Fans of Christian fiction and those who believe they know all there is to know about mythological systems are in for a treat in Faith MacGregor’s CHILDREN OF ANGELS.
Everything changed when the Nephilim, an evil race of angel-human hybrids, attempted to take over the world and set it ablaze with fire and mayhem. Humans attempted to fight back, and (reminiscent of Noah’s Ark) only one family survived. Five hundred and twenty-five years after the conflict, that family blossomed into a new society: a kingdom spread across a string of islands and led by Tiras, the grandson of the Allfather. When rumors begin to spread that the Nephilim survived the human rebellion, the kingdom comes together to uncover what threatens their existence.
MacGregor seamlessly threads together a world of magical, mythological, and Christian systems. One can simply look at the characters' names to demonstrate how the kingdom is a fusion of various mythologies: “Bjorn” from the Vikings, “Alat” from Slavic lore, and “Arion” from Greek mythology. When these characters come together, they bring their intense, passionate, and furious personalities to keep their home safe. With Bjorn and Artemis’s hot-tempered impatience clashing with the war-hungry Tiras and Ipoletea, tensions constantly run high. There is a lot for the characters to reconcile, and much more for them to lose.
With its embedded Biblical echoes, this novel is also reminiscent of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series. The world around the characters buzzes with life, much like the woods in the world of Narnia. More involved readers of Lewis and even the Bible may note such character names as Nimrod and Samuel, as well as the characters’ preparations for potential battle echoing those of the other texts.
MacGregor has created a fast-paced, high-stakes, and propulsive read that moves through an incredibly layered world of mythologies and beliefs that are already wonderful on their own. Through her storytelling, however, they come together in beautiful harmony. CHILDREN OF ANGELS would be a great first book for readers interested in a sampling of different mythological systems, but it would be an equally fabulous choice for readers who are well-read on the topic and interested in seeing these tales taken from a new angle.
Faith MacGregor's CHILDREN OF ANGELS seamlessly combines Christian fiction with a variety of mythological and magical systems, prioritizing faith, loyalty, and persistence in times of extreme struggle.
~ McKenzie Lynn Tozan for IndieReader