Aerie is the third book in The Fallen series written by Thomas E. Sniegoski and centered on Aaron Corbet, who on his eighteen birthday learned that he is a nephilim – a human/angel hybrid.
Aaron Corbet continues his search for his foster brother, Stevie Stanley, with Camael, a former Power, and Gabriel, his dog. Aaron is still coming to terms about being a nephilim and he is no closer to discovering the identity of the angel who sired him. By pure accident, they stumble upon folks who are from Aerie, a place where the Fallen and Nephilim live together to avoid the Powers.
Verchiel is still in hot pursuit of Aaron and sends his magical warrior Malak (Stevie Stanley) to hunt for Aaron's scent. Malak wears armor impervious to angel fire, and possesses the keen ability to pick up the scent or trail of the Fallen and Nephilim and mercilessly kills them. He is determined to prove his worth and find the chosen one for his master Verchiel.
Meanwhile, Aaron Corbert must prove to the citizens of Aerie that he is indeed the chosen one, a hard enough task when he is unsure himself. An ancient, wise, and gentle Fallen Angel named Belphegor helps Aaron to fully unite his human and angelic natures. While in the process of becoming whole, Aaron hears Vilma Santiago's pleas for help and instinctively goes to her rescue, not realizing that it could be a trap.
Despite overwhelming odds, he battles Verchiel and the Powers to save Vilma. Aaron meets Malak and realizes that it is his little brother Stevie who has been changed somehow, but couldn’t bring himself to kill his own brother. Aaron rescues Vilma and takes her back to Aerie, but the battle follows him and he loses many friends and loved ones.
Verchiel learns from Belphegor who Aaron was sired by during the battle, he taunts Aaron with jibes about his father. Enraged, Aaron demands that Verchiel reveal his father's identity and is stunned by who it was – Lucifer, the first of the fallen angels.
Aerie is written rather well. Sniegoski continues with his development of a world where angels and nephiliim exists and does it rather well. I rather like the premise of the series, the prophecy concerning Aaron Corbert as the Redeemer has an interesting twist, where we find out that he is the son of Lucifer. Camael's memory of The Fall is written rather well and how he is partially and indirectly responsible for the creation of Aerie.
However, I am still having a slight difficulty in connecting with Aaron Corbet, the main protagonist in the series. While he finally accepted his angelic part, he could be extremely dense in some parts of the narrative. However, having said that he wasn’t as annoying as he was in the previous installments.
All in all, Aerie is written rather well and is a somewhat good continuation to what would hopefully be a wonderful series, which I plan to continue in the very near future.