レビュー要約

• 人物描写と主題の明確さを評価する声がある一方、静かな展開や重い題材をじっくり読む作品として受け止められている。

レビュー

• Atmosphärisch und spannend

  Paris - Stadt der Liebe und Romantik, so haben viele die französische Hauptstadt im Hinterkopf. In "The House of Shattered Wings" wandelt sich dieses Bild: Statt Romantik pur ist dieses Paris hier ein nicht minder atmosphärischer Ort der Zerstörung und Gewalt, überwiegend beherrscht von gefallenen Engeln. Die Atmosphäre des Buches konnte mich sofort in ihren Bann ziehen. Dieses fast schon endzeitliche Bild von Paris ist faszinierend und fesselnd, auch wenn ich mir im Laufe der Geschichte gewünscht hätte, noch mehr von Paris zu sehen. Ebenso hat sich mir nicht erschlossen, warum die beiden wichtigsten Häuser, Silverspires und Hawthorne, keine französischen Namen tragen - allerdings ist das ein Gedanke, der mir erst während des Rezensierens kam und keiner, der mich beim Lesen irritierte. Direkt zu Beginn des Buches wurde ich regelrecht in die Handlung hineingeworfen. Es gibt keine wirkliche Einleitung, die in die Welt und die Charaktere einführt. Das Wissen darüber wird erst nach und nach vermittelt, was ich stellenweise etwas unbefriedigend und unnötig verwirrend fand. Die Handlung selbst ist durchweg spannend aufgebaut. Sie wird abwechselnd aus der Perspektive der einzelnen Protagonisten erzählt, was mir einen guten Rundumblick und einen tieferen Blick in die einzelnen Persönlichkeiten ermöglichte. Womit wir auch schon bei dem Punkt wären, der mich (neben der Atmosphäre) am meisten begeistert hat: Die Charaktere! Ohne sie hätte die gesamte Handlung wesentlich weniger lebendig gewirkt. Mit ihnen dagegen erschien die Handlung realistisch und die Charaktere selbst beinahe wie aus dem Leben gegriffen. Sie sind facettenreich und durchweg logisch aufgebaut. Einzig die Gefallene Isabelle blieb mir angesichts dieser vielen tollen Charaktere ein wenig zu farblos. Ich mochte sie, keine Frage, aber so lebendig wie die anderen erschien sie mir leider nicht. FAZIT "The House of Shattered Wings" ist in dunkles Urban-Fantasy-Abenteuer mit toller Atmosphäre und tiefgründigen Figuren. An einigen Stellen hätte ich mir allerdings mehr Hintergrundwissen gewünscht und weniger offene Fragen, die später erst geklärt wurden.

• Best Novel I've read in Ages

  I simply loved this novel. In fact I can honestly say it's one of the best novels I have read in quite a while. Bodard's worldbuilding is rich and wonderful and she writes rich and elegant prose which is rarely seen. It's a post apocalyptic survival story with a murder mystery built in. I simply loved the characters, especially Isabelle and Phillipe, who are interesting beyond words. It begins with Isabelle, an angel, being cast out of heaven and falling to earth. We experience the fall with her. Phillipe feels Isabelle falling and as he runs with a group of thugs (gang) he steers himself and his companion to her location. However, Phillipe is not the only one who knows Isabelle is falling, so does Selene who is head of the Angel House of Silverspires. Angels who are cast out of heaven and thrown to earth are badly hurt when they land so when Phillipe and his companion reach Isabelle her wings are mangled, her limbs broken and she is bleeding. Isabelle is in no position to defend herself and Phillipe's companion proceeds to cut off two of her fingers before Selene arrives to save her. It is at this point that the novel really takes off. Selene is the head of the one of the most powerful Angel houses in post war Paris but her house is constantly being threatened by other houses. She is the 2nd head of Silverspires as Morningstar (read Lucifer) was the first but he has simply disappeared without a trace. Selene knows she is no Morningstar but she does her best to keep the house together. Phillipe acts like he's mortal but Selene quickly realizes there is more to him than meets the eye. In fact, Phillipe is an immortal from Vietnam who was conscribed to fight in the great war by the colonial powers. Selene uses her powers to lock Phillipe to Silverspires against his will and he is quite bitter about it. However, because he got a taste of Isabelle's blood they are permanently bound together. Then there's Madeleine, one of the rare humans who get a major part, who is the alchemist for Silverspires. She is also an addict to angel essence, something you can get from the flesh, blood, etc., of a dead angel, which gives one powers. She keeps her addiction a secret, however, but it is slowly killing her and if Selene finds out Madeleine will be cast out of Silverspires and on her own which is very dangerous. She is another interesting character, I just wasn't as drawn to her as I was Isabelle and Phillipe. There are numerous story lines going on in this novel. The main two seem to be who is trying to kill off everyone from the House of Silverspires. This investigation leads to a lot of politics between the houses as we learn of other house leaders and how each house hates the other. Then there's the mystery of what happened to Morningstar and this was a huge surprise. Also there is the side story of Phillipe and what all occurs to him throughout the novel. I felt a certain sympathy and good will towards him throughout. Once I started this novel I simply could not put it down. I have thought about it many times since I finished it and no other book since has filled that void. This novel is full of magic, mystery and mythology, and is simply too wonderful for a review to do justice to it. You simply must read it for yourself and become immersed in this magical world. I certainly hope there's a sequel!

• Quite good

  The setting was superbly written; the grittiness, the disrepair and desperation and ruthlessness were all so finely described that you could almost see them. The characters were complex and layered and not exactly likable yet I was still rooting for them, which wasn't that easy since they were mostly at odds with each other. The plot was interesting, especially the part about Morningstar's disappearance. SPOILER!!! And dragons make everything better, always. Overall, an enthralling read that convinced me to continue the series.

• Excellent roman de dark fantasy

  De la même auteur j'avais beaucoup aimé ses romans de SF , et j'ai été enthousiasmée par ce roman situé dans une version de Paris dévastée par la magie . C'est une auteur française mais qui écrit en anglais, je trouve incroyable que personne ne l'ai encore traduite pour les non anglophones,.

• Post-apocalyptic angel urban fantasy

  An alternate twentieth century Paris. The Fallen live amongst mankind, banished for crimes against Heaven. Stripped of their wings and their memories, each must rapidly come to terms with their new earthbound existence and find a home in one of the Houses – or die at the hands of humans who steal the magic from their body parts. Philippe was brought to wrecked, magically polluted Paris when the Fallen forcibly drafted people from the colonies to fight their battles. Now he runs with the gangs, stripped of all hope of returning home. When he stumbles across newly-Fallen Isabelle, they are both seized by House Silverspires and taken to Notre Dame. But Silverspires – founded by Morningstar, its influence slowly crumbling following his disappearance – is under insidious attack. Philippe and Isabelle find themselves at the centre of the storm as loyalties shift and bonds are forged. I ended up admiring and being incredibly frustrated by the world-building. It’s good – very good – in the sense that this decaying, dull Paris feels real, it’s inhabitants creeping through mouldering ruins and avoiding the terrors of the blackened Seine. The Houses have real stature; the stricken buildings loom large above the devastated city, bastions of power and influence run by Fallen overlords one can serve or avoid but rarely ignore. The Fallen, with their crisp suits and Louis XV furniture, are a lofty 1% who rarely value human lives as they play malicious games of influence. The frustrating bit is the lack of detail. The Fallen know their own history on Earth; Philippe knows the history of the apocalyptic war that destroyed Europe; but none of this is spelled out. We get only fragments. Part of me is rather impressed that de Bodard has managed to construct something that feels so real without ever really giving more than glimpses of what holds it together. It frustrates me only because when I know I’m dealing with an alternate history, I like to know how it fits together. The story itself is fairly traditional, but expressed in interesting ways thanks to the infusion of Vietnamese mythology and enough twists to make you genuinely unsure of whether this will end well or badly. This is a dark (but not grimdark) story, with a flawed, flailing cast of characters who are riven by self-doubt and House politics. I couldn’t guess how it would end, and I’m happy to say I didn’t call it although I’ll admit that one outcome was both so obvious and so unexpected I felt like a right twit. Doubleplus points for the rich relationships, strong characters, shady morality, difficult decisions and proper consequences. Good stuff.

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