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Darker Angels
Based on an acclaimed short story that was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award, "Darker Angels" takes the reader from the bloodstained battlefields of Virginia to the slave auctions of Haiti. Walt Whitman, Abraham Lincoln, Lord Byron, and Marie Leveau, the legendary voodoo queen of New Orleans, all have a part to play in the epic tale of a mysterious, one-eyed shaman who dares to raise the dead from the battlefields of the Civil War.
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First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
S.P. Somtow
180 books156 followersCalled by the Bangkok Post "the Thai person known by name to most people in the world," S.P. Somtow is an author, composer, filmmaker, and international media personality whose dazzling talents and acerbic wit have entertained and enlightened fans the world over.
He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author.
He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.
Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.
He was Somtow Papinian Sucharitkul in Bangkok. His grandfather's sister was a Queen of Siam, his father is a well known international lawyer and vice-president of the International Academy of Human Rights. Somtow was educated at Eton and Cambridge, and his first career was in music. In the 1970s (while he was still in college) his works were being performed on four continents and he was named representative of Thailand to the Asian Composer's League and to the International Music Commission of UNESCO. His avant-garde compositions caused controversy and scandal in his native country, and a severe case of musical burnout in the late 1970s precipitated his entry into a second career - that of author.
He began writing science fiction, but soon started to invade other fields of writing, with some 40 books out now, including the clasic horror novel Vampire Junction, which defined the "rock and roll vampire" concept for the 80s, the Riverrun Trilogy ("the finest new series of the 90's" - Locus) and the semi-autobiographical memoir Jasmine Nights. He has won or been nominated for dozens of major awards including the Bram Stoker Award, the John W. Campbell Award, the Hugo Award, and the World Fantasy Award.
Somtow has also made some incursions into filmmaking, directing the cult classic The Laughing Dead and the award winning art film Ill Met by Moonlight.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 22, 2020
Αρκετά απαιτητικό ως προς την αφήγηση: ιστορία μέσα σε ιστορία, για να μπορείς να ακολουθήσεις χωρίς να χαθείς με τα τόσα πρόσωπα και μέρη. Υπήρξαν σημεία που έγινε βαρετό και οι σελίδες γυρνούσαν αργά, ωστόσο τα καλά του σημεία ήταν αρκετά για να σου κρατήσουν το ενδιαφέρον μέχρι το τέλος.
Μια οπτική του εμφυλίου της Αμερικής, του σκλαβοπάζαρου των Ευρωπαίων και του Βουντού, αρκετά ιδιαίτερη. Συστήνεται μόνο σε όσους έχουν όρεξη να διαβάσουν και όχι απλώς να περάσουν την ώρα τους.
Μια οπτική του εμφυλίου της Αμερικής, του σκλαβοπάζαρου των Ευρωπαίων και του Βουντού, αρκετά ιδιαίτερη. Συστήνεται μόνο σε όσους έχουν όρεξη να διαβάσουν και όχι απλώς να περάσουν την ώρα τους.
January 15, 2022
Ένα απίστευτο ταξίδι! Ένα παζλ που σιγά σιγά αναπτύσσεται μπροστά στα μάτια του αναγνώστη και εικόνες γεμάτες πολέμους και ανεξήγητα φαινόμενα. Έχει ένα "μπρος-πίσω" που μπορεί να κουράσει αλλά είναι η δομή του βιβλίου τέτοια που μπορεί να διαβαστεί αποσπασματικά.
June 12, 2010
I love books that are a lot of work to read, as long as there is some reward in that work. I just didn't feel it, with this one. Were I a fan of historical fiction in general, I might have liked this one more. But something in the tone was off for me throughout, and the confusion created by the nesting stories wasn't nearly as compelling as it should have been.
June 25, 2019
CW: On page rape.
What a wild ride. My star ratings varied extremely as I read and I wasn't really sure what I was going to rate this until nearly the last chapter.
Characters who deserved better: Paula Grainger, Amelia, and Edgar Allan Poe.
This is a completely non-linear story, with stories within stories within stories. But honestly, by the time we made it to the third layer, I kind of stopped caring. I didn't really want to know much about the later characters because I already knew so little about some of the ones in previous sections. It was also terribly frustrating that so much of the "action" happened in these hearsay stories, not to our direct main characters.
I was not impressed with Somtow's writing of women. Paula could have been SO much more but she just felt so flat. I don't know why I latched on to Amelia so hard because she's not really that important in the scheme of the piece but she deserved SO MUCH MORE. And I'm just going to say I was annoyed with the Poe section, especially because his name on the back blurb was what made me pick it up.
This novel is historical(ish) and set during and before the civil war, so of course racial tensions are high. I know the author did fairly extensive research (at least according to his acknowledgements) on correct non-standard English dialects, so I wouldn't venture to say how accurate they are.
But sometimes there are books where they use slurs only when necessary or like they're saying something more when they use derogatory language. Some pieces from the time period can get by because of their message. This story didn't feel like that. There was kind of excessive language that felt more like it was included for shock factor rather than the importance of historical accuracy (And even then... There are ways to get around some language.).
There was also a lot of sex. Not, like, bad necessarily but not well done either. I loved that they were open about Walt Whitman's gayness, but the other character who was pit up as gay was DEFINITELY not. It was literally called "a phase." Like can you not?
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this story. The characters were flat, the women especially so, and the narrative wanted more effort from me than I wanted to give. There was a lot of racial slurs, sex, and violence but not enough magic or fantastical elements that I thought I might see.
What a wild ride. My star ratings varied extremely as I read and I wasn't really sure what I was going to rate this until nearly the last chapter.
Characters who deserved better: Paula Grainger, Amelia, and Edgar Allan Poe.
This is a completely non-linear story, with stories within stories within stories. But honestly, by the time we made it to the third layer, I kind of stopped caring. I didn't really want to know much about the later characters because I already knew so little about some of the ones in previous sections. It was also terribly frustrating that so much of the "action" happened in these hearsay stories, not to our direct main characters.
I was not impressed with Somtow's writing of women. Paula could have been SO much more but she just felt so flat. I don't know why I latched on to Amelia so hard because she's not really that important in the scheme of the piece but she deserved SO MUCH MORE. And I'm just going to say I was annoyed with the Poe section, especially because his name on the back blurb was what made me pick it up.
This novel is historical(ish) and set during and before the civil war, so of course racial tensions are high. I know the author did fairly extensive research (at least according to his acknowledgements) on correct non-standard English dialects, so I wouldn't venture to say how accurate they are.
But sometimes there are books where they use slurs only when necessary or like they're saying something more when they use derogatory language. Some pieces from the time period can get by because of their message. This story didn't feel like that. There was kind of excessive language that felt more like it was included for shock factor rather than the importance of historical accuracy (And even then... There are ways to get around some language.).
There was also a lot of sex. Not, like, bad necessarily but not well done either. I loved that they were open about Walt Whitman's gayness, but the other character who was pit up as gay was DEFINITELY not. It was literally called "a phase." Like can you not?
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with this story. The characters were flat, the women especially so, and the narrative wanted more effort from me than I wanted to give. There was a lot of racial slurs, sex, and violence but not enough magic or fantastical elements that I thought I might see.
June 15, 2023
DNF, this one is just not for me, I liked the premise but I think it's one of those you have to be in the right mood for and I'm not there right now. I may try to read a kindle version or something later, or look at one of the authors novellas.
August 14, 2024
One of the best and most deeply sensational books I read. It has been a long time since I enjoyed a single tome so much
May 3, 2008
By no means is this an easy book to read. Each time one gets a sense of who the characters are, one of them takes to telling a story that brings new characters into the fold.
It's the very recursive nature of the book that made me like it so much in the end. I do admit to hating it somewhat in the middle, though for the same reason. But I got over it and I ended up liking it.
It's the very recursive nature of the book that made me like it so much in the end. I do admit to hating it somewhat in the middle, though for the same reason. But I got over it and I ended up liking it.
November 2, 2013
Somtow is one of the unsung masters of horror. Where else can you get an historical fiction novel of the civil war with guest spots from Lincoln, Whitman, Byron, a shaped shifting Panther woman, and Zombies galore all wrapped up in a symbolic statement to the horrors of war written by a Thai author.
July 26, 2012
Moondance it is not, but quite a fascinating read. The story-within-a-story-within-a-story structure is getting tiring at times, but there are some scenes throughout the book that make it worth reading.
November 15, 2013
Οι κατά περίπτωση μεμονωμένες ιστορίες είναι χαριτωμένα ενδιαφέρουσες. Η επιλογή της τεχνικής αφήγησης όμως είναι πολύ κουραστική και προσωπικά με άφησε με έναν μόνιμο εκνευρισμό. Η δε κατάληξη μάλλον αδύναμη, παρά την όποια τρυφερή της πρόθεση.
July 12, 2012
Enjoyed it the first time. Reading it again! :)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews