BOOK REVIEW: Angelos by Robina Williams
The friary is in an uproar. Father Fidelis has left for a new position, replaced by the Guardian, Father Aidan. Brother Jerome, deceased but still around, wanders the grounds of the friary, visiting his old friends and the world he has left behind. Brother Peter finds the friary cat Leo rather unnerving, most likely it’s the green eyes (which occasionally turn a glorious gold) and the cat’s habit of disappearing into thin air.
On the fateful night in question, a falling rock sets off a quantum leap, sending the Minotaur to the friary in the twenty-first century and Brother Jerome to the labyrinth in Knossos. Leo, or Quantum as most people know him (Quant for short), must step in to put things right, ensuring that Father Aidan’s crisis of faith plays out as it must. Only through Brother Valentine’s copies of Old Masters does he begin to see light in the darkness.
Readers who have not read Robina Williams’ first book, Jerome and the Seraph, may find Angelos slow at the beginning, as the story begins with the assumption that readers are familiar with both characters and setting. Within a few pages; however, the action takes off and Angelos becomes a book that is difficult to put down.
Paintings are tied into the plot of Angelos, and serve to guide Father Aidan on his quest. Not being familiar with the paintings in question, this reviewer found the art gallery featured on Williams’ website a helpful tool. The key paintings – The Scapegoat by William Holman Hunt (1854) and The Blind Girl by Sir John Everett Millais (1856) – are shown, along with commentary and links to the galleries where the paintings reside.
Williams has set a difficult challenge for herself, to meld quantum physics, philosophy, Christianity and classical mythology into an engaging fantasy novel. Surprisingly she succeeds with Angelos, creating an intelligent novel where the discussion of quantum physics, time, religion and philosophy do not feel out of place or preachy.
ISBN10: 1933353600
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Publication Date: May 2006
Binding: Trade Paperback
Author Website: www.robinawilliams.com
Related Titles:
* Jerome and the Seraph by Roberta Williams
* In Search of Schrodinger’s Cat by John Gribbin
* Schrodinger’s Kittens and the Search for Reality: Solving the Quantum Mysteries by John Gribbin
* Who’s Afraid of Schrodinger’s Cat?: An A-To-Z Guide to All the New Science Ideas You Need to Keep Up with the New Thinking by Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall
* Schrodinger’s Cat Trilogy: The Universe Next Door, The Trick Top Hat, & The Homing Pigeons by Robert Anton Wilson
tags: books book reviews Robina Williams Angelos quantum physics Knossos classical mythology philosophy minotaur
A quick search on Amazon.co.uk reveals these books to be both incredibly rare and incredibly expensive. Damn. But I discover you can download PDFs for mini prices at the author’s website. Maybe, maybe…
I’m sure you could also order direct from Amazon.ca or Amazon.com. Or we could work out some trade…there are always books from the UK I am looking for!
Victoria, I just got an email back from Robina Williams and here is her response:
” By far the best and cheapest place — whatever country one is ordering from — is Amazon.com. On http://www.amazon.com my book “Jerome and the Seraph” is available for £8.30 ($15.50) and “Angelos” is available for £9.00 ($16.95). These are brand new copies. I know that Amazon UK offers free delivery within the UK, but it is still much cheaper to purchase my books through Amazon.com and pay the small delivery charge.”
Since Robina lives in the UK, she has also offered to mail direct to anyone living in the UK who wishes to pay by UK bank cheque and you’ll have the books in a few days.
If you wish to contact Robina for the second option, please drop me a line through the email listed in my profile and I’ll get her email address to you ASAP.