Dancing on the Head of a Pin
Thomas E. Sniegoski
Roc, Apr 2009, $14.00
ISBN: 0451462513

It was Paradise until the Morningstar let pride and jealousy turned him away from the Creator. He and his allies went to war against those loyal to the Lord. Angel fought angel until Heaven was filled with the dead. Although Archangel Remiel of the host of the Seraphim fought on the winning side against Lucifer and his rebels, he witnessed the atrocities that his squad of angels committed in the name of the Father. He left Heaven in disgust and came to earth where he hid his angelic side to live amidst humans and even loved a human. It has been a few months since his beloved wife died and the grieving Remy Chandler, as he calls himself, finally returns to the life of a twenty-first century Boston private investigator.

Alfred Karnighan hires Remy to find some ancient weapons; artifacts stolen from his collection, which is secured by a thick steal door in his basement. The Fallen want the weapons as does the Nomads, angels allegedly inspired by Remy who left Paradise after he did. They are neutrals who come and go between heaven, hell and earth have a grand plan to use these weapons. To prevent a second tragic war, Remy casts off his human cloak returning to the warrior archangel Remiel goes along with a Fallen and a Repentant angel hoping to go home one day if forgiven, into hell.

The allegorical title referring to medieval philosophy aside, DANCING ON THE HEAD OF A PIN is a powerful urban fantasy starring a hero who knows heaven's occupants were changed by the war; so he wants no part of the new heaven (see A KISS BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE). Still when it matters, Remiel's gut loyalty to the Creator leads him to defend heaven as he loathes the Fallen especially Lucifer whom he holds culpable for Paradise Lost. Readers will feel for Remy and pray he finds redemption and happiness amidst the humans he admires.

Harriet Klausner