Blog Tour: Angel Mage by Garth Nix

Hello and welcome to my stop on the epic blog tour for Angel Mage by Garth Nix.

I’m very excited to be a part of this tour I was absolutely thrilled to receive the book. I remember reading Garth’s The Keys To The Kingdom series a few years back and loved it, I was lucky enough then to meet him last year at Octocon so I was very much looking forward to reading Angel Mage and it didn’t disappoint.

About The Book

“More than a century has passed since Liliath crept into the empty sarcophagus of Saint Marguerite, fleeing the Fall of her country, Ystara. But she emerges from her magical sleep still beautiful, looking no more than nineteen, and once again renews her single-minded quest to be united with her lover, Palleniel, the archangel of Ystara.

Liliath’s quest centres round four young Sarancians, all seemingly different but who share something very important. There is Simeon, a studious doctor-in-training; Henri, a dedicated fortune hunter; Agnez, an adventurous musketeer; and Dorotea, an icon-maker and scholar of angelic magic.

The four feel a strange, immediate kinship for each other from the moment they meet, but they do not know why, or suspect their importance. Only Liliath knows their secret, and she aims to draw them in to her complex plot, just as she manipulates the Queen and her musketeers and everyone else around here.

The four friends must learn to rely on each other and each of their unique skills if they’re going to stand a chance to outwit Liliath and the angels she commands.”

What I Thought

Wow where do I even begin, I mean this was just a fantastic read! Having just finished Angel Mage I’m a bit lost for words, it’s one of those books where people ask you why you liked it and all I can think of is yes..

People:… Angel Mage?

Me: Yes!

I love reading books with angels in them but I’ve never read anything like this where people can call upon an Angel and use their powers. And eh hello the Muskateers are in this with Dartagnan and all! I don’t know about you but I grew up on the Muskateers loved them, thought they were so cool so I can totally relate to Agnez who wants nothing more than to be a Muskateer. Then you have the people from Ystara who have been supposedly cursed by angelic powers and any power used on them, even if its to help, turns them to ash or even worse into a beast!

We have a Queen who thinks rather highly of herself, as Queens do I suppose, a King who is a bit of a waster so not really part of the picture, a big scary fortress and opposite but alongside the Muskateers you have the cardinals and Pursuivants who mostly fight using angelic power and are involved in matters of the temple. I mean it’s a really big book guys but even with all of this going on it’s so intriguing that you will get sucked right in.. oh and maps there are maps!

So the big bad is Liliath who has risen from the dead, which in itself is rather fascinating, she’s supposedly here to take her cursed people back to Ystara and restore them and it to glory.. or so she says!

The four young people who end up entwined in Liliath’s plans are Simeon, Henri, Agnez and Dorotea but they have no idea what connects them, even though Dorotea has a feeling it’s to do with Angels, and they have no idea what Liliath has planned for them.

This was such and engaging, beautifully detailed, well written book. I really took my time with it and really enjoyed it. I would love to see more of the four in the future and see if Rochefort shows up in Doroteas future too! It could easily be left where it is as a stand-alone but I think more adventures would be very welcome.

 About The Author

GARTH NIX is an Australian writer known for his global bestseller SABRIEL. Before becoming a fantasy writer, he worked his way through the publishing industry, as a bookseller, sales rep, publicist, editor and then literary agent. He is a multiple bestselling author, and winner – twice – of the Aurealis Award. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Learn more by visiting www.garthnix.com or by following @garthnix.

Many thanks to Stevie from Gollancz for having me on this tour, all opinions are my own and I am not paid to give them.