Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Review: The Second Death by T. Frohock


The Second Death
Author:  T. Frohock
Series:  Los Nefilim: Part Three
Publisher:  Harper Voyager Impulse, March 29, 2016
Format:  eBook, 128 pages
List Price:  $0.99
ISBN:  9780062428943

Save the world, or save his family…

For Diago Alvarez, that’s the choice before him. For unless he wants to see his son Rafael die, he must do the unthinkable:

Help the Nazis receive the plans to the ultimate weapon.

And while Diago grows more comfortable not only with his heritage, but also with his place among Guillermo’s Los Nefilim, he is still unsure if he truly belongs amongst them.

In a frantic race to save the future of humanity, Diago is forced to rely on his daimonic nature to deceive an angel. In doing so, he discovers the birth of a modern god—one that will bring about a new world order from which no one can escape.

The Second Death is the final chapter in T. Frohock’s haunting and lyrical Los Nefilim trilogy, which bestselling author Mark Lawrence has called “a joy to read.”



Qwill's Thoughts

The Second Death is the third and final novella in the Los Nefilim by T. Frohock. In The Second Death both Diago and Rafael are kidnapped, with Rafael being used to ensure Diago's compliance. Diago must figure out how to save the world and his son. He has had such a hard time throughout the prior two novellas that you really feel for him. Pledging himself to Los Nefilim does not seem to have helped him.

I love Los Nefilim. The background setting to the story is beautifully done. This setting -1930s Spain - is well researched. What is at stake is made clear - both for Diago, Los Nefilim and humanity.

Standing out even more than the terrific plot and place are the characters. Frohock imbues her characters with a deep humanity though they are not even human. They have lived more than one life and they have learned... hopefully.  Like humans some Nefilim are good and some are not quite as good. The angels plot and the Nefilim take sides.

I adore the relationship between Diago, Miquel and Diago's son, Rafael. Diago is half angel and half daimon. He struggles with this conflict in his nature and the way others perceive him. Miquel is loving and understanding. He is a wonderful partner for Diago. Rafael is a delight. The characters surrounding them are well drawn giving even more heft to the story.

It is fascinating to watch Diago, the Nefilim and the angels perform their magic. Frohock has created an arresting and interesting magic system and mythology in the Los Nefilim novellas. There are extant stories and myths of the Nephilim but Frohock makes them her own.

The Second Death is a wonderful concluding novella to Los Nefilim with a fabulous climax that brings together the overarching plot of the 3 novellas. While the main story arc is concluded, Frohock leaves a couple of threads that could be explored in future stories which I hope we get to read. If you are a fan of beautifully written historical fantasy that is dark and intricate you should not miss In Midnight's Silence, Without Light or Guide and The Second Death.





Previously

In Midnight’s Silence
Los Nefilim: Part One
Harper Voyager Impulse, June 23, 2015
eBook, 128 pages

The fate of mankind has nothing to do with mankind…

Born of an angel and a daimon, Diago Alvarez is a singular being in a country torn by a looming civil war and the spiritual struggle between the forces of angels and daimons. With allegiance to no one but his partner Miquel, he is content to simply live in Barcelona, caring only for the man he loves and the music he makes. Yet, neither side is satisfied to let him lead this domesticated life and, knowing they can't get to him directly, they do the one thing he's always feared.

They go after Miquel.

Now, in order to save his lover's life, he is forced by an angel to perform a gruesome task: feed a child to the daimon Moloch in exchange for a coin that will limit the extent of the world's next war. The mission is fraught with danger, the time he has to accomplish it is limited…and the child he is to sacrifice is the son Diago never knew existed.

A lyrical tale in a world of music and magic, T. Frohock's In Midnight's Silence shows the lengths a man will go to save the people he loves, and the sides he'll choose when the sidelines are no longer an option.




Without Light or Guide
Los Nefilim: Part Two
Harper Voyager Impulse, November 3, 2015
eBook, 128 pages

The fate of mankind has nothing to do with mankind…

Always holding themselves aloft from the affairs of mortals, Los Nefilim have thrived for eons. But with the Spanish Civil War looming, their fragile independence is shaken by the machinations of angels and daimons…and a half-breed caught in-between.

For although Diago Alvarez has pledged his loyalty to Los Nefilim, there are many who don't trust his daimonic blood. And with the re-emergence of his father—a Nefil who sold his soul to a daimon—the fear is Diago will soon follow the same path.

Yet even as Diago tries to prove his allegiance, events conspire that only fuel the other Nefilim's suspicions—including the fact that every mortal Diago has known in Barcelona is being brutally murdered.

The second novella in T. Frohock's Los Nefilim series, Without Light or Guide continues Diago's journey through a world he was born into, yet doesn't quite understand.






Upcoming

Los Nefilim
Harper Voyager Impulse, April 26, 2016
ebook, 400 pages

[description not yet available]



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