# ANGEL - "A delight to read...delicate, funny and wildly alluring." (Stephen Fry)



## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Damion is a boy so beautiful that everybody falls in love with him. This, his greatest advantage in life, gradually turns into his heaviest burden and so as he reaches adulthood, Damion, in an act half wanton, half heroic, destroys what for most people - but not for him - has come to define his essence. It's a classic tale of a young man seeking his destiny.

Stephen Fry called it _"A delight to read. So delicate, casually cruel, wickedly funny and wildly alluring."_

This more detailed description by Alana Jelinek, author of _Ohm's Law_ is from the back cover of the hardback edition:

_At face value it is the story of a young man so beautiful that "anyone who met him fell instantly in love with him". His emergence from boyhood is described with an astonishing sympathy for the experience of adolescence. The author has a great gift for subtle and commanding characterisation, one result of which is our developing appreciation of the burden of beauty on the 'hero' of the tale and all who come into contact with him. Events are beautifully described with a perspicacity for place and sensation.

On another level, 'Angel' can be read as an allegory of a society concerned largely with the superficial. Here value is determined by Beauty and the consequence of a great surfeit in power created by fundamental inequalities between people is explored in the trajectories of human lives. 'Angel' raises questions of responsibility and agency, as those privileged by society try to claim some responsibility for what appears to be pre-determined lives. We are asked to consider to what extent we can be responsible for the impact of our existence.

'Angel' is compelling and curious, an intelligent inquiry and a sensual pleasure. Its characters and their experiences feel immediately real and they also resonate over time remaining with the reader: so true is the author's ability with narrative and character. With 'Angel', Sebastian Michael has produced a novel that is a pleasure to read, that has depth and detail, and that raises some of the important questions for the contemporary moment. The ultimate meaning of 'Angel' will be a subject of debate between readers, as is inevitable with a novel that works so well on many levels._

Angel is now available on Kindle.

Thanks for reading; I hope you too will find it a rewarding experience.

Sebastian


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Sebastian,

Welcome to KindleBoards and congratulations on your book!

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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

thanks betsy & ann - i look forward to looking (and finding my way) around here!

s


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Thank you to everyone who has already downloaded _Angel._ Although it went live back in February, I only started introducing it to the Kindle community a bit over a week ago and it is tremendously encouraging to see a pick-up so quickly. I really appreciate your support for this book!


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Quick update, which may be a tad tangential to this particular forum, but Angel has now also made it onto the iBookstore, where, through no doing of mine own, it retails at slightly less than on Amazon. Don't know if that's classified as good news or bad news here on Kindleboards, but either way it's somewhat intriguing... (I suppose the good news is that if Apple on the iBookstore discount it, then Amazon on the Kindle store may follow suit.) If anyone else has any experience or expertise in this, I'd be interested to hear about it. In any case, and in either place, it costs less than a decent cappuccino to download and the amount of enjoyment you get out of it should, I hope, run deeper and last considerably longer than a good cup of coffee...


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

...and just for the sake of completeness: Angel has now also gone live on the Barnes & Noble Nook Store, which means it's now available on all major eBook platforms. Thank you for reading: the feedback I'm getting is really most humbling and encouraging.


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

A new review just out today with five out of five stars for Angel on Goodreads from Literary R&R:‎

"A haunting story...the words are nearly as beautiful as the character of Damion." - "Angel may very well change how you choose to view others." *****

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/371251405

http://literaryrr.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/review-angel-by-sebastian-michael.html


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Angel now also features on Authonomy - a great initiative by Harper Collins to give new writers a platform and readers access to emerging work. Here you can read the opening section (about a fifth of the book) for free and rate and comment:

http://authonomy.com/books/45525/angel/


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

This is probably again more tangential to the Kindle Community, but Angel is now also on Kobo:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Angel/book-YsCIdRUwq02YtPjtaEH_5A/page1.html?s=LxQVInX-0ESnAeYU5mUXhw&r=1


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## The Tortoise (Dec 9, 2011)

Congratulations on getting a quote from Stephen Fry!


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

The Tortoise said:


> Congratulations on getting a quote from Stephen Fry!


Thanks! - It came as a complete surprise, but, as you can imagine, it rather made my day, week, month, year...


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Hello all

just a quick update to let you know that Angel is now available across platforms at the friendly low price of two pounds in the UK. It still varies a bit on US and European sites, but in essence there is now a good chance that wherever you are in the world and whatever reading device you use (I realise on here it will be mostly Kindle...), you can get a good book that comes with a steadily growing number of recommendations for about the price of a decent cappuccino... - Enjoy!


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

This is really cross-referencing, in case anyone is interested:

If you are based in New York City, or happen to be there towards the end of October, my first feature film as a writer/director, _The Hour of Living_, is in the official selection of the NYC Independent Film Festival. The screening takes place on Saturday, 20th October, 11:30am at the Producers' Club, 358 west 44th street. Full details are at http://www.thehourofliving.com. And I'm hoping to be there myself, of course...

Sebastian


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## DomEagle (Sep 5, 2012)

I can't believe Stephen Fry read your novel, let alone quoted it! Envious would be a vast understatement right about now  I'll be sure to check out your book, purely on that basis.


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

DomEagle said:


> I can't believe Stephen Fry read your novel, let alone quoted it! Envious would be a vast understatement right about now  I'll be sure to check out your book, purely on that basis.


  Thanks Dom - apparently he read it twice!...


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

New review just out on MyBookAddiction: "Once you read this novel, you will want to share it with everyone you know." http://mybookaddictionreviews.com/2012/10/07/angel-by-sebastian-michael/ with a 4.5 star rating for "a great read / must have".


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

This is once more cross referencing a little:

People living in or visiting London, my new play, TOP STORY, opens at The Old Vic Tunnels ("London's leading underground venue") in January and runs till 2nd February.

TOP STORY is an Apocalyptic Comedy in which two young men in London live through the last seven days of the world, as a meteor the size of LA is about to hit LA (ironically). At once paralysed and inspired by the impending doom, they watch the story to top all stories unfold on their TV and inadvertently become its co-authors and end up saving the world, almost by accident.

All relevant info and link to the Old Vic Box Office now here on the play's dedicated website: http://topstoryplay.com

The top story this year is going to be the end of the world. Come and join us as we tell it in January!...

Thanks & hope to see you there
Sebastian


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

For those of you who are interested in theatre as well as literature, the combined programme & playtext of my new play *Top Story* which opens in January at *The Old Vic Tunnels* ("London's leading underground arts venue") is now available on Kindle.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Top-Story-ebook/dp/B00ATGPSRA/


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

"A wonderful and thoughtful book which will leave you thinking about Damion for days after you have finished reading. It will definitely enhance your appreciation of 'normal' life." http://readersfavorite.com/review/8096


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Apologies for the radio silence: there's been a lot happening this year, and not all of it to do with the book; but in case you're interested: my first feature film as a writer/director _*The Hour of Living*_ will be released on DVD in the United States on 19th November and *pre-orders* are now open *here: http://www.tlavideo.com/gay-the-hour-of-living/p-355517-2*

Meanwhile, *Angel* has received a new four-star review on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3LODL9XZHQE6P/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Hope to bring you more news soon.

Thanks & Love
Sebastian


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

This is unexpected: Kobo have suspended Angel on their eBook store, in what looks like a panic response to some general bad publicity they and some other online retailers have received in the UK over what is deemed unsuitable material.

Now Angel is hardly salacious. One reviewer gave it a 'heat rating' of 'mild/hot' and a 4.5 star review not so long ago. So I hope, of course, that once the dust has settled and everything's back to normal, the book will go live on Kobo again too.

Meanwhile though, the good news for all you Kindle fans out there is: it of course remains fully available across the Amazon Kindle stores (http://www.amazon.com/Angel-ebook/dp/B007AYSTCA/ ) and while in one or two places it may be as steamy as a good Chai Latte, it still doesn't set you back more than about one of those from your favourite coffee shop.

Will update you when there's any more news...

All best & keep enjoying uncensored reads!


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

For those of you who enjoyed ANGEL: my new play, *The Sonneteer*, also deals with youth and beauty, but from a very different angle. Featuring the sonnets of William Shakespeare, it will premiere at the *Edinburgh Festival Fringe* and run there from 1st to 23rd August 2014, with two *London Previews* at the Landor Theatre on 18th & 19th July 2014.

Here's the blurb:

_What drove the celebrated poet, playwright and actor to write a suite of sonnets about beauty, life and the passage of time and address them to a handsome young man? Obsession? Folly? Infatuation? Or was there more than meets the eye today?

In a dynamic new take on an old question, two contemporary characters delve into some of the most glorious poetry ever composed, as they weave in and out of the past in search of a plausible truth about love.

Everything is conjecture. Except the words... _

Full details and some astonishingly good Early Bird ticket offers at: http://www.thesonneteer.info

(And just in case you wondered: Kobo have since reinstated ANGEL on their eBook store. That was a short-lived glitch on their part...)

All the best and it would be wonderful to see some of you up in Edinburgh or down in London this summer!

Sebastian


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

New **** review on Underground Book Review: "Angel will appeal to intelligent readers who enjoy a serious theme rendered with wit and panache." http://www.undergroundbookreviews.com/magazine/review-of-angel-by-sebastian-michael


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

If you enjoyed ANGEL you may be interested in my new, more experimental, publishing project: EDEN by FREI - a concept narrative in the here & now about the where, the wherefore and forever.

EDEN sets out from the simple, oft-posed, question: what do you say or do if, halfway through your life, you happen to bump into your younger self? It then goes off on wildly tangential meanders of observation and ponderages on meaning before reaching any sort of conclusion. (Though it does reach some sort of conclusion...)

And because it's by nature a mash-up of invented autobiography and experienced imagination, I've decided to do this as FREI -- frei in Swiss and German means free and it's also a serviceably apt acronym in English: F*** Rules: Explore & Invent. (There are subtler ways of putting it, but why mince words at this stage, and I'd be happy to spell it out here, but the forum replaces this with [Expletive], which is no more helpful than the somewhat twee asterisks...)

It's also my actual, official and original name: so now you could call it a metanym.

EDEN by FREI is now live at http://eden.byfrei.net


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

Just a quick update on my last post (and I realise this is now _very_ tangential to Angel, but it does have a lot to do with my current writing project, so it may perhaps be of interest to some of you who have read or are planning to read Angel...)

EDEN by FREI, the 'concept narrative in the here & now about the where, the wherefore and forever' that I started as a blog in August is now in full flow and has just entered its second phase, 'Heart', which deals, not surprisingly, with matters precisely thereof. (Though when I say 'precisely', I should perhaps also put in the caveat that in EDEN by FREI everything is really quite fluid and themes as well as story strands spill over and into each other; and there are at the moment intermittent posts also from the 'Random' as well as the 'and Soul' categories: it sounds far more complicated than it is, best is to just have a look and browse, if the idea of meeting your younger self appeals to you; it is, after all, an experiment in publishing.)

Also, and this really the reason for the update, I've now simplified the domain to http://EDENbyFREI.net and I'm happy to announce that the blog (hosted on Wordpress, incidentally) is now completely ad-free and therefore, I hope, much more enjoyable.


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## Sebastian Michael (Jun 18, 2012)

I'm really very happy to tell you that ANGEL is Book of the Day at onlinebookclub.org today, 23rd November 2016, which means it is also available at a discount on Amazon right now, and just in time for Thanksgiving!

http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelves/book.php?id=694


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