Kim Newman's Angels of Music was published by Titan Books in October 2016.
Information about Kim Newman:
Kim Newman is a well known and respected author and movie critic. He writes regularly for Empire Magazine and contributes to The Guardian, The Times, Time Out and others. He makes frequent appearances on radio and TV. He has won the Bram Stoker, International Horror Guild, British Fantasy and British Science Fiction Awards and been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and James Herbert Awards.
Click here to visit his official website.
Information about Angels of Music:
Deep in the shadows under the Paris Opera House resides Erik the Phantom, mysteriously enduring through the decades as the mastermind behind a strange and secret agency. A revolving door of female agents are charged by wealthy Parisians and the French Government to investigate crimes and misdemeanours they would prefer to keep out of the public eye.
The toxic underbelly of Paris is exposed by Erik's tenacious women operatives as they confront horror and corruption throughout the city. But it is one dreadful murder during the 1910 Great Flood of Paris that brings Irene Adler, Kate Reed and others together for a final, deadly confrontation.
A REVIEW OF KIM NEWMAN'S ANGELS OF MUSIC
Kim Newman's Angels of Music is a fascinating novel for those who are familiar with Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, 1910). I was delighted to read this novel and found myself enjoying it, because it was something different.
If you think that reading Gaston Leroux's novel, seeing its film versions and hearing Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical version is everything you need to know about Erik the Phantom, you're gravely mistaken. Kim Newman's novel breathes new life and vigour into this classic tale. The author draws inspiration from Gaston Leroux's novel and pays attention to maintaining the mysterious and thrilling atmosphere that originally drew readers to the story, but delivers his own vision of Erik the Phantom and his deeds by adding fresh elements and humour to his novel.
Angels of Music is a brilliant combination of old-fashioned adventure fiction, mystery fiction, historical fiction and horror/dark fantasy elements. It is something unique for those who want to read a good and entertaining mystery novel, because it is slightly akin to Vaughn Entwistle's The Paranormal Casebooks of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The author's way of way of writing about mystery elements is entertaining and will keep readers thrilled all the way from start to finish.
Kim Newman's re-imagining of the tale of Erik the Phantom feels wonderfully fresh, because Erik runs a secret detective agency that investigates delicate crimes and misdemeanours that famous and wealthy people prefer to keep secret. He uses his talented women operatives to investigate things.
I'm aware how strange this may sound, but this novel reads like a bizarre blend of The Phantom of the Opera and Charlie's Angels (it also has a tiny dash of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). It would be easy to assume that this kind of a blend would be a recipe for total disaster, but it's not - this novel is a fine achievement in engaging storytelling. Once you begin to read this novel, you won't be able to put it down until you've reached the end.
This novel consists of six loosely related stories:
- Act One: The Marriage Club
- Act Two: Les Vampires de Paris
- Entr'acte: The Case of Mrs Norton
- Act Three: Guignol
- Act Four: The Mark of Kane
- Act Five: Deluge
Each of these stories features a different case and different angels with special skills (as time goes by, the angels move on and are replaced by new angels). It's great that the angels change in each story, because it keeps the novel fresh.
Here's a bit of information about how this novel begins, because the first story provides the basis for the following stories:
At the beginning, three girls - Christine Daaé, Trilby O'Ferrall and Irene Adler - have been sent to Paris Opéra. They're all talented in their own ways, because Christine has a Voice, Trilby has a Face and Irene has a Mind. Their talents attract the attention of Monsieur Erik aka Phantom of the Opera. Erik nurtures their talents and teaches them to do things. He founds a private enquiry agency, the Opera Ghost Agency, which offers services to a special clientele. Soon Madame Apollonie Sabatier, who hosts a salon, asks for Erik's help. She thinks that one of her patrons, Grand Marshal Gérard, is not acting like himself and fears that he may have been "got at" in some way. Christine, Trilby and Irene begin to investigate what's going on...
This is all I'll write about what's going on, because I want to avoid writing too much information about the happenings (the less you know about certain things in advance, the more you'll enjoy the stories, because the author has a few surprises in store for his readers). I can mention that each of the stories is worth reading and delivers good entertainment to readers, because they feature elements of danger, adventure and intrigue.
Kim Newman writes fluently about the different angels and what kind of persons they are, because he fleshes out their personalities in a good way. His portrayal of their deeds, talents and feelings feels vivid, because he aims to entertain his readers and keeps things in motion. It was fun to read about what kind of work the angels did and how they had to act certain roles and wear disguises when they worked for Erik.
I want to mention separately that I found it immensely intriguing to read about what Sophy Kratides, the Angel of Vengeance, thought of Sherlock Holmes and his abilities. It was also interesting to read about Unorna, the Angel of Magic, because she was the so-called Witch of Prague and bore the stigmata of heterochromia iridis (her eyes were different colours). The author wrote fascinatingly about her arcane knowledge and study of the occult.
This novel has plenty of wittiness that I found irresistibly charming. The witty remarks and comments made by some of the characters are inventive and at times delightfully stinging. This is nice, because sharp and stinging humour has always appealed to me.
Kim Newman masterfully evokes a sense of time and place in this novel, because he brings an age gone by to life with his prose. His descriptions about Paris and its various locales and different people feel authentic.
I admire the author's way of easily creating a believable and thrilling atmosphere, because nothing feels forced or heavy in this novel. The happenings during the 1910 Great Flood of Paris are brought vividly to life and so are various other things, including the vampires. His descriptions of Parisian lifestyle, corruption and murders are excellent.
It's great that this novel features many popular culture references and appearances by famous literary characters and historical persons, because it's fun to spot them. For example, Irene Adler, who originally appeared in "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes an appearance in this novel, and - of course - Christine Daaé from the original Phantom of the Opera novel is also part of the cast of characters. I can also mention that the Diogenes Club is mentioned in this novel.
If you're a fan of classical music, you'll be pleased to know that several operas are mentioned in this novel. It was intriguing for me to read about how they were used in the stories, because I enjoy listening to classical music and find old operas interesting. For example, it was nice to see the little-known opera Der Vampyr by Heinrich Marschner mentioned in the second story.
I sincerely hope that Kim Newman will continue to write more this kind of novels, because he's one of the best and most talented authors of intriguing fiction (he always manages to surprise his readers with fresh material). This novel provides readers proof of his writing skills, because it has everything - adventure elements, mysterious happenings, intriguing characters and good storytelling - you could ever hope to find in an entertaining novel. I think that this novel will especially appeal to those who enjoy reading historical fiction and mystery fiction.
Kim Newman's Angels of Music is an entertaining and well written novel about Erik the Phantom and his talented angels who investigate various crimes and misdemeanours in their own unique way. If you are looking for a novel that will entertain and thrill you, you simply can't afford to miss this novel, because it's a veritable tour de force of imagination and storytelling. It's an utter delight for fans of engaging storytelling.
My final words are:
Kim Newman's Angels of Music is captivating and well written entertainment!