Review: Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce

Title: Angel’s Fury

Author: Bryony Pearce

Publisher: Egmont Books Ltd
Publication Date: 4 July 2011

Synopsis: From Amazon

Every atrocity. Every war. Every act of vengeance. One fallen angel walks the earth to bring mankind to its destruction...Turning love into hate, forgiveness into blame, hope into despair. Through the fires of hell he will come to haunt one girl's dreams. But what if everything she ever dreamed was true? Every time Cassie Smith tries to sleep, she is plagued by visions of a death: A little girl called Zillah. A victim of the holocaust. In desperation Cassie is sent for treatment in an old manor house. There she meets other children just like her. Including Seth...Seth who looks so familiar. Her dream becomes nightmare. And then reality.

REVIEW:

Written in first person narrative from Cassie's point of view. Sleep deprived and barely functioning due to her recurring nightmares, I could literally feel the weight of her tiredness emanating through the pages. Cassie is instantly relatable to people like myself that use books as a means of escapism, quite literally losing yourself in the pages of the book.

Powerfully descriptive writing makes for a very compelling read even though I did find some of the imagery disturbing. You have to remember that I have a very sensitive nature [ : D ] The prose showed how easily the worlds atrocities take place and could re-occur with only the slightest of provocation.

The way in which the 'help' for Cassie was portrayed and the misuse of the position of authority was terrifying to imagine; as a parent myself you always question what is best for your child and the other people you trust with their safety. Sometimes even those closest to you aren't always the best choice. The portrayal of how young minds can be manipulated by a few well placed suggestions was absolutely horrifying. I felt as if brain-washing was taking place and it frightened me as to how easy it is to shape the thoughts of younger people.

The dynamic use of the Old Testament gave credence to the plot. The idea of free-will versus destiny was woven through the narrative adding to the layers of the story. There are some very interesting plot twists that enhance the story as a whole.

The power of sleep really is a miraculous thing - proven quite poignantly via this story.

An original and well written debut by Bryony Pearce. I would love to see another book in the series as the ending left a beautiful opening for further development.