I recently finished the second novel by Victor Milan, which mixes fantasy & dinosaurs. I would probably say that I liked the first one more, but this one was still very good. I definitely felt that the middle dragged a bit, especially when Milan seemed to focus so much time on the inner-workings of the Council and the Garden of Truth. Once things progressed though to the point of the Grey Angel showing up, things became quite interesting.
One of the things I definitely loved was the way this story decided to add in an almost zombie like feature. Now we have knights, dinosaurs, and zombies. I hope the third book brings in something else insane.
I mentioned in my previous review that I thought the Grey Angels were some kind of super-powered protectors of Paradise. I definitely still think this to be the case, maybe almost robot like. They were given a prime directive and it is not up to them to interpret the best way to carry it out.
We learned a little bit about this at the end when Karyl meets with the Witness (or Aphrodite). She is basically a holographic projection and she says that the Grey Angels are divided into factions about what is the best way to carry out their duty, some think ridding Paradise of humans is the best, etc. She is basically the embodiment of the entire world. So perhaps she is some kind of governing AI that controls the planet…see, not so crazy now. I am telling you, this story is going to have a huge sci-fi twist to it.
At the end of the book (oh yeah, there are probably spoilers in here), we discover that Jeronimo, the Emperor’s trusted advisor, is also a Grey Angel. Is he Uriel that we met at the end of the last book (and beginning of this one)?
And finally, my next big question has to do with Rob Korrigan. He has some connection to the fae, who supposedly fought against the Grey Angels in the Creator Wars or something (I cannot remember). I wonder if they were the original inhabitants of the planet that maybe we kicked out or destroyed in order to create Paradise (I may also be thinking too much about Westworld right now and this story seems to feel like it would fit into that idea of virtual world where people live out a cool fantasy story).
My favorite part of the book was towards the end when Karyl is fighting Raguel and his dinosaur, Shiraa comes to his rescue. The Shiraa point of view chapters were probably my favorite in the entire book. She thinks of Karyl as her mother and wants to find her mother. She then attacks Raguel during he and Karyl’s fight. It was one of those fist-pump moments in a book. Very satisfying.
If you are reading this series, let me know your thoughts. Do you have an opinion on whatever it is that is going on with Duke Falk and his mother’s machinations? I really do not understand what is happening there.
Also, I think it would be better if I did a casting call after the third book (or will I forget by then too, haha).
