Angelology

January 21, 2013
Fans of Trussoni’s well-received Angelology (2010), set in a world where angels are real, should be satisfied with this sequel, but those looking for a consistent, well-thought-out alternative universe may be disappointed. In the book’s present, art historian V.A. Verlaine, who 10 years earlier realized that his flawed vision allowed him to “see angel wings without extensive training,” witnesses a mutilated angel’s last moments as she lies dying on a Paris street in “a pool of electric blue blood.” On the body, Verlaine is disturbed to find the New York driver’s license of Evangeline Cacciatore, “the love of his life,” who had turned into the sort of rogue angel that Verlaine now hunts. This murder marks the latest chapter in a centuries-old battle between humanity and the various categories of angels. Suspenseful actions scenes compensate only in part for thin characters, contrived situations, and Verlaine’s perplexing turnaround in his attitude toward Evangeline at the end. 5-city author tour.

March 8, 2010
A covert age-old war between angels and humans serves as the backdrop for Trussonis gripping tale of supernatural thrills and divine destinies. Sister Evangeline, the secretary who handles all inquiries concerning the archives of angel arcana at an upstate New York convent, receives a letter from researcher V.A. Verlaine inquiring about an unknown link between the convent and philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller dating to 1943. It turns out that the Rockefellers were interested in a legendary artifact associated with an order of fallen angels. That priceless artifact is coveted by Verlaines employer, Percival Grigori, a Nephilimoffspring of the union between mortal and angel parentswho will stop at nothing to retrieve it for the awesome power it will give his race over humanity. Trussoni ("Falling Through the Earth") anchors this fanciful dark fantasy to a solid foundation built from Catholic church history, biblical exegesis, and apocryphal texts. Suspenseful intrigues and apocalyptic battle scenes give this complexly plotted tale a vigor and vitality all the more exciting for its intelligence. "9-city author tour. (Mar.)" .

January 1, 2010
Critically acclaimed memoirist Trussoni (Falling Through The Earth, 2006) breaks into the fiction market in a big way with an epic fantasy that combines a rich mythology with some Da Vinci Code–style treasure-hunting.

The contest between good and evil is waged not in the heavens but here on Earth, between warring factions of biblical scholars and heavenly hosts. The unusual central character is Sister Evangeline, a 23-year-old nun at St. Rose Convent outside New York City. In the course of her work, she stumbles across a mislaid correspondence between philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller and the convent's founding abbess concerning an astonishing 1943 discovery in the mountains of Greece. Simultaneously, the book introduces Percival Grigori, a critically ill, once-winged member of one of the most powerful families in an ancient race of beings born of a union between fallen angels and human beings: the Nephilim. These parasitic creatures, the"giants" referred to in the sixth chapter of Genesis, have engaged in spiritual warfare for generations with the Society of Angelologists, a group that included Evangeline's parents."It has been one continuous struggle from the very beginning," says one of Evangeline's comrades-in-arms."St. Thomas Aquinas believed that the dark angels fell within twenty seconds of creation—their evil nature cracked the perfection of the universe almost instantly, leaving a terrible fissure between good and evil." As Evangeline and Grigori are drawn into conflict over control of a powerful artifact, the lyre of the mythical Orpheus, Trussoni constructs a marathon narrative arc, ending the volume with a satisfying, if startling, transformation. A film adaptation and a sequel are already waiting in the wings.

An ambitious adventure story with enough literary heft and religious fervor to satisfy anyone able to embrace its imaginative conceits and Byzantine plot.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from January 15, 2010
Beautiful, powerful, cruel, and avaricious, the half-human, half-angel Nephilim have thrived for centuries by instilling fear among humans, instigating war, and infiltrating the most powerful and influential families of history. Only a secret group of scholars, the Society of Angelologists, has endeavored to combat the spread of evil generated by Nephilim. Now, a strange affliction is destroying the Nephilim, and the cure is rumored to be an ancient artifact of great power. Sister Evangeline of the St. Rose Convent discovers an archived letter regarding the artifact's location and is thrust into the race to locate the artifact before the Nephilim do. She uncovers her family's past as high-ranking angelologists, and their secrets assist in her dangerous hunt. VERDICT Trussoni, author of the acclaimed memoir "Falling Through the Earth", makes an impressive fiction debut with this engrossing and fascinating tale. With captivating characters and the scholarly blending of biblical and mythical lore, this will be popular for fans of such historical thrillers as Kate Mosse's "Labyrinth" or Katherine Neville's "The Eight". Sony Pictures Entertainment has purchased the film rights. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 11/15/09.]Joy Gunn, Henderson Libs., NV

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2010
Through the door opened by The DaVinci Code comes Trussonis entry in the hugger-mugger religious-society suspense subgenre, its textured prose as seamless as the never-ending stream of prayers offered up by St. Rose Convents Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. In that institution, celebrated for its angelic texts, lives Sister Evangeline, who prays, tends to library matters, and has become a creature of obedience and duty since her father brought her there when she was 12, two years after her mothers death. The scholar Verlaine seeks concrete evidence linking the convent to Abigail Rockefeller, and before you can say, I found this letter, the multilayered process of Evangelines transformation has begun. The story takes flight in eminently readable fashion, effortlessly folding in technical information about things angelic and the religious life. Its hard not to enjoy the secrets unearthed and appreciate what wings are to the angels who secretly walk among usa symbol of their blood, their breeding, . . . their position in the community. Displaying them properly brought power and prestige. Powerfully entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

May 31, 2010
Trussoni's complex and intricately plotted novel about an epic war between mortals and angels is, despite the heroic efforts of Susan Denaker, an unholy mess in the audio version. What readers relished—the labyrinthine plot, the accretion of suspense—becomes a morass of agonizingly slow description, invented mythologies, and a needlessly protracted setup. Sister Evangeline, a secretary at an upstate New York convent, receives a mysterious letter directing her to an artifact that is sought by a Nephilim—the offspring of a mortal and an angel—who is desperate to possess its power. Denaker proves her versatility in creating the diverse cast, but her melodic singsong cannot salvage the audiobook from tedium. Fans of The Da Vinci Code eager to give this one a listen should be directed to the hardcover. A Viking hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 25).

Starred review from January 25, 2010
A covert age-old war between angels and humans serves as the backdrop for Trussoni’s gripping tale of supernatural thrills and divine destinies. Sister Evangeline, the secretary who handles all inquiries concerning the archives of angel arcana at an upstate New York convent, receives a letter from researcher V.A. Verlaine inquiring about an unknown link between the convent and philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller dating to 1943. It turns out that the Rockefellers were interested in a legendary artifact associated with an order of fallen angels. That priceless artifact is coveted by Verlaine’s employer, Percival Grigori, a Nephilim—offspring of the union between mortal and angel parents—who will stop at nothing to retrieve it for the awesome power it will give his race over humanity. Trussoni (Falling Through the Earth
) anchors this fanciful dark fantasy to a solid foundation built from Catholic church history, biblical exegesis, and apocryphal texts. Suspenseful intrigues and apocalyptic battle scenes give this complexly plotted tale a vigor and vitality all the more exciting for its intelligence. 9-city author tour.