Angelos

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Angelos

Robina Williams

Chapter One

“Bye, Leo, bye, old fellow!” Father Fidelis surprised himself by pausing on the porch to stroke the small ginger cat that was sitting on one of the benches. Father Peter, who was holding the front door open with one hand and gripping Fidelis's suitcase with the other, grimaced and held his breath as he waited for the creature to claw the outstretched arm, for there had been bad blood between Fidelis and the cat for as long as he could remember. Fidelis was not a cat lover and didn't bother to hide the fact. To his amazement, however, Peter heard the cat give a friendly maiow and saw him push his head encouragingly into the priest's palm. Fidelis himself seemed taken aback by this feline display of affection. A little nervously he ran his hand over the silken fur. Both he and the cat seemed to enjoy the sensation, and he did it again. The cat purred and rippled his back as the hand passed gently along it. Fidelis smiled at Peter. It was the first time Peter had seen him smile in weeks.

“Well, how's about that then!” Fidelis said. “We're buddies now. Unless” he added “he knows I'm leaving and he's thinking it'll be nice to see the back of me.” He patted the cat's head. The cat nuzzled him, a little ostentatiously it seemed to Peter.

“Well, bye, puss, time to be off. Being seeing you.” Fidelis went through the open door and headed towards the parish car, where Father Valentine sat waiting to drive him down to the station.

Before following his Guardian out Peter glanced suspiciously at the cat. Green eyes regarded him innocently, then the animal bent down momentarily to lick a paw. When the furry head lifted again the eyes that looked back at Peter had changed from green to gold. A deep, rich gold that burned into him. Peter looked away. He had seen these golden eyes before.

They had frightened him then and they frightened him now. These weren't the eyes of a domestic pet. They belonged to a creature from other realms, a creature with powers beyond his imagining. This cat could skip from the land of the living to the land of the dead and then back again without batting an eye. Peter knew this. He had seen the cat dematerialise himself, in the friary cemetery, in very theatrical circumstances, then reappear moments later, in this very same porch. This cat could dance through dimensions with ease.

Which was considerably more than his late brother-in-faith, Jerome, could do. The late Brother Jerome, Peter had come to realise, wasn't exactly resting in peace. Well, he seemed to be peaceful enough, in his own way, but he didn't seem to be doing much resting. Death had given him itchy feet. Jerome, who had been a real stay-at-home type during his life, was now, in death, out and about all over the place. The only problem was that he didn't seem to have quite mastered the knack of after-death travel.

He appeared to be on something of a learning curve. Only natural, Peter thought: he's not been at it long - not been long dead. No, he corrected himself, it wasn't natural. All this flitting about wasn't natural at all. It was very unnatural. When a chap was meant to be lying quietly in his coffin, it was no joke having him pop suddenly out of the aether and give you the fright of your life. It was a grave matter, when the dead wouldn't stay dead, or at least wouldn't stay put. As for the cat, well, the cat... who knew whether he was dead or alive? Life and death seemed to be all one to him, for he was with the living and he was with the dead. At much the same time.

Peter forced himself to look at the cat again, and found himself looking into green eyes once more. The golden fire that had blazed a moment earlier had gone out. There was nothing unusual about the eyes that regarded him now. They were just...cat's eyes. Nothing unusual about them now. Nothing out of the ordinary. And yet Peter knew that the friary cat was far from ordinary. The cat was a very extraordinary creature indeed. Peter gulped, turned and went quickly out of the porch and towards the waiting car. He found the cat in his household pet incarnation profoundly disturbing, for he knew that the familiar exterior masked something strange, alien.

Peter was trembling as he carried Fidelis's suitcase over to the car. Valentine evidently noticed his unsteadiness, for he quickly got out of the car and came over to take the case from him. “Here, give it to me” he said, grasping the suitcase. He took it, seemed surprised not to find it heavier, and stowed it away in the boot of the car. As he banged the boot lid shut a thought seemed to occur to him, for he looked into Peter's eyes and said, “You've seen something, haven't you?”

Peter said nothing.

“What have you seen?” asked Valentine.

Peter nodded towards the front of the car, where Fidelis sat waiting in the passenger seat, and frowned.

“Oh, right” Valentine said quietly. “Well, you'll tell me later?”

Still Peter said nothing, but evidently Valentine took his continued silence for a positive answer, for he said, “Okay, see you when I get back”. He went back to the driver's door and got into the car. “That it?” he asked Fidelis. “Sure you've got everything? Anything else you want to take with you?”

“Nothing, thanks” Fidelis assured him. “I'm travelling light.” He smiled. It was a happy smile. It struck Valentine that Fidelis was not only light on luggage but was surprisingly light in heart in the circumstances. He was off on a tough new posting, with practically no notice, yet he gave every appearance of relishing the prospect. Indeed he looked like a man who couldn't wait to get started. Valentine watched his passenger give a final wave to Peter and the other friars who had come out to wish him well on his journey.

“Well,” he thought admiringly “you've got to hand it to him. A word from the Provincial, and he's packing his bag, ready to be off. There's obedience for you! An example to us all.” As he pulled away down the drive he glanced in his mirror and saw that the cat had now joined the assembled friars to watch the departing car.

As the friars turned to go back into their home Peter noticed that the cat was now standing beside him. He bent down to stroke him. Though deeply uneasy in the cat's presence he was anxious to show him that he wanted to be friends. Only sensible, he reasoned, to be on the best possible terms with such a creature.

As if reading his mind, and being ready for a petting, the cat purred and led the way back to the porch. He jumped once more onto one of the benches that lined the porch and maiowed encouragingly. Peter took the hint and sat down beside him. As he stroked the smooth fur he remembered the cat's unexpected and very obvious show of affection towards Fidelis a few minutes earlier. It had been unexpected because everyone knew there'd been no love lost between the two. And it had been so obvious as to be unmissable; the cat had really made up to Fidelis, in a most overt manner.

Maybe, as Fidelis had jokingly surmised, the creature had known he was leaving and was expressing his pleasure at seeing the back of him. Could be, Peter thought. Yet somehow he didn't think so. The cat's display of good will had seemed to be genuine. It was as if, guessing that Fidelis was leaving, the creature wanted to let him know that he, for his part, had put their differences behind him, had buried the hatchet and was now ready to talk peace. Unable to talk, he'd cosied up to his old enemy instead. Time to let bygones be bygones had been his unmistakeable message. So unmistakeable as to be...what was the word that had sprung into his mind earlier? Ostentatious. Yes, that was it. The cat's display of affection had been ostentatious. Theatrical.

Theatrical. Hmm. Peter remembered that that word had occurred to him after the scene in the cemetery. The drama of the appearance of the late Father Egbert and the late Brother Jerome had been completely overshadowed by the vanishing act performed by the cat. Two ghosts had appeared. Two ghosts and a cat -- this very same cat that now murmured contentedly beside him on the bench -- had disappeared.

As he stroked the creature's furry back Peter went back to the episode in the graveyard. He saw again Egbert standing on his grave and Jerome hovering uncertainly above it, to Egbert's evident annoyance. Their appearance had shocked him, but he had been more shocked when the cat, who had been standing beside him watching the spectacle, had stepped daintily onto the grave and had disappeared with them. He and they had simply vanished into thin air.

Yet a few minutes later, on returning to the friary, he'd found the cat sitting on the bench in the porch washing his paws as if nothing unusual had happened. Peter recalled how he had all but collapsed onto the bench, beside the cat, and had nervously run his hand along the animal's back, half-expecting his hand to pass through the fur. But he had found himself stroking the fur of a flesh-and-blood cat. There had been nothing insubstantial about the creature, despite his having vanished a few minutes earlier.

Now, as then, Peter ran his fingers along the ridges of the cat's backbone, then slid his hand round to the silky chest and felt the steady, regular heartbeat. He patted the cat's head, then resumed stroking the smooth back. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself, trying to slow his own frantic heartbeat. Then he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Again he revisited the scene in the graveyard. He watched Egbert, seemingly exasperated with the posthumous wanderings of his brother-in-spirit, turn to the cat and wave a hand despairingly in Jerome's direction. He heard him say to the cat “Do something about him. Please!” He watched the animal step daintily over the coping stone and onto the grave, as if answering the plea, and join the two apparitions. Then the cat had looked archly, teasingly, across at him, as if to say “Watch this!” -- knowing he was about to dazzle him with a display of his powers, had stretched out a paw for all the world as if he had been holding out a magic wand, and had simply disappeared, along with the two ghosts. He'd vanished. Just like that. And his vanishing had been far more frightening than the vanishing of the two ghosts, for ghosts are known for disappearing -- it's expected of them, part of their job -- but flesh-and-blood cats aren't known for disappearing. Yet this cat had disappeared. One moment he was there, the next there he was, gone.

Peter's hand was trembling now as he stroked the cat. What kind of creature was it that sat beside him? He seemed solid enough, he had bones and flesh and fur and a heartbeat. And yet he could magic himself away into nothingness -- to reappear moments later as if nothing had happened. Magic. Peter repeated the word, and the more he thought about it the more appropriate it seemed to be. The cat had performed a magic trick when he'd disappeared in the company of two ghosts. He'd stepped onto the grave as if onto a stage, he'd looked across at his audience with an archness that had been quite actorly, he'd stretched out a paw like a conjuror with a wand, and he'd performed a piece of prestidigitation that had left his audience gasping with disbelief. He'd put on a show, starring himself and with a supporting company of ghosts. It had been a pure piece of theatre, lacking only a drumroll and a fanfare.

The scene with Fidelis a few minutes earlier had been another piece of theatre. The cat had wanted to let Fidelis know that he'd put the past behind him and that, as far he as was concerned, they parted on good terms and as friends, so he'd put on a very public, quite flamboyant, display of affection. It had been a stagey little performance.

But why should the cat be interested in Fidelis' departure? Why should it matter to him? Yet clearly it did matter and the cat had been determined to show that past enmities were over and done with and that Fidelis left with his good will. He'd all but shaken hands with him and wished him all the best. Peter wondered how the creature had seemed to know that Fidelis was leaving and wasn't just going off on holiday. He'd definitely been saying goodbye to him, and not au revoir and see you in a couple of weeks. It had been a puzzling little episode. Quite baffling. The cat's attitude baffled him. So did Fidelis's.

Peter couldn't understand his Guardian's eager acceptance of his new posting, and his anxiety to be away. Fidelis had seemed to want to be in his new parish as soon as possible. This had surprised them all, for he'd become a frequent visitor to the home of the new parishioner on the hillside -- nothing new in that, for he'd always been a ladies' man. Yet when asked by the Provincial to take on the care of a parish miles away, whose priest had gone awol in particularly scandalous circumstances, he'd agreed instantly and had gone upstairs to pack. His readiness to leave had impressed the friars. They'd all have gone if asked, of course, but they wouldn't have wanted to, for who'd choose to exchange a pleasant rural parish for the hardships of an inner city one, especially one in a state of turmoil, the circs being what they were?

Fidelis, however, had seemed anxious to leave for his new home. He gave every appearance of positively looking forward to his new posting. All very curious, Peter thought. Fidelis had had quite a cushy number and he'd never been one for hardship. Yet here he was, falling in instantly with proposals to take himself off to a really tough new post, in the heart of a deprived area and with a seething congregation to soothe and unite. It wasn't a challenge Peter, or any of the others, would have wanted to face, yet Fidelis had been raring to go, as if he couldn't wait to leave and get on with it. There's no telling with folk, Peter thought.

Peter felt the cat move beneath his hand, and he glanced down to find the creature craning his head to look up at him. He had the strangest impression that the cat was smiling at him and that the creature wanted him to see that he was smiling. Peter stared at the furry face and saw the green eyes sparkle. They seemed to be alight with mischief. The cat gave every appearance of enjoying a quiet, private joke -- and of, moreover, wanting Peter to know that he found something funny and that he knew Peter wasn't in on the secret. It wasn't a malicious smile on the cat's face. It was a knowing kind of smile. Peter wondered what was so funny. Not only was there no telling with people, he thought: there was no telling with cats. Certainly not this cat. He carried on stroking the soft coat for a few more moments, then said “Well, be seeing you, puss,” got up and went into the house.

When Valentine returned from the station he looked for Peter but could not find him. He discovered that he had gone over to a nearby convent to take a service that Fidelis had been down to take -- Fidelis had left so suddenly that an emergency rota had to be organised. He did not see him again until tea-time and did not have the chance for a private word with him then. At tea-time he glanced across the table at Peter, but Peter seemed fully to have recovered his poise, and sat laughing and joking with those around him, with no hint that anything had troubled him earlier.

The friars were looking forward to the arrival of their new Guardian next day, for they all remembered Father Aidan from previous postings and knew him to be an even-tempered, good-natured sort, who understood the value of harmony in a community such as theirs, where people had to get on together or they all suffered. While not as charismatic as Fidelis undoubtedly was, Aidan was easy to get on with. He had been a Guardian before, and a popular one, for he allowed those in his charge space of their own. He gave them room, and it was appreciated. They chatted eagerly about his arrival.

The red car drew up outside the front door of the friary mid-morning. Father Aidan got out and went to get his suitcase out of the boot. Father Oliver, passing along the corridor, noticed the car and hurried out. He insisted on taking the suitcase out of Aidan's hand. He beamed at his new Guardian. “Good to see you again, Aidan” he said, his round, rosy face showing the pleasure he felt. He waited for his Guardian to lock the car, then ushered him through the open door. “I'll show you up to your room” he said. “Had a good trip?” he enquired as they made their way along the corridor to the staircase.

“Not bad at all” Aidan said. “Fidelis get off all right yesterday?”

Oliver nodded. “Got the train about three o'clock. He left his car here, of course. You might want to use it yourself. It's a new one. It's very nice.” he added admiringly. “I've driven it myself a few times.”

“I shan't be needing it” Aidan said sharply. “The one I've got will do fine. It's old, but there's nothing wrong with it.”

“Oh, er, right” Oliver said, clearly taken aback. He didn't know what else to say. It sounded as if Aidan didn't approve of new cars.

When Aidan reached his room he didn't seem to approve of that, either. When Oliver, with a beam, flung open the door to the en-suite shower room, he didn't meet with the expression of approval he had been expecting at the sight of the enhanced facilities. Aidan frowned and said “How long has this been here?”

“Erm, about a year” Oliver said, adding, hesitantly, “We've, er, all got them.”

“Have you now?” Aidan's tone was distinctly frosty. “That must've cost a pretty penny.

“A local chap did them” Oliver said miserably. “I don't think he charged a lot.”

“Well, I think I'll be having a look at the accounts” Aidan said, in voice that was icy now.

“Er, right.” Oliver shuffled his feet. After a short silence he asked “Anything I can get you? Cup of tea? Coffee?”

“Nothing, thanks. I'll get unpacked, then I'll be down to see you all.” Aidan glanced at his watch. “You still have prayers at noon, I take it?”

“Oh, yes” Oliver assured him.

“Right. You all attend, of course?”

“Oh, yes” Oliver said again. He moved towards the door. “Well, if there's nothing you need for the moment, I'll, er, get back downstairs.”

“See you later” Aidan said. “Thanks for fetching my suitcase up.”

Oliver was all but groaning as he went downstairs. This wasn't the Aidan they'd been expecting. This Aidan seemed to have had a personality change. What had happened to him? Oliver's usually cheerful face was gloomy as he walked down the corridor. He quickened his pace as he made for the lounge. Better see who was around. Get the chaps rounded up, ready for prayers. He just hoped everyone was in. He'd a nasty feeling one or two of the friars might have gone out shopping, probably without signing themselves out. Oh dear, it didn't look as if life was going to be quite as jolly as they'd been expecting. It looked as if harsher times lay ahead.

A delicious smell of food cooking drifted towards him from the direction of the kitchen and Oliver remembered that Ignatius was cooking a special lunch to welcome the newcomer. Oh dear, he thought again. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to greet their new Guardian with a slap-up meal. Oliver groaned out loud now. Good food was one of the pleasures of life, and Ignatius was a divine cook. He hoped Aidan wasn't against eating. He seemed to be against just about everything else. The omens weren't good. As Oliver turned towards the lounge, he stopped to stroke the friary cat, who was sitting sunning himself on a window-sill. The cat watched him go through the door, then jumped nimbly down and followed him.

Author Bio

Robina lives in the U.K. She has an M.A. in Modern Languages from Oxford University, and an M.Phil. pure research degree in English Literature from Liverpool University. She has been a schoolteacher, a college lecturer, a secretary, and a features writer for magazines and newspapers.

She thought that Schrödinger's Cat--a cat that is both alive and dead at the same time--would be a useful character for fantasy novels. Jerome and the Seraph, the first book in her Quantum Cat series, was published in trade paperback by Twilight Times Books in 2004. Angelos was published in 2006, and Gaea will be out in print in 2009. Robina is currently writing the fourth book in the series.

TTB titles: Angelos
Gaea
Jerome and the Seraph

Author web site.

###

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Author News

I hope you'll visit my website, www.robinawilliams.com, to read about Jerome and the Seraph and its sequel Angelos, and also to read my article "Paintings as Inspiration." Paintings feature in the plots of my stories. In Jerome and the Seraph, a sighting of Spencer Stanhope's Thoughts of the Past causes the Father Guardian to fear that his sins are about to find him out.

In Angelos, Father Aidan, lost in a spiritual desert, finds that a scapegoat and an ibex and a ray of sunlight in a Pre-Raphaelite painting guide him back to the path he'd lost sight of and despaired of ever seeing again. And that path leads to one of the twentieth century's most striking images -- Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross.

I hope you'll read and enjoy my books.

~ Robina ~

Robina Williams, author of Angelos, Jerome and the Seraph and Gaea has an author interview with SpecFicWorld.

Reviews

Death has done nothing to stop Brother Jerome's busy life. Now, rather than remain in his friary in prayer and contemplation, he tours the afterlife, usually in the presence of his feline companion, Leo, a.k.a. Quant, the cat with the ability to travel in time and space through quantum leaps. In this sequel to Jerome and the Seraph, Williams tells a twofold tale of one priest stranded in the ancient labyrinth of Knossos and another struggling with his own search for holiness-with only a small but very unusual cat to guide them both. With its graceful hominess, quiet humor, and abiding faith, Angelos belongs in most fantasy, Christian fantasy, or New Age collections.

Library Journal (the Sci Fi column by Jackie Cassada).

Top rating of 10 from Dallas Franklin.

"Quant, the magical cat that leaps through various worlds and dimensions is back again and in action. In Angelos, the sequel to Jerome and the Seraph, Robina Williams weaves her own storytelling magic and Quant rises to the occasion. This is a fantasy ebook and written so superbly that you become totally engrossed in the tale and forget it's fantasy.

Robina accomplishes this task by not only bringing this world together with the 'dead world' but in Angelos she even incorporates the mythological world. It gives us a whole new perspective on the topic of time and old/new worlds and how they are happening 'now'. Both ebooks give you much to ponder while enjoying a great read.

In Jerome and the Seraph we're introduced to Brother Jerome who has an unfortunate accident in the friary cemetery. Ironically, he falls and bangs his head on a tombstone and is killed instantly. He's not quite sure where he is and when he connects with his beloved cat, Leo he soon learns Leo isn't the cat he thought him to be. Leo tells Jerome he prefers to be called Quant and then helps Jerome travel from the 'dead world' to the 'live world' with some bumps along the way. Some of the Brothers at the friary witness Brother Jerome coming and going and if that wasn't enough to spook them, Quant is seen doing the same thing.

All this spooking comes into play again as Angelos opens with the arrival of the new Guardian of the Order, Father Aidan. The Brothers have all been enjoying a rather relaxed atmosphere but that all changes as Father Aidan begins to impose some strict rules while dealing with his own faith.

As Father Aidan lives through his dark night of the soul, he finds redemption and renewed faith in God through a number of well-known paintings that comes to summation with Dali's "Christ of St John of the Cross." Robina's writing talent connects all the worlds in an astounding tale.

She keeps you reading as you learn what makes each character tick and makes the story even more interesting when Brother Jerome, by another fluke accident, takes a quantum leap to the labyrinth of a Minotaur and the Minotaur ends up at the monastery.

We meet many mythological creatures, gods of the 'old world' and even get to see some characters in other past lives. Or is it a past life? It's a whole new perspective on 'time' and living in the 'now'. While learning all this you're transported to worlds that come to life in a fascinating way.

I loved Angelos as much as Jerome and the Seraph and if you like reading fantasy I'm sure you'll love it too. I highly recommend this ebook and give it a top rating of 10!"

Reviewed by Dallas Hodder Franklin for Sell Writing Online.

Not too long ago, Brother Jerome passed away, but in his mind he feels busier now than when he lived. Ironically he was a stay at home monk rather than a traveling soul as he is now especially when his friend Leo the live friary feline takes him on one of those weird adventures as his "dead" cat guide Quant.

At the friary, the new guardian Father Aidan seems opposite to his reputation of being an easy going person; instead he is tight and sets strict rules that disturb the brothers. Unbeknownst to all the residents except Leo, Father Aidan is undergoing a faith crisis with no one human to turn to for help. Instead he finds some renewal with paintings, but to fully regain his lost soul he will need a feline miracle.

However, Quant is too busy to show his Seraph soul to the skeptical Guardian. Brother Jerome, due to a freak accident, has exchanged places with the Ancient Crete Minotaur. While he resides in the Labyrinth uninterested in dining on teens, the bull relaxes at the monastery's modern day shed looking for some meat.

ANGELOS, the sequel to the fabulous JEROME AND THE SERAPH, is a delightful fantasy that uses humor to tell a deep philosophical tale. The story line moves forward (stop quibbling - back in time too) as the audience, Jerome and Aidan receive a feline education that showcases the true meaning of relativity. Life including religious choices depends more on the era and locale than on the dogma. Robina Williams provides a terrific tale that the audience will cherish.

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner.

This is another thrilling adventure of Brother Jerome and his friend Leo the friary cat. If you have not met these two, let me introduce you. Brother Jerome is a recently deceased friar who still visits his old home to check up on his friends. Leo is the friary cat. He is more then he seems. In fact, Leo is a quantum cat, a cat that is alive and dead at the same time. Because of this, Leo or Quant as he is sometimes known serves as Father Jerome's guide and guardian in all his afterlife adventures.

Back at the friary, things are not going well either. The brothers have a new guardian Aidan who has the reputation of being easygoing. When he arrives, they discover he has changed. He is now very strict and rule abiding, something that they are not. How will the brothers survive this unexpected change? What does Brother Jerome learn on his adventures through Greece?

I loved this book. I was ready to go out and buy it and the other books in this series the minute I finished this one. I strongly recommend this book for everyone. The author's ability to blend serious religious topics, art and fantasy together is something I have not seen since my last trip to Narnia. So if you love that series or you miss Middle Earth or it has been a while since you have seen the inside of Hogwarts do yourself a favor and try these books.

Reviewed by Mary Ebert for eBook Reviews Weekly.

"In Angelos, the sequel to Jerome and the Seraph, we meet the quantum cat again. When this cat is around, nothing is quite what it seems. Leo, the friary cat who can dance through dimensions is still keeping a protective eye on his friend, Brother Jerome. Jerome is still finding the novelty of the afterlife intriguing. Until a rock fall in the Minotaur’s labyrinth sets off a quantum leap.

The Minotaur finds himself in a garden shed in the friary garden and Jerome lands in a maze of corridors and caverns below ground; trapped in the labyrinth. The cat is the only one who can rescue him. The Minotaur wants to get back to his labyrinth, to make an offering to Father Zeus, highest and best of gods. At its first meeting with the cat with the golden eyes the Minotaur thinks it is a god.

Meantime, in the friary, Brother Fidelis has gone to a new posting and the new father, Aidan, is not as easy to get on with. Father Aidan is struggling across a desert that is the barren wasteland in his soul. And his friars are suffering. Friars Peter, Oliver, Ignatius and Bernard didn’t need a guardian in the throes of a personal religious revival. Perhaps things had got a bit slack around the friary but there was no need to go to extremes. No one was actually breaking rules-were they? But their Guardian thinks he knows what’s best for the friars in his care-strict adherence to timetables to keep them to the right path.

The Minotaur is finally returned to his labyrinth, and curious Jerome is taken on a tour of the “Old World” by Quant. He visits Crete, King Minos's palace, Zeus’s cave. He sees Talos, the giant guarding Crete, the white-winged Pegasus, the Sibyl and goes to Rome to meet many more characters from mythology. Jerome is still puzzled by the ‘time’ thing. Maybe it’s not as linear as he’d supposed. In fact Jerome is puzzled by many things. Is Quant a cat or a lion or the cat at two stages of its existence? Brother Jerome does not realize that he is a reincarnation of the great St Jerome-and, as a saint, is protected by Quant in the form of a lion.

At the conclusion of Angelos, Jerome is joined by a companion on the other side. Quant convinces Jerome the Minotaur is not a monster-just a different shape. Shapes mean nothing. It’s what is in the heart that matters. And this story is full of heart. If you enjoyed Robina Williams's first book you will enjoy this sequel so much more-as I did. Angelos is filled with humor and wisdom."

Reviewed by award winning author Tricia McGill

Brother Jerome hasn't let a small thing like death get in the way of his adventures. Although now able to travel wherever he'd like, he still finds himself drawn back to the friary where he spent a lot of his living years and is still home to his friends and a very special cat called Quant.

For although Quant seems to be just a domestic pet, he is that and also not, he is alive, but can travel to the past, future, present and also to the spiritual realms. Brother Jerome finds himself in the friary's garden shed while waiting for his friend, the keen gardener, Brother Bernard.

In Ancient Crete, a heavy rockfall sets of a quantum jump and Brother Jerome soon finds himself in the Minotaur's Labyrinth and the Minotaur finds himself stuck in a shed in a world not his own.

Meanwhile, back at the friary, the friars have a new Guardian, Father Aiden, a man they remember from old as being a jolly chap who enjoys life. But the Aiden who takes up the new position seems to have all joy sucked out of him and gets stricter by the day, especially with himself. For Father Aiden is having a crisis of faith and can see no way out of it.

Back on Crete, Jerome wanders lost round the maze and panics when he comes across a room filled with bones. Quant is the only one who can help him now...

A sequel to Jerome and the Seraph, Angelos is still a unique book all its own.

What if the old gods never really left? As well as the Minotaur, we like Jerome, find ourselves transported to Ancient Greece and visit with the old gods there.

Blending elements of mysticism, mythology, quantum theory and art history, it is a tale like no other. The star of the show is of course, Quant, but the Minotaur comes a close second. For this Minotaur is no monster, out to eat everyone in sight, but normally a vegetarian who enjoys reading books and drinking wine, rather than having to eat the Athenian youths sent to him as tribute (they tend to get stuck in the teeth.)

Ms. Williams is an excellent story teller, for although short, this is a very imaginative tale, filled with memorable characters that stand out in your mind. If you are looking for something a bit different, then give Angelos a try.

A book to make you think.

Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Drowning Rapunzel and Shadows of the Rose for Twisted Tales.

Dead or not dead, Brother Jerome is a busy man. The modern-day friar, only recently dead, is guided by his friend Leo, a mystical cat. In a bewildering accident, Brother Jerome trades places with the Minotaur, the mythical bull-headed man from ancient Crete. Meantime, Jerome's brotherhood suffers a sudden change in leadership. The new "Guardian" has suffered his own crisis in faith. The easy-going friars find Father Aidan's new rules difficult to tolerate.

Angelos is amusing, with bits of tongue-in-cheek humor. I chuckled over the guilty friar who'd told a lie. Well, "not really a lie, more of a chronological inexactitude." Small nuggets of philosophy are scattered throughout the story. Religious duties and viewpoints, says the cat, differ according to time, place, and cultural tradition. Human needs, however, remain much the same from one age to the next, and the "quantum" cat is determined to prove it....
Reviewed by Jeanette Cottrell for SimeGen Reviews.

In Robina William's first novel, we are introduced to Jerome, a brother from a friary in England at the time of his unfortunate and fatal accident. The rest of the story revolves around Jerome getting used to his new level of existence and learning how to move between what he knew and what he knows now, all with the help of the friary cat, Leo. We also learn the brothers that Jerome left behind are not completely what they seem. Just because they joined an order and gave their lives to God does not mean that they still do not respect and acknowledge the history each of them had previously. Some with more regret than others.

William's book is a bit mystery, mixed with humor all in a fantasy landscape. I can't say I've ever read a book before that addresses a possibility of the afterlife with a religious undertone. What if the afterlife is not roads paved with gold, angels and our wildest dreams come true but just a continuation, of sorts, of the life we have been living? Who's to say that we perceived to be one way in actuality is something different altogether and we won't have the clarity of understanding until we have crossed over to that other existence? These are just a few of the trains of thought William's book brings to mind as you progress along with the story. Since it is the first in a continuation series, she does a nice job of answering some of the questions that come to mind of the reader while setting up another set, to which I assume, get addressed in the next book of the series.

For this to be William's first novel, I found her to have handled the multiple characters with great care, from the main character to Jerome, to the secondary characters as well as the ones just briefly touched upon as well. I was able to get a sense of each of their individual characteristics and personalities and sense a respect that authors sometimes forget to have for their characters. I love the touches of humor throughout the book, such as Brother Jerome’s early attempts at traveling from one level of existence to another and the unlikely rescuers who help him out of his predicament.

I hope to have the opportunity to read more of the story of Jerome, his order, and the orange tabby at the friary named Leo, who, like most cats, is a lot more than what you would initially suspect.
Reviewed by Jennifer Murray Somerset for Book Pleasures.

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