Richard Harland (1) (1947–)

Ferren and the Angel Richard Harland



I received an Early Review copy of the book.

Life is change. To some degree, most people do not like it. Each of us is, however, defined by how we respond to change when faced with it.



War between Humen and Celestials has been waged for centuries. Ferren, Miriael and Zonda are caught up in events which begin with separation from the home each has always known. From here, Harland weaves a story of the unknown, in all its wonder and horror.



Recommended





‘The curtain fell back as the adult males retreated outside. Zonda

arranged her father in a more comfortable position, then brought her

ear up close to his lips. He was no longer making noises in his throat,

but his breathing was faint and fluttery.

“You’ll get better,” she whispered. “Your bones will knit back together,

and you’ll—”

She spun around. The curtain had opened again, and half a dozen

faces peered in.

##########

Zonda jumped to her feet in a temper. “Old Ways, Old Ways, Old

Ways! I’m sick of the Old Ways!” She pointed to her father. “What have

the Old Ways done for him?”’
… (meer)

Set far in the future, humans and angels are at war. Residuals exist in the space in between the fighting and wish it would end, although the Humens drag them in. Set in a contrastingly primitive and technological future Australia, we follow a cast of interesting characters as they explore their world and learn how the current state came to be. As the title suggest, the book focuses on Ferren (a residual) and a fallen angel (called Miriael), although there are definitely also other important characters! They were all a little frustrating at the start, but I did come to like (most of) them by the end.

I had a fun time with this book. While there seem to be some religious influences when it comes to heaven, I greatly appreciate that the book doesn't become preachy. I loved the world building and how mundane objects (I'm a little surprised that they're still in such good condition considering the passage of time and what's been going on on earth) have gained such importance to a society that has lost the comforts of modern civilisation, which as largely become a thing of legends. Although maybe a bit expositiony, I greatly enjoyed the segment where we were provided with the history f what happened between heaven and earth to put humans and angels at war.

While I loved the world building, there are a lot of "classes" of people and it takes a while to wrap your head around it. I think I get it but it took a while. Some of them are rather horrifying! I also think that the relationships between Miriael and various other characters developed a bit too quickly, especially since she is a massive enemy, being on the other side of the war. My last major piece of critisism is the too frequent onomatopoeia. While I know it's often used in books for younger readers, I feel like the target audience is a little above this age.

I think that fans of YA dystopian novels will have a good time with this book. While the short, fast-paced chapters lend themselves to younger readers, it is a good idea to be aware of the content warnings as it may be a bit dark for some (although I think I would have loved it at that age!).… (meer)