Divinity

by James Harrington

Giovanni was a poor fisherman living in 16th Century Venice. His entire family had been lost to the white plague. He suffered through their deaths only to discover that he too was infected with it. He is now alone and questioning his faith. The angel, Adalyn, was a hero of the Celestial War against Lucifer. All knew and admired her until she uncovered a plot to overthrow the Most High. In an attempted cover up, Adalyn is betrayed and cast out of Heaven. She is sent to the mortal world to face torture and death at the hands of the creatures she most fears: humans. Their worlds become intertwined when, by chance, Giovanni rescues her while out fishing. Injured and blind as the result of her expulsion, Adalyn has little choice but to rely on this primitive creature for protection against the Church, Lucifer, and God's own decree if she is to expose the true traitor and save all of existence.

412 pages, Hardcover

First published December 13, 2014

About the author

James Harrington was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He holds a Bachelor's in History, but also studied religion and how it related to his chosen subject matter. It was from those studies that Divinity was born.
James has written several essays and short stories, but had never gotten a full-length novel published until his big breakthrough with Magnifica, The Last Enchanter. Following its success, two more titles were added to the Magnifica series.
James currently lives in Massachusetts with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Jenny Dimartino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay so yes Nero did not set fire to Rome, however many were led to believe he did, so I'll let it pass.

I personally loved this book. Adalyn did seem a touch disloyal at the beginning, but she also seemed very curious and inquisitive. I did notice a lot of growth in her character as she went along. I very much enjoyed the love story which I believe gave a sense of irony to the story.

[Eric Klingenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s the story of the Junior Angel Adalyn who accuses her mentor Azrael of being a traitor and plotting against god. She isn’t believed and is her self thrown out of heaven for being a traitor. She is then found almost dead by Giovanni a 16th century Venetian fisherman who nurses her back from the brink. Through a series of adventures they discover events on earth are impacting on the battle in heaven. Along with a few friends the pick up on the way set out to save god!

What I didn’t like about the book;

This bit is hard for me to write as I’m don’t want to upset the author but the biggest problem for me was the historical inaccuracies. I am a history geek and these things upset me. The biggest one -Nero did not burn Rome down, this was a story spread by his enemies to discredit him. There is a lot of sources that prove this wasn’t him. I don’t think you will find a single serious historian who believes he did. This is a very minor point in the book and doesn’t really ruin the plot it just upsets me. I’m off to lie in a darken room and calm down.

Rifles; they did not have rifles in the 16th century I believe they were not invented until the 18th or 19th century. (I didn’t look it up but would be easy to do so). The use of the word rifle is just sloppy and ten minutes on google would have fixed it. I’m not 100% sure flintlocks were around either.
Nudity; the characters were very prudish, from what I know about this period it was not the case and nudity was not a big deal and it was a bit overplayed. At times the character were more Victorian than medieval.

One or two of the characters lacked depth; not all, some were very good. Padre Antonelli could have done with a bit of a dark past, the pope hinted at it and one point but was never developed.
The beginning was I’m afraid unbelievable. Adalyn believed too easily that her mentor was guilty, you would have expected her to try and disprove it at first but then given in to the inevitable or she was already doubting his loyalty. I got that she was impetuous but that made her seam shallow and disloyal. As the story developed she showed herself to be anything but disloyal so it didn’t really work for me. I would be worried that some readers might be put off by this bit.

The things I did like;

The plot, trying to save god is very ambitious, once I got over the beginning it was very good I would have liked one or two more twists but on the whole it was good and I enjoyed it.
Some of the characters are very good. I especially liked Giovanni I’m not going to give any spoilers but the way he reacted to events was believable. Adalyn was a well written character, apart from the beginning I like her development. There was a third character that was also very well written and despite not having his POV I felt I understood him. Sorry can’t say his name him as it would give to much a way!

The concept of god was very interesting I can’t say too much because it will ruin the story but I liked the idea.
The action; there was some very well written pieces of action that were a joy to read. Apart from one scene but I’ve moaned enough!
The ending was good, a bit laboured at one point, but ok.
Overall

I liked the book despite its short comings. If you like a good romance with fantasy thrown in then this could be the book for you. Personally I prefer the fantasy to the romance so perhaps that’s why I’m not raving about it. I would give it 3 out of 5.