Rating: 
Summary: The Vinter's luck will be your bad luck
Review: A friend of mine recommended this book to me, and one night I picked it up around midnight, thinking I'd read the first chapter before I went to bed. I loved the book so much I stayed up until 7 am reading it. I then finished it the day after. It is not perfect prose, but Knox delivers a interesting, powerful, intellectual and unique story about love and human relationships. What seems like style flaws, one relizes at the end, serve to further a point of her novel. Brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: An email buddy of mine from New Zealand recommended this book. I purchased a copy mainly because I'd never read a single thing from anyone in NZ. Plus, he told me that there was a gay relationship that 'sort of' pervades the story. Boy was I surprised at how wonderful this story was! Like others who reviewed this story I, too, found that it took me over 50 pages to really get into it since it's completely character driven and written in a style that took a little while to get used to. Once I got into it tho, it was impossible to put down. I found the love affair between Sobran and Xas to be one of the most moving love stories put into print. The fact that it spanned such a long time was extraordinary. The fact that the author is a woman explains how she was so capable in fleshing out Aurora. She was a wonderfully strong character and I enjoyed everything about her. How the author was able to flesh out Sobran, a male, so well, is the mark of how talented Ms. Knox is. Despite the fact that I'm completely non-religious, the angel/heaven/hell/Christianity stuff was NOT a put off at all. It was somewhat quaint (to me) yet completely interesting. I was utterly unprepared for how well it was worked into the story without being in the least bit preachy. Without it, the story would have totally flopped. Ms. Knox is a master storyteller. There's no doubt about it. She even worked in some wonderful phrasing and some very interesting concepts. I got chills several times throughout the book as I read when a certain collision of words struck me as particularly innovative. I can't say that I was sad at the end, altho I expected to be. I was more like upset that the story had ultimately come to an end. By that time the characters had leapt out from the pages and I was into all of their lives. Again, the sign of a master storyteller. Ms. Knox, a big American thanks for this work!
Rating:
Summary: Simply Amazing
Review: An email buddy of mine from New Zealand recommended this book. I purchased a copy mainly because I'd never read a single thing from anyone in NZ. Plus, he told me that there was a gay relationship that 'sort of' pervades the story. Boy was I surprised at how wonderful this story was! Like others who reviewed this story I, too, found that it took me over 50 pages to really get into it since it's completely character driven and written in a style that took a little while to get used to. Once I got into it tho, it was impossible to put down. I found the love affair between Sobran and Xas to be one of the most moving love stories put into print. The fact that it spanned such a long time was extraordinary. The fact that the author is a woman explains how she was so capable in fleshing out Aurora. She was a wonderfully strong character and I enjoyed everything about her. How the author was able to flesh out Sobran, a male, so well, is the mark of how talented Ms. Knox is. Despite the fact that I'm completely non-religious, the angel/heaven/hell/Christianity stuff was NOT a put off at all. It was somewhat quaint (to me) yet completely interesting. I was utterly unprepared for how well it was worked into the story without being in the least bit preachy. Without it, the story would have totally flopped. Ms. Knox is a master storyteller. There's no doubt about it. She even worked in some wonderful phrasing and some very interesting concepts. I got chills several times throughout the book as I read when a certain collision of words struck me as particularly innovative. I can't say that I was sad at the end, altho I expected to be. I was more like upset that the story had ultimately come to an end. By that time the characters had leapt out from the pages and I was into all of their lives. Again, the sign of a master storyteller. Ms. Knox, a big American thanks for this work!
Rating:
Summary: NOT your usual 'angel story'...
Review: I can't even begin to tell everyone how great this book is. I read it in one long sitting...this is not a light novel, so it took a while. The slow development of the relationship between Sobran (the man) and Xas (the angel) was perfect, the deliberate slowness kept the level of tension and anticipation high throughout the novel. Their relationship was handled beautifully, though at times the slow pace had me pulling my hair out, wondering when the two would finally take that next step. The image of Xas keeping a rose garden in hell fascinated me, and other images in the novel were equally as vivid and wonderful. I only had two minor complaints. First, there wasn't much of a focus on the love between the angel and the man (but that's understandable...who knows how people would react to a detailed affair between a male angel and a man? My strange liking for things of that sort may not be shared by many.). Second, the parts of the novel that dealt with the ordinary life, when Xas was absent, seemed dry in comparison to when Xas WAS there. (But that could also just be me.) All in all, a beautiful novel that would appeal to anyone who likes something that's just a little bit out of the ordinary.
Rating:
Summary: heavenly
Review: I have read this book three times from cover to cover and I never get tired of its beautifully written prose and vivid imagery. Knox creates a heaven and hell and an angel that are wholly real yet beyond anyone's imagination. The characterizations of even the most minor characters are carefully thought out and placed before her readers to draw us into this very different world. But it is the developing relationship of the two main characters I find so riveting and intriguing because it is so original. Xas is both adoringly innocent and inadvertently sexy. The way his emotions and experiences are depicted, the reader is able to feel everything he feels right along with him. I couldn't recommend this book enough, but be warned, though it deals with heaven, angels, and God, it is not for the average Sunday church-goer. The male/male relationship would probably stop many cold even though Xas and Sobran share a love and lifetime that takes them both on an incredible journey of self-discovery. I'm so smitten by this different angel, I find would love to read more of Xas in future books. The ending leaves the door open. Please Ms. Knox?
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful Relationship Driven Fantasy
Review: It takes about a 100 pages for this book to begin to attract the reader and really involve one in the characters. The structure is built around each chapter being one year in the life of Sabran Jodeau. Every year, he meets with Xas, an angel with a past we learn progressively with Sabran. These encounters alter Sabran's life more than once within the story and the lives of those surrounding him. One interesting reversal during an age of post Enlightenment is what would an atheist (not Sobran, but Aurora, an intelligent woman of his acquaintance) react to the knowledge that angels and therefore God actually exist. Although the theology isn't as detailed as I'd hoped, still, the ideas presented in this book are thoughtful. Recommended for fantasy enthusiasts looking for something a bit different. This book would also be of interest to those who pursue literature featuring homosexual themes.
Rating:
Summary: A quasi-engaging read
Review: Knox never fully submerges the reader because of the brief quality of the text. The story is told with an impersonal glaze, very much like a vase of some sort. Very pretty to admire but cold, offering no warmth.
Rating:
Summary: A quasi-engaging read
Review: Knox's dense images and smooth, matter-of-fact narrative of a vintner of Burgundy and his angel is quick to read but slow and sweet in aftertaste. An immensely enjoyable book, perfect for a bleak winter day with some hot tea. Perhaps it is not world-shaking fiction, but it is comforting and gives warmth after all the havoc of more prestigious novels.
Rating:
Summary: A charming book with realistic characters & development.
Review: One summer evening in 19th century France, an angel visits a Burgundian farmer named Sobran. They share a bottle of wine and talk through the night. They promise to meet again each year on the same evening.
Each chapter of the book is named after a different French wine term and there is a chapter for each subsequent year. Some are very short and others relay the detailed events of the year leading up to the angelic liaison. I often couldn't see any relationship between the chapter title and the events depicted. Also this linear approach to a farmer's life moves slowly and I was often tempted to stop reading. However, the characters are warm and engaging and I kept with the book to see how they were doing. A charming book with realistic characters and good development.
I would have liked this book even more if it tied itself more deeply to the history of 19th century France. While the characters form a close-knit communal group, they seem only very peripherally connected to the events of the world around them.
Rating:
Summary: Interview with the Vampire-like Angel...
Review: Sensual Anne Rice-esque story in a beautifully designed book. Might make a novel gift idea to accompany a wonderful bottle of wine for any friend who enjoys a full bodied merlot while cuddling up with a good book. Easy, engaging read.
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