What could have been a very interesting novel was stripped bare of its juiciest parts and left with bare bones shrouded in nice writing. The characters were flat and didn’t have enough screen time to make us care about them or their development (or even understand them apart from the role they played). The world was the barest hint of developed.

I will say I really liked the analysis of Celeste’s mixed heritage and how her Elect-passing looks allow her to enter places a Fallen could never, but the reality of her bloodline means she can never truly belong. I would have liked to see more of her passing privilege in action, with more interactions with other Fallen.

The story didn’t grab me (I’ve never been particularly interested in angels and demons, I guess) and I finished the book without feeling any type of way about it.

Tread of Angels is the story of Celeste, who is a card sharp, and a Fallen. In the city of Goetia, there are descendants of Lucifer and those who rebelled with him, and they are Fallen. They are the lowest class of people, but necessary, as only they can see the element of Divinity, used to power all kinds of neat things. The descendants of those who fought against Lucifer are Elect, and those who run the city of Goetia are Virtues. When Celeste’s sister Mariel is accused of murdering a Virtue, Celeste takes on the role of the Devil’s Advocate to defend her, and many shenanigans come to light.

This was an interesting story, and I quite enjoyed it! It’s quite short, more of a novella, but it was just long enough, I thought, to get the whole story out. I really enjoyed the world of Goetia, which was something like a noir/western feeling place, but with weird technologies that were powered by this new element they call Divinity (mined from the remains of Abbadon). The world reminded me somewhat of Trigun for some reason, so that might help some of you decide if you’d enjoy it.

All told, I liked this one. Read the whole thing in an evening and it was still making me think about it and imagine the world it takes place in over the next couple of days, and into the start of another book. So that is always a good thing!

I have always loved stories with angels and demons mixing with humans in a world that is very nearly like ours. This one is a murder mystery and it's not set in the present. HonestlyI didn't really get when it was set, but I still enjoyed it and I didn't get the murderer even if I could've gotten it. It was very easy to follow even with the world complexity and lots of details just thrown there. It's a novella so there isn't enough space for tons of details but it's still enjoyable. I'd really like another story set in this world.

I went into this one feeling unsure of if I would enjoy it or not. Now, having completed it, I’m unsure if I enjoyed or or not. It was very different from almost anything I’ve ever read, yet I felt compelled to continue. It was different in a way that’s a bit unsettling (heaven, hell, virtues, demons, etc), but it was also interesting.

The storyline wasn’t particularly unique- a murder, a woman condemned, another woman trying to save her sister. The concept of bargaining for another persons life is, of course, complex. I can’t say much more without spoiling the storyline, but overall I feel like it was a good read.

A fun little ride that I didn't want to get off when it was over. There are so many cool elements in this story that the author really makes her own. I immediately fell in love with the entire set up - the gritty westernesque settting, the lore of battles between angels and demons, the corrupt, heirarchical societal structure, the mystery element that carries the plot - so much to like here and I was captivated from the start.

But while there was so much to love, I also found myself wanting a bit more. I appreciate a compact little novella as much as the next person, but I feel like the worldbuilding and the fantasy elements would benefit from a bit more exploration than the limited page count allowed. I'm not sure if that's necessarily a flaw or just me being a greedy reader, but it is what it is. I hope Roanhorse chooses to return to this world and these characters because I would gladly read more.

Definitely recommend.

Special thanks to Simon & Schuster for handing out ARCs at the 2022 ALA Conference.

I will read anything Rebecca Roanhorse writes. The writing was beautiful and I could not put it down.

With hundreds of ratings on Goodreads, I don't have anything new to add, so I'll just say this is a pretty good story.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I had previously enjoyed Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky series so was curious when I was offered an ARC copy of Tread of Angels from the publisher and Netgalley. This story takes place in an entirely different setting from those works, in an Old West where the descendants of Angels and Demons reside. For a short work, it brings up a lot of complex issues about race, family, friendship, romantic relationships and what makes someone “good” or “evil.” Celeste, the main protagonist, can pass in appearance for one of the Elect, though she is of mixed descent and also part Fallen. When her sister is accused of murder she must try to find the truth, forcing her to seek the help of her former demon love for whom she still has feelings. The conclusion surprised me but felt satisfying to the story that was being told, which to me is always the sign of a talented storyteller.

I cannot say I loved this book. I more so loved the idea of it. In theory, this book had great structure and potential. While reading it however, I found it choppy, disjointed, and lacking in character development.
I have always enjoyed Roanhorse's writing style. It's almost short and to the point but still creates a world in the mind of readers. This novella left me wanting more; more from the characters, more from the world itself, more from the relationships. Just more. The main character deemed her life's purpose to be the caretaker of her sister, but that's her only redeeming quality. She is constantly working to make relationships while flipping switch and breaking others. All in all, it was an interesting read, but not one I would continue forth with.

The world of Tread of Angels sucked me in from the start. I’ve always loved the blending of Fantasy and Westerns, which is my opinion isn’t used often enough. Then you add in the forces of Heaven and Hell…and dang I was hooked. The story revolves around Celeste, a card dealer in the mining town of Goetia. When her sister, Mariel, is accused of murder and taken into custody by the archangels, Celeste is determined to prove Mariel’s innocence. I’ll say right now, I wished this had been much longer. (It’s only a couple hundred pages.) The world is absolutely intriguing and there is so much more I still want to know. The characters were great, the lore utterly fascinating ( I’m dying to know more about … well everything, lol), and I enjoyed the flow of the story. Again, my only real complaint is I wished there had been more, and I really hope Roanhorse intends this to only be the opening of a series. 4.5 stars. I’d like to thank Gallery Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Tread of Angels.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R7ADNO4VKBNKJ/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tread-of-angels-rebecca-roanhorse/1140976089?ean=9781982166205&bvnotificationId=ae28ceb7-65d6-11ed-b25e-0a843da8b84f&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/228433610

Good story, enjoyed the characters. I .wish the story was more developed, but I know this isn't a novel.

A mythical Wild West with the Virtues a ruling class and the Fallen the descendants of demon kind.

Our mc Celeste is neither but half and her sister is being accused of something she knows she didn't do.

The reimagined mythological Colorado mountains was an interesting setting especially set in the 1880s. Such an interesting time with saloon,  card games, dancing ladies and small towns.

Abraxas was a tempting character.

This is a fast paced shorter novel compared to her others. It was a darker fantasy and so interesting.

Thank you gallerybooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review

Thank you to Netgalley, Saga Press, and Ms. Roanhorse for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I somehow missed that this was a novella. I am not sure if this format was a departure for the author; certainly it’s shorter than everything else I’ve read from Ms. Roanhorse. While I think generally Westerns lend themselves well to the novella format, here I wished there was more. More fleshing out of the characters (lots of ends were left hanging, and many of the characters felt somewhat unfinished) and more plot. Abraxus in particular needed more attention. Grace, the newspaper writer, as well. More on the magic system would have been welcome as well – I’m a worldbuilding nut, though, so YMMV on that one.

I really enjoyed the story and its setting, and would have eagerly read more. I wonder if Celeste will feature again, or if this was a one-time showing? Her story was left wide-open, although, as a half-caste woman who has literally burnt ALL her bridges, I’m not sure where she could go from there. Sour endings aren’t really my favorite, so I didn’t enjoy the bleakness at the finish, but it was fitting. Overall I would describe this story as “fascinating”, and I admit I would happily come back for more if the author writes it.


⭐⭐⭐1/2 stars

Myth: 4/5

A dark fantasy set in a world of Virtues and Fallen. The world was limiting, controlling and unfair to those obviously marked as fallen, slightly less so to those that could pass as elite. The description of this book evoked noir mystery and it definitely had that. An older sister trying to prove her younger sister’s innocence, a world set against them and plenty of harsh learnings along the way.

Magic: 4/5

There were definitely magical elements here with demon’s flying, truth telling glorias and more, but the majority of the story felt very real. It was the perfect mix.

Overall: 4/5

A compelling read, keeping me flipping pages eager to find out what happens next. I can’t say it left me feeling good, but it left me thinking.

This was so creative with angels and demons set in a western fantasy surrounded by a murder mystery. I’m not going to lie when I read the synopsis, I was like WTH because I don’t mess with those demons, but I absolutely loved it! I was fully engaged in what was going on and Roanhorse does such a great job, as always, with the worldbuilding. I need a whole book on Celeste and Abraxas. I liked all the side characters, especially Ibrahim. I really hope we see more of this world and the characters! Overall, a very fun and engaging read.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

5 / 10 ✪

https://arefugefromlife.wordpress.com/2022/11/15/tread-of-angels-by-rebecca-roanhorse-review/

The year is 1883. Goetia is a boom town that draws the rich and poor, the ambitious and desperate, miners and prospectors, doves and demons alike in search of work, wealth, and a life to call their own. The town’s main source of income is not gold nor iron, silver nor lead, but Divinity. Goetia is a town gotten rich on mining the long dead corpses of angels and demons, fallen in the age old war that defined heaven and hell.

Celeste is a card sharp. Goetia’s native daughter, she grew up in the poorest slums but has since managed to make a name for herself, at least among some. She is also part Fallen herself, though she bears none of its marks. Something that would relieve Celeste, if not for their presence about her sister.

Mariel is a singer accused. Arrested and charged with the murder of a Virtue—law and morality enforcers who can trace their blood back to divinity as well, they despise the Fallen and their descendants purely on principle—Mariel is hauled off to a pit for execution, and it’s up to Celeste to save her. Something that may yet cost her more than just the life of her only sister.

Angels and demons, guns and dusters, corruption and ambition collide in Goetia—and it’s important to know: there are no innocents in this story.

—

Sadly, the mystery wasn’t terribly mysterious. As a whodunnit, it never really gets off the ground. There’s really only one person it could be and even the lead doesn’t really try to spread the blame overly long. From then it’s less of a who and more of a why. Unfortunately, this too is cleared up rather easily. Honestly, I found what happened next more entertaining than the entire mystery.

Not enough world building. The set dressing is nice enough, but the world behind is might as well be a cardboard cutout. There’s very little depth, and I’m entirely lost on much of the history and rules. Everything we know is what is told on the fly, as there’s nothing granted up front. It’s not exactly that every term or concept worth knowing has its own info-dump, however. Some things we’re just expected to figure out—but mostly, yeah, everything has its own info-dump.

Goetia reminds me of Landfall (the Boy with the Porcelain Blade). Just as Landfall is covered in a dense fog, anything outside of immediate purview in Goetia is ignored as unimportant. The outside world may as well not exist. Certainly don’t remember it being mentioned, except as a vague concept like, “I’ve stayed here too long, there’s an entire world to see”—but that’s it. I’m not getting any kind of sense of either the city or the world as a concept. They’re simply ignored unless absolutely pertinent to the story. I understand keeping the novella on track, but occasionally you can do that while giving the slightest peeks into the world beyond.

I could do without some of the references to Jesus, such as Calvary or Golgotha. In a world still reeling from an open war between heaven and hell, where angels and demons live openly alongside the humans, well, surely Jesus wouldn’t be a thing? They’re only really mentioned as descriptions, place names, but still. The story is listed as taking place in 1883—in the blurb—though this seems more about setting up the western narrative more than anything else.

Despite my criticisms of this book, I would actually be interested in seeing more of this world. Not the characters from Tread, however. I’m a fan of the angels and demons, western aesthetic. Tread of Angels reminded me quite a bit of Golgotha (from R.S. Belcher), only with a more openly biblical presence. Anyway, same concept, different story, different cast?—sure, I’m on board, let’s do this.

TL;DR

While I feel Tread of Angels—as a concept, at least—has promise, the novella itself came off a bit half-cocked. Actually, instead of the concept itself being solid—I’d say the proof of concept has promise. That’s because the chosen setting of Goetia falls a bit flat. It needs more world-building. Like, anything outside the story’s immediate purview. The entire outside world is ignored. I’m honestly not sure if it was entirely destroyed or just not designed in the first place. The mystery isn’t terribly mysterious, as the whodunnit quickly devolves into a whydunnit more than anything. The best thing I can really say about this is that as a read, it wasn’t bad. I moderately enjoyed the majority of the time I spent in Goetia, and while there’ll have to be a number of improvements to lure me back in the future, it is a world I would consider revisiting. But it needs work.

This was my first time reading a Rebecca Roanhorse book. I'm not sure it was for me. I didn't dislike the writing. And the story itself was interesting. I just didn't connect with any of the characters and that made it really hard to care about what happened. The story itself was decent and I didn't hate really hate anything about it but it just did not do it for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Tread of Angels represents an intriguing pivot for Rebecca Roanhorse, this time being a historical Western fantasy mystery. There’s still an infusion of mythology in the narrative, with a basis of angels and demons. It’s a unique, somewhat odd genre combo at first, but Roanhorse executes it well.

The setting is richly drawn, and the worldbuilding intermingling the Old West with the Angel/Demon magic is done very well.

Celeste is an intriguing protagonist, and there’s intriguing commentary in her background as passing as an Elect, but secretly being half Fallen, and navigating a segregated society. Her relationship with her sister is impactful, especially as her sister is not able to pass, and that is the root of the trouble.

The mystery is engaging, and I feel it works for the most part within the confines of the shorter length. It’s punchy, while also being able to be developed gradually over the space given.

Rebecca Roanhorse rarely disappoints, and this book is no exception to that. If you enjoy historical fantasy with a strong mystery plotline, I recommend picking this one up!

I wasn’t super impressed with this novella. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. The thing that got me was the characters. I felt like I couldn’t like or love to hate any of them. Most were just annoying and had a lot of faults. This novella is set in a Wild West-esque world many years after Lucifer’s war. People are segregated based on if their ancestry is the Fallen or the Angels (Virtues). The main character, Celeste, is a Fallen that can pass as a Virtue but rarely does because she likes to watch out for her sister, Mariel, that is marked (her eyes) as a Fallen. Mariel is accused of murder and Celeste will do anything she can to save her sister, even get help from an old flame that just happens to be a demon lord. So an interesting premise, but the characters were so unlikeable to me that I just couldn’t really enjoy it and found myself rolling my eyes far too often for such a short book.

Roanhorse is a fine fantasy writer: an imaginative world-builder and teller of compelling stories. In this novella she gives us a fabulous new world - if there isn't already a subgenre called divinity-punk, then there is now.

The actual story, on the other hand, seems a little rushed. Seldom do I wish a fantasy novel was longer (the genre leans toward bloat), but in this case more plot and character development would have been a good thing. I found the main character to be narcissistic - she tears through the book systematically using and alienating everyone she knows and supposedly loves, and a little more grounding to show how she even made any friends in the first place would have been good. The plot also seems a bit rushed.

In many ways this reads like one of those "prequels" that introduces a character and sets the stage for the main series, and I hope that's the case here. I would certainly come back for more of this world.