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The Darkangel (Darkangel Trilogy #1)

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 4,356 ratings · 336 reviews

A young woman's unlikely love saves the soul of an evil vampyre in Meredith Ann Pierce's classic fantasy. "Easily the year's best fantasy."--The New York Times "Seductive . . . bewitching . . . unique. A brilliant fantasy."--Boston Globe

Paperback, 281 pages

Published April 15th 1998 by Graphia (first published January 1st 1982)

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Mar 15, 2013 TheBookSmugglers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: notable-reads-of-2012

Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2012/02/b...

While gathering the ceremonial herbs and flowers on the eve of a great wedding celebration, handmaid Aeriel and her mistress Eoduin ascend the highest peaks overlooking their village – and Eoduin’s natural grace and beauty attracts the eye of the Darkangel. A cruel, blood-drinking, soul-stealing vampyre, one of seven icari, the Darkangel steals Eoduin as his thirteenth bride, much to Aeriel’s terror and dismay. In...more Originally Reviewed on The Book Smugglers: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2012/02/b...

While gathering the ceremonial herbs and flowers on the eve of a great wedding celebration, handmaid Aeriel and her mistress Eoduin ascend the highest peaks overlooking their village – and Eoduin’s natural grace and beauty attracts the eye of the Darkangel. A cruel, blood-drinking, soul-stealing vampyre, one of seven icari, the Darkangel steals Eoduin as his thirteenth bride, much to Aeriel’s terror and dismay. In her quest to avenge her friend and mistress, Aeriel is also stolen away by the vampyre, not as a bride, but as a serving girl and weaver for the Darkangel’s thirteen existing brides. Trapped in an impossibly cold palace of death and despair, Aeriel is horrified when she meets her new mistresses – ghostly, shrunken wraiths without blood, substance or soul, and only a far gone memory of the women they used to be. With the help of an ancient mage, Aeriel vows to stop the Darkangel from taking his fourteenth wife and coming fully into his power as a full vampyre – for if he gathers his fourteenth soul, he will join his six icari brothers to wreak havoc and descruction on the world.

And yet, for all of Aeriel’s determination, for her fear of the Darkangel and his cruelty, for her vow to help the wraiths and her lost mistress Eoduin, Aeriel senses that there is still some kernel of goodness in the Darkangel. Aeriel holds the fate of the world in her hands – to trust in the buried, locked away remains of a good soul within the Darkangel’s leaden heart, or to slay him to protect everything good and living in the world.

I confess that I’ve never read anything from Meredith Ann Pierce, and had not even heard of The Darkangel until this year – but I am so very glad I did. This is a lush, almost poetic tale with prose that is both sweet and pure, though not without its share of darkness (as is true of the best dark fantasies and fairy tales). In style and in form, The Darkangel feels very similar to Clare B. Dunkle’s The Hollow Kingdom, tossed with Robin McKinley’s Sunshine and Beauty, with a touch of C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (yes, there’s a magical talking lyon in this book). This is pretty excellent praise, as all of these books are pretty freaking fantastic, and The Darkangel conjures images and likenesses of different aspects of them all. Truly, it is the writing style and the descriptions that won my heart with this book – from the phrasing of certain passages, to the descriptions, there’s something almost…well, darkly magical about The Darkangel, as cliched and hackneyed as my own words sound. Take, for example Aeriel’s first encounter with the Darkangel’s wives:

He led her up a winding stair, down a long narrow hall to a little door at the very end. It opened onto a tiny windowless room in which were twelve-and-one emaciated women. Some stood in corners or crouched, leaning back against the walls. Some crawled slowly on hands and knees; one sat and tore her hair and sobbed. Another paced, paced along a little of the far wall. All screamed and cowered at the entrance of the vampyre.

Isn’t there something so beautifully lyrical in the cadence of the passage? Something beautiful in how Ms. Pierce’s prose depicts something so terrible? Like Robin McKinley’s older work, there’s something unexpected and gorgeous in The Darkangel‘s turns of phrase; something sadly missing in many contemporary fantasy novels, for young readers and adults alike. It’s the type of quality you forget about until you read it, and The Darkangel has this ineffable essence packed into every gorgeous sentence on the page.

Beyond the care and detail Meredith Ann Pierce’s novel gives to phrasing, the worldbuilding of The Darkangel is similarly lush and unexpected. I loved that this actually is a science fiction novel in addition to being a fantasy, with a sad story of colonists long come and gone, and the wasted aftermath of their efforts on Aeriel’s strange planet, where days are much, much longer than those on Earth.

From a character perspective, however, things are a little shakier. As a heroine, Aeriel is sweet and honest, and her motivations are utterly believable and never feel forced or contrived. That said, she is, perhaps, a bit too good to be true; a bit too selfless, and good, and moral. There’s nothing wrong with a heroine that never falters or balks in the face of danger, or hesitates in making self-sacrifice for the good of others – but it does leave her character feeling a bit bland and lacking in complexity. My only real complaint, however, lies with the eponymous Darkangel himself. I didn’t really believe that there was any good left in him, and even though the slightly-saintly Aeriel senses this innate humanity, buried beneath his cold, beautiful, and cruel exterior, I don’t know that I bought the romantic angle of the book. And yet…perhaps this is just a matter of personal taste. In any case, with two more books in the trilogy, perhaps these characterization issues are addressed more in-depth.

Overall, The Darkangel is a beautiful, unexpectedly lush book, with a style that is unrivaled in the current YA Fantasy space. Absolutely wholeheartedly recommended – now I just need to figure out where I can get my hands on copies of books 2 and 3 in the trilogy.

Notable Quotes/Parts: From one early chapter in the book:

The icarus paused gracefully at the steps; all his moves were grace. “Do you come?”

Aeriel turned back to him. “I am to be your bride,” she said, not questioning. The certainty of it overwhelmed her.

The darkangel looked at her then and laughed, a long, mocking laugh that sent the gargoyles into a screaming, chattering frenzy. “You?” he cried, and Aeriel’s heart shrank, tightened like a knot beneath the bone of her breast. “You be my bride? By the Fair Witch, no. You’re much too ugly.”

(less)

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Feb 22, 2012 Kagama-the Literaturevixen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-hero, unique-world, fantasy, magic, vampires, strange-but-good-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. How to make justice to a book that blew you away when you first read it?

Ariel is accompanying her mistress-Edouin up on the mountain to gather some flowers. Then suddenly Edouin is snatched and abducted by a winged creature.

Horrified she runs to tell everyone that Edouin has been kidnapped.

But no one believes her Except for a strange blind old woman who tells her the creature she saw was a vampyre and that he kidnapped Edouin to become his "wife" wich essentially means to steal her soul

Ariel d...more

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Nov 14, 2007 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First published in 1982 'The Darkangel' by Meredith Ann Pierce is the first in the Darkangel trilogy. The series is being reissued by Little, Brown & Company with gorgeous new covers. I have to admit that the cover is what first caught my eye. But I was lucky that it wasn’t just another pretty face, what I found within the pages is a solid young adult fantasy worth reading more than once.

The Darkangel, once a mortal and not quite a vampire, must have 14 brides before he can come into his fu...more First published in 1982 'The Darkangel' by Meredith Ann Pierce is the first in the Darkangel trilogy. The series is being reissued by Little, Brown & Company with gorgeous new covers. I have to admit that the cover is what first caught my eye. But I was lucky that it wasn’t just another pretty face, what I found within the pages is a solid young adult fantasy worth reading more than once.

The Darkangel, once a mortal and not quite a vampire, must have 14 brides before he can come into his full power and immortality. He keeps his wives in his cold castle, wraiths without their souls, which he wears in lead vials around his neck. When the Darkangel steals away Eoduin, Aeriel, her slave and friend, vows to avenge her mistress and waits for the Darkangel to return.

But when the Darkangel comes back to claim Aeriel, she finds that he is too beautiful for her to kill. At first she thinks she too will become one of his brides but he scoffs at the idea, claiming that she is too ugly. Instead he has brought her to his castle as a servant; she is to weave the clothes for his brides and when he chooses his 14th and final bride it will be Aeriel that weaves the bridal gown.

Below the castle, in deep caves, lives a little man by the name of Talb. A magician of sorts, he helps Aeriel survive her first few months there, providing her with food and company when the voices of the wraith brides become too much. Aeriel also makes friends with the Darkangel’s gargoyles, bringing them food and coming to love them. She even becomes close to the Darkangel, sharing stories with him and coming to care for him, although she does not realize it at first.

While the Darkangel is cruel and seems heartless, Aeriel still sees some good in him. But when she realizes that with the Darkangel’s final bride he will not only come into his full power but that he will join others of his kind to take over the world, she takes action. With guidance from Talb, Aeriel escapes the Darkangel and goes on a quest to find an object that will help her save his withered soul.

'The Darkangel' is not the vampire story you might expect. Written years before a revolution was led by authors everywhere towards bodice-ripping novels that featured blood-sucking hunks, Pierce crafted an original fantasy with a vampire at its heart. More adventure and self-discovery than romance, this is a story of Aerial and her growth. Nevertheless the idea of romance is there; the pale beautiful face, the night black wings, the other worldly power, all elements that have followed the vampire into more modern settings.

But leave whatever vampire expectations you have behind you. 'The Darkangel' is solid, finely wrought fantasy with hints of science fiction thrown in. The second book, 'A Gathering of Gargoyles', was released with its new cover this month with the third and final volume, 'The Pearl of the Soul of the World', hitting stores in February 2008. If you can’t wait that long, of course there is always local used bookstores and the used section on Amazon. But I’ve always been a sucker for a pretty cover, so I think I’ll just wait it out. (less)

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Sep 21, 2007 Emily rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-sf, keep

I have to wonder now if I loved this book because I read it in high school (and reread, and reread, and reread). I borrowed somebody else's copy of the book club edition of the trilogy so often that they finally just gave it to me.

I was drawn in my the happy ending of the first story, but then the author takes it so much further in the second book, and then even further in the third; not your typical story. I was always amazed by the foundations the author built in the first book that supported...more

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Oct 26, 2008 Kristi (The Story Siren) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Darkangel is book one of the Darkangel Trilogy. When Aeriel’s mistress and friend Eoduin is stolen by the darkangel, she seeks revenge. Only to be captured herself she is forced to serve for his thirteen brides. The brides where once beautiful women, including Eoduin, but the darkangel drained them of their blood and has captured their souls leaving only their withering bodies. Once the darkangel has taken his fourteenth and finaly bride he will become a powerful vampyre. Aeriel decides she...more

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Feb 11, 2008 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy/YA fans

Shelves: favorites

I picked this book up at Barnes&Noble last night because it stands out in my memory as a book I loved when I first read it in the seventh grade. Indeed, ten years later, it is still an enjoyable read.

Surprisingly, what I most enjoyed about this book is the author's detailed and beautiful description of the landscape and creatures of Solstar, the fantasy world in which this story takes place. The land and the beings that reside in it are familiar, and yet different and quite unique. I found t...more

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Oct 10, 2007 Marie McCain rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this when I was still in high school ... happened to find it walking through the book aisle in Walgreens and wasn't all that sure I'd like it, but immediately fell in love with it and with Pierce's storytelling and forshadowing. About two years later I was walking through the same store and found the second book in the trilogy, A Gathering of Gargoyles, and was downright jumping for joy. Devoured the book that night and was even more enthusiastic to read the continuation of this story in th...more

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Aug 19, 2007 Sookie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: ages 14+, fantasy readers

The Darkangel, a winged creature that is reeking havoc in its world, is on the lookout for another wife. His thirteenth, in fact. And Aeriel, a lowly village servant girl, is there to witness the kidnapping.
Her mistress is taken abruptly by the Darkangel, as is Aeriel who means to kill the Darkangel (and falls under his spell instead).
The Darkangel takes Aeriel to his castle, where she is to serve the thirteen souless wraiths (wives), who insist that Aeriel MUST kill the Darkangel when he takes...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Jackie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this in 1982 when it was first released, and the second volume in 1985. The third installment of the trilogy came out in 1990, and I completely missed it. I saved the first two, and when I was going through old books a few years ago, I picked up a copy of the third volume so I could finally finish it. Sure, it's geared toward adolescent girls, but the trilogy is an enjoyable, and quick read-it would be great to have on hand if you were home sick or something. I thought of it because every...more

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Mar 21, 2008 Ariel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, 2008, speculative-fiction

This is a book that sounds cliche and unappealing when you try to describe it's subject or plot. The reality of it is graceful and has the quality of a fairytale however. The sci-fi aspect (setting) is integrated with subtlety as opposed to tacked on, and the main character is neither cowering or feisty. She is a fairytale heroine. She does what must be done, treats others with care and and respect, but is secondary to the story and her destiny, more than looming larger than life. It's a surpris...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Mizuki Genshou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampires-related, young-adult-books, supernatural-stuff

Simply put, The Darkangel is one of the very best of vampire/fantasy novels I had read in the recent years. Yes it’s a YA book but so what, it is well written, it’s one hell of magical and fascinating book to read anyway.

The Darkangel is a story of fantasy and supernatural mixed with a hint of sci-fi. The tale begins when a slave-girl Aeriel, went to confront the fearsome darkangel(winged vampyer created by the evil water witch) after her young mistress and friend was kidnapped to be the darkang...more Simply put, The Darkangel is one of the very best of vampire/fantasy novels I had read in the recent years. Yes it’s a YA book but so what, it is well written, it’s one hell of magical and fascinating book to read anyway.

The Darkangel is a story of fantasy and supernatural mixed with a hint of sci-fi. The tale begins when a slave-girl Aeriel, went to confront the fearsome darkangel(winged vampyer created by the evil water witch) after her young mistress and friend was kidnapped to be the darkangel’s 13th bride. However, being stunned by the darkangel’s unearthly beauty and terrifying power, Aeriel was spellbound, not able to avenge her friend, instead she ended up being the vampyer’s maid(since the darkangel thought she wasn't pretty enough to be a bride) and forced to serve his thirteen wives, whose hearts were eaten, their souls and blood sucked out and they ended up a group of living corpses called ‘the wraiths’.

In the darkangel’s castle, Aeriel befriended a duarough(little people) who might be a mage. The duarough told her that the darkangel had not yet lost his soul until he found his 14th bride and consumed her, before that they would have to kill the vampyer in order to ruin the water witch’s plan to complete her army of seven powerful darkangels and enslaved the human kingdoms with their forces. Caught between her affection and pity toward the darkangel (whom she sensed still had some goodness in him) and the responsibility to her lost friend and the rest of the human race, Aeriel must find a way to save her own life, the wraiths and even the darkangel himself before it was too late……

It dosen’t sound like the most unique kind of plot, isn’t it? but what is fascinating about Pierce’s writing is that she could make up imaginative details and plot-twists to make her text rich. In the alternative world she created, she had winged vampires, brides who are living corpses, talking beasts, wedding sari made of charity and love, etc. Pierce even managed to make something as simple as a rainfall look magical. There're magic in her writing that is able to put simple, ordinary things under different light to make them shine brightly. Ah, that’s what skill and talent are for!

The Darkangel series is also a good example that vampire story doesn’t really need typical formula of love triangle, nor does it need to be a boring, predictable mixture with a bunch of witches, werewolves and shapeshifters!

The characters are good too, colorful and believable, even though the true identity of the darkangel becomes kind of obvious in the middle of the story. We can watch the lead character Aeriel develops from the courageous yet confused slave to a true heroine in the end, and how she formed friendship with the people around her. I also like how Pierce delivered the ending(even though it really isn’t the ending that I’d prefer). I wish the author would somehow develop a sequel to tie the loose ends for good. And I also strongly wish that someday, some talented film makers would make the books into motion picture or a tv series. I mean, The Darkangel is the kind of books that deserve such treatment.

To sum up, it’s an amazing trilogy, even though the first book came out as early as 1982 still it doesn’t look outdated! Read it if you still haven’t!(less)

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Oct 25, 2011 El Templo de las Mil Puertas added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 10-eltemplo, libros-olvidados

"Estamos en Avaric, y Eoduin y su sierva Aeriel han subido a la montaña para recoger el néctar de unas flores que se servirá como copa nupcial en la boda de la prima de Eoduin. Pero todo se tuerce cuando Aeriel ve como un ser de negras alas secuestra a su ama sin que ella pueda hacer nada para evitarlo. Aturdida por el encuentro se desmaya. Y no es para menos: Aeriel ha visto al ángel oscuro, al ícaro de incontables alas negras que secuestra a jóvenes hermosas para convertirlas en sus desposadas...more

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Jan 26, 2013 Lauren Schumacher rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was inspired to reread this young-adult novel series when Twilight was making the rounds. I remembered being entranced by it around age 12 or 13. I was in no way disappointed rereading it as an adult.

Meredith Anne Pierce is renown for her fully-actualized immersive worlds--she is truly a fantasy writer's writer. The mechanics of the world are fascinating; its foods, its lore, its cities, its industries, its traditions, its economy, its gods, its values, its history... They swim around the stor...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Jess rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 27, 2012 Emily Lovitch rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story was staler than Dane Cook's act. I think the thing about this book that ground my gears the hardest was the heroine. She was absolutely insufferable. So dull. So one-dimensional. Listening to this character talk was about as stimulating as sticking one's head in a plastic bag. This girl has a chance to do some heroism when she gets kidnapped by this dickbag with wings, and as soon as she becomes his live-in servant, she becomes so moon-eyed and meek around him that it's almost disgust...more This story was staler than Dane Cook's act. I think the thing about this book that ground my gears the hardest was the heroine. She was absolutely insufferable. So dull. So one-dimensional. Listening to this character talk was about as stimulating as sticking one's head in a plastic bag. This girl has a chance to do some heroism when she gets kidnapped by this dickbag with wings, and as soon as she becomes his live-in servant, she becomes so moon-eyed and meek around him that it's almost disgusting.
I think the author was going for some sort of Beauty and the Beast angle but it backfired. At least the beast worked at opening himself up to Belle to give her some valid reasons to develop affection for him. But the nicest thing this adonic douchenozzle ever did for her was "not kill her for feeding his gargoyles." But that fact didn't stop her from giving into some illusion of love BASED SOLELY ON HIS GOOD LOOKS AND SPECULATION THAT HE'S NOT 100% EVIL.
Three fourths of the way through the book she almost develops a spine, but then when the moment of truth comes and she has to kill the evil vampyre she caves and says "I cannot, he is too beautiful." All her friends as well as the vampyre's victim-wives are standing around her, repeatedly reminding her that "HEY MAN, HE'S TOTALLY KILLED (AND PRESUMABLY RAPED) THESE 13 WOMEN (ONE OF WHICH USED TO BE HER BEST FRIEND) AND IS AN ALL AROUND HORRIBLE ABOMINATION AGAINST THE HEAVENS" but she thinks "she can redeem him with her love."
I'll spare the details of the ending, lest someone out there is tempted to read this "gem" but suffice to say what followed this scene defies any tenuous logic that had already been set up to hold this hot mess of a story together.
The story's time flow was very hard to follow as well because they used increments of time that I just didn't understand. Like just what the hell is a "day-month"? I thought at first they meant a week, but then I slowly gathered that they aren't even on planet Earth, because apparently Earth is a satellite body that goes around their sky like a second moon, and their primary moon is never indicated as being a moon. It's just refereed to as "Oceanus." Plus it seems their days aren't like our 24-hour days. The sun could stay in their sky for like a week or something before actually setting. It might not sound so difficult here as I'm explaining it but these explanations are merely my own guesses at how time works in this story. It got in the way of my following of the plot a lot because they'd say something like "You've been gone so long, it's been almost 5 day-months." And I'm just left there like "so was she gone 5 days, 5 months? Throw me a bone here, I can't tell how long that is, what with these wonky-ass increments of time."
I shan't be reading the other two books in the trilogy but I gave this book two stars instead of one because I got a lot of unintended entertainment out of the pseudo-medieval dialogue and general cheesiness of the story. (less)

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Apr 08, 2011 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: girls-who-do-things, good-uns, dystopian

I'd been hearing lots and lots about Meredith Ann Pierce long before I ever picked up one of her books. For the longest time I associated her in my head with a book called The Woman Who Loved Reindeer. And neither the title nor the cover did anything for me. But, as is so often the case, I had several friends who highly recommended her Darkangel trilogy. And they were persistent enough and vociferous enough that I finally picked up the THE DARKANGEL (much more interesting title and premise) to g...more I'd been hearing lots and lots about Meredith Ann Pierce long before I ever picked up one of her books. For the longest time I associated her in my head with a book called The Woman Who Loved Reindeer. And neither the title nor the cover did anything for me. But, as is so often the case, I had several friends who highly recommended her Darkangel trilogy. And they were persistent enough and vociferous enough that I finally picked up the THE DARKANGEL (much more interesting title and premise) to give a new author and a new series a go. This was probably somewhere around ten years ago. And I'm still so glad I gave in and picked up the trilogy. That way I didn't even have to wait before diving into the second book. And this really is a series that builds upon each previous book until the final showdown is indeed something to behold. This was Ms. Pierce's first book, written when she was just 23 years old, but you would never be able to tell. It's a treasure trove of creepy ambiance, layered characterization, and suspense. First published in 1982, the entire trilogy was fairly recently rejacketed nicely and released to (hopefully) a new crop of readers.

Ariel is a slave. Accompanying her mistress on a flower-gathering expedition, Ariel is dismayed when her mistress is abducted by the terrifying Darkangel--a vampyre who is destined to only come into his full power when he acquires his fourteenth and final bride. Yes, you read that right. He's got twelve of 'em locked away in his fortress and Ariel's mistress gets to be unlucky thirteen. But not if Ariel has anything to do with it. Somewhat taciturn by nature (and life status), she sets off in pursuit of her mistress, determined to fetch her back before the Darkangel drains her all but dry of life like his other wives, finds a fourteenth, and ascends to the dizzying heights of power of a seventh son and a full vampyre. Then he will be immortal and have truly left the last of his humanity behind. Unfortunately, Ariel herself is captured on her journey, and the Darkangel forces her into servitude to his bevy of wraith-wives. Soon Ariel begins to form a plan to kill the Darkangel and set the wives free.

His hair was long and silver, and about his throat he wore a chain: on fourteen of the links hung little vials of lead.

I remember reading that line and feeling chilled, wondering just exactly what he carried inside those little vials. This is a vampyre novel of a different kind from the sort you may be used to. The mythology is woven very densely here, as the title character himself is more of a icarus-vampire hybrid than your typical broody night dweller. Everything about this dark fantasy/scifi is slightly left of what you expect it to be, and I love it for that very reason. Ariel is at times shy, furious, fearful, and bold. Her captor is coldly indifferent, with his black wings and his all-but-dead heart, but with a multitude of reasons lurking behind his violent search. And once Ariel discovers the truth of his history, his family, and his existence, she becomes determined to go on her own quest to recover the one object that might release him from his terrible fate. She makes this decision on her own, in the face of his certain disapproval and the possibility of her own annihilation. She is strong and sympathetic and her motivations never struck me as weak or dubious. The world these characters inhabit is as frigid as the Darkangel himself. Craggy and desolate, it provides an excellent backdrop for each character's isolation. Plus, it has friendly gargoyles, crafty dwarves, and one incredibly terrifying Lorelei. And this is only the beginning. It gets endlessly complicated through the course of the next two books as the reader grows fonder of both Ariel and the Icarus. I adore the entire trilogy and highly recommend it to anyone tired of the same old paranormal rigmarole. This one is different. A keeper.(less)

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view all 5 comments

Vicki I was totally on board until that last section, which was indeed unexpected. I don't always deal well with stuff that comes in out of left field, thou...more
11 avr. 22:26

Angie I don't know how I didn't see this comment until now! I have the same exact problem with Wynne Jones. Gah.

You're right that it didn't feel inevitable...more
29 avr. 08:50

Mar 06, 2011 Tara Renaud rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: vampire-fiction, teen-ya-fiction

The DarkAngel, the first book in the DarkAngel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce, was recommended to me to read, and after finishing it, am very thankful for the suggestion (So please keep them coming everyone). This book is about a servant girl, Aeriel, who sees her young mistress taken away by a "vampyre" and subsequently vows to avenge her. In the process, Aeriel gets taken by the vampyre herself to be the maid servant for all the vampyre's 13 wives. All the wives are soulless, as the vampyre ca...more The DarkAngel, the first book in the DarkAngel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce, was recommended to me to read, and after finishing it, am very thankful for the suggestion (So please keep them coming everyone). This book is about a servant girl, Aeriel, who sees her young mistress taken away by a "vampyre" and subsequently vows to avenge her. In the process, Aeriel gets taken by the vampyre herself to be the maid servant for all the vampyre's 13 wives. All the wives are soulless, as the vampyre carries their souls in vials around his neck. When Aeriel first arrives she finds all the wives are so gaunt that she was unable to tell one from another, and they did nothing but moan and scream of their state of being, and could barely move around, as the weight of their gowns was too much for them to take. Aeriel also befriended a man named Talb(well, not quite a man) who lived in the cave below the castle she was imprisoned. Through him and the wives she discovered that when the vampyre acquires his 14th wive's soul, the young vampyre will go to his "mother" and become a full fledged vampyre and take over the world with his 6 brothers. This, Aeriel discovered, would completely destroy any chance of saving the wives' souls and also would destroy life as she knew it, so when she made up her mind that she would have to kill the vampyre, despite her feelings for him, Talb told her the prophecy of how to kill him, and sent her off on an adventure to get what was needed to do so. This part of the story reminded me of Chronicles of Narnia, in that there was a magical lion creature, and other magical creatures to help her out along the way. Honestly, the book was just so/so until she started the adventure section, and this part was pretty exciting. Through her journey she grows up both physically and mentally. I won't say what happens here, as I don't want to give away the whole story, but obviously it doesn't completely end here, as there are two more books in the series. It doesn't end on a cliff hanger, though, thankfully. This is a young adults book, so not too much romance, which I prefer in my vampire novels, but there is the possibility of future romance in the series, and lots more action.
The language is a bit archaic, but I believe that is intentional as the world in the book has deteriorated back to tribalism and servant times, so it seems the language would have done the same. After the first few chapters, you get used to it. Good read for all those who like vampire stories and adventure stories like Chronicles of Narnia.

Rating: *** 1/2(less)

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Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This book reminded me a bit of the Narnia books for some reason. Possibly due to the talking lion and the friendly gnome creature that tells stories to the main character. It also reminds me a bit of Lord of the Rings in the sense that some poem/saying is strewn throughout the entire novel. The story was interesting enough, though when you pull it all together it could be summarized in a sentence or two. Also, the ending is a bit of a surprise. One second you are engrossed in the book, and the n...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the first book in the Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce. This was an excellent book, very fairy tale like in the telling and an interesting, somewhat traditional, take on vampirism.

Aeriel's friend is taken away by a vampire to become his bride. Aeriel is determined to find her friend and take her back home. When the vampire comes to take her she finds herself in a castle where only a gnome-like mage, gargoyles, and the wraiths of the vamp's wives are her company. Aeriel must find...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Silver Thistle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, vampire

This is a fairytale in the truest sense of the word. However, it's main 'un'fairytale-like quality is that one of the two main characters is a vampire. The other is a girl who falls for him but don't make the mistake of thinking it's going to be an angsty teenage fantasy the likes of which Ms Meyer offers because it's not. You'll be disappointed if that's what you're after. The cover makes it look like any other ten-a-penny vampire fantasy but it couldn't be more different if it tried.

This was f...more This is a fairytale in the truest sense of the word. However, it's main 'un'fairytale-like quality is that one of the two main characters is a vampire. The other is a girl who falls for him but don't make the mistake of thinking it's going to be an angsty teenage fantasy the likes of which Ms Meyer offers because it's not. You'll be disappointed if that's what you're after. The cover makes it look like any other ten-a-penny vampire fantasy but it couldn't be more different if it tried.

This was first published in 1982 and it feels a bit dated now. Not because of the writing style and definitely not because of the subject, but by association. Because other - more recent- novels in this genre are edgy and fasionable with urban settings and situations and they use language that you'll come across every day in life, Darkangel just seems to miss the mark if you're more used to the modern vampire romance.

It was republished in 2007, no doubt to soak up some of the popularity that vampire fiction has generated in recent years, and there's nothing wrong with that. Especially since Darkangel was actually a forerunner of all those other urban vamps. But it does tread a fine line. It's counting on the purchasers of Twilight and The Vampire Diaries and House of Night books to also show interest in this one and there's every chance they will, (afterall, I did), but I want to add a word of caution too...

It's not what we've come to expect from vamp literature. It's not worse though....it's just different. Go into it expecting a fairytale and enjoy the weirdness of it all and it's a good story. From what I hear it gets better in the next two books in the trilogy, but I can't comment on that because I haven't read those. Read it for what it is, a cutting edge (at the time) dark fairytale. Like all good fairytales it has a bit of spook in it and there's a couple of bits where it gets scary and you'll hope it turns out well but it's not 'edge of your seat' type stuff and neither is it a 'will they, won't they' romance, it's just not that kind of book. I don't have a mad hunger to find out what happens next, if I'm honest, so I'm still not sure if I'll try the follow on books but if you're in the mood for a nice traditional fairytale with a nice untraditonal vampire then this might be the book for you. (less)

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Sep 07, 2009 Shel rated it 3 of 5 stars

Pierce, M.A. (1982). The Darkangel. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company.

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What-hoe, Twilight fangirls (and fanboys)! Vampire romance ahead. (That is, if you're cool with the 'vampyre' spelling)

But first a warning. This ain't no sparkly, vegetarian, beautiful, stalker vamp. This vampYre, darkangel, is a winged, soul-sucking, dark cold soon to be full-fledged vamp. Okay, so he's still "beautiful." The one thing Meyer and Pierce can agree on about vamps is that they should be described a...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Dd01 rated it 4 of 5 stars

I too read and reread this book when I was in my early teens. It was a gothic fantasy with mature themes that appealed more than the run of the mill fantasy stock in the young adult section at the time.

Other reviewers have done the job of describing the plot and setting far better than I could hope to. I remember that the narrative seemed like a dream, Aeriel was a heroine with some survival skills and a lot of courage and the villain was at once a monster and a vulnerable boy. The hint of roma...more

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Aug 31, 2012 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Aeriel is a slave who saw her mistress taken by the darkangel to be one of his brides. When she goes to avenge her friend, she is also taken by the darkangel to be the maid to his 13 wives. She realizes that she cannot let the darkangel get the 14th and final wife he needs to become a full vampyre, so she sets out on a quest to stop him.

Personally, I find the description on this book misleading. The spin the publishers give the book on the back cover or dust jacket is problematic sometimes, espe...more Aeriel is a slave who saw her mistress taken by the darkangel to be one of his brides. When she goes to avenge her friend, she is also taken by the darkangel to be the maid to his 13 wives. She realizes that she cannot let the darkangel get the 14th and final wife he needs to become a full vampyre, so she sets out on a quest to stop him.

Personally, I find the description on this book misleading. The spin the publishers give the book on the back cover or dust jacket is problematic sometimes, especially in books like this one that were published well before the current YA trends. They try to make these books sound like they fit those trends and they often do not. The Darkangel was published originally in 1982 as a chldren's fantasy novel, but the back makes it sound like any YA book about soulmates and instalove. I didn't know that it had been published that long ago originally, so I did not think it would be something different that it sounds. A clue might have been that the blurb on the front is from Madeleine L'Engle, but I don't really pay attention to those when picking books.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. There is something nice about these old books that don't focus on what is in the main character's head and focus on the quest instead. Granted, there is not much in-depth character development and personal growth, but I think that the lack of whining more than makes up for it. What you do get is growth through the completion of the journey- in this case Aeriel's bravery, compassion and love.

There were times while I was reading that I was like "Come on, that was just too easy." because things just seemed to fall into place during her journey. The journey didn't really seem to be about hardship, though, as much as the time it took. Despite the fact that it often seemed a little to easy, I liked it.

I did not read fantasy as a kid and still don't read fantasy often now, but I did like this book. I was reminded of the style of writing that I used to read in the 80's and early 90's when the books focused more on action than characters. What I would say is that, if you want a book with instalove and soulmates that stays in the main character's head so you know all their thoughts and feelings, then this book would not be for you. If you like older children's fantasy, then you might like this one. I think it would be good for younger readers as it has clean language, no adult situations, and has a good, role-model worthy heroine.(less)

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Aug 12, 2012 Crystal Carroll rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dreamlike Fantasy.

Some books have a color. Dark Angel has always been amber for me. That golden time of late afternoon when all colors seem richer, fuller and yet softer. A fantastic and yet realistic world in which vampires and gargoyles and magic creatures roam the landscape of the imagination.

I first read The Dark Angel when I was in Junior High, but it isn't really a young adult book. Except in that it is the story of becoming an adult. Becoming yourself.

Pierce has an uncanny way of weaving...more

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Nov 24, 2010 Miss rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

This book has both good and bad parts, but is overall a fascinating introduction to the trilogy, and sets the stage for the next two books. The worldbuilding is not very elaborate or detailed and while this makes for a fast, easy read, it is also confusing at times. For example, I only realised the action takes place on the Moon after another reviewer pointed it out, it read like a fantasy world to me at the beginning. The premise of the story is original and imaginative, but the writing style i...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Harper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: vampire fans, fantasy lovers

Shelves: fantasy, romance, young-adult, series

I discovered this series because I really loved Meredith Ann Pierce's The Woman Who Loved Reindeer and I decided to check out the rest of her work. I've always been a sucker for vampire-related fiction, so this trilogy appealed to me once I found out what it was about. I did enjoy this book enough to want to read the remaining two books in the trilogy; however, I agree with what some of the others have said about the lack of character development, particularly with the icarus. Truthfully, it jus...more

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Sep 13, 2010 Heather Shaw rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: teens but any age really, those who like the odd or unusual vampire story

Shelves: ya-books, dark-angel-trilogy, sci-fi, fantasy

An odd book, is the best description I can give. It seems a bit more sci-fi than fantasy, but doesn't have many of the futuristic qualities that are often in sci-fi. I picked it up because of the title, figured it would be about vampires, and it is, but is the strangest vampire book I've read yet, and the most strangely described vampires I have read to date. It is set in another world, or maybe as close as our moon, with the planet described as Oceanus, and sounds like our planet. The futuristi...more

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Feb 10, 2009 Gardavson rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal

Negative, negative stars. Quite possibly the worst book I have read, ever. Or, rather, pseudo-read. I read, with great torture, the first 100+ pages. In these, I found there was much monotony. Much, much monotony. Very little contact with the icarus, no character formation there. Basically, accept for appearing at the beginning and again at the end, he was a nonentity. Aeriel was barely formed, and there is no connection with her. I only know she had feelings because the author said so. There wa...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Kiersten added it

The quality of this story astonished me - I was reluctant to even pick up a book involving vampires in the first place, but I loved how this took a different twist on the concept. Instead of being a comically sinister figure in black cape or - worse - a sexy guy whom the heroine can't help but fall in love with as he resist his desire for her blood, this is a man with a twisted past, almost fully dead but with a scrap of his humanity still alive, a mortality he cannot renounce until he has stole...more

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Mar 26, 2010 Sophie Riggsby rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have to say that when I perused through The Darkangel I thought, hmmm, this must be a good book but being written in 1982 perhaps now it's a little dated.

Well, I was sooooooooooo wrong.

I will say that I had to be in the mood to read about a fantasy/fairy tale. Nothing urban in here.

The character of the young Aeriel was so enjoyable because as a reader, you are taking the journey and experiencing everything through her eyes.

The Darkangel takes Aeriel away to be a servant to his thirteen brides...more

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About Meredith Ann Pierce

Meredith Ann Pierce is a fantasy writer and librarian. Her books deal in fantasy worlds with mythic settings and yet overturn standard expectations, frequently featuring young women who first wish only to love and be loved, yet who must face hazard and danger to save their way of life, their world, and so on, usually without being respected for their efforts until the end of the story.

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Books by Meredith Ann Pierce

A Gathering of Gargoyles (Darkangel Trilogy, #2)

The Pearl of the Soul of the World (Darkangel Trilogy, #3)

Birth of the Firebringer (Firebringer, #1)

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Quotes from The Darkangel

“He does not rule us. No one can rule us. No one can rule anyone who does not first agree to the ruling." She smiled a trace at Aeriel and patted the little camp dog, which was whining for more tidbits. "One must rule oneself.” — 21 people liked it

“They were jet, those wings, as deep as the sky, as black as Eoduin's hair—no, blacker, for they were dull, unoiled. They gave off no sheen in the light, no gleam to the eye. They drank up the light and diminished it: they were wings of pure shadow” (pp. 12-13).” — 11 people liked it

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The Darkangel (Darkangel Trilogy #1)

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