The Revelation of Gabriel Adam

June 15, 2014
The End of Days is nigh, and Gabe appears to be the new incarnation of the Archangel Gabriel.In this ominous story springing from the book of Revelation, 17-year-old Gabe's migraines become apocalyptic visions. A seminary student is gruesomely murdered at the church in which Gabe resides, beginning his journey across the planet in search of the Ark of the Covenant. He is all the while pursued by the perpetually bleeding demon that has breached the veil that separates the dimensions of Earth, Heaven and Hell. Gabe joins forces with one of the other four archangels, Michael, here embodied by a young woman, Micah. A slight romance ignites between the two, but with doomsday looming, it merely flickers. When the journey reaches its climax, it's clear that the angels are still fledglings with much to learn about their potential powers, but with the help of ancient relics, they are able to put up a worthy fight in a catastrophic battle with evil. The tale's young-adults-saving-the-world plot is formulaic, but the Christian lore, shifting realities and demonic gore are entertaining. There's clearly more to come, and it will be interesting to see how these angels get their wings.This apocalyptic adventure delves deep into biblical lore without being dogmatically religious, delivering a fairly satisfying battle between good and evil. (Fantasy. 10-17)

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August 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 One moment Gabe is an ordinary young man hoping to get into NYU. The next, he learns (the hard waythrough excruciating visions) that he is actually the human manifestation of the archangel Gabriel, sent to earth to stop Armageddon. All right, then. To author Duncan's credit, he makes much of the book about Gabe's struggle to believe what he is hearing (from a coterie of wise ones) and seeing, as death drips all around him. His adoptive father, an Anglican priest, has been preparing for this day, but as evil creepsand sometimes racescloser and closer, it is not at all apparent who is going to come out on top in this fight. Duncan's novel feels modeled after works by adult thriller authors such as Steve Berry, using short chapters and various locales (New York, England, Ethiopia), and he also alternates the narrative between two voices: Gabe and his evil enemy, Septimas. There's also plenty of quasireligious history that mixes all manner of things, such as the Essenes with the sword Excalibur. Naturally, this well-paced page-turner is the first book in a trilogy, so look for more of the heavenly host.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)