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John Connolly's work is steeped in darkness. Since introducing his metaphorical everyman, Private Investigator Charlie Parker, in EVERY DEAD THING, Connolly has been painting horrific, suspenseful tales set against the deceptively quiet landscape of the south coast of Maine. Almost from the first page of his introduction, Parker has been haunted by heartbreak and death, which seem to follow him and which, by turns, he almost imperceptibly seems to find on his own. Subsequent Parker novels --- DARK HOLLOW, THE KILLING KIND, THE WHITE ROAD, and the novella "The Reflecting Eye" in the short story collection NOCTURNES --- have led Parker ever more deeply into the darkness of his own heart. All that has gone before, however, is but a prelude to Connolly's latest effort.
THE BLACK ANGEL is by far Connolly's most ambitious work, a tale poetic in the telling that is global in scope and timeless in origin, going from the present to World War II to medieval times to the beginning of all that is and back again. Characters, major and minor, are introduced and dispensed with in the space of a few pages, yet remain indelibly marked in memory. And while THE BLACK ANGEL is marked as "A Thriller," or certainly under the more general category of "Fiction," one gets the feeling while reading it that Connolly is having a marvelous jape on us, that he is not writing fiction here, and he knows it. There is too much within this book that has the ring of truth to it to confine it solely to the realm of an entertainment.
This is not to say, however, that reading THE BLACK ANGEL is not a riveting, if challenging, experience. It begins, appropriately enough, with an account of the rebellion of a group of angels against God, an affront for which the rebels were summarily cast out of heaven and into the exile of hell. Yet it is said that some of these rebellious creatures fell to earth, secreting themselves deep within the dark recesses of the world until they were accidentally released. They took on the appearance of men and sought to live among them, creating a kingdom of chaos and corruption.
These creatures were led by the twin demons Ashmael and Immael, the Black Angels, two who once had been one, each bearing the mark of God on them. It was Immael's misfortune to be caught and imprisoned by a monk who knew his true nature and who hid him well from his brother. Ashmael searched for his sibling for hundreds of years, aided by those who shared his nature and others who were seduced by his promises. They called themselves "Believers," and as Charlie Parker is about to discover, they exist to this day. The Believers' only clue as to the whereabouts of Immael is a map that exists as a group of fragments that have been scattered throughout the world. The Believers have been slowly accumulating each of these fragments, and, as THE BLACK ANGEL begins, they are close to acquiring all of them.
Parker is drawn into this unholy world when he comes to the aid of his friend Louis. Alice, Louis's cousin, is herself fallen, an addict supporting her drug habit by prostituting herself on the streets of New York. Alice accidentally becomes involved in the Believers' quest and is horribly murdered as a result. Louis, seeking his cousin and wanting vengeance, draws the attention of the Believers to him before either he or Parker knows what they truly are. Yet one of them --- a horrific monster of a man named Brightwell, who appears to have existed for hundreds of years --- believes he recognizes Parker for what he is. If Brightwell is correct, Parker could have ties to the Black Angel and to the Believers, which would explain the tragedies that have occurred in Parker's life and provide a reason why violence and corruption of the heart and soul have shadowed Parker for all of his days. Parker and his friends are dogged by the Believers every step of the way as they try to locate the hidden Immael and prevent the unification of Immael and Ashmael, as Parker attempts to save all who he holds dear.
THE BLACK ANGEL is nothing less than a classic work, a tale in which one can feel reality shifting and churning uneasily with the turn of each page. Highest possible recommendation.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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