John Birmingham, Angels of Vengeance, (New York: Del Rey / Random House; 2012), 514 pages.
Angels of Vengeance is the third book in John Birmingham's After America series. The first book, Without Warning, is an alternative history that speculates on the immediate aftermath of an energy wave that destroys all human life in the Unites States (apart from Hawaii, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska). The second book in the series, After America, covers the medium term impact of the "new" United States including the new President based in Seattle, systemic international piracy and looting of the eastern seaboard (especially in New York), and the emerging political problems between an increasingly independent Texas and the federal government. The third book of the series, Angels of Vengeance, supposedly the final book of the series, brings to a close the intertwined stories of three major characters. We see if a highly trained assassin achieves her goal of getting revenge against an old enemy that made an attempt on the lives of her family. We also see how a former English aristocrat turned smuggler, now exiled in Australia, resolves her feud with a spurned client that is now a major contractor to the United States government, as well as being a close confidant of the United States President. We also follow the story of a Mexican girl who lost her family at the hands of Texas outlaws. We follow her journey of revenge to see if she can kill the person ultimately responsible for the death of her family. The lives of these three women are interwoven, and play out against a background of growing political tension between the President and the Governor of Texas.
Angels of Vengeance appeals to readers of alternative history and speculative fiction. In this book, Birmingham brings to a close a story that shows how unpleasant the world would be without the positive influence of the United States. This book deals quite well with the back story of the previous two books so that it is not essential for you to have read them to be able to enjoy this book. I would, however, recommend that these books be read in sequence for maximum enjoyment. This book differs from its predecessors by concentrating chiefly on three characters. The action is also less frequent in this book with a climax somewhat more subdued that I expected. Such may be the case with the final book of a series. Most notable is the change in the character of the story in this book compared with the previous two. Angels of Vengeance focuses on if/how three characters try to exact revenge on their enemies. All activity seems focused towards those goals. The previous two books are less goal focused, and more speculative. By that I mean they deal with questions of what would happen if the United States suddenly disappeared, and the global consequences of such an event being worked out on a global scale. Angels of Vengeance focuses on revenge and retribution. This is a bit odd to me. After starting a book series by asking a big question (what would happen if the United States suddenly disappeared?), the author appears to have ended the series with a small answer: revenge, retribution, and death. Perhaps a fourth book will be written that ends with a more optimistic answer to the original big question. Without such a book, I feel a bit cheated that the author chose to end the series this way. I was left asking myself "is this it?" Despite these quibbles, this book is an exciting page turner that is worth reading by lovers of fiction and alternative history stories. Go buy it and read it.
No comments:
Post a Comment