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REVIEW: Archangel

Authors
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    Tony Geiser
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By Rick Partlow

Published: May 6, 2025

Archangel

Rick Partlow’s Archangel kicks off the Archangel series with a rocket-assisted leap into powered armor warfare, black-ops politics, and transhuman morality. Partlow blends the pace of a modern shooter with themes pulled from Heinlein and Scalzi, military service, cybernetic identity, and the price of obedience (amazon).

The Gist

Raphael “Rafe” Alvarez was killed in action. Then the government brought him back, rebuilt in secret as a covert supersoldier with experimental Archangel armor. Cut off from his past and repurposed as a weapon, Rafe uncovers a conspiracy that runs deeper than any mission log. Now, hunted by the system that created him, he must fight not just to survive, but to decide who he still is.

The Big Ideas

  • Post-human identity – What happens when your body isn’t yours anymore?
  • The ethics of resurrection – If the state owns your second chance at life, do you still own your soul?
  • Shadow wars & autonomy – Operating off the books means asking whether the mission still matters.
  • Loyalty vs. justice – Rafe’s true battle isn’t with enemies, it’s with orders he can no longer follow.

Rule of Cool

  • Powered armor that flies, cloaks, and tanks railgun rounds like a boss.
  • Infiltration missions across urban warzones, orbital black sites, and scorched battlefields.
  • A soldier turned rogue asset, Jason Bourne meets Halo.
  • Slick tech: neural implants, combat AI, stealth drones, and next-gen military hardware.

The POV Character

Rafe Alvarez: Marine, KIA, resurrected asset. Once a war hero, now a state secret with a conscience. His struggle isn’t just external, it’s existential. Rafe’s journey from tool to man is marked by grit, grief, and flashes of humanity that cut through the armor.

What Partlow Gets Right

  • Action pacing – Partlow writes with kinetic energy; fight scenes are brutal, cinematic, and relentless.
  • Tech-military grounding – The gear feels real, with just enough handwavium to stay fun.
  • Emotional stakes – Beneath the armor, Rafe’s trauma, loyalty, and confusion resonate.
  • Clean prose, dirty world – Partlow’s writing is tight, propulsive, and never gets bogged down.

What You Might Not Like

  • Lone-wolf trope – Some readers may crave more ensemble dynamics; this is Rafe’s story, front and center.
  • Moral ambiguity – No clean wars here, just tradeoffs and betrayals, which may frustrate readers who want a noble cause.
  • Near-future cynicism – The setting isn’t quite dystopian, but hope is scarce and heroes bleed.

What This Book Means to Me

  • The soul behind the soldering – Archangel makes you care not just about how the armor works, but what it’s for.
  • A different kind of heroism – Not medals, not speeches, just a guy doing the right thing when nobody’s watching.
  • High-tech heartache – Power doesn’t bring clarity. It brings choices, and Rafe’s hit hard.
  • The thrill of rebellion – There’s something deeply satisfying about watching a weapon break its leash.

Who is Archangel for?

This book is for fans of Marko Kloos, Jason Anspach & Nick Cole, and anyone who likes their mil‑sci‑fi with fast drops, hard choices, and moral heat beneath the gunmetal.

The Final Word

If you’re into powered armor, covert ops, and one man’s war against the machine that made him, Archangel delivers the payload. Fast, tight, and smarter than it looks on the surface, this is mil‑sci‑fi with bite and brains.

Go buy it here

Solis Supra Omnia!