somebody else's copy of the book club edition of the trilogy so often that they finally just gave it to me.
I was drawn in my the happy ending of the first story, but then the author takes it so much further in the second book, and then even further in the third; not your typical story. I was always amazed by the foundations the author built in the first book that supported the last book, but didn't leave anything unfinished in the first book. It all works so well.
Have I matured beyond the book? I don't think so, but I'm going to have to read it again to be sure. I'm fairly certain I'll really enjoy it.
I was drawn in my the happy ending of the first story, but then the author takes it so much further in the second book, and then even further in the third; not your typical story. I was always amazed by the foundations the author built in the first book that supported the last book, but didn't leave anything unfinished in the first book. It all works so well.
Have I matured beyond the book? I don't think so, but I'm going to have to read it again to be sure. I'm fairly certain I'll really enjoy it.
March 13, 2017
I liked this alot! After about 2 days of reading I am amazed. I need volume 2 ASAP!
5/5 Gorgeous Fantasy, Read It.
5/5 Gorgeous Fantasy, Read It.
April 16, 2023
this book was fun to read! beautifully written and the plot was bewitching (almost) to the core. :)
it’s starts off with a duo of girls named aeriel and eoduin traveling towards a summit of the mountainsides that are near their village to collect some flowers.
aeriel (our protagonist) is a loyal maid to her mistress eoduin and would pretty much do anything for her. when she sees her gets kidnapped by the darkangel and is to be his new bride. aeriel tries to stop him, but to no avail.
determined to find her mistress and bring her home, she waits for the darkangel to return. he does, and in so takes her as well. but instead of a making her a bride, he makes her a maid.
i’m glad i came across this book. it’s been a while since i’ve read a fantasy book with this type of aesthetic.. since i’ve mostly been clingy with the more romantic area of fantasy.
although there were some parts i did not like, and some were confusing. one of the confusing parts was the whole solstar situation. it could be that i’m dumb, but i didn’t really understand the whole daylight situation.
and the main part that i did not like was aeriel’s “love” for the darkangel. like i know it’s not really his fault, giving the situation on his past, but still. his actions and murderous intents are not really it for it. but shame that she is stuck on his beauty.
i’m ready for the next adventure!
it’s starts off with a duo of girls named aeriel and eoduin traveling towards a summit of the mountainsides that are near their village to collect some flowers.
aeriel (our protagonist) is a loyal maid to her mistress eoduin and would pretty much do anything for her. when she sees her gets kidnapped by the darkangel and is to be his new bride. aeriel tries to stop him, but to no avail.
determined to find her mistress and bring her home, she waits for the darkangel to return. he does, and in so takes her as well. but instead of a making her a bride, he makes her a maid.
i’m glad i came across this book. it’s been a while since i’ve read a fantasy book with this type of aesthetic.. since i’ve mostly been clingy with the more romantic area of fantasy.
although there were some parts i did not like, and some were confusing. one of the confusing parts was the whole solstar situation. it could be that i’m dumb, but i didn’t really understand the whole daylight situation.
and the main part that i did not like was aeriel’s “love” for the darkangel. like i know it’s not really his fault, giving the situation on his past, but still. his actions and murderous intents are not really it for it. but shame that she is stuck on his beauty.
i’m ready for the next adventure!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2012
How to make justice to a book that blew you away when you first read it?
Ariel is accompanying her mistress-Edouin up on the mountain to gather some flowers. Then suddenly Edouin is snatched and abducted by a winged creature.
Horrified she runs to tell everyone that Edouin has been kidnapped.
But no one believes her Except for a strange blind old woman who tells her the creature she saw was a vampyre and that he kidnapped Edouin to become his "wife" wich essentially means to steal her soul
Ariel decides if no one will try to save Edouin its up to her to do it.Even if she is a lowly slave girl.
So she goes up the mountain and waits for the vampyre to come back.
He does and takes her back to his castle to be handmaiden to his "wives" other young women he has taken.
They are little more than wraiths though after he has stolen their souls so Aeriel cant tell wich one of them is Eoduin.
To keep the vampyre complacent she begins to tell him tales and she also cares for his beasts,hideous creatures wich are kept starved to better guard his castle.
But she discovers the time is approaching when he needs to steal his final bride and take his wives souls to his mother.And then not only his wives will be lost...the last of the vampyres humanity will be destroyed too.
Aeriel doesnt know what she can do.Only that she has to do something
When I first found this book I was take away by the story.It didnt hurt either that the cover was done by the amazingKinuko Y. Craft
The author somehow manages to blend the story of Bluebeard,Beauty and the beast(altough the vampyre is beautiful,he is still a monster)and the storytelling of Szcherezade into one story.
And its a coming of age tale too.
At times its quite a surreal read,and I think the best comparision I could make is call its a surreal fairytale.
But I think the sheer originality of the story and the world its set in elevates the book from more more straightly written books.
Her "vampyre" is quite different from the norm too they have wings like angels
“They were jet, those wings, as deep as the sky, as black as Eoduin's hair—no, blacker, for they were dull, unoiled. They gave off no sheen in the light, no gleam to the eye. They drank up the light and diminished it: they were wings of pure shadow”
Thats a good example of the poetic and evocative prose.
I am glad that I found this one. It has been a re-read for me since the age of 14.
Ariel is accompanying her mistress-Edouin up on the mountain to gather some flowers. Then suddenly Edouin is snatched and abducted by a winged creature.
Horrified she runs to tell everyone that Edouin has been kidnapped.
But no one believes her Except for a strange blind old woman who tells her the creature she saw was a vampyre and that he kidnapped Edouin to become his "wife" wich essentially means to steal her soul
Ariel decides if no one will try to save Edouin its up to her to do it.Even if she is a lowly slave girl.
So she goes up the mountain and waits for the vampyre to come back.
He does and takes her back to his castle to be handmaiden to his "wives" other young women he has taken.
They are little more than wraiths though after he has stolen their souls so Aeriel cant tell wich one of them is Eoduin.
To keep the vampyre complacent she begins to tell him tales and she also cares for his beasts,hideous creatures wich are kept starved to better guard his castle.
But she discovers the time is approaching when he needs to steal his final bride and take his wives souls to his mother.And then not only his wives will be lost...the last of the vampyres humanity will be destroyed too.
Aeriel doesnt know what she can do.Only that she has to do something
When I first found this book I was take away by the story.It didnt hurt either that the cover was done by the amazingKinuko Y. Craft
The author somehow manages to blend the story of Bluebeard,Beauty and the beast(altough the vampyre is beautiful,he is still a monster)and the storytelling of Szcherezade into one story.
And its a coming of age tale too.
At times its quite a surreal read,and I think the best comparision I could make is call its a surreal fairytale.
But I think the sheer originality of the story and the world its set in elevates the book from more more straightly written books.
Her "vampyre" is quite different from the norm too they have wings like angels
“They were jet, those wings, as deep as the sky, as black as Eoduin's hair—no, blacker, for they were dull, unoiled. They gave off no sheen in the light, no gleam to the eye. They drank up the light and diminished it: they were wings of pure shadow”
Thats a good example of the poetic and evocative prose.
I am glad that I found this one. It has been a re-read for me since the age of 14.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2012
I absolutely loved this book as a teen. I was crushed to realize I didn't love it as an adult.
I'm still captivated by the world Pierce creates: Earth's moon, altered to support life that is itself genetically engineered to live there, its natural rotation providing 14-Earth Day "nights" and "days," the atmosphere thin enough to barely refract light. Aeriel, a slave in the local ruler's household, is devoted to her young mistress Eoduin, and when Eoduin is captured by an icarus--a vampiric winged creature--Aeriel vows to find her and bring her back. She's also captured and brought to the icarus's castle to care for his thirteen wives, all of them (including Eoduin) withered and mostly dead because the icarus has taken their souls. He's collecting them to take to his "mother" in the Wastes, and in a year, when he takes his fourteenth, she will make him a true vampyre. (I did not make up that spelling.)
There's just such wonderful imagery in this story, like the caverns underground where Aeriel's companion the duarough lives. Or the golden drop spindle that spins thread out of Aeriel's emotions--hate, fear, love all producing different threads. Or Aeriel's encounter with the banished guardian of her country. It's beautifully evocative.
What it cannot do is obscure the fact that the icarus is soulless, cruel, selfish, violent, and a murderer, and that Aeriel's growing attraction to him despite her knowing all of this is perverse. When the duarough calls her on it the first time, she says that she is drawn to the icarus because he is beautiful (of course he is, it's a vampire story, but at least Pierce has the good sense to also make him inhuman and thus a little repellent) and, more disturbingly, that anyone that beautiful cannot be completely evil.
Excuse me?
In context, what Aeriel is really saying is that she feels pity for the icarus, who was once a human kidnapped and transformed by the Witch of the Wastes. As the plot progresses, we see the icarus being affected by Aeriel's presence and her actions, but he doesn't become a better person. Surprisingly, this works to show Aeriel's point: you can feel pity for someone without approving of their behavior. And it would have been a good story, if it hadn't gotten tangled up in the romantic-love version of the plot. There's no reason for Aeriel to fall in love with the icarus. He does nothing to make himself emotionally appealing or to repudiate his violent, sociopathic behavior. The only thing he has going for him is that he's gorgeous and has a tortured past...wait, I take it back, that's *exactly* why she should fall in love with him.
Seriously, this is not a convincing love story, but since it's part of the story, the book is not a convincing story about redemption either. It's just muddled. I wish it had gone one way or the other, or even that Aeriel had seen the icarus as evil, killed him, and then had to deal with the fallout. I will always love this book for what it does brilliantly, but now my feelings about it are deeply conflicted.
I'm still captivated by the world Pierce creates: Earth's moon, altered to support life that is itself genetically engineered to live there, its natural rotation providing 14-Earth Day "nights" and "days," the atmosphere thin enough to barely refract light. Aeriel, a slave in the local ruler's household, is devoted to her young mistress Eoduin, and when Eoduin is captured by an icarus--a vampiric winged creature--Aeriel vows to find her and bring her back. She's also captured and brought to the icarus's castle to care for his thirteen wives, all of them (including Eoduin) withered and mostly dead because the icarus has taken their souls. He's collecting them to take to his "mother" in the Wastes, and in a year, when he takes his fourteenth, she will make him a true vampyre. (I did not make up that spelling.)
There's just such wonderful imagery in this story, like the caverns underground where Aeriel's companion the duarough lives. Or the golden drop spindle that spins thread out of Aeriel's emotions--hate, fear, love all producing different threads. Or Aeriel's encounter with the banished guardian of her country. It's beautifully evocative.
What it cannot do is obscure the fact that the icarus is soulless, cruel, selfish, violent, and a murderer, and that Aeriel's growing attraction to him despite her knowing all of this is perverse. When the duarough calls her on it the first time, she says that she is drawn to the icarus because he is beautiful (of course he is, it's a vampire story, but at least Pierce has the good sense to also make him inhuman and thus a little repellent) and, more disturbingly, that anyone that beautiful cannot be completely evil.
Excuse me?
In context, what Aeriel is really saying is that she feels pity for the icarus, who was once a human kidnapped and transformed by the Witch of the Wastes. As the plot progresses, we see the icarus being affected by Aeriel's presence and her actions, but he doesn't become a better person. Surprisingly, this works to show Aeriel's point: you can feel pity for someone without approving of their behavior. And it would have been a good story, if it hadn't gotten tangled up in the romantic-love version of the plot. There's no reason for Aeriel to fall in love with the icarus. He does nothing to make himself emotionally appealing or to repudiate his violent, sociopathic behavior. The only thing he has going for him is that he's gorgeous and has a tortured past...wait, I take it back, that's *exactly* why she should fall in love with him.
Seriously, this is not a convincing love story, but since it's part of the story, the book is not a convincing story about redemption either. It's just muddled. I wish it had gone one way or the other, or even that Aeriel had seen the icarus as evil, killed him, and then had to deal with the fallout. I will always love this book for what it does brilliantly, but now my feelings about it are deeply conflicted.
January 8, 2017
This is a fairytale in the truest sense of the word. However, it's main 'un'fairytale-like quality is that one of the two main characters is a vampire. The other is a girl who falls for him but don't make the mistake of thinking it's going to be an angsty teenage fantasy the likes of which Ms Meyer offers because it's not. You'll be disappointed if that's what you're after. The cover makes it look like any other ten-a-penny vampire fantasy but it couldn't be more different if it tried.
This was first published in 1982 and it feels a bit dated now. Not because of the writing style and definitely not because of the subject, but by association. Because other - more recent- novels in this genre are edgy and fashionable with urban settings and situations and they use language that you'll come across every day in life, Darkangel just seems to miss the mark if you're more used to the modern vampire romance.
It was republished in 2007, no doubt to soak up some of the popularity that vampire fiction had generated in recent years, and there's nothing wrong with that. Especially since Darkangel was actually a forerunner of all those other urban vamps. But it does tread a fine line. It's counting on the purchasers of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and House of Night books to also show interest in this one and there's every chance they will, but I want to add a word of caution...
It's not what we've come to expect from vamp literature. It's not worse though....it's just different. Go into it expecting a fairytale and enjoy the weirdness of it all and it's a good story. From what I hear it gets better in the next two books in the trilogy, but I can't comment on that because I haven't read those. Read it for what it is, a cutting edge (at the time) dark fairytale. Like all good fairytales it has a bit of spook in it and there's a couple of bits where it gets scary and you'll hope it turns out well but it's not 'edge of your seat' type stuff and neither is it a 'will they, won't they' romance, it's just not that kind of book. I don't have a mad hunger to find out what happens next, if I'm honest, so I'm still not sure if I'll try the follow on books but if you're in the mood for a nice traditional fairytale with a nice un-traditonal vampire then this might be the book for you.
This was first published in 1982 and it feels a bit dated now. Not because of the writing style and definitely not because of the subject, but by association. Because other - more recent- novels in this genre are edgy and fashionable with urban settings and situations and they use language that you'll come across every day in life, Darkangel just seems to miss the mark if you're more used to the modern vampire romance.
It was republished in 2007, no doubt to soak up some of the popularity that vampire fiction had generated in recent years, and there's nothing wrong with that. Especially since Darkangel was actually a forerunner of all those other urban vamps. But it does tread a fine line. It's counting on the purchasers of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and House of Night books to also show interest in this one and there's every chance they will, but I want to add a word of caution...
It's not what we've come to expect from vamp literature. It's not worse though....it's just different. Go into it expecting a fairytale and enjoy the weirdness of it all and it's a good story. From what I hear it gets better in the next two books in the trilogy, but I can't comment on that because I haven't read those. Read it for what it is, a cutting edge (at the time) dark fairytale. Like all good fairytales it has a bit of spook in it and there's a couple of bits where it gets scary and you'll hope it turns out well but it's not 'edge of your seat' type stuff and neither is it a 'will they, won't they' romance, it's just not that kind of book. I don't have a mad hunger to find out what happens next, if I'm honest, so I'm still not sure if I'll try the follow on books but if you're in the mood for a nice traditional fairytale with a nice un-traditonal vampire then this might be the book for you.
August 2, 2010
In theory, I like the idea of books that are told like a fairy tale or seem fairy tale inspired. However most of the time when I pick one up I have a hard time getting into it. I think part of the problem, as with this book here too, is the heroines are frequently written very one dimensional. The heroine in this book isn't too bad, but she is still written in a similar way. She's so sweet and docile that even though she's the slave of the lady that the Darkangel kidnaps and she's been treated poorly by this woman almost her whole life... she still risks her life and goes out to get revenge for the lady's death. Then the heroine is taken by the Darkangel as well to become a slave for his wives. And she gradually sort of just comes to accept that too. Heroines in this genre tend to have this complex where they are just too pure and perfect to have much of a personality. And I really don't like heroines that come off like a doormat. 'Just step all over me and I'll just take it' kind of thing.
Now I'm sure there's the argument that she was born a slave and therefore just has that mentality and I understand that. And perhaps later in the book she got better. But it's just one of the things that make the want to give up on a book. I've read other books where the heroine is a slave or in some demeaning position but they don't lie like a doormat too. The plot sounded like it could be really interesting and the world in The Darkangel was built really well. But if I can't like the characters, or at least the main character, then I'm not going to waste my time.
Now I'm sure there's the argument that she was born a slave and therefore just has that mentality and I understand that. And perhaps later in the book she got better. But it's just one of the things that make the want to give up on a book. I've read other books where the heroine is a slave or in some demeaning position but they don't lie like a doormat too. The plot sounded like it could be really interesting and the world in The Darkangel was built really well. But if I can't like the characters, or at least the main character, then I'm not going to waste my time.
January 8, 2012
This series was one of my favorites as a teen. Book 1 of the Dark Angel trilogy introduces us to Aeriel, a slave who ends up following her lifelong friend after she was captured by a Darkangel. His goal is to take 14 wives as sacrifices so that he may become a full fledged vampire. Aeriel's friend, Euodine, is to be his 13th wife.
Aeriel plots to be captured as well, the Darkangel deciding to take her so as to serve his wives. Upon meeting the Darkangel, she is stricken by his beauty. While he is undoubtedly evil, she sees something deeper within him that makes her want to save him.
This is not your typical romance, and really quite a bit of the story is centered around general fantasy lore and mystery. The Darkangel does not find Aeriel physically attractive, outright calling her too ugly to be one of his brides. That to me already sets up a very interesting dynamic that I enjoyed seeing played out in this book. If he is to fall for her, it would be for something deeper than her outer beauty to him.
The writing style, while created for young adult, would translate well for general adult readers as well. The story truly made an impression on me and to this day, I think back to amazing scenes. I love the complexity of the Darkangel as a character and I think other readers would, too.
*Review also posted to Amazon
Aeriel plots to be captured as well, the Darkangel deciding to take her so as to serve his wives. Upon meeting the Darkangel, she is stricken by his beauty. While he is undoubtedly evil, she sees something deeper within him that makes her want to save him.
This is not your typical romance, and really quite a bit of the story is centered around general fantasy lore and mystery. The Darkangel does not find Aeriel physically attractive, outright calling her too ugly to be one of his brides. That to me already sets up a very interesting dynamic that I enjoyed seeing played out in this book. If he is to fall for her, it would be for something deeper than her outer beauty to him.
The writing style, while created for young adult, would translate well for general adult readers as well. The story truly made an impression on me and to this day, I think back to amazing scenes. I love the complexity of the Darkangel as a character and I think other readers would, too.
*Review also posted to Amazon
December 4, 2009
Well, this WAS inventive and beautiful, but...I guess I was just hoping for something more than that.
There's so little character development that it was impossible for me to feel any attachment to anybody, and I kept waiting around wondering when the darkangel's supposed deep-down goodness would manifest itself, but it never really did, until his circumstances drastically changed at the very end. I never quite figured out how Aeriel came to love him--it seemed that they spent very little actual time together, and most of that time he was busy threatening her or chasing her around trying to kill her. Her thought process pretty much seemed to be, "He's beautiful! But he's evil! But he's so beautiful! But he wants to kill me! But he's really, really beautiful!" I just didn't get it is all.
There were several things I really loved about the book though--the wraithes, and the fourteen vials containing their souls that the darkangel wore around his neck, and I very much liked the parts of the story that took place in the desert, and the symbolism of the trading of hearts.
I feel like this book could have been AMAZING but, mainly because of the poor character development, it just fell a little flat for me. I still may read the second book in the trilogy, but I certainly don't feel any real compulsion to do so. Maybe I just came to this story too late in life...
There's so little character development that it was impossible for me to feel any attachment to anybody, and I kept waiting around wondering when the darkangel's supposed deep-down goodness would manifest itself, but it never really did, until his circumstances drastically changed at the very end. I never quite figured out how Aeriel came to love him--it seemed that they spent very little actual time together, and most of that time he was busy threatening her or chasing her around trying to kill her. Her thought process pretty much seemed to be, "He's beautiful! But he's evil! But he's so beautiful! But he wants to kill me! But he's really, really beautiful!" I just didn't get it is all.
There were several things I really loved about the book though--the wraithes, and the fourteen vials containing their souls that the darkangel wore around his neck, and I very much liked the parts of the story that took place in the desert, and the symbolism of the trading of hearts.
I feel like this book could have been AMAZING but, mainly because of the poor character development, it just fell a little flat for me. I still may read the second book in the trilogy, but I certainly don't feel any real compulsion to do so. Maybe I just came to this story too late in life...
August 19, 2007
The Darkangel, a winged creature that is reeking havoc in its world, is on the lookout for another wife. His thirteenth, in fact. And Aeriel, a lowly village servant girl, is there to witness the kidnapping.
Her mistress is taken abruptly by the Darkangel, as is Aeriel who means to kill the Darkangel (and falls under his spell instead).
The Darkangel takes Aeriel to his castle, where she is to serve the thirteen souless wraiths (wives), who insist that Aeriel MUST kill the Darkangel when he takes his fourteenth and final wife, takes her soul, and present his vials of the souls to the water witch-to be made a full icarus ( a creature that sucks out souls). However, Aeriel finds that she loves the Darkangel-because he is beautiful....and quests to save the small good in his soul.
I found the Darkangel to be a very interesting book. Great descriptions and believable characters. Some of the creatures are reminiscent of Narnia and Harry Potter. All in all: I give it four thumbs up!
Her mistress is taken abruptly by the Darkangel, as is Aeriel who means to kill the Darkangel (and falls under his spell instead).
The Darkangel takes Aeriel to his castle, where she is to serve the thirteen souless wraiths (wives), who insist that Aeriel MUST kill the Darkangel when he takes his fourteenth and final wife, takes her soul, and present his vials of the souls to the water witch-to be made a full icarus ( a creature that sucks out souls). However, Aeriel finds that she loves the Darkangel-because he is beautiful....and quests to save the small good in his soul.
I found the Darkangel to be a very interesting book. Great descriptions and believable characters. Some of the creatures are reminiscent of Narnia and Harry Potter. All in all: I give it four thumbs up!
Shelved as 'dnf'
March 10, 2022DNF @ pg. 10
I definitely did not read far enough into this to talk about any potential faults. I can tell you the writing is lovely. But I read some reviews that gave me a bit more info on what the plot is like and I was like, eh, I don't wanna read this because I'm not going to love it.
I definitely did not read far enough into this to talk about any potential faults. I can tell you the writing is lovely. But I read some reviews that gave me a bit more info on what the plot is like and I was like, eh, I don't wanna read this because I'm not going to love it.
March 4, 2016
This is a review originally posted on Hey Ashers!
Spoiler Rating: Moderate
Dear Lizzy,
I've lugged veritable carloads of novels home from Half Price Books, most of which have subsequently been lugged back to Half Price Books for reselling. The Darkangel came home with me, oh, five or six years ago, and has sat brooding on my shelf until a few days ago, when I finally decided, Eh, it's time.
Ignoring the weirdness of "astounding youth" (what is he, a toddler?) and "beautiful terror" (I don't even know), the synopsis sounds promising! But The Darkangel was not quite what I thought it was going to be.
Awesome: The Setting
The moon. This book takes place on the moon.
Something over a thousand years in the future, humans have terraformed the moon and developed (what's presumably) a mutated/modified human species that can survive much harsher conditions—so when the the artificial atmosphere begins to thin, the humans' domed cities start failing, and war (or disease, or something) calls the humans back to Earth, the mutated/modified humans continue to thrive on the moon.
By the time the story begins, most of the atmosphere has gone, there is almost no surface water available, and the ancient humans who created them are mostly-forgotten religious-ish figures.
Enter Aeriel, a slave girl, and Eoduin, her mistress, climbing into the high peaks to pick rare flowers:
The desolate landscape, the black sky and white sun, the long day and long night (the sun is up for [I'm guessing; it's never counted out] about 14 earth-days, and down for as long; a single day/night cycle is referred to as a day-month), the danger of cold and airlessness all combine to make a superb backdrop for a slightly creepy fairy tale—which The Darkangel is, in essence.
And oh, man, I can't tell you how much I love that the lack of atmosphere on the highest peaks mutes voices to the point that even screams are only slight sounds. That is terrifying and so good.
Not Really Romance
All that said, I greatly enjoyed the fact that this wasn't really a romance. I don't want to go into spoilers, but this is a very Beauty and the Beast type story, but not a romance. (Aeriel is too busy pursuing her goal to be romanced, and the darkangel is the opposite of a romantic figure anyway.)
I understand that their relationship does get romantic over the course of the rest of the trilogy, however—and I find this squicky due to their age difference. Aeriel is prepubescent at the start of this story, entering puberty a few months after she's kidnapped. Obviously I have no idea how these Moon humans mature compared to Earth humans, but I was gauging her age around twelve or thirteen (though she does sometimes sound older). The darkangel, meanwhile, is thirty.
Confusing: The Intended Audience
The Darkangel is published under the teens division of Little Brown, which—coupled with the whole Sexy Vampire With Multiple Brides thing—led me to assume this was a book for teens. If it is, it has a very low opinion teens' intelligence.
For example:
The story also skimmed over how Aeriel's experiences changed/affected her, and glossed through the certain stages of Aeriel's adventure much like a story for children: "After a day of walking, the lost duckling found a warren of rabbits, who took him in and presented him with a bed of downy fur and feasts of carrots and celery—but the duckling slept poorly underground and didn't like the taste of carrots and celery, so after a week of politely picking at his plate, he bid his farewells and continued on his way." What did the duckling learn while with the rabbits? How did his time spent with them affect his perspective on life/his adventure/his self?
Aeriel seemed too little changed/affected by her experiences. It's my opinion that teens (should) expect and (definitely) deserve more than that.
Problematic: Beauty, Goodness, and Race
There's an interesting but problematic relationship between beauty, goodness, and paleness in this book.
It first appears on page two, when Aeriel is wistfully admiring Eoduin:
It's expanded upon when Aeriel goes to meet the darkangel, intent on killing him for having kidnapped Eoduin:
(Note that his features, his body are not described—only the colors of him. We are constantly reminded of his beautiful paleness, and how captivated Aeriel is by him.)
It's reinforced by the darkangel's repeated comments on her ugly darkness:
It's not necessarily the pale-is-more-beautiful-than-dark thing I have an issue with (though I'd really prefer more diversity, obviously; let's have darker-is-more-beautiful books, and [though less likely] color-doesn't-play-a-role-in-cultural-standards-of-beauty books, please and thanks). What makes squirm in my chair is that Aeriel herself (and the story itself) equates beauty with goodness:
That whole "spark of goodness" that the synopsis claims Aeriel sees in the darkangel? I never saw it. He's straight-up vicious and cruel, and several other things besides. We're just told that his beauty is evidence of his lingering goodness, and that when that goodness dies, so will his beauty. But he is also beautiful because he is pale. Goodness = beauty = pale. You can see the problem with this.
Fortunately, the book doesn't strictly believe its own equation. The world is populated by dark-colored people who are lovely and good. For example:
There's another example I'd like to give to prove that this book isn't grossly pro-pale/anti-dark, but it goes too far into spoiler territory. Trust me when I say that the equation is fairly well dismissed by the end of the novel, though.
Nonetheless, this issue makes me squirm. I wish the equation hadn't been used at all; I wish he had shown true sparks of goodness, and that beauty wasn't used as its stand-in.
(Ugh, okay. He has a screaming nightmare once, but I need a lot more than just evidence that he can feel fear. Fear doesn't equal goodness any more than beauty does. This guy tortures animals, for heaven's sake. It'll take a pretty significant spark to make me believe there's goodness buried in there.)
Disappointing: Emotional Resonance
I never felt much of an emotional connection with Aeriel, perhaps in part because her own emotions were fairly steady and muted. Within minutes of being kidnapped and taken to the darkangel's castle, Aeriel's initial terror has subsided:
She feels revulsion and fear when she meets the other denizens of the darkangel's castle, but those feelings are also swift to fade. When she faces mortal danger, she just...faces mortal danger and moves on.
Really, the one scene that dragged real emotion out of me was
And I lied: the other scene that got to me was the whole torturing animals bit. Thank goodness that only lasted a page or two.
In any case, this is a story that should keep me white-knuckled and flinching and breathless, and it didn't quite manage that. I was reading to finish the book, not because I was emotionally compelled to read.
So why does it warrant two stars? Despite its (significant) flaws, this story has the potential to be really great. I was editing and plot-tweaking and rewriting (mentally, anyway) as I was reading, and enjoyed that process. I'm giving it two stars kind of in recognition of what it could be.
All told, this isn't a bad story. The setting is neat, there were some great descriptions of some pretty horrifying things, and I really liked the fresh take on the vampire/angel mythology. (These vampires are not made by being bitten/fed blood by other vampires.) It's not something I'll reread, though, and I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone over the age of twelve (and even then, there are better books out there).
But, hey, this means another book to return to Half Price! I'm trying so hard not to buy more until there's space for them to fit neatly on my shelves. You'd be proud.
Love,
Liam
Spoiler Rating: Moderate
Dear Lizzy,
I've lugged veritable carloads of novels home from Half Price Books, most of which have subsequently been lugged back to Half Price Books for reselling. The Darkangel came home with me, oh, five or six years ago, and has sat brooding on my shelf until a few days ago, when I finally decided, Eh, it's time.
Ignoring the weirdness of "astounding youth" (what is he, a toddler?) and "beautiful terror" (I don't even know), the synopsis sounds promising! But The Darkangel was not quite what I thought it was going to be.
Awesome: The Setting
The moon. This book takes place on the moon.
Something over a thousand years in the future, humans have terraformed the moon and developed (what's presumably) a mutated/modified human species that can survive much harsher conditions—so when the the artificial atmosphere begins to thin, the humans' domed cities start failing, and war (or disease, or something) calls the humans back to Earth, the mutated/modified humans continue to thrive on the moon.
By the time the story begins, most of the atmosphere has gone, there is almost no surface water available, and the ancient humans who created them are mostly-forgotten religious-ish figures.
Enter Aeriel, a slave girl, and Eoduin, her mistress, climbing into the high peaks to pick rare flowers:
The desolate landscape, the black sky and white sun, the long day and long night (the sun is up for [I'm guessing; it's never counted out] about 14 earth-days, and down for as long; a single day/night cycle is referred to as a day-month), the danger of cold and airlessness all combine to make a superb backdrop for a slightly creepy fairy tale—which The Darkangel is, in essence.
And oh, man, I can't tell you how much I love that the lack of atmosphere on the highest peaks mutes voices to the point that even screams are only slight sounds. That is terrifying and so good.
Not Really Romance
All that said, I greatly enjoyed the fact that this wasn't really a romance. I don't want to go into spoilers, but this is a very Beauty and the Beast type story, but not a romance. (Aeriel is too busy pursuing her goal to be romanced, and the darkangel is the opposite of a romantic figure anyway.)
I understand that their relationship does get romantic over the course of the rest of the trilogy, however—and I find this squicky due to their age difference. Aeriel is prepubescent at the start of this story, entering puberty a few months after she's kidnapped. Obviously I have no idea how these Moon humans mature compared to Earth humans, but I was gauging her age around twelve or thirteen (though she does sometimes sound older). The darkangel, meanwhile, is thirty.
Confusing: The Intended Audience
The Darkangel is published under the teens division of Little Brown, which—coupled with the whole Sexy Vampire With Multiple Brides thing—led me to assume this was a book for teens. If it is, it has a very low opinion teens' intelligence.
For example:
The story also skimmed over how Aeriel's experiences changed/affected her, and glossed through the certain stages of Aeriel's adventure much like a story for children: "After a day of walking, the lost duckling found a warren of rabbits, who took him in and presented him with a bed of downy fur and feasts of carrots and celery—but the duckling slept poorly underground and didn't like the taste of carrots and celery, so after a week of politely picking at his plate, he bid his farewells and continued on his way." What did the duckling learn while with the rabbits? How did his time spent with them affect his perspective on life/his adventure/his self?
Aeriel seemed too little changed/affected by her experiences. It's my opinion that teens (should) expect and (definitely) deserve more than that.
Problematic: Beauty, Goodness, and Race
There's an interesting but problematic relationship between beauty, goodness, and paleness in this book.
It first appears on page two, when Aeriel is wistfully admiring Eoduin:
It's expanded upon when Aeriel goes to meet the darkangel, intent on killing him for having kidnapped Eoduin:
(Note that his features, his body are not described—only the colors of him. We are constantly reminded of his beautiful paleness, and how captivated Aeriel is by him.)
It's reinforced by the darkangel's repeated comments on her ugly darkness:
It's not necessarily the pale-is-more-beautiful-than-dark thing I have an issue with (though I'd really prefer more diversity, obviously; let's have darker-is-more-beautiful books, and [though less likely] color-doesn't-play-a-role-in-cultural-standards-of-beauty books, please and thanks). What makes squirm in my chair is that Aeriel herself (and the story itself) equates beauty with goodness:
That whole "spark of goodness" that the synopsis claims Aeriel sees in the darkangel? I never saw it. He's straight-up vicious and cruel, and several other things besides. We're just told that his beauty is evidence of his lingering goodness, and that when that goodness dies, so will his beauty. But he is also beautiful because he is pale. Goodness = beauty = pale. You can see the problem with this.
Fortunately, the book doesn't strictly believe its own equation. The world is populated by dark-colored people who are lovely and good. For example:
There's another example I'd like to give to prove that this book isn't grossly pro-pale/anti-dark, but it goes too far into spoiler territory. Trust me when I say that the equation is fairly well dismissed by the end of the novel, though.
Nonetheless, this issue makes me squirm. I wish the equation hadn't been used at all; I wish he had shown true sparks of goodness, and that beauty wasn't used as its stand-in.
(Ugh, okay. He has a screaming nightmare once, but I need a lot more than just evidence that he can feel fear. Fear doesn't equal goodness any more than beauty does. This guy tortures animals, for heaven's sake. It'll take a pretty significant spark to make me believe there's goodness buried in there.)
Disappointing: Emotional Resonance
I never felt much of an emotional connection with Aeriel, perhaps in part because her own emotions were fairly steady and muted. Within minutes of being kidnapped and taken to the darkangel's castle, Aeriel's initial terror has subsided:
She feels revulsion and fear when she meets the other denizens of the darkangel's castle, but those feelings are also swift to fade. When she faces mortal danger, she just...faces mortal danger and moves on.
Really, the one scene that dragged real emotion out of me was
And I lied: the other scene that got to me was the whole torturing animals bit. Thank goodness that only lasted a page or two.
In any case, this is a story that should keep me white-knuckled and flinching and breathless, and it didn't quite manage that. I was reading to finish the book, not because I was emotionally compelled to read.
So why does it warrant two stars? Despite its (significant) flaws, this story has the potential to be really great. I was editing and plot-tweaking and rewriting (mentally, anyway) as I was reading, and enjoyed that process. I'm giving it two stars kind of in recognition of what it could be.
All told, this isn't a bad story. The setting is neat, there were some great descriptions of some pretty horrifying things, and I really liked the fresh take on the vampire/angel mythology. (These vampires are not made by being bitten/fed blood by other vampires.) It's not something I'll reread, though, and I'd hesitate to recommend it to anyone over the age of twelve (and even then, there are better books out there).
But, hey, this means another book to return to Half Price! I'm trying so hard not to buy more until there's space for them to fit neatly on my shelves. You'd be proud.
Love,
Liam
March 10, 2015
Aeriel and her mistress, Eoduin, are out one day, away from their village, when the Darkangel kidnaps Eoduin to be his bride. Aeriel hopes to avenge her mistress by killing the vampyre, but she is kidnapped as well, to be his servant.
The Darkangel's castle is dark and depressing, guarded by menacing, chained gargoyles. Aeriel is tasked with tending to the vampyres's thirteen wives, who have now become hideous, soulless wraiths.
The wraiths urge her to kill the vampyre before he chooses a fourteenth and final bride and the magical duarough, living in the caves beneath the castle, helps her devise a plan to lead to his undoing. But will Aeriel have the ruthlessness to truly end the Darkangel's existence? Or will her compassion motivate her to find another way to defeat his evil side?
The first book in this trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce was captivating, magical, and emotional. Despite some wordy descriptions and occasionally confusing dialogue, I was sucked into the story from the first chapter.
I consider this novel to be fantasy, horror, and adventure, a combination of sub-genres I have never come across in the general young adult genre before. It included everything from winged vampires to living water to water witches to talking animals, and it took place in what appeared to be another planet or world. The horror aspect was fulfilled through the wraiths' appearances and over-all condition, along with the vampyre's gothic castle, his unpredictable temper and grisly past times, and the dark tales Aeriel tells to the inhabitants of the castle. As for the adventure, Aeriel's quest to obtain the materials necessary to kill the vampyre is an adventure both excitingly dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful.
I felt like this book was kind of like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. We have the woman kidnapped and brought to a beast's castle, the cast of unique and/or transformed inhabitants, and the incident of the captive running away and later returning, her compassion for her captor overcoming her fear. For this reason, I recommend this book to fans of fairy-tale retellings.
I also recommend this book to fans of fantasy, horror, and adventure stories, and to adults and teens alike looking for a romance-free novel with paranormal themes.
This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogs...
The Darkangel's castle is dark and depressing, guarded by menacing, chained gargoyles. Aeriel is tasked with tending to the vampyres's thirteen wives, who have now become hideous, soulless wraiths.
The wraiths urge her to kill the vampyre before he chooses a fourteenth and final bride and the magical duarough, living in the caves beneath the castle, helps her devise a plan to lead to his undoing. But will Aeriel have the ruthlessness to truly end the Darkangel's existence? Or will her compassion motivate her to find another way to defeat his evil side?
The first book in this trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce was captivating, magical, and emotional. Despite some wordy descriptions and occasionally confusing dialogue, I was sucked into the story from the first chapter.
I consider this novel to be fantasy, horror, and adventure, a combination of sub-genres I have never come across in the general young adult genre before. It included everything from winged vampires to living water to water witches to talking animals, and it took place in what appeared to be another planet or world. The horror aspect was fulfilled through the wraiths' appearances and over-all condition, along with the vampyre's gothic castle, his unpredictable temper and grisly past times, and the dark tales Aeriel tells to the inhabitants of the castle. As for the adventure, Aeriel's quest to obtain the materials necessary to kill the vampyre is an adventure both excitingly dangerous and breathtakingly beautiful.
I felt like this book was kind of like a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. We have the woman kidnapped and brought to a beast's castle, the cast of unique and/or transformed inhabitants, and the incident of the captive running away and later returning, her compassion for her captor overcoming her fear. For this reason, I recommend this book to fans of fairy-tale retellings.
I also recommend this book to fans of fantasy, horror, and adventure stories, and to adults and teens alike looking for a romance-free novel with paranormal themes.
This review can also be found at http://fortheloveofbooksreviews.blogs...
October 10, 2007
Read this when I was still in high school ... happened to find it walking through the book aisle in Walgreens and wasn't all that sure I'd like it, but immediately fell in love with it and with Pierce's storytelling and forshadowing. About two years later I was walking through the same store and found the second book in the trilogy, A Gathering of Gargoyles, and was downright jumping for joy. Devoured the book that night and was even more enthusiastic to read the continuation of this story in the third book. Unfortunately, I didn't find the third book until about 10 years after I found the first. But always looked for it in bookstores and libraries, until one day there it was. Can't say I enjoyed the third book as much as I did the first two. Felt kind of let down, but in the end it was a decent enough story. Glad to have read it and glad to have an ending to a beautiful story. That the ending wasn't what I had hoped for isn't utterly disappointing. Rather, it's just the way it came out. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories of exploration, adventure, overcoming adversity and self-reliance ... oh yeah, and love.
January 12, 2011
This book reminded me a bit of the Narnia books for some reason. Possibly due to the talking lion and the friendly gnome creature that tells stories to the main character. It also reminds me a bit of Lord of the Rings in the sense that some poem/saying is strewn throughout the entire novel. The story was interesting enough, though when you pull it all together it could be summarized in a sentence or two. Also, the ending is a bit of a surprise. One second you are engrossed in the book, and the next page it is over, finished, end of story.
Usually, the amount of detail and description in this book would have bored me, but The Darkangel makes you feel like you are there, living with the characters. I cared what the honey flowers in the beginning of the book looked and tasted like, and even though there wasn't action at every turn of the page, I was entertained. The whole thing felt like a long short story, if that makes any sense. I felt like it was a story being told from a wise elder, or a grandmother figure, and I was just along for the ride. Overall, a pretty enjoyable story.
Usually, the amount of detail and description in this book would have bored me, but The Darkangel makes you feel like you are there, living with the characters. I cared what the honey flowers in the beginning of the book looked and tasted like, and even though there wasn't action at every turn of the page, I was entertained. The whole thing felt like a long short story, if that makes any sense. I felt like it was a story being told from a wise elder, or a grandmother figure, and I was just along for the ride. Overall, a pretty enjoyable story.
March 8, 2020
Maybe I should give it 3 stars - I liked the idea and the writing wasn't bad.
I thought the world building was pretty poor, though. I struggled to understand the concepts of the magical protectors and even of time. What was a day-month? I honestly didn't get that. Was it a month or not?
Worst of all were the characters for me. No personality whatsoever and I was pretty disappointed with Aeriel's sole focus on the darkangel's beauty. I can't say that I saw the 'spark of goodness' in him mentioned in the blurb and there is nothing more to him.
Oh, and how Aeriel didn't realise who he was straight away after her story-telling, I have no idea.
2.5 stars overall and not much interest in continuing the series, sadly.
I thought the world building was pretty poor, though. I struggled to understand the concepts of the magical protectors and even of time. What was a day-month? I honestly didn't get that. Was it a month or not?
Worst of all were the characters for me. No personality whatsoever and I was pretty disappointed with Aeriel's sole focus on the darkangel's beauty. I can't say that I saw the 'spark of goodness' in him mentioned in the blurb and there is nothing more to him.
Oh, and how Aeriel didn't realise who he was straight away after her story-telling, I have no idea.
2.5 stars overall and not much interest in continuing the series, sadly.
March 21, 2008
This is a book that sounds cliche and unappealing when you try to describe it's subject or plot. The reality of it is graceful and has the quality of a fairytale however. The sci-fi aspect (setting) is integrated with subtlety as opposed to tacked on, and the main character is neither cowering or feisty. She is a fairytale heroine. She does what must be done, treats others with care and and respect, but is secondary to the story and her destiny, more than looming larger than life. It's a surprisingly quiet story, but one with great dignity and charm.
March 6, 2009
God this is SO EIGHTIES. More like sci-fi than fantasy, this book takes place on the moon WAY into the future, where things are medieval-like. The language bothered me, but I think that was just a product of the times--it was very flowery and strangely formal. I also thought the beginning was pretty boring after she was taken to the Darkangel's castle, and I was also annoyed at how Aerial was so dense. Oh well, it was still very different from any other vampire teen book I've ever read, and it's the earliest I've found thus far, so I guess it's somewhat valuable for that.
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