THE TEAM
by Chris Morris
Debut author Morris’ SF/fantasy novel follows an apprentice angel on a mission from God.
When Mara Angelica is called into God’s office, she is nervous. Mara is training to be an angel, and to complete a requirement called the Angelic Cycle, she must hunt and destroy a demon. Not just any demon, either: Mara is tasked with eliminating a particularly powerful foe named Arual. To complete the mission, she needs a team: Enter Qwag, a sassy warrior dwarf known for his blunt manners and fondness for chain mail. He accompanies Mara to Tijuana, Mexico, where they connect with Stacey, a shape-shifter who can take either a human form or that of a 60-pound bobcat. Mara insists that they also collect her old friend Tessa Delray, a seer and “concocter of powerful medicines.” Tessa has a gun-toting nephew named James who comes onboard along with Tessa’s cat, Larry. Finally, they are joined by Twilt Gensuri, who has long, thick green hair and hails from the small planet of Gnez. Braced for mayhem, the ragtag group races through the desert in a recently purchased Mercedes van; demons are out in the world, and they tend to be keen for a fight: “Qwag was up out of his tent and coming fast, blood dripping from a ragged wound low on his neck….The grisly chimera, all deep-set black eyes and wobbly mouth, was getting its short, stubby leg under it. It lifted one huge claw high into the air and lumbered forwards.” Throughout it all, Mara must always remember what she was taught: “to properly hunt a demon, one always looked for the advantage, no matter how slight.”
This multifaceted tale forces the reader to expect the unexpected, as the narrative consistently adds more twists. Despite the large ensemble cast and busy plot, the story proves easy to follow—regardless of the realm the characters traverse, there are demons about to provide violent conflict and be destroyed. The diverse team assembled for Mara allows for some welcome nuance, as not everyone involved is even attuned to the same God Mara serves; dwarves like Qwag, for instance, have their own deities (“[Mara] worked for Heaven, and she would serve her God well. But not everyone wanted to serve Him. That didn't make them evil”). A certain excessive chattiness does, however, dim the excitement over the course of the story. Characters tend to talk a lot, whether making bland proclamations (“Sometimes I feel like I am pressuring you just by being here”) or asking something inane (“Any suggestions?”). Such quotidian wordiness detracts from the overall wild, inhuman natures of the main players. Other scenes are slowed by dull details, such as how cooked bacon is divvied up among the group, or excitement over the prospect of hot baths, which sends one character “dancing around in a circle.” Still, the storytelling is undeniably creative. This lively mixture of science fiction, fantasy, and romance (angels, it turns out, are not above erotic pleasure) keeps the reader guessing without losing them in the shuffle.A genre-blending adventure that, despite some lulls, pulls the reader through the pages.