The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard

The House of Shattered Wings (Dominion of the Fallen, #1)

by Aliette de Bodard

Multi-award winning author Aliette de Bodard, brings her story of the War in Heaven to Paris, igniting the City of Light in a fantasy of divine power and deep conspiracy…

In the late twentieth century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins, the aftermath of a Great War between arcane powers. Those that survived the carnage still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.

Once the most powerful and formidable, House Silverspires now lies in disarray. Within its walls, three very different people must come together: a naive but powerful Fallen angel; an alchemist with a self-destructive addiction; and a resentful young man wielding spells of unknown origin. They may be Silverspires’ salvation—or the architects of its last, irreversible fall. And if Silverspires falls, so may the city itself.

Reviewed by Charli G. on

4 of 5 stars

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** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.**

This book was very hard for me to stop reading. I kept wanting to come back to it again and again, finally just taking about 6 hours and finishing the last half of the book.

This story is unlike anything I've ever read before, and that's a good thing! The concept of fallen angels isn't new to fiction, but this take on them is refreshing. It brings into perspective the idea behind the fallen angels and behind Lucifer aka the Morning Star, and how God doesn't forgive the fallen angels.

I love the characters and even though I know that Morningstar should technically be considered a bad guy, I have to say that I really liked what of his character I got to see. I also really liked how the setting of the book was Paris, but not a Paris like we would ever know. I'm not even sure what time period this is actually set in - in the book it mentions 1914 and how the next fashion season never came about, then says it's been about 60 years since the War - but there's no other references to time so the book could be set in the 1970s or later.

All in all it's a very good read, though at times hard to follow if you're not paying close attention. I highly recommend you check this book out, if only for the fresh take on fallen angels.

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  • Started reading
  • 23 July, 2017: Finished reading
  • 23 July, 2017: Reviewed