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“Angel Down” by Daniel Kraus is a highly stylized horror story set during World War I. The premise involves a group of soldiers sent into no man's land to silence a wounded, shrieking comrade. However, they encounter a fallen angel whom they end up rescuing.

This story prompts the reader to question who is truly fallen or damned—the soldiers or the angel? It reminds me somewhat of "The Buffalo Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones, as both blend historical horror with themes of revenge, greed, and various sins or vices.

Like Jones's work, this captivating horror narrative parallels Albert Camus’ "La Chute" (The Fall). It explores themes of judgment, moral superiority, and hypocrisy, illustrating how individuals can justify their actions. Such justifications can lead to the emergence of oppressive regimes, like Fascism, or even to acts of genocide against those deemed sinful or inferior.

The author's stylistic choice, with each paragraph starting with "and," creates a sense of being on a long, epic journey. This approach reminded me of the film "1917," which is styled to appear as if it is one continuous shot over the course of a day and night. This technique enhances the feeling of a doomed, exhausting, and never-ending quest.

I recommend this novel. It may not cater to everyone’s expectations or preferences, but it is worth the experience. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

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A tale of literary hell — a book where the chapters are numbered with Roman numerals, and EVERY paragraph begins with the word “and.” And each of those paragraphs is just a run-on sentence, so the entire book is devoid of ANY periods, including the last page.
WTH?

And this was SO disappointing since I truly enjoyed Kraus’ “Whalefall,” the story of a diver swallowed by a whale (those chapter headings were the amount of oxygen that was leftover). And I was so enticed by the teaser that a group of soldiers find a fallen angel and try to rescue her. And, yet it was a chore to eek out the story if I didn’t know about the angel in advance. And we know that the truly despicable main character, Cyril Bagger, is just barely surviving near the French frontline trenches of World War I, surrounded by death and gore, continuously musing about vulgarity, and considering himself lucky to be on burial duty. And his inner monologue is overwhelmingly depressing. And, and, and, are you annoyed yet?

I must note that the author forced me to look up the definition of “absquatulate” and I was inspired to do just that with the book. I absquatulated midway, did a speed reading through the next and, and, and chapters, read the last few in order to decide if I should go back, and decided that was enough. And an extravagant description of dead kittens was repulsive. And unnecessary. 2 stars.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

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