Plague of Angels

John Patrick Kennedy starts his career as a writer with a deliciously controversial book. Brooklyn born of Irish ancestry, he seems to have inherited the Irish genes for wild tales and has the courage to make his own stories challenging to the conservative readers with such a flair for showmanship that the result of his courageous wanderings through myth, religion, and those oh-so-sacred stories that form our concept of a universe that makes sense (read `creationism') in such a way that within the scope of a prologue and first chapter he has everyone testing his talents assured that here is a new writer of style that is uniquely his own. There is not much in the way of biographical data about this movie star good-looking young man except for the following, gleaned from his blogs: `I enjoy art (painting and illustrations are my favs), reading other authors, cooking, writing (obviously), tennis [a former Wimbledon champion!], fitness, and almost anything that doesn't involve politics. I've gotten about 300 messages about who I am. I'm just the guy who wrote awesomely sick book w/evil angels. Read it if you like angels :).'PLAGUE OF ANGELS opens with a prologue that introduces the situation that started it all - the schism among angels and God and the focus on Nyx, Queen of Hell and ruler of the Angels who were banished there - aka the Descended. Kennedy's description of Nyx offers a suggestion of what is to follow: `Nyx was tall. Her hair was silver, and sparkled as if diamond dust were infused within each strand. When she was not disguised, her body was wrapped in back armor, scaled like a snake, that clung to her like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination from the hard tips of her breasts to the cleft between her legs.' Nyx had led the rebellion against God. Nyx thought the angels should have free will, as God had free will. But when God calls the angels home, Nyx is left on earth to deal with the Son of God (the Jesus name is not used, just Tribunal), and in chapter one again Kennedy shows his skill by making Nyx the embodiment of the prostitute turned clean Mary Magdalene as she converses with the disillusioned and angry Son of God during the crucifixion and follow-up. Nyx and Son of God join forces to destroy humanity. Thus is launched the alliance between the Son of God and Satan et al and the novel focuses on Nyx's lengthy campaign - a thousand-year campaign of violence, sex, betrayal and intrigue to bring down God's people and have them worship her instead. But oh, it doesn't end there..PLAGUE OF ANGELS will offend some, anger others, and entertain others. Whether or not the reader can deal with the story content, it is obvious the author has a keen way with characterization, dialogue, and warped fantasy. He writes very well and this is a book that will most assuredly be talked about! Grady Harp, December 13

Title: Plague of AngelsAuthor: John Patrick KennedyReviewer: George ShadowSummary:Nyx is Queen of Hell and ruler of the Angels who were banished there – the Descended. And when the rest of the Angels are called home, Nyx finds herself stuck on the Earth with the Son of God. To her surprise, she learns that he is no happier than she is. God's son thought he was sent down to judge humanity. Instead, he becomes a sacrifice for a cause he does not believe in – their redemption.After his mortal body dies, the Son of God makes Nyx an offer: a new paradise on Earth if she will help him destroy humanity. With two of her fellow Angels by her side, Nyx launches a thousand-year campaign of violence, sex, betrayal and intrigue to bring down God's people and have them worship her instead. From the back streets of Jerusalem to the palaces of Rome, from the temples of Egypt to the Pope's bedchamber, Nyx and her companions work to destroy the worshippers of God.But not all is as it seems, and the Son of God has bigger plans than any of them could imagine . . . .Social/Historical Context:Certain paragraphs from this book are very poignant. “My Father would have them follow me. He would make worshipping me a reason that they should become free of sin, and He would do this so that they may achieve Heaven. And only after have I accomplished that, may I deliver my judgment,” and ‘But even as she had, another part of her wondered why a creature whose life was so short should have to spend all eternity being punished for what it had done.’ Wow . . . I was deeply moved by these two, and I know there are many more paragraphs like this in this book that will move the most adamant of us, but then that’s what I really like about PLAGUE OF ANGELS . . . even though it moves away from the norm, it still has deep thought etched out on its many bloodied pages.Now, concerning the story, Nyx had led the rebellion against God. This is just a sentence, but wow, what a sentence! You begin to read this book and it is as if you begin to see Lucifer, Hell and the rebellion against God in a new light. Mind you, I am a Christian and will forever be one, but then there it is. Free will. The choice to choose. That is at the core of this exercise. We all have the right to choose. Either you are for God or you are for Lucifer. But then, this book does not persuade you to believe in what Lucifer was trying to do, mind you. It is a work of fiction, and works of fiction should be seen as works of fiction. There is no truth in the story. Nyx and most of the other characters are make believe, so please do not label this one as from the devil or something like that (depending on your belief), because it only borrows from the oldest story on earth and twirls it into a bizarre masterpiece. It does not lay claim to the truth like the Bible or similar literature in the religious stratosphere. So, enjoy the story and end it there. Good advice.By the way, I still think that Lucifer was wrong in one aspect of his reasoning: from the very beginning, God did give Man free will. The right to choose between right and wrong. And we made our choice, because the angel of light, himself, persuaded us to make it. My opinion, though. You still have the right to disprove it. The right to say that I am wrong.Book Cover & Formatting:The book’s cover is quite fascinating. Nyx is in white and manipulating an ethereal sword with her powers, a weapon that remains hanging in thin air with the strength of her will. The beautiful headgear of feathers and the covering on the angel’s face is also a nice addition from a talented artist, and the book title’s fonts are very clear-cut and well suited for the clarity they bring to the write-up and author’s name. The interior formatting comes as a simple design, though, which is not as outstanding as the book cover, but still commendable.Writing Style:Author Kennedy writes with compassionate conviction and bloody vengeance. You would think that this third person contrive is not his debut novel, but then it is, and what a wonderful surprise that is! Flawless phrases and clauses went into constructing this book, and no typographical errors were noted in the cause of reading it. The characters are all fleshed out, and the dialogue running through the plot is quite engaging. What I’m waiting for is a Hollywood premier, really.My Thoughts:Mesmerizingly bizarre.George Shadow is the author of THE BLACK BOOK.

Nyx is the queen of hell, ruler of the descended angels and she is left stuck on earth when God proclaims that the gates of heaven and hell shall be closed so that mankind may live free of the influence of angels. What she doesn't expect is to be left on earth with the son of god who it turns out is not entirely happy with being sacrificed for the good of mankind.I loved every part of this book which takes the story of Christ and gives it a good dark twist.It is hard not to become so involved with the character of Nyx as we follow her on her thousand year war against humanity for the love of her life.Well written and brilliantly dark and twisted I couldn't put this one down and I've rushed to buy book number 2 as well.

This is a Blank review made by me to say that although i havent actually read this book yet im having to put something here as due to amazon linking all these items together on its site the free books i receive from a book club are draging down my standing with a certain review site and causing me to be unacceptable for the items im trying to apply for.I will Change this Review Message as and when i actually get round to reading each of the books in my listings and will also update my star rating accordingly.Thank you for your time and patience and sorry if this effects your interest in what could be an amazing book. john

Interesting initial premise, but I found that the majority of the story, where the Fallen Angel Nyx and her two assistants travel through history attempting to destroy Christianity, to be particularly mind numbing. It all seemed so repetitive, with the descriptions of gratuitous sex and violence becoming rather formulaic and boring. I found myself skimming through whole sections. This was a great shame, because the author occasionally shows glimpses of real talent.

An original premise, really well-written and populated with some fantastic characters and imagery. The character of Nyx pulls no punches. She's a thoroughly obnoxious fallen angel, but you find yourself warming to her despite yourself, which is a testament to some impressive character development - kind of reminds me of Wendig's Mockingbird in that way. The book is profane, violent, and makes you think about good, evil and all in between. Thoroughly recommended.

At first, after reading the free Kindle sample, I thought that this was going to be an interesting tale - but once I bought this i found it just didn't work for me. It read too much like a BDSM novel - all pain, domination and sex - which was one-dimensional and didn't move the story on. In the end I just could bring my self to care about the characters, so I gave up on it.