Tristis Angelus by J.M. Unrue

Following the epic journey of a world-shaping immortal cursed to inhabit the body of a mere mortal, Tristis Angelus by J.M. Unrue unfolds with a hefty bolt of timely wisdom.

Spanning more than 1.5 million years of sporadic rebirths, Tristis Angelus – the Job-like protagonist and fallen angel – slowly evolves into heightened awareness during his long stretches of “death,” awakening with an increasingly clear view not only of humanity’s progress, but of his own divine banishment. At times an anthropological imagining of life as an early human, and at others an existential drama set in more familiar places and eras, this novel is a layered and impressive work of philosophical fiction.

Artfully experimenting with ideas of immortality, morality, destiny, and the benefit of taking a long view of history, Unrue presents a unique portrait of human existence through his character’s cyclical bursts of life. From surviving in a prehistoric wasteland of Uprights and beasts to hunting flightless birds on the savannah and hoarding wealth and influence in the ancient world, this sprawling storyline is an adventure in itself, but the thematic explorations of greed, violence, desire, and power give the novel razor-sharp relevance.

As the author says himself, “History can be a fickle enterprise,” and that is particularly true from the perspective of this wholly original character, cursed to expose humanity’s perennial follies, which is both gripping and enlightening.

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