samvara

Angel Light by Andrew M. Greeley, I wanted to like it, I really did. It was a light romantic mystery about a young man who is aided in his path to happiness (read shamelessly bullied) by an angel. It is supposed to be a retelling of the biblical story of Tobias and Sara. Tobin has an bit of a problem, in order to inherit $10 million he has to court and marry his Irish cousin and settle an ancient family feud. He has a few advantages; he is a gifted computer programmer and has a charming supportive younger sister and an angel on his side. This would have been fabulous light entertainment if I could have got past how painfully self conscious Greeley is when it comes to writing about sexuality. cricketksays his Blackie Ryan books are better - probably due to priests being expected to find the issue of sexuality confronting.

Angel Fire in the same series has an older male protagonist who is a lot more comfortable with thinking *gasp* norty thoughts. A charming scientist working on the evolution of fruitflies is adopted by an angel when his work turns out to have dark and sinister implications concerning the evolution of the human race. On the way, while being a delightful imp of a man, he is nudged into embracing a little more of his own potential. I love the portrayal of angels, the lighthearted banter, the sweetness. Awwwwww.

Hollow Man by Dan Simmons. Jeremy Bremen is a mathematician and telepath, his wife - whose combined mind-shield helped keep them both sane - has died and his ground-breaking work in modeling the working of human consciousness is has been abruptly abandoned. Unable to cope with the overpowering 'neurobabble' and his own despair he forsakes his previous life and flees through a series of bizarre and sometimes brutal life experiences. This is kinda cool, there's a healthy dose of chaos theory, quantum physics and neuroscience blended into what could, with a tiny shift in direction, be a horror novel. Simmons has a bit of a leaning toward exploring the darker side.