AUTHOR: Elizabeth Corrigan
PUBLISHER: Red Adept Publishing
AVAILABILITY: Amazon US (paperback), Amazon US (Kindle e-book), Amazon UK (paperback), Amazon UK (Kindle e-book), Barnes & Noble (Nook e-book), Kobo (e-book)
APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 270 pages
Recommended
for fans of urban fantasy and stories about angels and demons, such as the TV
show Supernatural.
GENRE
Fantasy—Urban/Contemporary
Oracle
of Philadelphia
is the first in a series.
PACE
Corrigan sets up the conflict in
the very first chapter of the novel. Much of the story consists of fascinating
flashbacks and dialogue, and Corrigan’s intriguing characters coupled with a
free-flowing writing style keeps the pace up throughout the book. I read the
whole thing in a day.
PERSPECTIVE
First person past from the point
of view of Carrie, an 8,000-year-old Oracle living in modern day Philadelphia.
Carrie spends much of the book telling stories about how she met various angels
and demons over the course of her long life.
CONTENT
REVIEW
Carrie, who has also been known
over the years as Khet, Cassia, Cama, and several other names, is an
8,000-year-old oracle living in modern day Philadlphia. Born in ancient
Mesopotamia with the gift to see into the minds of others, including angels and
demons, she does her best to keep a low profile. Then one day, a young man
named Sebastian, who sold his soul to the archdemon Azrael to save his sister’s
life, finds Carrie and asks for help.
Carrie, world-weary after
millennia of hearing cases like his, initially gives her standard helpless
response. It’s not that she doesn’t want to help; she literally can’t. In the
past, she’s tried petitioning angels, demons, and God Himself, but came up
empty each time. However, there’s something different about Sebastian. Carrie
has the ability to sense another’s aura—their goodness, wickedness, etc.—and
Sebastian’s is so bright with goodness that she almost mistakes him for an
angel. She’s eventually unable to ignore him any longer and does something
she’s never done before: journey to hell in hopes of making her own deal with
Azrael.
Oracle
of Philadelphia
tells the story of Carrie’s life in a series of flashbacks, which are triggered
by the entrance of various characters. Over the millennia, she has tangled with
many of the twenty or so major angels, several of whom were cast out of Heaven
when Lucifer fell and became demons. The most memorable of these supernatural
beings is Bedlam, the demon of chaos, who walks the line between good and evil.
He’s technically a demon because he, too, was locked out of Heaven, but aside
from a tendency to make mischief, he’s actually a decent guy. Energetic,
immature, and smart-mouthed, Bedlam is easily the fan favorite, adding a splash
of color to the otherwise composed hierarchy of angels.
In Oracle of Philadelphia, Corrigan treats Biblical stories as
mythology and re-imagines several to involve her characters. For instance, she
tells the story of the Ten Commandments with Bedlam as the doubter who told the
people to worship a golden idol (he thought it was a joke and was very sorry
when Moses didn’t find it so funny). These re-imaginings are vividly original
and captivating to read.
Much of Oracle of Philadelphia consists of dialogue, and both Carrie’s
narration and the other characters’ words spring to life. It’s easy to hear
their voices as though you’re in the room with them, listening in on their
conversations. At the same time, Corrigan has a real knack for description.
Whether it’s a tavern in ancient Rome, a museum in modern day Philadelphia, or
Hell itself, all the locations are presented vibrantly on the page with just
enough detail to let you know where you are.
Carrie is an easily likable main
character. Although immortal and capable of reading minds, she is still human
at heart. Imbued with quiet strength, her determination and inherent kindness
are nothing short of admirable. In many ways, she’s the opposite of Bedlam,
who’s been her best friend since she met him in ancient Egypt. Bedlam’s flashy
personality is in stark contrast to her low-key existence, and he brings
excitement to her life. She finds comfort in his chaotic aura, the hyperactive
thoughts perpetually buzzing through his head.
In addition to Bedlam, Oracle of Philadelphia boasts a
memorable assortment of characters. Carrie ends up meeting a number of angels
and all of the archdemons, each of whom is depicted with his or her own unique,
somewhat theatrical personality. There’s Gabriel, the beautiful angel of joy
who spends his time as a do-gooder on Earth. And Michael, the stern and
unforgiving general who considers himself guardian of Heaven. And Lilith, the
Amazonian archdemon. And those are just the ones I can list off the top of my
head.
Entertaining and brilliantly
imagined, Oracle of Philadelphia is a
must-read for fans of contemporary fantasy, especially those who love tales of
angels and demons. Corrigan clearly knows every aspect of her world—angel
hierarchies, the mechanics of Hell, supernatural politics—and Oracle of Philadelphia offers a
tantalizing glimpse of what lies beyond this earth.
THE
NITPICKY STUFF
This book is impeccably edited.
This book contains some
violence.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
[from the author's Amazon page]
Elizabeth Corrigan has degrees in English and psychology and has spent several years working as a data analyst in various branches of the healthcare industry. When she's not hard at work on her next novel, Elizabeth enjoys singing, reading teen vampire novels, and making Sims of her characters. She drinks more Diet Coke than is probably optimal for the human body and is pathologically afraid of bees. She lives in Maryland with two cats and a purple Smart Car.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
[from the author's Amazon page]
Disclosure: Red Adept Publishing is also the publisher of my own novel, Artificial Absolutes. I bought and read this book on my own, and the above reflects only my honest opinion.
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