The Darkangel Review
The he opened his wings, and Aeriel found she could not move for wonder. Before her stood the most beautiful youth she had seen. His skin was pale and white as lightning, with a radiance that faintly lit the air. His eyes were clear and colorless as ice. His hair was long and silver, and about his throat he wore a chain: on fourteen of the links hung little vials of lead.
Review of The Darkangel
A book by Meredith Ann Pierce
Review by Clara Gerl
Email: euphoria@cp-tel.net
For many years I have wondered how to define the genre of 'dark fantasy.' Clive Barker called himself a pioneer of such a field and with books such as Weaveworld and The Hellbound Heart it's hard to deny he at least has talent. But the question of 'dark fantasy' still remains. What is it and what works symbolize this category? The best work I can think of to answer this is Meredith Ann Pierce's The Darkangel.
The books starts out with two maidens gathering flowers on a mountainside. One is the beautiful Eoduin who is abducted by the infamous Darkangel. His wings are pitch black and when Aeriel, Eodiun's servant, comes to kill The Darkangel she is also kidnapped to weave clothes for the icari's wives.
The story unfolds and Aeriel devotes her time to the wraiths. Once beautiful brides of The Darkangel they are seen as whithered creatures with no blood, no hearts and no souls. She later discovers that the souls are hung around their husband's neck so he can offer them to a lorelei when he collects fourteen. The water witch has plans to make him into a full vampire so he and his brothers can rule the world.
The wraiths convince Aeriel that he must be destroyed and with the help of Talb, an underground dwarf, she goes on a quest to find the hoof of the Starhorse that can help kill him. Into the desert she goes and after retrieving the hoof soon finds herself to be The Darkangel's fourteenth bride.
This book is filled with fae legends and magic mere mortals cannot comprehend. The figure of the 'vampire' is also one of the greatest monsters of the horror genre. The Darkangel is the vampire. A grand creature with the power to live forever and the strength to drain blood for any living being. Blood does not flow within him and cursed by the water witch with a heart of lead, he is a force of darkness to be feared. If you like gothic horror and fantasy, this book is a must to read. Available from Magic Carpet Books and geared for ages 12 and up, it's definetly worth $6 to spend.
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