From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up–In this unremittingly dark fantasy set in 18th-century London, Dr. Sabian Blake, a scientist/Cabalist, receives a strange gift–a book of arcane knowledge that foretells the approach of a cataclysmic comet. As Wormwood draws near, bedlam breaks out and humanity's sinister side comes forward–all conveyed in exquisitely detailed scenes of violence and mayhem. When Dr. Blake's 14-year-old servant, Agetta, steals the book, she is pursued by demons, angels, and gargoyles come to life. Warring factions of an occult group seem to be vying with each other for possession of the volume, but in truth, it's all a plot to sacrifice Agetta so that the fallen angel Lillith can live on in her body. The horrors that evil begets are made palpable, but goodness has little purpose in this book. When the angel Rafael says, "It is not for power that the universe was created, but for love," it leaves less of an impression than the eye-popping murders he carries out by spraying his victims with his explosive blood. Indeed, the author seemed to be more concerned with special effects than with plot or character development. Agetta is nothing more than a pawn, the adults around her are unrelentingly self-interested, and the characters who do discover how their lust for power has made them blind persist in their blindness anyhow. Teens with a taste for the gruesome will be attracted to this supernatural thriller, but they'll find little sustenance here.
–Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. In his follow-up to
Shadowmancer [BKL Ap 15 04], Taylor again brings the epic struggle between good and evil earthward, but the only character who reappears is the archangel Raphael (known as Abram among humans). Wormwood, a comet, zooms toward seventeenth-century London; the collision will catalyze the fallen angel Hezrin's transition to a permanent mortal body. She selects 14-year-old housemaid Agetta as her host and sets a complicated trap for the girl that draws another disgraced angel and Agetta's employer, a follower of kabbalistic mysticism, into the fray. Abram/Raphael intervenes, and readers of many faiths will appreciate the spectacular ringside view of hand-to-hand combat between immortals. They'll also welcome the more substantial role the archangel plays; his gonzo charisma adds texture to the more ponderous worldview sketched in the first book (at one point he dispatches a demon by sticking an exploding crystal someplace unmentionable). Even so, the rather convoluted plot, the fact that adults propel most of the action, and the plodding theological dialogues will likely remain barriers to all but the most motivated readers.
Jennifer MattsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
