''Rogue Angel'' is a series of paperback novels produced bi-monthly since July 2006 by
Harlequin Enterprises
Harlequin Enterprises ULC (known simply as Harlequin) is a romance and women's fiction publisher founded in Winnipeg, Canada in 1949. From the 1960s, it grew into the largest publisher of romance fiction in the world. Based in Toronto, Canada si ...
, published under a succession of imprints and written under the house name of "Alex Archer". Actual authors are credited with small notes inside the books but not on the front covers or spines. The main character is Annja Creed. Each novel relates to history or mythology with a heavy fantasy slant.
Background
Books in the series can be read individually. When read in order, character development and sub-plots may be followed.
Typically, each volume is named after a historical or mythological artifact, around which the plot revolves. The plot structure tends to follow a pattern where the heroine discovers the item in question. The villain or another party then steals the item or abducts the heroine, motivated by their believing the item holds special power or significance. In the course of the story, the heroine discovers more about a historical period and the people who lived in it.
Series history
The series was first envisioned by
Randall Toye, a Harlequin executive who fell in love with the history concerning
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daÊk} ; 1412 â 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of OrlĂ©ans and her insistence on the coronati ...
and wanted to develop the idea of a present-day Joan.
Veteran
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
action-adventure editors
Feroze Mohammed and
Nicole Brebner teamed up with
Mel Odom to flesh out their series.
The first eight
novels
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...
were written by
Mel Odom and
Victor MilĂĄn
Victor Woodward MilĂĄn (August 3, 1954 â February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics.
Life and career
MilĂĄn was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 1986 MilĂĄn won the Prometheus A ...
. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include
Jon Merz,
Michele Hauf,
Jean Rabe
Jean Rabe is an American journalist, editor, gamer and writer of fantasy and mystery. After a career as a newspaper reporter, she was employed by TSR, Inc. for several years as head of the Role Playing Game Association and editor of the ''Polyhe ...
, and
Joseph Nassise
Joseph Nassise (born 1968) is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling American urban fantasy writer and the author of more than sixty novels. His debut novel, ''Riverwatch'', was nominated for both the Bram Stoker Award and the International ...
.
Influences
''Rogue Angels premise and execution display similarities with earlier franchises such as the ''Witchblade''
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
(published since 1995) and
TV series
A television show â or simply TV show â is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
(2001-02), ''
Tomb Raider
''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, th ...
'' (1996-present), and ''
Outlanders
Outlanders is a long-running series of science-fiction novels created by Mark Ellis and published by Gold Eagle, an imprint of Harlequin Enterprises.
Plot
Set in the same fictional universe as the 'Deathlands' series but separated by a century ...
'' (1997âpresent).
Characters
Annja Creed
Annja Creed is a world-traveling
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
with a penchant for arcane history and adventure. Heir to Joan of Arc's mystic
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
and an ambiguous heroic destiny, she frequently finds herself exposed to both. She is portrayed as beautiful and intelligent.
Growing up in an orphanage, Annja, partly due to her lack of knowledge of her own origins, developed a love of history, as well as an interest in
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
. She then earned a college scholarship and achieved a Masters in Archeology, concentrating on medieval and renaissance time periods, while also acquiring specialized knowledge in
anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...
and art. She has written several scholarly as well as popular-scientific articles and books.
Not long after graduating, Annja was offered a job working as a host on ''Chasing Historyâs Monsters'', a syndicated television show investigating all manner of
cryptid
Cryptids are animals that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but are not believed to exist by mainstream science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience, which primarily looks at anecdotal stories, and other claims rejected by ...
s drawn from
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
,
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, and
mythology
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...
, and occasionally less far-fetched types of "monsters" such as
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
s. She tries to bring a certain amount of factual material to the episodes she hosts, but the show's producer insists on a more sensationalist and speculative slant. This regularly frustrates her, but the salary and expense account involved allow her to travel freely, and she often puts her status as a minor celebrity to good use.
She resides in a loft in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
The Sword
When
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daÊk} ; 1412 â 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of OrlĂ©ans and her insistence on the coronati ...
was burned at the stake for heresy, her sword was shattered by an English soldier, and the fragments were widely dispersed. However, Roux and Garin, two of the knights in her personal retinue, were cursed with immortality in order to be able to eventually track down and reassemble the artifact.
Annja was present when this came to pass, and at her touch, the blade magically reformed, making her its new bearer. It cannot be taken from her against her will, and she has the power to remove it to and retrieve it from a supernatural location referred to as "the Otherwhere". This process works regardless of the Sword's current location, giving her the ability to, for example, use the weapon as a projectile and then immediately recall it to her hand.
Moreover, it also enhances her general constitution and helps her recover from injuries.
Recurring
Roux
Roux is apparently in his sixties, but has actually been alive for more than five hundred years. The precise extent of his immortality has not been revealed, though one of the later books (''River of Nightmares'') shows that it is not merely longevity but imbues him with an ability to recover from wounds that outstrips even Annja's.
He and Annja are in a mentor-protege relationship, however reluctant and long-distance. At the same time, he has his own agenda, such as tracking down a variety of other purportedly magical items for reasons ranging from simple personal ambition to the genuine desire to keep them out of hands that would use them for harm, and he is not above manipulating others, including Annja, to accomplish this.
He resides in a castle-like mansion outside of
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 kmÂČ (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
Garin
Garin Braden was Roux's
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
in Joan's day. Physically, he falls squarely into the "
tall, dark, and handsome" category, and he has grown considerably wealthy and powerful, with a wide range of employees and resources at his beck and call. He is arrogant and ruthless, but also experiences and acts on the occasional selfless impulse.
His relationships with both Roux and Annja are complicated. He was initially afraid that the reforming of the Sword would put an end to his longevity and consequently made several attempts to destroy or at least separate Annja and the artifact. This concern lessens over time, though, and he increasingly develops fondness of and respect for her. His feelings towards Roux appear to be a mix of deep-rooted attachment and resentment.
His main residence is in Germany, but his lifestyle is even more cosmopolitan than Annja's.
Doug Morrell
Doug Morrell produces ''Chasing History's Monsters'' and is a stereotypical media personality - young, supremely self-involved, and with a staggering disregard for facts, especially when they threaten to get in the way of ratings. His relationship with Annja is sufficiently solid to survive the frequent disagreements this causes, though.
Series listing
: ''Renaissance'' (2008) collects books 1,2,3
: ''Babel Codex'' (September 2013) (free novella, written by Mel Odom)
Post-Shutdown Titles (Graphic Audio Exclusives)
Following the shutdown of Gold Eagle Publishing by Harlequin, the primary creator of audiobook adaptions of the franchise, Graphic Audio, acquired the rights to create original, in-house sequels to the novels, available exclusively in a narrated audio drama format.
Adaptations
Audiobooks
In January 2007,
GraphicAudio began releasing the books in a dramatized audio format, starting at issue #1.
As of February 2016 they have produced the entire series up to Rogue Angel #57 "Mystic Warrior".
As of May 21, 2019 they have produced up to book #60 "In the Serpent's Tomb".
Comics
In 2008
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
released a miniseries (five issues) written by
Barbara Kesel
Barbara Randall Kesel (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and editor of comic books. Her bibliography includes work for Crossgen, Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, and Marvel Comics.
Biography
Barbara Kesel init ...
and featuring art by
Renae De Liz.
[http://www.comicbookbin.com/idwnews006.html 'Comicbook Bin' Jan 31 2008, ''Best-Selling Intelligent and Alluring Adventure Heroine Gets New Life in Comic Books'']
References
External links
Publisher sites
Series listing@
graphicaudio.net (for the dramatized audio adaptations).
Other resources
* {{isfdb series, id=12556, title=Rogue Angel.
Detailed listing@
jamesaxler.com (unofficial site for another of Harlequin's corporate personas).
Miscellaneous
Annja Creed's profile@
Myspace.
Rogue Angel
''Rogue Angel'' is a series of paperback novels produced bi-monthly since July 2006 by Harlequin Enterprises, published under a succession of imprints and written under the house name of "Alex Archer". Actual authors are credited with small notes i ...
Harlequin Enterprises
Harlequin books