Celestial (Hannah Mae)

5 stars
An evil warlord has launched an insidious plot that will affect the lives of
millions, but a governmental leader has long had this warlord under
surveillance and has arranged countermeasures. A courier with a
dispatch carries a secret plan.

The messenger, new to the job and bungling, made his first delivery to a
counselor with a keen empathic sense. Upon reading the summons, the
counselor realizes he has to report to the head of his organization. The
second delivery, which the messenger had to rifle through his person. To
find, was to the head guard of a high security prison. After an arrival, in
the dust filled confusion of a foiled prison break, the dispatch caused
trepidation, and with good reason. First, this chief prison guard has to
head a secret mission after a long stent at the current position. The
assistants on this dangerous mission would be the bungling courier, two
of his prison guards that failed in every one of their sparing session, the
counselor and an executioner. And what were they supposed to do?
Capture the evil warlord’s two best henchmen.

This may sound like the plot of a typical high stakes thriller, except that
the evil warlord is Lucifer and the henchmen, powerful demons. The
governmental leader is The Almighty. And the courier and task force are
angels.

Hannah Mae’s main characters are the six angels tasked with stopping
Lucifer’s villainous plot. The angelic team leader is Jediah, the captain of
the prison guard, a compassionate leader to his troops, but an angel that
carries the weight of a lingering sadness. Angelic guards under Jediah’s
command, Laszio and Eran, who work as a team, are small in stature
but have a fighting determination beyond repeated spectacular failure.
Then there is Nechum, a ministry angel, who has a highly developed
emphatic sense, enabling him to home in on the emotional state of both

angelic and demonic beings. There is also Akela, the bungling courier
that sees everything with a child-like wonder and joy. Finally, there is
Alameth, an angel of death, able to single-handedly wield a huge
destructive force.

The angelic characters have distinctive personalities and beings subject
to doubts and questions, just like we humans. The novel presents
biblical angelic and demonic hierarchy through colorful physical
descriptions of physical features and uniform. She gives her angelic and
demonic characters a past that shows a venerability to beings many
think function in emotionless perfection. Like in the acclaimed series The
Chosen, Hannah Mae sticks to biblical truth but takes liberties in
backstory and character interaction to present an engaging story.
Of course, a novel must have obstacles. First, there is a member of the
angelic team that has a secret mandate-will it interfere with the success
of the mission? The enemy is aware of the plan and knows each
member of the team. There is also an enormous distraction from a
human in need of salvation. The imaginative setting, both worldly and
fantastic, peppered with vivid action and bittersweet emotion, makes the
narrative believable.

Salvation occurs, but the method the reader has to imagine. There is
one incident of bathroom humor that might offend. There are scenes of
demonic activity, one creepy and several violent, that would frighten for
younger readers. But the novel’s author uses her skillful storytelling
chops to present a story that shows God’s compassion to the heirs of
salvation, but also to the angelic host.

Speculation about angels and how they manifest has been a subject of
fiction, both cinematic and novel, in both secular and spiritual circles.
The fascination is universal. But speculative fiction driven by scriptural
study and faith is an unusually precious gift. Celestial is this type of
package. Anyone reading this novel is in for an experience filled with
wonder, suspense and a sense of the powerful love of God different in
substance to other angelic portrayals. Readers that enjoy stories of
wonder, suspense, compassion and the abiding love of our heavenly
father for all his creatures may find Celestial to be a tasty treat.

Content Ratings:

Heat: Nil.
Profanity: Nil.
Violence: There are multiple physical battles between the forces of good
and evil and devastation caused by explosive anger.
Age Recommendation: 12 and up because of violence.

Disclaimer: The author provided us with a free copy of this book with a request for an unbiased review.

Where to buy this book: Amazon, WalMart, Kobo, Barnes & Noble