Stealing Sacred Fire

I would like to review the Fallen Angels trilogy (STP,SHB,SSF) here. I finished the trilogy in 3 days because the series is addictive despite some of its shortcomings. Stalking Tender Prey (first book) is brilliant once you overcome the rather slow pace in the beginning. STP has all a perfect gothic dark fantasy should have and it is not for those with high moral standards. Its hero (PO) is a disturbing yet alluring amoral character whom you either dislike or care for. I find myself doing the later and the transformation of PO from a demonic character in the first book to almost a god of love in the 3rd book is mesmerizing. The second book delves into the usual good versus evil fantasy realm and hence to me the weakest of the trilogy but still an engrossing read. The concept of the 3rd book, transformation of a divine king in flesh to the ultimate Messiah of mankind, would be a challenge for any writer. But Storm delivers because she is gifted and writes from her heart. Her alternate view of Christianity and salvation is fascinating and almost believable. But like all Storm's books her ending tend to be rushed with all her fascinating views cramped into a few pages. I love the Wraeththu trilogy and of course tend to compare any of Storm's books to it. The Fallen Angel series is not as great but this dark fantasy is still too good to be missed.

This book, being the final book in a trilogy about a character who becomes a messiah figure, would have been impossible to write well by most writers published today. This, as well as the fact that the writer is coming from a Pagan background, makes it doubly hard. You need to read the first two books in the trilogy to understand what she has done in this novel. Stealing Sacred Fire is the most esoterical of the three, but also the most complex in regards to what it has to say about all religions. I highly recommend it and feel that this was how the journey had to end.