⋙ Download Gratis The House of Shattered Wings Howard Hughes 9781473212558 Books

The House of Shattered Wings Howard Hughes 9781473212558 Books

Download As PDF : The House of Shattered Wings Howard Hughes 9781473212558 Books

The House of Shattered Wings Howard Hughes 9781473212558 Books

The writing was beautiful and the descriptions breathtaking. The city of Paris in a dystopian post-ware alternate past lends itself to all sorts of wonderful scenes and the characters are very interesting.
But.
But...The whole time I felt like I was reading the version of a friend of a friend of the characters. I actually thought I had mistakenly purchased a book further on in the trilogy and not the first book because there was so much backstory I didn't get. Maybe fans of the whole angel genre have more information on House politics and Fallen Angels work but there was a lot that I didn't get.
The premise is good and the murder mystery itself is good, but it all felt a little distant to me. Perhaps it's that sort of Goth thing that makes action feel distant, otherworldly, like the reader is a voyeur, that may captivate fans of these stories. It just didn't fully wow me, but lovers of vampire/fallen/goth sagas will probably love it.


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The House of Shattered Wings Howard Hughes 9781473212558 Books Reviews

Meh. Sort of interesting, but not quite enough. Sort of flat. Definitely good ideas, but underdeveloped. A 500 word summary of this book would be engrossing, but the longer book just doesn't add anything. I am more plot driven so I rarely say this, but ther characters and setting needed more description. From the author info get the impression that she lives in Paris or France or has some connection there, yet the references to the city are along the lines ofwhat I could write using Wikipedia and Google image for reference. The historical references feel the same. I was hoping for a rainy day escape in to a gothic world of elegant decay, a twining of old Europe and eastern culture, but no, never quite made it. I wouldn't mind more stories about these characters or in this world, but I want more details. Lets just say, if creative fan fiction based on an interesting idea is a 3/10 and NK jemison and early Neal Stephenson are up in the 9/10 range, this is a 5. I'm not sorry I read it, it passed time well enough, but I'm not allocating shelf space. This is going to goodwill.
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!
The writing was beautiful and the descriptions breathtaking. The city of Paris in a dystopian post-ware alternate past lends itself to all sorts of wonderful scenes and the characters are very interesting.
But.
But...The whole time I felt like I was reading the version of a friend of a friend of the characters. I actually thought I had mistakenly purchased a book further on in the trilogy and not the first book because there was so much backstory I didn't get. Maybe fans of the whole angel genre have more information on House politics and Fallen Angels work but there was a lot that I didn't get.
The premise is good and the murder mystery itself is good, but it all felt a little distant to me. Perhaps it's that sort of Goth thing that makes action feel distant, otherworldly, like the reader is a voyeur, that may captivate fans of these stories. It just didn't fully wow me, but lovers of vampire/fallen/goth sagas will probably love it.