“Angelic Wars” by Rick E. Norris

Angelic Wars: First Rebellion

Rick E. Norris
Luminare Press 2019
ISBN 9781643882185
Reviewed by Mark Sneed for Reader Views (11/2020)

“Angelic Wars” by Rick E. Norris is an enjoyable novel. The idea of a war between angels seems interesting and familiar. As if the title did not give it away, this is a spiritual book, and this is a spoiler free alert, or as close as I can get to one. It is sort of hard to be spoiler-free if you have read the Bible.

The premise of the novel is angels are fighting in heaven and one faction is battling the other for supremacy. Norris retells the battle for heaven in his own fashion. Okay, that might have been a bit of a spoiler. Norris is pretty loyal to the original Bible stories. The twist is the story is told through the angelic eyes of the main character, Azarias.

Azarias, a member of the Septemviri, struggles throughout the novel with being worthy. He is a bit conflicted. Who knew angels could be conflicted or have doubt? Azarias desires to be closer to God. He is dutiful and trying to be a better angel and servant. At the same time, there is a conflict brewing in heaven. There is a division. Once the rift occurs Azarias and his ragtag group of angels, if that is a thing, find themselves fighting temptations, spirits, and betrayal.

“Angelic Wars” is a good story. There are some twists and turns and I like the use of known angels from the Bible sprinkled in among the crafted characters. Of course, the problem with characters from the most read book in the world is the expectations of those characters. I fought to understand how some angels could fly and some found flight troublesome. Norris does not resolve the issue of winged angels versus all the cherubs, cherubim, angels, and archangels.

Descriptions of heaven are alluded to but, obviously, cannot live up to most expectations. It is not just a setting for most, it is a destination. Cannot criticize Norris for trying to describe heaven but it is a tall order that many have failed to succeed in describing. I was genuinely surprised to find that Norris had a QR code attached which included music composed by the author. Reading Angelic Wars is a combination of fiction and biblical research. There is also a dash of Latin sprinkled in the reading. Norris gives the reader all that they can handle.  I really appreciated the author’s research. There are moments when the novel reminds me of Frank Baum’s most popular works. The “Angelic Wars” by Rick E. Norris sets up for the second novel nicely.