PRESENTATION INTRODUCTION “For the first time in Brazilian literature, we see a book using elements like this to tell a story.” — PAULO COELHO

A REVOLUTION IN BRAZILIAN LITERATURE People have never read so much in Brazil. Recent research shows that numbers of both readers and books (printed and digital) have risen sharply in the country. Bookstores are springing up everywhere and prices are increasingly competitive. There has always been enormous interest in Brazil in what is called popular literature. What people did not have until around fifteen years ago was access to this kind of literature. Traditional means of communication gave little value to entertainment novels, always favoring the classics and academic literature. This situation changed with the arrival of the internet. On the web, each surfer became a potential critic, able to expose their ideas and associate with others with the same interests. The web was an essential tool for publicizing entertainment literature widely and spontaneously in Brazil. Publishers immediately recognized this market niche and began to invest heavily in this new sector, expanding visibly and already generating millions. At the head of this movement is a select group of writers seen as idols to the new generation of readers (mainly young), who today sustain the Brazilian publishing market. At the top of the list is Eduardo Spohr, the only writer of Brazilian fantasy novels to figure in the best-seller lists of the main national press, ahead of such writers as George R. R. Martin, Stephanie Meyer and Erika Leonard James. Of his three novels already published, all figured in the ten best-seller lists in the country. His first two books alone (The Battle of the Apocalypse and Children of Eden – Heirs of Atlantis) had achieved sales of 600,000 copies by the beginning of 2013. Attracting crowds to his book-signing sessions, Spohr was one of the main writers responsible for taking fantasy books out of their niche to reach a wider public. Today, his work is sold not only in bookstores, but also in catalogues such as Avon, pharmacies, supermarkets and gas stations.

THE CONTINUATION OF A SAGA Angels of Death is the second book in the Children of Eden trilogy and a continuation of the Heirs of Atlantis. These two books share the same setting as his first work, The Battle of the Apocalypse, though there is no direct relationship between them. The central theme of the trilogy’s plot is the civil war being waged in Heaven between Archangel Michael, considered a tyrant who wishes to destroy humanity, and his brother Gabriel, who, leading his army of rebel angels, fights to defend mortals. To prevent this war from spreading to the world of men, the two sides establish

2 a truce on earth. However, despite the agreement, celestials from both sides do not always respect the accord, and frequently materialize on the physical plane to carry out some covert mission. The result is a secret battle between angels, taking place on our planet, but invisible to ordinary people. Each volume of the Children of Eden saga deals with an aspect of this intrigue. In this second volume, an angel council, the malakin, whose mission is to observe humanity’s progress, decides to establish a squadron of celestial warriors to descend to earth and infiltrate the Armed Forces of several countries, in various periods of the 20th century, with the task of making a close study not only of wars on earth, but also of mortal behavior in extreme situations. These angel soldiers, ordered to mold themselves to human reality, finally fall prey to human vices, weaknesses and temptations, which will later make them rebel against their winged masters. The saga will have a third and final volume, to be launched in Brazil in 2015, Children of Eden: Paradise Lost.

FANTASY VS. REALITY Angels of Death is a fantasy novel, but one that is set in our world, inspired by completely real people and events. With D-Day, as the European allied troop invasion during the Second World War came to be known, as the point of departure, the book traverses the 20th century, highlighting its main events, not only in the military sphere, but also in the social and political fields. Denyel, an immortal being and the protagonist in this adventure, enlists as a soldier in the United States army for the Normandy beach landings in 1944, then the capture of Paris and finally the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, in 1945. With this war over, the story moves to the 1950s and 60s, until he is sent to Vietnam, in 1968. In the 1970s, Denyel works as a spy, ending his journey in Germany, in 1989, observing the fall of the Berlin Wall up close. Spohr immersed himself in detailed research to recreate each battle, with a tactical as well as an individual point of view. The author visited the Second World War historical sites, explored the cafés of Paris, the protest points against the Vietnam War, in New York, and the areas frequented by international spies in Europe and Asia. Like any good fantasy book, Angels of Death captures not only the flavor of each era, but also the mysteries related to the historical periods in question. In the 1940s, the main character encounters the danger of German secret societies and Nazi witchcraft. In the 1960s, the antagonists are Soviet scientists with their psychic experiments. All this content, so well developed, enchanted Brazilian readers, causing Angels of Death to figure in best- seller lists, proving that his work is not only action, but also a history lesson, a book that is accessible and interesting to all ages and classes.

3 MARKET

WAY BEYOND GEEKS Eduardo Spohr started his career as an independent writer in 2007. He won a competition sponsored by a Brazilian printing house, and his prize was 100 copies of his first book, The Battle of the Apocalypse, which he put up for sale in the Jovem Nerd store, the largest nerd culture site in the country. The hundred books sold out in just five hours, and with the proceeds from these first books, Spohr produced another 500, which sold within a month, exclusively online, with no exposure in any bookstore. As there was still a demand, a new edition, still independent, of 4000 copies was issued in 2009. His success attracted the attention of Grupo Record, the biggest publishing conglomerate in Latin America, which decided to publish the book in 2010. At first, it was feared that The Battle of the Apocalypse had already used up its potential, with 4,600 copies already sold by the site to the geek public. The surprise occurred when the book arrived in bookstores. The initial run of 10,000 copies flew off the shelves and the book immediately appeared on all the best-seller lists in the country. In less than two months, 50,000 units were sold in stores. The author’s other books – Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis and Children of Eden: Angels of Death – have had the same success. Sold in alternative outlets such as pharmacies, gas stations, department stores and supermarkets, the books were introduced into the Avon catalogue in 2012, reaching a public far different and much wider than the geeks. The Battle of the Apocalypse and Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis, together, have already sold more than 600,000 copies. In the first month after being launched, Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis sold 30,000 units in Brazil.

PUBLICATION IN EUROPE Rights to Eduardo Spohr’s first book – The Battle of the Apocalypse – have been sold to four foreign countries. It was published in 2011 in Holland by Luiting Fantasy publishers with the title De Engelen van de Apocalyps. In 2012, it was Germany’s turn. Heyne, a Random House imprint, published the book under the title Armageddon: Der Krieg der Angel. The book was launched in Portugal, also in 2012, published by Presença. The other publishing house to buy the book was Pegasus, from Turkey, with publication forecast for this year.

4 INTERNATIONAL PRIZE In August 2012, Eduardo Spohr was awarded the Fundação Luso Brasileira Prize in the Revelation category. This foundation is a non-profit organization, based in Portugal, whose aim is the promotion of relations between Portuguese speaking countries, organizing and supporting cultural, educational, scientific, corporate and assistential initiatives. The prize is awarded annually to a personality (usually an artist) who has contributed significantly to the enrichment of the Portuguese language around the world.

5 ABOUT THE BOOK “If we wanted to compare Spohr to another author, it would be J. R. R. Tolkien, with his Lord of the Rings trilogy” — JOSÉ LOUZEIRO, Brazilian author and screenplay writer

SYNOPSIS From the very earliest times, the malakin, wise and scholarly angels, observed human progress in silence. But then came the 20th century, and with it, modern weapons and industrial pollution, distancing mortal from divine nature, widening the frontiers between our world and the seven levels of heaven. Isolated in paradise, now incapable of seeing the planet, these angels solicited the help of the “exiles”, peaceful angels who had been operating on earth for years. Their task, from then on, would be to participate in human wars, all of them, to take note of military achievements, the movement of troops, and then to relate this information to their winged superiors. Disguised as ordinary soldiers, this group was present from the Normandy beaches to the Nazi concentration camps, from the jungles of Indochina to the decline of the Soviet Union. Although many did not wish to kill, this is what they were ordered to do, and sadly is what they ended up doing. Crammed with epic battles, black magic and fantastic characters, Children of Eden: Angels of Death is also a disturbing account of our times, a criticism of government corruption, massacres and extremism, an alert as to what we have become and what we might also become.

THE JOURNEY OF THE ANTI-HERO Angels of Death is the second book in the Children of Eden series. This time, we go back to the 20th century to give an account of Denyel, one of the exiled cherubim, and his experiences with the angels of death squadron, from the allied invasion in Europe, during the Second World War, to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The “angels of death”, as they came to be known, were originally recruited from 5th Heaven, with a mission to study human conflicts from close quarters, from the least relevant to the bloodiest. Once living among humans, however, they end up falling prey to human habits, vices and temptations, which makes them forget and even abandon their celestial nature over the decades. Like the other books in the Children of Eden collection, this one presents us with a magic universe, peopled by angels, demons and fantastic creatures, but the focus now is on modern wars and the legends that arise from them, secret societies, Nazi witchcraft, the psychic experiments conducted by agents of the former Soviet Union, and the dispute between the superpowers for the weapon of final judgment. Unlike Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis and The Battle of the Apocalypse (the author’s first book), the major attraction in this volume is not invincible heroes, sword fighting or a dramatic ending, but the atmosphere of

6 intrigue, espionage and paranoia that takes possession of Denyel, the main character, obliged to act as a henchman for the malakin, commit murder, and participate in hunting down victims, massacres, and other equally brutal crimes. This is also, more than anything else, a story of corruption, a journey of decline that eventually affects not only the protagonist but also the society that surrounds him, a cruel portrayal of how post-war optimism and euphoria sank before the fiasco of the military campaigns of the 1960s and 70s, dragging the world into economic and moral crisis, whose effects are felt until today. In parallel with the scenes from the past, we also accompany, in the present, the search carried out by two other angels, Kaira and Urakin, who continue to look for Denyel, dragged away by the cosmic whirlpool of the River Oceanus after the battle at the Athean Fortress (in Children of Eden: Heirs of Atlantis). To rescue him, they will need to find the lost city of Egnias, the last of the colonies of Atlantis, disappeared since the times of the flood, and the river which, according to rumor, can take them to the exact spot where their friend is buried.

MYTHOLOGY, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY Eduardo Spohr’s three books are frequently referred to in Brazil as “Percy Jackson for adults”, the difference being that he uses Hebrew-Christian mythology rather than Greek as the inspiration for his stories. The mythological context – the fight between angels and demons on earth – is present as the central theme, but there is no religious or dogmatic character in the book, meaning that it can be appreciated by atheist as well as followers of any creed or doctrine. Other important traits in Spohr’s work are the philosophical, reflective elements, which make the book a work that goes beyond mere fantasy. In Angels of Death, especially, there are questions concerning the position of soldiers in times of war, obliged to kill people they don’t even know, defending an ideology that is not always correct.

CHARACTERS MAIN

Denyel, the Exiled Angel – One of the exiled cherubim, member of the angels of death squadron. He is the protagonist in this novel. With him, we travel through the 20th century, experience each battle, each war; we meet humans and learn from his successes and failures. Kaira, the Divine Spark – Captain in Gabriel’s revolutionary army, she is a celestial from the province of fire. While the book shows the adventures of the protagonist in the 20th century, Kaira, together with two other angels, Urakin and Ismael, continues her search for Denyel in the present. He disappeared after a battle in the first volume of the series. Urakin, the Fist of God – A stubborn, tough warrior, he is Kaira’s and Ismael’s partner in the search for Denyel in the present day. Ismael, the Executor – An ally of Kaira’s and Urakin’s, he is one of the most interesting characters in the book. Belonging to the hashmalin caste, judges and executioners, he was one of the few of his order to abandon Michael’s tyrannical forces and join Gabriel’s rebels.

7 Solon, the First of the Seven – Leader of the seven malakin who control the angels of death, and therefore Denyel’s supreme commander. An overbearing , arrogant individual who never tires of humiliating Denyel, his subordinate, and because of this ends up becoming the major villain in this story. Yaga, the Shadow of Death – A woman-angel who acts on Solon’s orders, and is the link between him and Denyel, thus acting as a chief of operations in the battlefield.

SECONDARY

Tom Craig – A sergeant in the Second World War, in command of Denyel’s platoon on D-Day, 1944. He becomes Denyel's a friend and confidant, and reappears during the Vietnam War, now as a CIA agent. He is one of the few important human characters in Angels of Death. Sophia – An angel belonging to the elohin caste, celestials who live on earth and behave like human beings. It is Sophia who gathers information concerning the angels Denyel must assassinate during the 1970s. Denyel and Sophia become lovers, developing a love-hate relationship. Zac – An ophanim, the so-called guardian angels, pacifist beings, incapable of committing violence. Materialized on Earth, Zac takes on the form of a labrador dog. He saves Denyel from death in the battles in France in 1944, and becomes his friend. Abul – A fallen angel who had worked with Ismael in the past, before Lucifer’s rebellion. He possesses occult information and is consulted by Kaira as she wants to know the whereabouts of Denyel, who disappeared after the final battle in Heirs of Atlantis. Mickail – Denyel’s best friend, Mickail, is also a celestial warrior, belonging to the angels of death squadron, but chosen to enlist on the side of the Axis powers in the Second World War. He is killed in the first chapter. The death of a dear friend marks the beginning of Denyel’s psychological decline. Gutaska Razda – A dangerous witch born in the gothic tribes and leader of the Thule society, portrayed in the book as a fellowship devoted to the practice of black magic. She is one of Denyel’s enemies, and wishes to kill him at any cost, since angel blood is a powerful ingredient in witchcraft rituals.

RESEARCH PROCESS AND RELEVANT ASPECTS The process of researching historical facts, famous mysteries and conspiracy theories concerning the 20th century breathe life into an intriguing, gripping storyline, with a tightly woven plot, which brings to light obscure truths, war crimes, and explores principally the psychology of the soldier in battle. The more relevant aspects of the book, inspired by real events, are as follows: Second World War – Beginning his military career on Omaha Beach during Operation Overlord, Denyel, the protagonist, accompanies the recapture of the cities of Normandy, up to the retaking of Paris, in August 1944. Afterwards, he joins the team of American soldiers who fight in the Battle of the Bulge, in Belgium, a battle considered decisive for victory in Europe. Nazi Secret Societies – On his mission as an American soldier, and at the same time obliged by Solon to explore the occult and the fantastic in the world, Denyel encounters the dangerous Thule Society, a Nazi fellowship that uses dark energy to carry out its witchcraft rituals.

8 The 1950s – Returning to the United States as an ex-combatant in Europe, Denyel is greeted as a hero and witnesses the climate of euphoria and optimism that takes hold of America in the 1950s. But he is soon ordered by the malakin and by Solon to work as a spy and assassin, killing angels allied to the enemy faction who, like him, are on earth disguised as human beings. Vietnam War – Proceeding in his task of studying human wars, Denyel enlists as a volunteer in the Marines in 1968 and is posted to Indochina. He arrives at Da Nang Air Base, in South Vietnam, in the very month that the Vietcong launch the Tet Offensive, and sees first-hand the confusion in which the country is immersed, the coverage by the civilian press and critical public opinion, participating in the Battle of Hue and taking part in the massacres perpetrated in that city. Secret Soviet experiments – Contacted by Tom Craig, the sergeant with whom he fought in the Second World War, Denyel is sent on a mission to rescue an Air Force pilot whose jet fighter crashed in the Cambodian jungle. The operation ends up revealing more than they imagine when the old friends come across an underground headquarters where the Russians are conducting psychic experiments with the aim of creating a Final Judgment weapon. War veterans – Back in the United States again, but now as a Vietnam War veteran, Denyel is treated very differently from when he returned from the Second World War. The relevant point here is to highlight how American soldiers were viewed by the civilian population in the 1970s – not as heroes, but as murderers, agents of a corrupt system. Unable to get a job, Denyel becomes a beggar in California until he is contacted by his angel chiefs, who decide once more to use him as an assassin, now full-time. Intrigue and espionage – From the 1970s on, Angels of Death becomes a spy novel, with Denyel hunting down and killing other angel adversaries, who are hiding on the physical plane. This section is clearly inspired by real events, such as the well-known Operation Wrath of God, carried out by Israeli agents with the aim of pursuing and exterminating the Palestinians responsible for the attack against Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972. A spin round the world – Setting off in pursuit of his victims, Denyel visits several European cities in the 70s, capturing the historic moments and flavor of each period, travelling from Istanbul to Amsterdam, from London to New York. The decolonization of Africa – Besides being involved in the operations in Europe and the United States, Denyel is also sent to search for hidden enemies in Africa, in 1977, in the midst of the decolonization wars and the chaos that spreads through the continent with the exodus of the old European powers. Crisis in the Middle East – Denyel’s final mission is in Beirut, during the Lebanese Civil War. The background to this section is the World Oil Crisis and the conflict between the Israeli security forces and the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. The end of the Soviet Union – The final chapter of Angels of Death is set at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on the very day that the Wall comes down. The celebrations are emblematic, not just for the world but also for the character who lived through the 20th century and experienced first-hand all its most memorable moments.

9 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eduardo Spohr was born in June 1976, in Rio de Janeiro. Son of an airline pilot and a flight attendant, he has had the opportunity to travel the world, learning about different cultures and peoples. His passion for literature and fascination for history led him to the study of social communication. He began working in advertising agencies, but gradually moved into journalism. He graduated from the Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro in 2001 and specialized in digital media. He has worked as a reporter and editor for several on-line newspapers. Today, besides creating graphic projects, he is a script consultant and runs a university course “Literary structure: the hero’s journey in cinema and literature” at the Faculdades Hélio Alonso (Facha), in Rio de Janeiro.

10 PAULO COELHO’S MESSAGE