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Heaven Corp. #1
Angel 1089
A deal with the devil….
Gabriel 1089 is an angel—an enhanced and cybernetically modified human designed to protect the city in the sky called Heaven. He follows Heaven’s orders and fights its enemies. But when an attack by demons leaves him trapped on the earth below, missing both a metal wing and his network-enabled halo, he’s cut off from his home for good and at the mercy of one man.
Jeff Werth is used to demons in need of his mechanical expertise showing up on the doorstep of the junkyard he runs in Old Trent. However, he doesn’t expect to be stuck with an injured angel. Jeff owes the demons for saving his daughter’s life, so he does what they demand—he nurses the angel back to health and keeps close track of him as a possible pawn in the high-stakes war between Heaven above and the demons below. But he doesn’t expect the effect Gabe has on his heart, or having to choose between his daughter and the man he’s come to love.
Gabriel 1089 is an angel—an enhanced and cybernetically modified human designed to protect the city in the sky called Heaven. He follows Heaven’s orders and fights its enemies. But when an attack by demons leaves him trapped on the earth below, missing both a metal wing and his network-enabled halo, he’s cut off from his home for good and at the mercy of one man.
Jeff Werth is used to demons in need of his mechanical expertise showing up on the doorstep of the junkyard he runs in Old Trent. However, he doesn’t expect to be stuck with an injured angel. Jeff owes the demons for saving his daughter’s life, so he does what they demand—he nurses the angel back to health and keeps close track of him as a possible pawn in the high-stakes war between Heaven above and the demons below. But he doesn’t expect the effect Gabe has on his heart, or having to choose between his daughter and the man he’s come to love.
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Published November 27, 2017
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About the author
C.C. Bridges
36 books62 followersI love creating new worlds slightly off-center from our own. I'm a writer of scifi, fantasy and the paranormal.
Check out my webpage for excerpts and find out what I'm currently working on!
Check out my webpage for excerpts and find out what I'm currently working on!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
March 20, 2021
This was like a box of delicious chocolate ice cream. I loved it so much!
It had literally every single thing I look for in fiction:
-A dystopian sci-fi setting
-A touch (or rather, a fistful) of religion
-m/m romance
-angels :-)
But what is REALLY amazing about this particular story is the way it integrated religious concepts into sci-fi.
The time is the future. A terrible catastrophe wrecked the surface of the Earth and killed most of mankind. In the course of 200 years, a selected few large companies erected huge cities in the sky, the most prominent being Heaven Corp. Leaving the surface of the Earth behind, the people of Heaven live in the sunlight and with all technical gimmicks imaginable. Technologically modified soldiers (so-called 'angels' with metal wings, reinforced bones and virtual immortality) are guarding the streets, fighing off (equally modified) 'demons' who raid Heaven to steal morsels of the advanced technology and deal with it in the remnants of old Earth below.
One day, while being on patrol, angel "Gabriel 1089" is trying to prevent a demon raid of a warehouse and suddenly finds himself surrounded and overpowered by demons. They carry him down to Earth and a rip off one of his wings and his halo - a tiara type of attachment on his forehead that is actually a high powered transmitter allowing Gabriel to communicate with his peers and hear Metatron's orders aka the will of the God AI.
They take the halo and leave the unconscious angel with a junkyard owner on the surface of Earth, Jeff, and his 10 year old daughter Kyla. Jeff owes the demons and promises to look after the damaged angel, unaware that he would end up falling for the guy.
Gabe is devastated after being cut off from Heaven and the voices in his head, but even worse is the fact that old memories from his mortal life before the catastrophe start to come to the surface. Gabe is in fact 200 years old!
He quickly comes to like Jeff a lot. Not only does Jeff protect him and treat him kindly, he is also making it his mission to build a replacement wing for him, so Gabe can soar in the sky again.
It's such a wonderful story. So many powerful images and imaginative scenes. I loved how the religious concepts were taken and applied to something completely unexpected here. It's a truly chilling ride.
I assume you can say that the romance is a bit quick due to the many things that are happening in the plot, but I don't mind at all.
If you like angels in m/m romance, it can hardly get better than this. It's like a perfect combination of sci-fi, fantasy and m/m romance.
5 stars and a favorite!
It had literally every single thing I look for in fiction:
-A dystopian sci-fi setting
-A touch (or rather, a fistful) of religion
-m/m romance
-angels :-)
But what is REALLY amazing about this particular story is the way it integrated religious concepts into sci-fi.
The time is the future. A terrible catastrophe wrecked the surface of the Earth and killed most of mankind. In the course of 200 years, a selected few large companies erected huge cities in the sky, the most prominent being Heaven Corp. Leaving the surface of the Earth behind, the people of Heaven live in the sunlight and with all technical gimmicks imaginable. Technologically modified soldiers (so-called 'angels' with metal wings, reinforced bones and virtual immortality) are guarding the streets, fighing off (equally modified) 'demons' who raid Heaven to steal morsels of the advanced technology and deal with it in the remnants of old Earth below.
One day, while being on patrol, angel "Gabriel 1089" is trying to prevent a demon raid of a warehouse and suddenly finds himself surrounded and overpowered by demons. They carry him down to Earth and a rip off one of his wings and his halo - a tiara type of attachment on his forehead that is actually a high powered transmitter allowing Gabriel to communicate with his peers and hear Metatron's orders aka the will of the God AI.
They take the halo and leave the unconscious angel with a junkyard owner on the surface of Earth, Jeff, and his 10 year old daughter Kyla. Jeff owes the demons and promises to look after the damaged angel, unaware that he would end up falling for the guy.
Gabe is devastated after being cut off from Heaven and the voices in his head, but even worse is the fact that old memories from his mortal life before the catastrophe start to come to the surface. Gabe is in fact 200 years old!
He quickly comes to like Jeff a lot. Not only does Jeff protect him and treat him kindly, he is also making it his mission to build a replacement wing for him, so Gabe can soar in the sky again.
It's such a wonderful story. So many powerful images and imaginative scenes. I loved how the religious concepts were taken and applied to something completely unexpected here. It's a truly chilling ride.
I assume you can say that the romance is a bit quick due to the many things that are happening in the plot, but I don't mind at all.
If you like angels in m/m romance, it can hardly get better than this. It's like a perfect combination of sci-fi, fantasy and m/m romance.
5 stars and a favorite!
December 7, 2010
Let me do something new. It's my first review with a cover image to explain the story. Why? I loved it... love this cover art, and looking at this picture I see what I can tell (or not, I'll not spoil the mystery) about this book
So, he is Gabriel, or as he will be called, Gabe. In a post apocalyptic world angels are not divine creations, but men modified with metal and high-tech implants. Their mission is protect the "sky" city of Heaven.
As you can see, he is damaged. Well, Gabe must protect the city and the citizens from demons. What they are, and who they are is not explained. Maybe as angels are the product from human manipulation also demons were men? Projects that didn't work well? We don't know, and this question (sadly) will not be answered.
I was saying, Gabe is missing one wing
. But it's not all. He is missing also his Halo. No, I'm not talking about a circle of light above his head 
, but a network-enable device that keep him in constant contact with another angels.
Now is time to talk about what you don't know looking this cover. Gabe after his ambush (when he lost 1 wing) is taken by the demons to a human to remove his halo. Jeff.
Jeff is a cross between the hero Neo
(from the movie Matrix), and the junkie Renton 
(from Trainspotting). Jeff was addicted to the networld (if I can invent this world). But I will not spoil telling more... he will tell you right away how much he miss that virtual world, but his life is in the sunless city below the shinning and rich Heaven city... where a lot of humans still fight each day for simple basic needs, as food.
The plot is incredible addicting. I love to read about that world and the characters that will interact with Gabe and Jeff. Kayla will be a constant, and this sweet girl (Jeff daughter) almost stole the best secondary character scene... but no... in my view, Hank and Ian are the best. They are a very kink couple
, in a master/pet relationship and every time they appear I forgot about the main characters (very personal opinion). I'm not kidding... it's the first time secondary characters and their angst life get so much my attention to make me desire to scream "shut up" to Gabe or Jeff 
just to hear more about them.
Refugee, both from hight level cities, but living in the terrible and violent place where Jeff and Kayla are stuck. Just to be able to love each other!
Hank and Ian
fascinate me! A LOT!
So, that's one of my motives to take out 1 star... but it's not all.
Another problem I have reading this book is the change of POVs.
No, I don't read only books with one point of view... I love multiple narrators, and I normally pick books with various POV. So why I had problems reading this book?
Very simple... there is no paragraph mark (like some blank lines, change of page) or the add of **** or another (ANY) thing that will tell the reader when another character will start to speak. I get confused, and sometimes only after 6 or more lines I get that the narrator changed. I read the epub file, so I can't say if the pdf or another ebook format has this problem... but NONE format should have this problem, in my view. I would not put a pdf file to sell, with a perfect POV changes, and forget about epub or lit readers. So, probably it's something that all formats have... someone that read another one can help me telling their experience.
So, the fact that 2 secondary characters were more interesting that the main, and the strange sudden changes of POV will make me give 4, not 5 stars.
Thanks for the patience to read this long review
and it's very good, but 4 not 5 stars in my opinion
So, he is Gabriel, or as he will be called, Gabe. In a post apocalyptic world angels are not divine creations, but men modified with metal and high-tech implants. Their mission is protect the "sky" city of Heaven.
As you can see, he is damaged. Well, Gabe must protect the city and the citizens from demons. What they are, and who they are is not explained. Maybe as angels are the product from human manipulation also demons were men? Projects that didn't work well? We don't know, and this question (sadly) will not be answered.
I was saying, Gabe is missing one wing
. But it's not all. He is missing also his Halo. No, I'm not talking about a circle of light above his head , but a network-enable device that keep him in constant contact with another angels.Now is time to talk about what you don't know looking this cover. Gabe after his ambush (when he lost 1 wing) is taken by the demons to a human to remove his halo. Jeff.
Jeff is a cross between the hero Neo
(from the movie Matrix), and the junkie Renton (from Trainspotting). Jeff was addicted to the networld (if I can invent this world). But I will not spoil telling more... he will tell you right away how much he miss that virtual world, but his life is in the sunless city below the shinning and rich Heaven city... where a lot of humans still fight each day for simple basic needs, as food.The plot is incredible addicting. I love to read about that world and the characters that will interact with Gabe and Jeff. Kayla will be a constant, and this sweet girl (Jeff daughter) almost stole the best secondary character scene... but no... in my view, Hank and Ian are the best. They are a very kink couple
, in a master/pet relationship and every time they appear I forgot about the main characters (very personal opinion). I'm not kidding... it's the first time secondary characters and their angst life get so much my attention to make me desire to scream "shut up" to Gabe or Jeff just to hear more about them.Refugee, both from hight level cities, but living in the terrible and violent place where Jeff and Kayla are stuck. Just to be able to love each other!
Hank and Ian
fascinate me! A LOT!So, that's one of my motives to take out 1 star... but it's not all.
Another problem I have reading this book is the change of POVs.
No, I don't read only books with one point of view... I love multiple narrators, and I normally pick books with various POV. So why I had problems reading this book?
Very simple... there is no paragraph mark (like some blank lines, change of page) or the add of **** or another (ANY) thing that will tell the reader when another character will start to speak. I get confused, and sometimes only after 6 or more lines I get that the narrator changed. I read the epub file, so I can't say if the pdf or another ebook format has this problem... but NONE format should have this problem, in my view. I would not put a pdf file to sell, with a perfect POV changes, and forget about epub or lit readers. So, probably it's something that all formats have... someone that read another one can help me telling their experience.
So, the fact that 2 secondary characters were more interesting that the main, and the strange sudden changes of POV will make me give 4, not 5 stars.
Thanks for the patience to read this long review
and it's very good, but 4 not 5 stars in my opinion
September 23, 2012
I give this story 5 stars.
I do not know if I have the ability to give this book the break down review that it deserves, but I will try.
The first thing future readers should know is that this is the first book of a series that is still being written. As such you will find a fair amount of world building. Yet I felt it was done in such a manor that it did not feel like an information drop.
The next thing you might want to know is that these are not ‘real’ angels/demons or a real heaven, they are humans whom have been modified with nano-technology, adapted with wings for flight and a halo for communication (think blue tooth Internet).
The story takes place 200 years after a series of violent earth catastrophes which has spun the earth into a post apocalyptic state. The remaining humans exist in two worlds, Midlevel cities built above the earth’s surface and on the earth’s surfaces in the ruins of old cities.
The creators of these hovering cities was a corporation called Heaven Inc.. To defend the hovering cities and enforce strict laws upon the citizens of Midlevel, angels (modified humans) have been created.
Angel 1089 (Gabe) is one of the older models of angels from the Gabriel line.
Our main character is Jeff Werth owner of a salvage yard, technology geek, and former Demon Net Hacker.
Jeff's 10 year old daughter Kayla is also a strong secondary character, as the care of her motivates both characters actions. Apart from that she is wise beyond her years, and she is a source of information for Gabe and the reader to learn about the world in the book.
There are more characters you will meet, each of them enriching the world and story line.
The pace of this story is solid from the beginning, opening in a combat battle scene between angel and demons, then transitioning smoothly to character and world history through the process of re-educating Gabe and helping him adapt to the old earth, continuing to an intense plot climax, and completing in a decent plot resolution. (HFN)
The MM romance & erotic contents builds slow including emotional connections (relationships building) rather then just the physical aspect (Yes there is Gay sex in this story albeit vanilla gay sex). You really get the feeling that these characters have fallen in love before they announce it to each other.
This is not a lightweight read. Readers will have to focus on the information being offered if they intend to understand the world (political, religious, social structure, moral and physical struggles) within this book.
I do recommend this book to all my science fiction, dystopian, post apocalypse, M-M Romance, techno-thrillers, combat action lovers.
I do not know if I have the ability to give this book the break down review that it deserves, but I will try.
The first thing future readers should know is that this is the first book of a series that is still being written. As such you will find a fair amount of world building. Yet I felt it was done in such a manor that it did not feel like an information drop.
The next thing you might want to know is that these are not ‘real’ angels/demons or a real heaven, they are humans whom have been modified with nano-technology, adapted with wings for flight and a halo for communication (think blue tooth Internet).
The story takes place 200 years after a series of violent earth catastrophes which has spun the earth into a post apocalyptic state. The remaining humans exist in two worlds, Midlevel cities built above the earth’s surface and on the earth’s surfaces in the ruins of old cities.
The creators of these hovering cities was a corporation called Heaven Inc.. To defend the hovering cities and enforce strict laws upon the citizens of Midlevel, angels (modified humans) have been created.
Angel 1089 (Gabe) is one of the older models of angels from the Gabriel line.
Our main character is Jeff Werth owner of a salvage yard, technology geek, and former Demon Net Hacker.
Jeff's 10 year old daughter Kayla is also a strong secondary character, as the care of her motivates both characters actions. Apart from that she is wise beyond her years, and she is a source of information for Gabe and the reader to learn about the world in the book.
There are more characters you will meet, each of them enriching the world and story line.
The pace of this story is solid from the beginning, opening in a combat battle scene between angel and demons, then transitioning smoothly to character and world history through the process of re-educating Gabe and helping him adapt to the old earth, continuing to an intense plot climax, and completing in a decent plot resolution. (HFN)
The MM romance & erotic contents builds slow including emotional connections (relationships building) rather then just the physical aspect (Yes there is Gay sex in this story albeit vanilla gay sex). You really get the feeling that these characters have fallen in love before they announce it to each other.
This is not a lightweight read. Readers will have to focus on the information being offered if they intend to understand the world (political, religious, social structure, moral and physical struggles) within this book.
I do recommend this book to all my science fiction, dystopian, post apocalypse, M-M Romance, techno-thrillers, combat action lovers.
March 1, 2018
4.5
Great world building, interesting characters ... no need for complaints. Something that happend not so often lately. Hope I can type a bit more after sleeping
Great world building, interesting characters ... no need for complaints. Something that happend not so often lately. Hope I can type a bit more after sleeping
March 1, 2011
2.5 stars, but I didn't like it enough to bump it up to 3, so 2 it is.
The story starts out with a bang, with angel Gabriel 1089 answering a call of a warehouse being attacked by demons. A routine attack turns into an ambush, and he’s captured and taken downside, dropped in the lap of ex-hacker Jeff. Jeff owes a large debt to the demon who watches over the territory he lives in. He has no choice but to do as they say, removing the halo that connects Gabriel to the rest of the angels and keeping him in pseudo-custody until the demons tell him otherwise. Gabriel wakes up with one wing and cut off from everything he knew. He has no choice but to rely on Jeff and his daughter Kayla for survival, and slowly begins to integrate with Old Trent and its inhabitants. Not everything is as it seems, however, and soon enough, Jeff and Gabe learn more than is safe for them.
The author introduces the reader to a fascinating cyberpunk world, with a war happening between demons that roam the planet and the corporations that have taken over the skies. Heaven Corp. is at the top of the echelon with its army of angels to fight the demons, but those who are downside have to rely on what can get smuggled out to them and what they can scavenge in order to survive. Gabriel is a soldier with a single cause – to fight demons. When his halo gets stripped away from him, he’s literally cut off from everything he knows. All angels are plugged into Metatron and each other, and in turn to the God AI. He has to struggle to create a new identity while fighting to understand what exactly happened to him.
Crucial to this fight is ex-hacker Jeff. Jeff owes the demons a lot. When his daughter lost her legs at age five, they were responsible for getting her modded out with artificial limbs. She is the only family he has left, and he’s willing to do anything to protect her, even take in an ex-angel and lie to him about his involvement. He’s a tech genius, and the guilt he feels at hurting the angel manifests in trying to help the guy as much as he possibly can.
Though there’s a lot of potential with all of this, it never really came to life for me. My primary difficulty rested on the dense world-building. This dystopian future is drastically different, and thus, requires clear explanations or descriptions to be clear. It wasn’t. It started almost from the start as I struggled to come to grips with the hierarchy of everything. Using such iconographic terminology like angels and heaven means I’m coming into this with preset notions. If the story’s reality is different, then I need that clearly defined early on. It wasn’t, and because of that, I struggled connecting to any of the characters. I was too busy trying to get the world straight.
Part of that stems from the slow pacing. Though the opening chapter is swift and gripping, it quickly falls into a lull, shifting from the promise of thrills and drama to a slower, character-driven piece. It plods along as Gabriel and Jeff dance around each other, and Gabriel begins to learn what life is like in Old Trent. It would seem like the perfect opportunity for a better picture of the world to be painted, but it comes in drips and drabs, unsatisfying and unclear. The climax of the story picks up the pace again, mirroring the breathlessness of the opening chapter, but it’s too little, too late. It seemed to take forever to get to that point.
Because of my constant struggle to understand the world in which they lived, I never felt like I got a good grasp of the characters, both primary and secondary. Gabe is pretty much an empty shell to be filled, and while Jeff shows potential in his history, it’s glossed over throughout most of the story and only truly comes into play in the last quarter – again, too late to really do much good. The same holds true of the secondary characters. I could never keep Hank and Ian (friends of Jeff) straight, and until the last third (sensing a trend here?), the same held true for Ronnie and Mattie (more friends). Only Kayla, Jeff’s daughter, felt real and unique. With such a slew of personalities dotting the pages, that isn’t a great percentage.
One thing I did enjoy about this was how normal the relationship between Gabe and Jeff felt. Though a big deal is made of the BDSM relationship Hank and Ian have, there never felt like there was any sort of stigma on Gabe and Jeff’s budding romance. Their coming together felt both natural and inevitable, with little fanfare from anybody around them to make it seem so deviant. It was refreshing, even if I didn’t really invest in the romance by the end of the book.
This book marks the first of a series. While I did have some of my answers about the world resolved by the time I reached the end, I doubt I will continue onto the second book. I’m not sure this author is for me as the bulk of my reading time was spent trying to see the world she wanted me to. I lost out on the romance as a result. In such a dense world, that imbalance is enough to deter me from further explorations into an author’s work.
The story starts out with a bang, with angel Gabriel 1089 answering a call of a warehouse being attacked by demons. A routine attack turns into an ambush, and he’s captured and taken downside, dropped in the lap of ex-hacker Jeff. Jeff owes a large debt to the demon who watches over the territory he lives in. He has no choice but to do as they say, removing the halo that connects Gabriel to the rest of the angels and keeping him in pseudo-custody until the demons tell him otherwise. Gabriel wakes up with one wing and cut off from everything he knew. He has no choice but to rely on Jeff and his daughter Kayla for survival, and slowly begins to integrate with Old Trent and its inhabitants. Not everything is as it seems, however, and soon enough, Jeff and Gabe learn more than is safe for them.
The author introduces the reader to a fascinating cyberpunk world, with a war happening between demons that roam the planet and the corporations that have taken over the skies. Heaven Corp. is at the top of the echelon with its army of angels to fight the demons, but those who are downside have to rely on what can get smuggled out to them and what they can scavenge in order to survive. Gabriel is a soldier with a single cause – to fight demons. When his halo gets stripped away from him, he’s literally cut off from everything he knows. All angels are plugged into Metatron and each other, and in turn to the God AI. He has to struggle to create a new identity while fighting to understand what exactly happened to him.
Crucial to this fight is ex-hacker Jeff. Jeff owes the demons a lot. When his daughter lost her legs at age five, they were responsible for getting her modded out with artificial limbs. She is the only family he has left, and he’s willing to do anything to protect her, even take in an ex-angel and lie to him about his involvement. He’s a tech genius, and the guilt he feels at hurting the angel manifests in trying to help the guy as much as he possibly can.
Though there’s a lot of potential with all of this, it never really came to life for me. My primary difficulty rested on the dense world-building. This dystopian future is drastically different, and thus, requires clear explanations or descriptions to be clear. It wasn’t. It started almost from the start as I struggled to come to grips with the hierarchy of everything. Using such iconographic terminology like angels and heaven means I’m coming into this with preset notions. If the story’s reality is different, then I need that clearly defined early on. It wasn’t, and because of that, I struggled connecting to any of the characters. I was too busy trying to get the world straight.
Part of that stems from the slow pacing. Though the opening chapter is swift and gripping, it quickly falls into a lull, shifting from the promise of thrills and drama to a slower, character-driven piece. It plods along as Gabriel and Jeff dance around each other, and Gabriel begins to learn what life is like in Old Trent. It would seem like the perfect opportunity for a better picture of the world to be painted, but it comes in drips and drabs, unsatisfying and unclear. The climax of the story picks up the pace again, mirroring the breathlessness of the opening chapter, but it’s too little, too late. It seemed to take forever to get to that point.
Because of my constant struggle to understand the world in which they lived, I never felt like I got a good grasp of the characters, both primary and secondary. Gabe is pretty much an empty shell to be filled, and while Jeff shows potential in his history, it’s glossed over throughout most of the story and only truly comes into play in the last quarter – again, too late to really do much good. The same holds true of the secondary characters. I could never keep Hank and Ian (friends of Jeff) straight, and until the last third (sensing a trend here?), the same held true for Ronnie and Mattie (more friends). Only Kayla, Jeff’s daughter, felt real and unique. With such a slew of personalities dotting the pages, that isn’t a great percentage.
One thing I did enjoy about this was how normal the relationship between Gabe and Jeff felt. Though a big deal is made of the BDSM relationship Hank and Ian have, there never felt like there was any sort of stigma on Gabe and Jeff’s budding romance. Their coming together felt both natural and inevitable, with little fanfare from anybody around them to make it seem so deviant. It was refreshing, even if I didn’t really invest in the romance by the end of the book.
This book marks the first of a series. While I did have some of my answers about the world resolved by the time I reached the end, I doubt I will continue onto the second book. I’m not sure this author is for me as the bulk of my reading time was spent trying to see the world she wanted me to. I lost out on the romance as a result. In such a dense world, that imbalance is enough to deter me from further explorations into an author’s work.
November 27, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
4.25 stars
Futuristic story? Cybernetic implants and technology? Angels and demons? Yes please. As soon as I read the blurb on this one, I knew this story was right up my alley. I love a good sci fi world and I was anxious to see what this book was all about.
The world building here is layered and detailed, and I loved every second of it. After a series of huge natural disasters, the world has fallen into disarray, but one technology company, Heaven Corp, has managed to rise above the rest. Two hundred years later, Heaven Corp is one of three major company that rule the uplevels, but on the downside (Earth) it’s a cesspool. People are struggling just to survive and the demons hold all the power. Technology is at a premium and cybernetics is the name of the game. I loved the way Bridges managed to convey all this information and it’s expertly interwoven into the story. It was a fascinating world, richly developed, where each piece worked seamlessly with the rest. The world building in this story was its shining accomplishment.
The characters were well drawn as well. Gabriel has been brainwashed to a degree, and he has to fight to recover his own mind. Not only that, but his world has been disordered and he has to sort through everything to find out what he believes and search for his own truth. I liked his progression, and really enjoyed watching him come into his own.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
4.25 stars
Futuristic story? Cybernetic implants and technology? Angels and demons? Yes please. As soon as I read the blurb on this one, I knew this story was right up my alley. I love a good sci fi world and I was anxious to see what this book was all about.
The world building here is layered and detailed, and I loved every second of it. After a series of huge natural disasters, the world has fallen into disarray, but one technology company, Heaven Corp, has managed to rise above the rest. Two hundred years later, Heaven Corp is one of three major company that rule the uplevels, but on the downside (Earth) it’s a cesspool. People are struggling just to survive and the demons hold all the power. Technology is at a premium and cybernetics is the name of the game. I loved the way Bridges managed to convey all this information and it’s expertly interwoven into the story. It was a fascinating world, richly developed, where each piece worked seamlessly with the rest. The world building in this story was its shining accomplishment.
The characters were well drawn as well. Gabriel has been brainwashed to a degree, and he has to fight to recover his own mind. Not only that, but his world has been disordered and he has to sort through everything to find out what he believes and search for his own truth. I liked his progression, and really enjoyed watching him come into his own.
Read Kris’ review in its entirety here.
May 2, 2011
What an amazing world built here...really enjoyed. SciFi, angels, demons, but not as we know them...love story, a child, and a dog. Awesome. Will definitely be reading more of this author...
November 20, 2017
The action is fantastic and well-paced. I often found myself sitting on the edge of my seat. Add that fantastic plot to a sizzling (I need a cold shower) romance and this book blew me away. The way Jeff and Gabe maneuver around everything going wrong in the world to be with each other is beautiful! I cannot wait for the next book in the series.
FULL REVIEW - http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/reviews/...
FULL REVIEW - http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/reviews/...
December 17, 2010
Angel 1089 is an interesting urban fantasy twist on the age old angels versus demons saga. Add in a high tech, post-apocalyptic world and this story is right up my alley. While I really enjoyed the world building and plot details, the romance falls short and the plot itself leaves something to be desired. This will appeal more to urban fantasy fans who can appreciate the intricate tech world but forgive the rather anemic romance.
The story follows Gabriel 1089, an angel that’s been kidnapped and injured by demons. Missing one wing Gabe is taken to Jeff – a human high tech gadget expert who owes the demons favors. Jeff is charged with keeping Gabe healthy and alive for whatever the demons may need in the future. Unfortunately Jeff can’t help falling in love with the injured angel. With both angels and demons wanting to use Gabe for their own advantage, Gabe, Jeff, Jeff’s daughter, and their friends are all caught in the crossfire.
Told in third person POV, the perspective moves between Jeff, Gabe, and a variety of secondary characters. The plot loosely revolves around the angels versus demons concept. I say loosely because the majority of the novel is spent on Jeff and Gabe discovering their feelings for each other. This happens alongside Gabe’s realization of his past and how he became an angel. The main tension is when/how Gabe will discover Jeff’s association with the demons and what it will mean for everyone. Although this is a predictable tension – of course Gabe will find out and likely feel betrayed/angry – the story keeps you interested in when this will happen and the tension is nicely portrayed.
Added to this is the intricate and very engaging world building. Urban fantasy fans (like myself) will likely really enjoy the high tech post-apocalyptic world depicted. The angels have risen to the highest levels and build cities in the skies while the demons rule the former earth and below. The various details and nuances are constantly used and references which is a nice touch. You never forget the setting and the urban fantasy world. This gives a much more complete and immersive feeling while reading. Actually the world building is by far the best part of the story and sets up a wealth of opportunity for future characters and stories within the same ‘verse.
If the world building and urban fantasy setting is the strength, the romance is the weakness. Both Jeff and Gabe are nicely developed and complex. Each has a tragic past making them sympathetic to each other’s pain. The opposing alliances-Jeff with the demons, Gabe with the angels–dissipates fairly easily, leaving the two neutral at best. The sex scenes are decent and there’s no particular reason these two shouldn’t be together. Unfortunately I never felt any great passion or emotion driving them together either. Even the big moment when Gabe discovers the truth about Jeff feels weak and easily resolved. Not that I wanted or needed some big angst-ridden scene but Jeff gives up incredibly fast while Gabe seems blasé. Thus I didn’t care much for the couple whereas Hank and Ian really captured my attention.
Overall this works mostly due to the urban fantasy setting which I quite liked. The romance is bland and mediocre unfortunately so some readers may not enjoy this as much if you’re not an UF fan.
The story follows Gabriel 1089, an angel that’s been kidnapped and injured by demons. Missing one wing Gabe is taken to Jeff – a human high tech gadget expert who owes the demons favors. Jeff is charged with keeping Gabe healthy and alive for whatever the demons may need in the future. Unfortunately Jeff can’t help falling in love with the injured angel. With both angels and demons wanting to use Gabe for their own advantage, Gabe, Jeff, Jeff’s daughter, and their friends are all caught in the crossfire.
Told in third person POV, the perspective moves between Jeff, Gabe, and a variety of secondary characters. The plot loosely revolves around the angels versus demons concept. I say loosely because the majority of the novel is spent on Jeff and Gabe discovering their feelings for each other. This happens alongside Gabe’s realization of his past and how he became an angel. The main tension is when/how Gabe will discover Jeff’s association with the demons and what it will mean for everyone. Although this is a predictable tension – of course Gabe will find out and likely feel betrayed/angry – the story keeps you interested in when this will happen and the tension is nicely portrayed.
Added to this is the intricate and very engaging world building. Urban fantasy fans (like myself) will likely really enjoy the high tech post-apocalyptic world depicted. The angels have risen to the highest levels and build cities in the skies while the demons rule the former earth and below. The various details and nuances are constantly used and references which is a nice touch. You never forget the setting and the urban fantasy world. This gives a much more complete and immersive feeling while reading. Actually the world building is by far the best part of the story and sets up a wealth of opportunity for future characters and stories within the same ‘verse.
If the world building and urban fantasy setting is the strength, the romance is the weakness. Both Jeff and Gabe are nicely developed and complex. Each has a tragic past making them sympathetic to each other’s pain. The opposing alliances-Jeff with the demons, Gabe with the angels–dissipates fairly easily, leaving the two neutral at best. The sex scenes are decent and there’s no particular reason these two shouldn’t be together. Unfortunately I never felt any great passion or emotion driving them together either. Even the big moment when Gabe discovers the truth about Jeff feels weak and easily resolved. Not that I wanted or needed some big angst-ridden scene but Jeff gives up incredibly fast while Gabe seems blasé. Thus I didn’t care much for the couple whereas Hank and Ian really captured my attention.
Overall this works mostly due to the urban fantasy setting which I quite liked. The romance is bland and mediocre unfortunately so some readers may not enjoy this as much if you’re not an UF fan.
October 28, 2010
4.25 stars
Gabriel 1089 is out patrolling the city of Heaven against demons when what he thought would be an easy take down turns ugly. The next thing he knows he's waking up in a strange room, in pain and missing his halo and one wing. Alone and unable to connect to the angel collective he finds himself at the mercy of Jeff, the man who he believes rescued him. As he comes to know Jeff and his young daughter Kayla he slowly begins to recover memories of his previous life and soon realizes his time as an Angel in Heaven has been based on lies and a lot of pain. Will Jeff and the feelings developing between them help him find peace with his past and a way to deal with his new future or will the secret Jeff's been keeping tear them apart permanently?
This book grabbed my attention when I first saw the cover and after reading the blurb I knew I had to give it a shot despite the fact that the genre is a bit out of my comfort zone. And I'm really glad I did. This story is interesting and kept me entertained from beginning to end. There were a couple of times where the sci-fi aspect lost my attention a bit, such as with info on the modifications and jacking into the computer grid, but overall I enjoyed it very much.
Gabriel and Jeff are both likable, three dimensional characters and their relationship, unexpected and surprising as it was to them both, was interesting to read. I also liked the cast of supporting characters and they all in their own way added to the story instead of just being page fillers. The other thing that was really interesting was the concept of the city of Heaven and the lower levels where the not so privileged lived as well as the angels and demons. I don't want to give anything away but I will say it was vastly different from other stories I've read about angels and demons but it made a lot of sense given the post-apocalyptic setting.
As may happen with any first book in a series I still have some questions about this world and the people in it but hopefully those will be addressed as the series unfolds. Overall I found Angel 1089 to be a well written and interesting story. I liked the protagonists and enjoyed reading about how their relationship progressed. The author also did a good job with the sexual relationship between the men as it's slow development fits with Gabriel's situation. Those scenes are very hot yet tender as well. I also liked the glimpses into Gabriel's past life and found the background information on how the world as they know it came about to be quite interesting. The story is character driven for much of the book but in the last quarter the action picks up as both Gabriel and Jeff have to fight for their future.
This is the first book I've read by C.C. Bridges and I look forward to reading more from the author as the series continues. Recommended.
Gabriel 1089 is out patrolling the city of Heaven against demons when what he thought would be an easy take down turns ugly. The next thing he knows he's waking up in a strange room, in pain and missing his halo and one wing. Alone and unable to connect to the angel collective he finds himself at the mercy of Jeff, the man who he believes rescued him. As he comes to know Jeff and his young daughter Kayla he slowly begins to recover memories of his previous life and soon realizes his time as an Angel in Heaven has been based on lies and a lot of pain. Will Jeff and the feelings developing between them help him find peace with his past and a way to deal with his new future or will the secret Jeff's been keeping tear them apart permanently?
This book grabbed my attention when I first saw the cover and after reading the blurb I knew I had to give it a shot despite the fact that the genre is a bit out of my comfort zone. And I'm really glad I did. This story is interesting and kept me entertained from beginning to end. There were a couple of times where the sci-fi aspect lost my attention a bit, such as with info on the modifications and jacking into the computer grid, but overall I enjoyed it very much.
Gabriel and Jeff are both likable, three dimensional characters and their relationship, unexpected and surprising as it was to them both, was interesting to read. I also liked the cast of supporting characters and they all in their own way added to the story instead of just being page fillers. The other thing that was really interesting was the concept of the city of Heaven and the lower levels where the not so privileged lived as well as the angels and demons. I don't want to give anything away but I will say it was vastly different from other stories I've read about angels and demons but it made a lot of sense given the post-apocalyptic setting.
As may happen with any first book in a series I still have some questions about this world and the people in it but hopefully those will be addressed as the series unfolds. Overall I found Angel 1089 to be a well written and interesting story. I liked the protagonists and enjoyed reading about how their relationship progressed. The author also did a good job with the sexual relationship between the men as it's slow development fits with Gabriel's situation. Those scenes are very hot yet tender as well. I also liked the glimpses into Gabriel's past life and found the background information on how the world as they know it came about to be quite interesting. The story is character driven for much of the book but in the last quarter the action picks up as both Gabriel and Jeff have to fight for their future.
This is the first book I've read by C.C. Bridges and I look forward to reading more from the author as the series continues. Recommended.
May 1, 2017
For the life of me I could not connect with any of the characters. Some of them, I don't even know why they are there. Actually, I don't know why half the book is there.
I don't understand the world - there are bits of this and that and a glimpse of something else. But why is the sun not shining outside the city? Why do soldiers (that's what angels are) live at the very top, guarding warehouses, why not the richest and most privileged strolling through their high rise palaces ? Where is Rocco? I hoped Gabriel would recognize him in one of the other angels, or other modded. If Rocco loved Gabriel, he would have followed him and met the same (or almost) fate. Jeff... nothing solid on him either. I mean, you take every single character and they are just foundering around, barely afloat, flicking in and out of their cartoon-ish existence.
Someone told me not to bother with this book. It was on "my friends said no" shelf for a long time. But then I needed it for a challenge *ugh* I will NOT be buying book 2.
1.75-ish.
I don't understand the world - there are bits of this and that and a glimpse of something else. But why is the sun not shining outside the city? Why do soldiers (that's what angels are) live at the very top, guarding warehouses, why not the richest and most privileged strolling through their high rise palaces ? Where is Rocco? I hoped Gabriel would recognize him in one of the other angels, or other modded. If Rocco loved Gabriel, he would have followed him and met the same (or almost) fate. Jeff... nothing solid on him either. I mean, you take every single character and they are just foundering around, barely afloat, flicking in and out of their cartoon-ish existence.
Someone told me not to bother with this book. It was on "my friends said no" shelf for a long time. But then I needed it for a challenge *ugh* I will NOT be buying book 2.
1.75-ish.
October 3, 2015
4.99 stars.
I love this book. Loved it. This was despite the fact that a secondary but important couple in the book have a TPE relationship. The story is strong, the plot interesting and worrisome and at points I had no idea how it would be resolved. One MC was a single dad, not because of a bad mother, but because she died. There were strong and realistic females, which isn't always the case. The world building was fascinating. The setting and places were very real and I could see them in my head. It was a very richly drawn world. I loved it and want to see much more taking place in this universe.
The story also had a cyberpunk theme that dealt with addiction to jacking into the network. The author dealt with it really well and realistically. Another thing that was realistic was how the father put his daughter above everything else. He admits he would keep her safe if the alternative was saving the entire village. He doesn't feel great about it, but he doesn't feel bad, either. He says, That describes perfectly the perceived selfishness and lack of remorse of a parent's love. But we were with the character enough that it was easy to understand and he was very sympathetic.
There was enough excitement and action for me, and although I always love me some peril, I really didn't miss I am always looking for. I loved how the angel was portrayed, both his innocence, and his personality. I felt (this is a pretty important spoiler) happened too fast, but not so much so that it bothered me. The romance was slow building but not too much so, and was completely believable.
As to why I could handle the TPE couple, it's the kind that I think would be the only way it would be healthy. The sub is collared, and once on a leash, and a couple of times sitting on the floor, but he he talks when he wants to, he's stands up to protect someone to prevent an altercation, ane speaks his mind. At one point the dom tells the sub to behave or he'll take him over his knew. The sub replies something like, "Like that would be an incentive to stop." The sub comes from a background of power, so he knows another way to live. He chooses it fully informed.
The only weird thing was once he was walking funny and one MC Maybe it was to show the realism and reasoning to non-practioners. The TPE couple are kind and generous, and when it matters, both are able to be in on the action.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves SF and/or dystopian fiction.
I love this book. Loved it. This was despite the fact that a secondary but important couple in the book have a TPE relationship. The story is strong, the plot interesting and worrisome and at points I had no idea how it would be resolved. One MC was a single dad, not because of a bad mother, but because she died. There were strong and realistic females, which isn't always the case. The world building was fascinating. The setting and places were very real and I could see them in my head. It was a very richly drawn world. I loved it and want to see much more taking place in this universe.
The story also had a cyberpunk theme that dealt with addiction to jacking into the network. The author dealt with it really well and realistically. Another thing that was realistic was how the father put his daughter above everything else. He admits he would keep her safe if the alternative was saving the entire village. He doesn't feel great about it, but he doesn't feel bad, either. He says, That describes perfectly the perceived selfishness and lack of remorse of a parent's love. But we were with the character enough that it was easy to understand and he was very sympathetic.
There was enough excitement and action for me, and although I always love me some peril, I really didn't miss I am always looking for. I loved how the angel was portrayed, both his innocence, and his personality. I felt (this is a pretty important spoiler) happened too fast, but not so much so that it bothered me. The romance was slow building but not too much so, and was completely believable.
As to why I could handle the TPE couple, it's the kind that I think would be the only way it would be healthy. The sub is collared, and once on a leash, and a couple of times sitting on the floor, but he he talks when he wants to, he's stands up to protect someone to prevent an altercation, ane speaks his mind. At one point the dom tells the sub to behave or he'll take him over his knew. The sub replies something like, "Like that would be an incentive to stop." The sub comes from a background of power, so he knows another way to live. He chooses it fully informed.
The only weird thing was once he was walking funny and one MC Maybe it was to show the realism and reasoning to non-practioners. The TPE couple are kind and generous, and when it matters, both are able to be in on the action.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves SF and/or dystopian fiction.
December 2, 2010
Will definitely be reading more of this series. The angel vs demons overlay on a futuristic world ravaged by natural disasters and dominated by corporations was very intriguing.
***
My Tasting: Why I bought it: The blurb. I like futuristic, post-apocalyptic fic.
Dislike/like (ending on a high note):
Dislike~ A BigM. Me, I can take or leave the BigM depending on, like all themes, tropes, whatevers, whether the author has (a) convinced me it was relevant to the development of the plot and characters and (b) it was believable. In this book, the reader is aware of the reason for the BigM from the outset. I have to admit I got a wee, bit tired of some of the angsting associated with it as well as the wait for the reveal. All in all, though, it wasn't a huge deal for me because I got more caught up in other parts of the story.
Like~ The author's take on the angel versus demons mythology set in a futuristic world that has been ravaged by natural disasters and is now dominated by corporations *deep breath* was intriguing and well crafted. Indeed, I thought this was pretty, damned impressive considering how convoluted the world building could have been with all the tech, etc in it.
Dislike~ More of a warning~ Some readers will see the word 'corporations' above and roll their eyes because what's spec fiction without some sort of evil *insert name of organisation here*? (cont. below)
Like~ I say poo to them cos I love my individuals-rebel-and-battle-the-big-baddies stories. Hello, Star Wars anyone?! They're awesomesauce and I shalt not hear any naysayers! Oh, and I reckon the mythological overlay provides a unique enough interpretation of this theme to shut up any doubters. There are also a few twists and turns in the plot which should keep readers on their toes.
So, what I think: I will definitely be reading more of this series. I think that says it all really. :)
==================================================
‘Tasting’ is my version of a mini-review where I talk a (very) little about what I liked and disliked about a book as well as who I think the story will appeal to. Oh, and I’ve added a bit about why I picked up the book in the first place – sometimes this can be interesting to know.
***
My Tasting: Why I bought it: The blurb. I like futuristic, post-apocalyptic fic.
Dislike/like (ending on a high note):
Dislike~ A BigM. Me, I can take or leave the BigM depending on, like all themes, tropes, whatevers, whether the author has (a) convinced me it was relevant to the development of the plot and characters and (b) it was believable. In this book, the reader is aware of the reason for the BigM from the outset. I have to admit I got a wee, bit tired of some of the angsting associated with it as well as the wait for the reveal. All in all, though, it wasn't a huge deal for me because I got more caught up in other parts of the story.
Like~ The author's take on the angel versus demons mythology set in a futuristic world that has been ravaged by natural disasters and is now dominated by corporations *deep breath* was intriguing and well crafted. Indeed, I thought this was pretty, damned impressive considering how convoluted the world building could have been with all the tech, etc in it.
Dislike~ More of a warning~ Some readers will see the word 'corporations' above and roll their eyes because what's spec fiction without some sort of evil *insert name of organisation here*? (cont. below)
Like~ I say poo to them cos I love my individuals-rebel-and-battle-the-big-baddies stories. Hello, Star Wars anyone?! They're awesomesauce and I shalt not hear any naysayers! Oh, and I reckon the mythological overlay provides a unique enough interpretation of this theme to shut up any doubters. There are also a few twists and turns in the plot which should keep readers on their toes.
So, what I think: I will definitely be reading more of this series. I think that says it all really. :)
==================================================
‘Tasting’ is my version of a mini-review where I talk a (very) little about what I liked and disliked about a book as well as who I think the story will appeal to. Oh, and I’ve added a bit about why I picked up the book in the first place – sometimes this can be interesting to know.
March 21, 2020
The combination of angels and demons with cybernetics in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting intrigued me right off the bat. It’s not one I have seen before, and the idea of a “fallen angel” due to mechanical and network-based issues is definitely unique. Building on this basic concept, the author has developed an intricate world where much of what religion has us believe about angels, like them being connected to each other, their superior medical abilities, and their location in Heaven, is explained by technology – something the demons of this world do not have. It was fascinating to realize that much of the angels’ superiority over humans can actually be explained by today’s technology, give or take another twenty or thirty years of development.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.
March 21, 2020
The combination of angels and demons with cybernetics in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting intrigued me right off the bat. It’s not one I have seen before, and the idea of a “fallen angel” due to mechanical and network-based issues is definitely unique. Building on this basic concept, the author has developed an intricate world where much of what religion has us believe about angels, like them being connected to each other, their superior medical abilities, and their location in Heaven, is explained by technology – something the demons of this world do not have. It was fascinating to realize that much of the angels’ superiority over humans can actually be explained by today’s technology, give or take another twenty or thirty years of development.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
June 29, 2014
Note to self: Supernatural fanfiction has ruined all angel/demon stories for me. Anyways...
Rating: 2.5 stars
I think the premise behind Angel 1089 makes for an interesting story. However, the story was plagued with sparse writing, very shaky world building, and not-so-very-good characterization. That’s not to say that this was a bad book. It just wasn’t very good one either.
So my biggest issues was indeed the world building. To be honest, I’m not even too sure if I’m remembering the one sentence that was mentioned in the middle of the book about this futuristic world. I think the United States is ruled by three different corporations/government bodies, and Heaven is one of them? Don’t quote me on that. Since it seemed like the author didn’t feel the need to emphasize more on this information, I didn’t either. Anyways, Heaven is some kind of place that floats and eclipses the sparse Earth where demons and humans reside. Both demons and angels are cybernetically enhanced beings that can fly with wings. Which brought another issue with me.
The wings.
How do angels and demons fly with these huge, gigantic and metallic extensions? There’s no mention of how these equipment, that is certain to weigh a ton, allows beings to pull aerial stunts. I think there was mention of Gabriel “flapping” the wings, and voila! He’s airborne. Which is quite telling, since the whole world is pretty much constructed with that same shoulder shrugging attention to detail.
And then there was the fact that I couldn’t get into either Gabriel, or Jeff. They were both dull characters, and my only pleasure was reading from Jeff’s daughter’s POV. And Trixie, the dog, was sort of entertaining too. I just felt like Gabriel had the potential to be a very interesting character to know, being a zombie-Angel for about 200 years and all-of-a-sudden discovering his humanity. But nope. He pretty much felt like a naïve teenager. Jeff was slightly more interesting than Gabriel (emphasis on “slightly”) with his whole tragic past.
So the story started off kind of “okay.” But then it got a bit better towards the middle when I pretty much stopped expecting great characterization and world building. But then the ending was kind of lame with the resolution. It wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste, but to each his or her own.
Rating: 2.5 stars
I think the premise behind Angel 1089 makes for an interesting story. However, the story was plagued with sparse writing, very shaky world building, and not-so-very-good characterization. That’s not to say that this was a bad book. It just wasn’t very good one either.
So my biggest issues was indeed the world building. To be honest, I’m not even too sure if I’m remembering the one sentence that was mentioned in the middle of the book about this futuristic world. I think the United States is ruled by three different corporations/government bodies, and Heaven is one of them? Don’t quote me on that. Since it seemed like the author didn’t feel the need to emphasize more on this information, I didn’t either. Anyways, Heaven is some kind of place that floats and eclipses the sparse Earth where demons and humans reside. Both demons and angels are cybernetically enhanced beings that can fly with wings. Which brought another issue with me.
The wings.
How do angels and demons fly with these huge, gigantic and metallic extensions? There’s no mention of how these equipment, that is certain to weigh a ton, allows beings to pull aerial stunts. I think there was mention of Gabriel “flapping” the wings, and voila! He’s airborne. Which is quite telling, since the whole world is pretty much constructed with that same shoulder shrugging attention to detail.
And then there was the fact that I couldn’t get into either Gabriel, or Jeff. They were both dull characters, and my only pleasure was reading from Jeff’s daughter’s POV. And Trixie, the dog, was sort of entertaining too. I just felt like Gabriel had the potential to be a very interesting character to know, being a zombie-Angel for about 200 years and all-of-a-sudden discovering his humanity. But nope. He pretty much felt like a naïve teenager. Jeff was slightly more interesting than Gabriel (emphasis on “slightly”) with his whole tragic past.
So the story started off kind of “okay.” But then it got a bit better towards the middle when I pretty much stopped expecting great characterization and world building. But then the ending was kind of lame with the resolution. It wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste, but to each his or her own.
October 13, 2015
4.5 stars. I really wanted to give this one 5 stars, which is highly unusual for me in the sci fi/fantasy genre. I had to remove a half star though because the POV switching was abrupt with no denotation that it was changing, which caused me some confusion throughout the book. Other than that, I loved this book. For me, sci fi is usually too much world building. I feel like there's too much detail and a lot of info dumping, which just bores me. Neither of those things occurred in this book. Jeff seemed to represent all of these folks today with their heads buried in their phones or whatever electronic devices they have. He was a hacker and always plugged in to the net to the detriment of the folks around him as some awful things happened while he was plugged in and ignoring real life. It was a compulsion for him, but at least he learned from his mistake, and when we meet him, he's unplugged, refusing to go back, and he's become an amazing parent, even though he's making deals with demons. He's doing what he needs to in order to keep his daughter and himself alive.
I love that this author flipped the idea of Heaven on it's head. Everyone thinks Heaven is this amazing, beautiful place where everything is perfect, but it's not so in this story, and as Gabe gets his memory back, we learn some of the awful things the folks of Heaven are doing. I'm very intrigued as to where this world/storyline is going with the angels and demons and Heaven versus Downside. I'll definitely be reading more of this series, and I look forward to finding out more about Ian and Hank.
I love that this author flipped the idea of Heaven on it's head. Everyone thinks Heaven is this amazing, beautiful place where everything is perfect, but it's not so in this story, and as Gabe gets his memory back, we learn some of the awful things the folks of Heaven are doing. I'm very intrigued as to where this world/storyline is going with the angels and demons and Heaven versus Downside. I'll definitely be reading more of this series, and I look forward to finding out more about Ian and Hank.
December 1, 2017
3.5 stars
An interesting, high tech, post apocalyptic angels vs. demons story. Nicely written and well edited. I wished for better, clearer world building. I did a fair amount of skimming while waiting for the author to get to the next reveal or action scene. It was above average but I was just a bit nonplussed at the end. I rounded up instead of down because of the very original take on angels and demons.
An interesting, high tech, post apocalyptic angels vs. demons story. Nicely written and well edited. I wished for better, clearer world building. I did a fair amount of skimming while waiting for the author to get to the next reveal or action scene. It was above average but I was just a bit nonplussed at the end. I rounded up instead of down because of the very original take on angels and demons.
Read
June 22, 2013Loved the world-building in this--it's a really well-thought-out dystopian future. Also, a great child character who didn't make me want to throw my ereader at the wall in annoyance. Shame the second in the series seems to be such a long time coming.
November 29, 2021
I quite enjoyed this sci-fi post-apocalyptic world populated by regular as well as 'modified' humans; with the angels and demons belonging to the latter. General human populace are still largely struggling to survive amidst the rubble of their cities and seemingly at the mercy of power-grabbing territorial demonic warlords. The angels living in the upper echelons appear indifferent to humanity's suffering ... appearing with devastating force to put down fomented unrest and suspected threat to the existing peace/order - all under the direction of an all-knowing 'master'-mind. 3.5 stars - and not what I was expecting at all.
September 30, 2012
This book has a couple of elements of two Nalini Singh's series that I like very much, the Guild Hunter series with all its angels and the Psy-Changeling series with the concept of PsyNet. This series had less paranormal elements and a more relevant cyberpunk aspect.
The world building was very interesting and I hope very much there will be other books in the same universe, if not a proper sequel. In a future where nature has changed earth with earthquakes and other catastrophic events, rich companies have built kingdoms in the sky, leaving ordinary humans and demons on the ground. People living in the skies live in better conditions, are healthier, richier and can afford body modifications that keep them fit and young. They are protected by angels, human beings whose body has been deeply modified to be more resistant and ageless. They share a net of information through the halo implant around their head. When Gabriel is captured by demons, he is left to heal in the custody of Jeff, a mechanic leaving with his young daughter. Jeff gives shelter to Gabriel, he helps him heal, but he doesn't have the courage to tell Gabriel that he'll have to consign him to the demon Lord, Luca.
When Gabriel arrives at Jeff's home, he feels less than whole. He has lost one of his wings and he craves flying and the sun. His halo was removed, therefore he can't communicate with the other angels anymore, but without it he gains back the memories of when he was human. He also begins to feel emotions he had been denied, especially desire and affection.
There are angels and demons, but there isn't a clear division between good and bad. The corporation ruling the skies has basically denied Gabriel his humanity to make him a soldier and they're only concerned with the well being of those leaving on the upper levels, but they don't care for the human beings living down. The demons barter commodities with favors, and the prices are high in terms of sacrifice, but they also try to keep the order and protect humans from the gangs of delinquent. Also, if not for their stealing from the upper levels, people on the earth wouldn't have enough to eat, to have basic health cures or simply live a bit more comfortably.
The author made a great effort to let Gabriel and Jeff get to know each other, but I didn't think I got to know them. There's a bit of repetition regarding their ex-lovers, or events of their past, but it was as if their personality was reduced to this, to external things or happenings, not to what they were as people. I found the secondary characters more sketched, but more rounded, like Ian and Hank, who decided to leave their comfortable lives above to be together below, or Mattie, who is trying to raise her condition at a tremendous cost, or even Kayla, Jeff's wonderful daughter, who seems more aware of what's going on than her father.
It was a very entertaining and enjoyable story in a setting I'd love to revisit.
Like all of Samhain's books, the book ended at the 90% mark of the kindle locations.
The world building was very interesting and I hope very much there will be other books in the same universe, if not a proper sequel. In a future where nature has changed earth with earthquakes and other catastrophic events, rich companies have built kingdoms in the sky, leaving ordinary humans and demons on the ground. People living in the skies live in better conditions, are healthier, richier and can afford body modifications that keep them fit and young. They are protected by angels, human beings whose body has been deeply modified to be more resistant and ageless. They share a net of information through the halo implant around their head. When Gabriel is captured by demons, he is left to heal in the custody of Jeff, a mechanic leaving with his young daughter. Jeff gives shelter to Gabriel, he helps him heal, but he doesn't have the courage to tell Gabriel that he'll have to consign him to the demon Lord, Luca.
When Gabriel arrives at Jeff's home, he feels less than whole. He has lost one of his wings and he craves flying and the sun. His halo was removed, therefore he can't communicate with the other angels anymore, but without it he gains back the memories of when he was human. He also begins to feel emotions he had been denied, especially desire and affection.
There are angels and demons, but there isn't a clear division between good and bad. The corporation ruling the skies has basically denied Gabriel his humanity to make him a soldier and they're only concerned with the well being of those leaving on the upper levels, but they don't care for the human beings living down. The demons barter commodities with favors, and the prices are high in terms of sacrifice, but they also try to keep the order and protect humans from the gangs of delinquent. Also, if not for their stealing from the upper levels, people on the earth wouldn't have enough to eat, to have basic health cures or simply live a bit more comfortably.
The author made a great effort to let Gabriel and Jeff get to know each other, but I didn't think I got to know them. There's a bit of repetition regarding their ex-lovers, or events of their past, but it was as if their personality was reduced to this, to external things or happenings, not to what they were as people. I found the secondary characters more sketched, but more rounded, like Ian and Hank, who decided to leave their comfortable lives above to be together below, or Mattie, who is trying to raise her condition at a tremendous cost, or even Kayla, Jeff's wonderful daughter, who seems more aware of what's going on than her father.
It was a very entertaining and enjoyable story in a setting I'd love to revisit.
Like all of Samhain's books, the book ended at the 90% mark of the kindle locations.
October 30, 2017
A superb dystopian romance, epic in its tone and full of cleverly modified religious references: Angel-class and Serapah-class cyborgs, complete with metal wings and a Halo, a band of metal over their forehead that functions as a network balise and a way of controlling, serve a God-like supercomputer that governs Heaven Corp., the megacompany in charge of the high and middle rises where the rich fol dwell, while the remainder of humanity is scrapping for a living on the dilapidated lower ranges of the city under the dubious protection of Demons, hapharzardly-assembled cyborgs. What if you were (barely) middle-aged and a former computer wiz whose best friend rides 24/7 the public network, had a teenaged daughter with prostectic legs created by you after she had been crippled in an explosion years ago, a cute dog that serves as said daughter's helper, and reigned over a field of scrapped metal and broken pieces of technology, only to be presented one day by the local powers-that-be with the injured husk of an Angel ? Would you take pity on the ageless hunk with no recollection of who he was before Heaven Corp. turned him into one of its minions, and fall for the fascinating blonde ? Such is the predicament of Jeff when he is told to care for Gabriel 1089 after the so-called Demons, with whom he has an entente, told him to care for the crippled Angel whose Halo they have removed in the hope of invading the Heaven Corp. network. So begins a tender yet epic adventure that eventually will shake the very foundations upon which society has been built. I loved to pieces that short but powerful novel, an awesome blend of action, adventure, social critique and sweet romance. The cast is adorable, the writing deftly plunges us into this less-than-perfect distyopian society (it heps that the copy-editing has been near perfect), and the world building and plotting both rank among the most original ones I have ever had the pleasure of discovering. This ultimately reads as a make-good story, where nobody is truly evil at heart even though the villain gets his just punishment and where virtue is eventuallly rewarded. I finished it in one setting and does not regret having skipped meals and even bedtime.
January 21, 2013
I enjoyed this. For a short book, I think it did a good job of creating an interesting world where technology has coopted some of religion's social structures and Heaven is an actual place. On the down side I wasn't entirely sold on the romance aspect of the story, and I would have liked to see more development of , but I enjoyed all the characters -- both MC and secondary -- and the plot details never pinged my bullshit meter in a significant way. In fact, IMHO, other authors of sf-type romance (I'm looking at you, oh author of The Trust) could learn from Bridges in this regard. Bridges provided enough detail about her technology to keep it engaging, but she also waved her arms around in a vague enough way to keep us from getting hung up on implausible details. Her setup was logical enough in at least a cursory sort of way, and she did not create any obvious self-contradictions. Also, since her story is set in an ill-defined future time rather than the present (at least 200 years after our time, possibly more), that gave Bridges further leeway in declaring what technology might or might not be available by that time -- we weren't constrained by science here and now, but we also still retained our familiarity with basic social constructs.
Overall a fun story. I'm giving this one a straight up 4 stars, no rounding up or down.
Overall a fun story. I'm giving this one a straight up 4 stars, no rounding up or down.
January 5, 2015
****Reviewed for Prism Book Alliance****
4.25 Stars - I started out reading Angel 1089 not quite knowing what to expect. What are the demons? What are the angels? Is this going to be a good vs evil type book? What I got was an engaging world set in a dystopian future where Heaven is a corporation and demons may not be as bad as you think.
I loved the sci-fi aspects, the gritty world that Jeff and his daughter Kayla live in. It seemed real and possible. I enjoyed seeing Gabe discover who he really was and adapt to the downworld he found himself in. The romance had a slow burn initially that I appreciated. I felt the connections developed between Gabe and Jeff.
The secondary cast of characters were great, and although Ian and Hank’s story, Exodus, is billed as book two, it actually takes place before this one. They, as well as a few other characters, help bring the story to life.
All in all, a solid sci-fi book that I would definitely watch if it came out on film!
4.25 Stars - I started out reading Angel 1089 not quite knowing what to expect. What are the demons? What are the angels? Is this going to be a good vs evil type book? What I got was an engaging world set in a dystopian future where Heaven is a corporation and demons may not be as bad as you think.
I loved the sci-fi aspects, the gritty world that Jeff and his daughter Kayla live in. It seemed real and possible. I enjoyed seeing Gabe discover who he really was and adapt to the downworld he found himself in. The romance had a slow burn initially that I appreciated. I felt the connections developed between Gabe and Jeff.
The secondary cast of characters were great, and although Ian and Hank’s story, Exodus, is billed as book two, it actually takes place before this one. They, as well as a few other characters, help bring the story to life.
All in all, a solid sci-fi book that I would definitely watch if it came out on film!
May 7, 2011
This was a good sci-fi adventure that is set on the ruins of Earth. Gabriel 1089 is a cyborg angel fighting demons for the city of Heaven. Gabriel is captured by the demons, losing one of his cyber-wings, and dumped on the floor of Jeff Werth's house. Jeff owes the head demon of this territory and is forced to remove and hand over Gabriel's cyber modified halo. What Jeff Werth, ex-hacker and cyber whiz, doesn't count on is falling in love with the fallen angel Gabe. The dynamics between the layers of human society from down-level to Heaven is well developed. The story was fast paced and the characters well developed. Ms Bridges has created a world in which Heaven is actually more evil than the hell on earth. The demons are almost but not quite the good guys. I'm looking forward to the next book in Ms Bridges' well written series. I recommend this book highly to any sci-fi fan.
September 6, 2015
This was a fun read but confusing. The author fails in the attempts at world building. There is very little information on what the world is. The author just stuck to the basics. I think this leaves out a lot of information and leaves the reader floundering to figure out the world just enough to make sense of the story. This is a huge disservice to the reader. I think some readers will get turned off by this.
If you get past this part of the story it is a fairly light read. The characters aren't all that deep and leave some lack in the overall feel of the story. As I read it I constantly thought I was going to get to hear what happened to Rocco or more about Jeff and his life. We only catch glimpses. Also the whole structure of the two "worlds", what the life is for each. There is only the barest of glances.
Still I enjoyed the story. Gabe is so innocent for all that he has done. Jeff comes off a little rough but is soooo tender. It is a cute story.
If you get past this part of the story it is a fairly light read. The characters aren't all that deep and leave some lack in the overall feel of the story. As I read it I constantly thought I was going to get to hear what happened to Rocco or more about Jeff and his life. We only catch glimpses. Also the whole structure of the two "worlds", what the life is for each. There is only the barest of glances.
Still I enjoyed the story. Gabe is so innocent for all that he has done. Jeff comes off a little rough but is soooo tender. It is a cute story.
June 3, 2013
A surprisingly good book. Creative idea of the rise of cybernetics and corporations simultaneously, creating a race of super-humans that live in the skies, safe from natural disasters and protected by enhanced humans who have been turned into cogs by extensive intervention in their brains.
I thought the Jeff Werth and his family and history were well done and the romance was well done. Not especially exciting and sex was pretty minor, although with some hot ideas, especially with the wings. Sex was pretty much limited to innuendo and off-screen events. Jeff has a daughter that he is very concerned about protecting. And Gabe is helpful. The cybernetic networks were cool, although another example of programming being translated into cool, unrealistic special effects. It wasn't my favorite book, but it was cute, fun, and not badly done.
I thought the Jeff Werth and his family and history were well done and the romance was well done. Not especially exciting and sex was pretty minor, although with some hot ideas, especially with the wings. Sex was pretty much limited to innuendo and off-screen events. Jeff has a daughter that he is very concerned about protecting. And Gabe is helpful. The cybernetic networks were cool, although another example of programming being translated into cool, unrealistic special effects. It wasn't my favorite book, but it was cute, fun, and not badly done.
May 12, 2013
I would never have picked up this kind of novel on first view and that would have been a gross mistake. I absolutely loved this. What a great world Bridges has created: intricate and detailed but not overwhelming in information. The characters were endearing and completely believable within their setting, and the way the plot gets resolved is both intelligent and imaginative.
January 10, 2011
Four and a half stars. This was a fascinating book. The world-building is spectacular and the characters interesting. If I have one quibble it is that the romance and character development weren't as strong as they could have been - there was far more of the world-building and the plot (which isn't necessarily a criticism :)
I was thrilled beyond words that the author is writing another book set in this universe - a prequel about Hank & Ian, who apart from Gabriel (I love that name :) were my two favourite characters.
I was thrilled beyond words that the author is writing another book set in this universe - a prequel about Hank & Ian, who apart from Gabriel (I love that name :) were my two favourite characters.
September 13, 2014
This book had all of my favorite elements in a story, minus the ass-kicking grandmother. But who's counting? It had everything else! Two men in love: check. One of them is an angel: check. Sweet wings: check. Tough 8 year old girl: check. dog: check. great writing I couldn't put down: double check. In short: This was a fantastic read, I'm finding sad to have already left behind. OMG... and I forgot to mention the wing porn! Yup: check. lol.
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