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Post by Concepcion30 Fri Nov 01, 2013 9:01 pm

I just finished Archangel's Legion, literally like ten minutes ago and I agree with what I've heard on feedback so far, best Guild Hunter book ever!  With Angel's Blood being a close second, I think I just appreciated the hunting aspects of the original book that returned with this one.  To see Elena and Raphael going through the city again, looking for people or clues about their attackers just brought it all home.

When I first read the comments on the feedback page people were saying about how they liked Nassir and his manic grin, and I hadn't finished the book at the point and I was just hoping Nalini wasn't writing him with a Venom type personality simply because that vampire was pretty much absent in this book.  And even though Nassir wanted to spar with Elena like Venom usually wants to with everybody, I still think N.S. managed to differentiate their personalities well enough.  I like how she made us think that he may not be just a vampire. But he did admit to being Made by an angel, so he pretty much is.

        Throughout the book, when Elena and Raphael had disagreements especially the ones concerning her friends, I thought it was going to be a knock-down dragged out fight, but like minutes later they were kissing or going to bed or something.  And it really brings home the fact when Raphael said in one of the earlier books, that the only way Elena could truly hurt him was if she cheated on him. I mean some of that stuff seemed really serious as I was reading it, but then they made up  literally moments later.

I'm glad that N.S. addressed what some people were thinking on this site, whether or not Illium should feel slighted because of Raphael's relationship with Elena and the telling of angelic secrets.  The only part that bothered me was that it made Illium appear really immature, even though he was young at the time of his transgression, probably barely over one hundred.  But there was a sentence to paraphrase, where his human kept asking him about stuff and he finally gave in and told her everything although she was the type not to keep her mouth closed. I mean... really?  Forget immature, that just seemed really stupid.

And staying on topic with Illium, did anyone else feel like there was a bro-mance growing between him and Aodhan?  I understand the two of them were friends when they were younger before Aodhan's incident.  But that scene which included tears and a handshake seemed like something out of a yaoi novel. LoL.  We know Illium's straight, he could be bi though and I personally wouldn't have a problem with at least one of the Seven being gay. And then there was the scene after Aodhan got injured and he didn't even want Raphael to touch him to heal him, he'd only wanted Illium to.   And although I wouldn't like them together -- I like the idea of Aodhan being "other" in another way.

One thing that bugged me was that the alliances Raphael made didn't help him one bit.  I guess it was good strategic planning by their enemies to send the reborn to all these places to stretch their forces thin.  But, was Nimra and Nazarach even at the battle or were they securing their cities?  And I can't figure why Elijah needed all of his men except the two squadrons he sent to Raphael to combat his reborn threat. And while I figured that Raphael would have to win on his own, and seeing as Caliane had already come to his rescue at the end of book 3 that she wasn't going to do it again here. Not when for whatever reason, she needed to stay in Amnant to balance that side of the world from threats. What? -- Okay.  And then apparently the forces in the Refuge were going to start fighting so Venom and Galen had to stay there.  If ever there would have been a time for all the Seven to be in the same place, it would have been this battle.  Don't get me wrong, it was very exciting to see the fact that they were out-numbered 5 to 1 and I just kept thinking how were they going to pull this one out when the so-called help just kept getting detracted.

I have to admit when Raphael  first had that dream, I thought someone or something was reaching out to him from another plane. But I never imagined it was a Legion.  I like the concept behind them.  Although when one of the first fighters spotted them and went to inform Raphael and his people about them, he seemed to have been injured. I'm guessing it wasn't from the Legion, but they just assumed they were the enemy too.  He'd first rejected the power they were trying to give him because he thought it would consume him. But in hindsight, I wonder if it would have ended the war quicker if he had accepted it.  I almost started to bawl when he was so hurt on that last return to the tower and Dmitri saw it in his eyes and called Elena to go back to the Tower now!  When you read that Raphael wanted to scream because he was in so much pain, but he knew if he did it would demoralize the troops.  Seriously, I just wanted to reach through my kindle and hug him.

Well I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks because this really was my favorite GH Book. And seeing as  the release of these gets pushed back every year, expect the next one either November or December 2014. =/ Too long...


Last edited by Concepcion30 on Fri Nov 01, 2013 10:44 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : spelling)
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Post by Lumina_Arden Tue Nov 05, 2013 8:14 pm

Okay, this book was awesome!!!!!!

Now, for my thoughts:

1.  I was very intrigued that we got some small insight into how vampires and humans came into being, at the end of the novel.  And now I hope this is explored more in-depth later in the series.  I also hope that along the way, we will learn the meaning of the word "aeclari."

2.  It was very good to see the growth of the relationship between Raphael and Elena.  As a consequence of her human way of thinking, there were some pretty firm lines drawn in the sand, and that helped their relationship and their trust in one another grow and strengthen.  I was also glad to see that while Raphael has softened--somewhat--the book still shows that to anyone not Elena or one of his Seven, he is still a being of unearthly power who should be feared.

3.  Like you, Concepcion, I also appreciate that issues with Ilium were brought forward and addressed.  However, I saw things differently than you did.  Rather than immature, I just thought it tragic.  Ilium was fairly young at the time, and completely, totally in love with that human woman.  The fact that he did whisper angelic secrets in her ears was actually relatable to me.  It's exactly the kind of mistake *anyone* can make, especially when emotion, rather than intellect, is what's ruling our actions.  And then that horrible loss and punishment as a result--that stings.  I'm just glad that the human he was in love with *only* got her memories erased--with the harsh cruelty of the angelic world, it wouldn't have surprised me if she had been executed.  If the archangel dealing out the punishment had been anyone *but* Raphael, chances are good that she would have been killed instead of given a case of permanent amnesia where Ilium was concerned.

3.  Okay, I LOVED the scene where Aodhan and Ilium were playing ball, angel style, over the Hudson.  And, again in response to your speculation, Concepcion, Nalini did a Q & A thread on her Facebook, and someone asked that question.  You should take a look at that thread for Nalini's answer.

4.  I loved this archangelic ball.  Seeing Caliane give Elena that slight acknowledgment at the end, and then seeing Caliane actually talk with Raphael about Elena, made me have some hope that Caliane and Elena will eventually have a good relationship--providing that Caliane stays sane.

5.  I loved Astaad and Mele in this book, and I hope we see more of them.  I loved that Elijah and Hannah visited Raphael and Elena, and I loved Raphael and Titus' interactions with each other.  I also wasn't too happy that Raphael essentially had to fight Lijuan with only his own forces, but judging how the Reborn were used to essentially swarm over Elijah's territory, I can see why this played out the way it did.  And now, Raphael has an even scarier force at his command--something Lijuan and Charisemnon will have to wary of in future engagements.

6.  I want to see Lijuan and Charisemnon and perhaps Michaela all die.  DIE I tell you!!!!!

7.  What was UP with Michaela's scheme of pretending to be pregnant?????  What did she have to gain???????  I find it super scary and interesting that Uram's taint is within her and I wonder how this will play out.

All in all, I think this was the best Guild Hunter book to date.  Also on Nalini's Facebook thread with the Q & A, she did answer whose book will most likely be next in this series, and I think all of us are going to be pretty happy with the answer!!!!!

(I'm telling everyone to see her Facebook because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to write what we learn from her Facebook here on this forum, so apologies if I sound really dumb.)

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Post by Concepcion30 Wed Nov 06, 2013 8:11 am

I was just reading through the facebook Q&A and was looking for the one question I would have asked but didn't see it. As far as we knew, Michaela was the only Archangel without a personal Glamor, which was why she couldn't see Uram coming in the first book. Now, when Raphael had to sneak past Lijuan to destroy the enemies' vampire ground troops, Dmitri specifically stated that he could get by her using Glamor.  Was it mentioned that Lijuan couldn't use Glamor too, because if not she should have totally saw him leaving.

Another thing that seems like a retcon to me, was the whole Vivek thing.  In Angel's Blood, Elena's beef was 'why did so many morons get made?' Didn't that mean that most humans did not know about a potential blood test that would determine compatibility to be Made. Because if they knew that, then they would understand why some morons got Made, because they were compatible when other more competent people were not. With that being said, one of the first things Vivek asked when Elena came to him with the idea was how did she get his blood?  Is it possible the Guild Hunters know about the testing process or was it indeed a retcon?

Edit: I re-read Angel's Blood to learn that humans did know there were tests conducted before someone was accepted as a candidate. What they didn't know was that it was a compatibility test. To me this just seems like not giving the humans in the GH world enough common sense to figure that out. I mean, what exactly do they think the tests are for? That should be pretty obvious.


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Post by Lumina_Arden Sat Nov 09, 2013 1:06 pm

After a quick reread of Angel's Blood, the best I can come up with is that the Guild is aware of the extensive tests done for compatibility for Candidates for vampirism. And now, the Guild, or at least our esteemed Guild Director, is aware of the potential side effects vampirism can have.

For example, Sara and Elena were discussing Slater Patalis, and Sara mentioned that before he was turned, there was such extensive testing done on him both physically and psychologically, and there were NO signs whatsoever about the kind of lethal psychosis he displayed AFTER being turned.

But these potential side effects are NOT widely known among the general population.

As for Lijuan not being able to see him, I'm not really sure if it was ever mentioned whether or not Lijuan has the glamour or not. But since she's scare-powerful in other ways, maybe she figures she doesn't need it????
Also, remember that Naasir, with his really clever, scary imagination, has managed to figure out some pretty cool distractions to keep Lijuan from noticing what Raphael was up to at the time.

I just don't know about the glamour, and if it ever mentioned in the series whether Lijuan has it. I don't quite remember.

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Post by Gil Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:29 pm

Just finished my second read through. I have many scenes that I loved. So happy that Aodhan is finally healing. I loved the scene with him and Illium. I can just imagine what it would be like to see you best friend suffering so much and to have him finally start to take those first steps to healing.

The revelation about Elena`s grandmother was interesting. I found myself wondering about what happened to the vamps that killed her and if Elena will ask Raphael about it. It would have happened during his tenure as archangel of North America after all.

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Post by Concepcion30 Mon Nov 11, 2013 7:56 pm

Gil wrote: The revelation about Elena`s grandmother was interesting.  I found myself wondering about what happened to the vamps that killed her and if Elena will ask Raphael about it.  It would have happened during his tenure as archangel of North America after all.
If she was a Guild Hunter those vamps would have been dealt with severely, because the Tower doesn't play when it comes to that like we saw with Honor. Dmitri took over that investigation personally later, but Tower personnel had been on it from the get go.  Provided of course those vampires hadn't already fled the country.  The reveal of this part of the storyline didn't make me feel sorry for Jeffrey. N.S. seems to think she can't write him or Raphael in the same room together because Raphael would be too tempted to end him. Personally I think all he has to do is let Jeffrey see him watching him from a distance or something to put the fear of God into him. LoL.
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