Angel of Darkness by Charles de Lint

Goodreads Synopsis:
In the early 1990s, Charles de Lint wrote and published three dark fantasies under the name "Samuel M. Key." Now, beginning with Angel of Darkness, Orb presents them for the first time under de Lint's own name.

When ex-cop Jack Keller finds the mutilated body of a runaway girl in the ashes of a bizarre house fire, he opens the door to a nightmare. For a sadistic experiment in terror has unleashed a dark avenging angel forged from the agonies of countless dying victims....


My Review:
Get ready to see a different side of Charles de Lint when you read this book. Just a warning, this book is graphic and has disturbing subject matter (sexual and violent). There is also explicit language. If that doesn't bother you then I recommend reading it. De Lint is known for using the power of music in many of his stories. It serves as a fountain of magic that can either help or hinder his characters. He employs the same theme in this book, but it plays a much much darker note. 

In Angel of Darkness, the line of real/unreal and victim/criminal is blurred. De Lint's characters are never quite on steady ground and this feeling of uncertainty definitely transfers to the reader. His sense of setting, as always, is outstanding. After reading this book, my respect for him as a writer has doubled. He creates several characters that are ROTTEN. Awful, despicable, rotten. And de Lint's ability to get completely inside the head of someone like that then jump back to a "normal" character's point-of-view is pretty amazing. He nails everything, from the psychology of that character, their motivations and the thoughts running through their head. I wouldn't be surprised if he needed a long shower and a smudging after writing these particular sections.

More than anything, this book gives a voice to victims. It opens your eyes to the things they have to endure and how difficult it can be for some of these people to break away from that victimhood, no matter how hard they try. This, ultimately, gives the book a feeling of sadness. Read this book with the intention of opening your eyes to a side of this world that we usually prefer to ignore. 

The Author

Favorite Quote: (from the Introduction) "Mostly, the darker sections of my novels arrive from the human psyche, with the magical elements playing against the shadow. But the Otherworld contains as much darkness as it does ambiguity and light, and to ignore it entirely strikes me as only telling half the story, hence the books I wrote under the pen name Samuel M. Key.  Angel of Darkness originally had a working title of The Killing Time, and it wasn't a book I enjoyed writing- its shadows held on too long after the day's work at the keyboard was done- but I felt compelled to write it all the same. There's no other reason to write a book, as far as I'm concerned."

Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie

Book Synopsis from Goodreads: 
The life of Spokane Indian Thomas Builds-the-Fire irrevocably changes when blues legend Robert Johnson miraculously appears on his reservation and passes the misfit storyteller his enchanted guitar. Inspired by this gift, Thomas forms Coyote Springs, an all-Indian Catholic band who find themselves on a magical tour that leads from reservation bars to Seattle and New York--and deep within their own souls.

My Thoughts:
Prepare yourself for heavy. This is not a light inspirational story. It's inspirational, but there are moments that are incredibly bleak. This was my first Sherman Alexie title and he definitely has a unique way of writing. He doesn't utilize the typical novel format, but instead branches out in an almost cyclical way giving you quick short perspectives of the whole. My favorite element of his writing style is his use of symbolism and magical realism.  It offers a sometimes shocking contrast to the reality of the characters.
            As far as the characters and subject matter goes, you get a very intimate glimpse into each character's past and their lack of direction and sadness become your own. What I appreciated most was how Alexie describes how reservation life really is. I grew up watching movies that romanticized Native Americans and probably to their detriment. Reading this book was an eye-opener and if his portrayal is anywhere near the truth it should be told more so that the romanticized version can be put to rest. In the face of all the other issues this country deals with, it seems as if awareness of reservation poverty is nonexistent. Considering that one of the first reservations was created in 1758, it's a problem that has been around for awhile. This almost doomed tribal fate becomes the fate of each character in the book as they struggle to keep moving forward despite circumstances continuously bringing them down. It's an eye-opener. Do not read this if you're wanting a light read. Read it because you want to be informed. And especially read it if you're caught up in the romanticized version of the Native American. This is their side as it stands today.


Favorite Quote:
"In a dream, Chess, Checkers, and Thomas sat at the drum with Big Mom during the powwow. All the Spokane Indians crowded around the drum, too. They all pounded the drum and sang. Big Mom taught them a new song, the shadow horses' song, the slaughtered horses' song, the screaming horses' song, a song of mourning that would become a song of celebration: we have survived, we have survived. They would sing and sing, until Big Mom pulled out that flute built of the bones of the most beautiful horse who ever lived. She'd play a note, then two, three, then nine hundred. One for each of the dead horses. Then she'd keep playing, nine hundred, nine thousand, nine million, one note for each of the dead Indians."

The Author

Author Tidbit: Alexie grew up on the Spokane Reservation. He was born with hydrocephalus and had to have surgery at 6 months old. His chances of surviving were slim and doctors expected him to, at the best, have mental disabilities. Instead, he's become a well-respected writer. "Reservation Blues" won 1 of the 15 American Book Awards in 1996 and he has gone on to receive several other awards including having a film (Smoke Signals) based on his collection of short stories, "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven."