Of Love and Evil
Published: 30, November 2010
Author: Anne Rice
Book 2 of 2: The Songs of the Seraphim
Genres: Assassination, Christian, Fiction, Ghost, Historical, Jewish, Literary, Metaphysical, Mystery, Poetry, Psychic, Renaissance, Romance, Suspense, Theory, Thrillers, Time Travel, Vampire, Visionary
Check the summary of this book here:
Of Love and Evil Summary
The Review:
In Anne Rice's novel "Of Love and Evil," Toby O'Dare, a former hitman, is summoned once again by the angel Malchiah and transported back to fifteenth-century Rome, to the land and time of Michelangelo, Raphael, Pope Leo X, and the Medicis. To a period marked by high drama and strife in both the public and private spheres.
This time, Toby is in charge of investigating the case of Vitale, a Jewish man who lives in the house of Antonio, a wealthy gentile. Niccolo, one of Antonio's sons, is terminally ill and dying a slow, painful death, with Vitale suspected of being the perpetrator due to his Jewish heritage.
During this time, the home is also subjected to a powerful metaphysical disruption caused by an enraged dybbuk—a dislocated spirit, or "ghost" for want of a better phrase. It's up to Toby to solve these two puzzles, as well as the actual reason for Niccolo's sickness and the dybbuk's rampage.
It's tough to go much further with this review without revealing too much information. Anne Rice manages to integrate a fascinating mystery thriller into a masterfully crafted, dramatic tale with themes loaded with action, philosophical questions on life, love, spirituality, history, and prejudice, among the many captivating things you should know about this outstanding book. Her superb conciseness is much more visible here than in her second book about Jesus' early life, "Road to Cana."
The author skillfully creates a story with an honest tone that is authentically "biblical." Niccolo's connection with his brother is a significant theme in the story. Also, the would-be killer's technique of choice, poisoning, is an intriguing story device.
It takes a certain sort of killer to select poison as a method of murder, and it tells a lot about them. They don't suffocate their victim with a single, powerful blow or a knife to the throat, as they could. Instead, they systematically inject precise toxic quantities over time.
This not only provides the impression that the victim is dying of a long-term disease, but it also allows the killer to hide in the shadows and see the fatal scheme unfold. Few activities are more terrifying than this...
The concept that evil, or sin—severe wrongs performed against innocents, crimes, discriminatory deeds, and so on—leaves a permanent impression in Anne Rice's Angel Time, and especially here, Is a key aspect of the tale of "Of Love and Evil" from a conceptual standpoint.
There can be no atonement until and until the wicked deed is confronted, dealt with, and set right. The victim of the terrible deed lives on in unrelenting rage until there is closure and salvation.
This story's ghost, or dybbuk, is enraged. Is that ever the case! And with good cause. Redemption is something that must be gained. It can't just be given out without a plan. Only when justice has been served can there be any semblance of peace.
The strength of Anne Rice's works has always been her curious personality. Every one of her novels revolves around a challenging spiritual subject that she has been debating for a long time. "Of Love and Evil" poses an intriguing quandary that is central to Christianity.
What decides whether anything is a good or bad conduct now that we have this new Christian perspective? Could a loving deed that we feel mirrors the spirit of Christ, however, be clearly evil?
This book should appeal to anybody searching for an exciting mystery thriller with human characters who have true flaws, whether or not they are Christians. Furthermore, people of many religious backgrounds face the same spiritual issues as these characters. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and Agnostics all think about the purpose of our lives.
Despite the fact that our positions appear to be solidified from the outside. We continue to have doubts about the opinions we thought we had established. I was divided between the questions as I read this book, but it's best if you read it first and then figure out the questions and answers for yourself.
This book, in my opinion, is a piece of art, but it is modern art, not a tidy picture, but wide strokes painted with feeling, around the narrative of a foiled assassination plan and an earlier century Jewish ghost, with an unexpected intrusion of the Devil. Toby of Angel Time continues to fulfill specific petitions for the angels as repentance for his prior existence as a mass murderer and executioner.
All of this could only make sense in the hands of a writer like Anne Rice. As far as I can tell, she's been decoding vampires for years, so the realm of Angels and Demons appears to be a natural progression.
She leaves us hanging at the conclusion; just as Toby is about to go to confession and have a lovely reunion with God and his Catholicism, a link from his CIA days emerges as a young stranger asking inquiries - the end!
This is the most apparent lead-in to a sequel I've ever seen, yet it works - I was waiting for the third chapter, but it never arrived; at the very least, the tale was finished.
Final Thoughts:
Anne Rice's books never fail to put me in a trance while I'm reading them or after I've finished them. The want to keep reading her writings usually strikes you like a sudden longing for a cup of hot coffee or a piece of rich chocolate.
Her books are braided into a complicated web of gorgeous design that includes multiple important spiritual truths on every page.
Her latest installment “Of Love and Evil” in the "Songs of the Seraphim" series sticks to the tried-and-true format of her previous works. This isn't meant to be construed as a critique. Her combination of intriguing writing, first-person viewpoints of a solitary personality, and rich historical settings, in fact, brings her books to a very high degree of excellence.
I've read all her books and her works leave a mark of enormous fascination that is impossible to remove. Instead, the reader is only interested in reading the next book in one of her numerous series or conducting a study into some of the fascinating historical, spiritual, or philosophical issues discussed in her writings.
Yes, it was a tiny book, but it was to the point with no fillers, and I was surprised by some readers who were unhappy with the size. I'm not sure what people want; if Anne Rice writes a thousand-page book, they don't like it and complain that it's too lengthy; if she produces a short book, they complain that it's too short; please just make up your minds.
Synopsis:
“The second book in this nationally bestselling series is a gripping metaphysical thriller in which angels partner up with assassins, from the author of Interview with the Vampire.
Barely recovered from his previous divine mission, former contract killer Toby O'Dare is once again summoned by the angel Malchiah to investigate the poisoning of a prominent nobleman and stop the haunting of a diabolical dybbuk. Together, they travel back to fifteenth-century Italy—the age of Michelangelo, the Holy Inquisition, and Pope Leo X—and this time Malchiah has Toby pose as a lute player sent to charm and calm this troublesome spirit. But Toby soon discovers that he is in the midst of plots and counterplots, surrounded on all sides by increasingly dangerous threats as the veil of ecclesiastical terror closes in around him.”
Useful Search Related Words & Keywords:
Angel Time, Anne Rice, Back In Time, Book In The Series, Century England, Century Rome, Contract Killer, Guardian Angel, Hit Man, Love And Evil, Lucky The Fox, Main Character, Mayfair Witches, Mission Inn, New Orleans, Right Man, Seraphim Series, Songs Of The Seraphim, Ten Years, Toby O Dare, Toby Odare, Vampire Chronicles
Rating: 90/100
Recommended: 95/100 Yes.
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