Rebel Angels 
asked by goonball on October 30, 2006 9:35 AM
In this sequel to the Victorian fantasy A Great and Terrible Beauty, Gemma continues to pursue her role as the one destined to bind the magic of the Realms and restore it to the Order--a mysterious group who have been overthrown by a rebellion. Gemma, Felicity and Ann, (her girlfriends at Spence Academy for Young Ladies), use magical power to transport themselves on visits from their corseted world to the visionary country of the Realms, with its strange beauty and menace. There they search for the lost Temple, the key to Gemma's mission, and comfort Pippa, their friend who has been left behind in the Realms. After these visits they bring back magical power for a short time to use in their own world. Meanwhile, Gemma is torn between her attraction to the exotic Kartik, the messenger from the opposing forces of the Rakshana, and the handsome but clueless Simon, a young man of good family who is courting her. The complicated plot thickens when Gemma discovers a woman in Bedlam madhouse who knows where to find the Temple; Ann shows signs of being enamored of Gemma's loutish brother Tom, and their father's addiction to laudanum lands him in an opium den. A large part of the enjoyment of this unusual fantasy comes from the Victorian milieu and its restrictive rules about the behavior of proper young ladies, as contrasted with the unimaginable possibilities of the Realms, where Gemma has power to confront gorgons and ghosts and the responsibility to save a world. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
Reviews
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i really adored this book and the 3rd book is taking much to long to come out! I have heard that Mel Gibson recently picked up these books as a screen play. He is making a movie out of this! I for one, cannot wait to here more about it, but since the third isnt out yet, ill have to wait even longer.
reviewed by allnet on November 18, 2006 7:45 AM
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one of the best follow up books ever written. Lies, secrets, and friendship what else could you have in a story like this. The story will keep you dancing on your toes all the way through the book. If you have read the first book A Great and Terrible Beauty you will know that this book will be as good as the first.
reviewed by caramel on November 26, 2006 12:21 PM
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Sequels are tricky and they're famous for not living up to an original- either the writer will try to rehash what was successful in the original, in which case the result is too often boring a second time around; or she'll attempt to take the story into a different place and risks not being true to the initial characters and situations. Libba Bray does both- she brings her story forward while remaining true to what made the first novel good.
The story opens with Gemma and her friends anticipating their christmas vacation, but they are quickly drawn back into the magical world of the Realms and the Order. Kartik is following Gemma claiming that she needs to bind the magic she set loose in the first book, by finding a temple in the Realms, which are quickly becoming a dangerous place. In the Realms Gemma, Ann and Felicty are reunited with Pippa who seems oddly changed. Everything the girls thought they knew about the Order is challenged and they have no way of knowing who to trust.
Meanwhile in the "real" world adolescence goes on. The girls are more secure in their friendship than in the previous books, but the seeds of a power struggle emerge between Gemma and Felicity. The different parts of Gemma's life begin to cross disturbingly when her older brother's patient, and inmate at Bedlam asylum seems to have a knowledge of Gemma's quest in the realms. Gemma has the usual adolescent troubles as well. She's flattered by the attentions of the handsome, wealthy Simon Middleton, while she is strangly drawn to Kartik. Her father's dependance on opium has also be come a cause for concern.
Bray once again intermingles historiical fiction and fantasy while painting vivid characeters. I got annoyed with the characters in the book in the same way I'd get annoyed at a friend- the ultimate test of whether or not a character is "realistic". Ultimately REBEL ANGELS is very much a transitional book that leads the reader to eagerly await the conclusion of the trilogy.
The story opens with Gemma and her friends anticipating their christmas vacation, but they are quickly drawn back into the magical world of the Realms and the Order. Kartik is following Gemma claiming that she needs to bind the magic she set loose in the first book, by finding a temple in the Realms, which are quickly becoming a dangerous place. In the Realms Gemma, Ann and Felicty are reunited with Pippa who seems oddly changed. Everything the girls thought they knew about the Order is challenged and they have no way of knowing who to trust.
Meanwhile in the "real" world adolescence goes on. The girls are more secure in their friendship than in the previous books, but the seeds of a power struggle emerge between Gemma and Felicity. The different parts of Gemma's life begin to cross disturbingly when her older brother's patient, and inmate at Bedlam asylum seems to have a knowledge of Gemma's quest in the realms. Gemma has the usual adolescent troubles as well. She's flattered by the attentions of the handsome, wealthy Simon Middleton, while she is strangly drawn to Kartik. Her father's dependance on opium has also be come a cause for concern.
Bray once again intermingles historiical fiction and fantasy while painting vivid characeters. I got annoyed with the characters in the book in the same way I'd get annoyed at a friend- the ultimate test of whether or not a character is "realistic". Ultimately REBEL ANGELS is very much a transitional book that leads the reader to eagerly await the conclusion of the trilogy.
reviewed by redapple on November 27, 2006 3:15 PM