(Note: the video for the first three chapters will be posted later. I haven't had time to edit due to something out of my control that is eating up the majority of my time.)
Knight's Fall, written by Angela Henry, is a combination supernatural story. When I say 'combination' I mean that the author literally took a handful of genres and smooshed them together to get this book. You have Christian mythology, vampires, werewolves, concepts of reincarnation, and so on. I like all of these genres, and I myself am Christian, however, I'm not sure it all blends well. I think perhaps it would have been best to take only one of these concepts and use that as part of the book. Christian theology gives us a variety of demons, and the Scarab was an interesting concept, but it doesn't mesh with the concept of there being vampires, shifters, psychics, mages and whatever else running around. It basically makes a very confusing and childish cosmology. Like the author is a teenager writing their first original story and just threw everything she liked into it rather she it made sense or not. When you start blurring concepts together, you really need to step back and consider if this is too much or too little. The other thing is the swearing. It's excessive to the point of being comical with phrases sprouted such as "Then I guess you can just sit there and listen to me fart and watch me scratch my balls". Not only is this very wordy, this is not something that will realistically come out of anyone's mouth, much less an Angel. It's fine to have some language in a story, but it needs to be toned down. Speaking of realism, I understand that Xavier is an Angel and he's only been on Earth for a year, but he absolutely could not function in today's world as a PI and not know the basics of using the internet on his own. He'd have to have a cell phone with internet and gps. Using the internet is a crucial part of his job that he has to be able to do on his own. One day, he won't have assistants to do this for him. I'm not asking him to be a master at it, but he's figured out how to drive before he's learned how to log on? Even the name of the 'evil' corporation and it's drug name is silly and makes me wonder what the author was thinking. It's so obvious and stupid and I'm not sure if I should include it, as it might be spoilers, but as soon as you see it, you'll facepalm. Again, the author needs to think of how the story works realistically and make revisions, otherwise potential readers will just laugh before putting down your book and moving on. It's really noticeable that the formatting is off, as the printing on the pages is uneven. I've gotten to the end of a page several times thinking that I'm entering a time or location skip only to find the conversation continuing on the next page. It's especially noticeable on page 236 while Xavier is investigating who may have set him up. Xavier is speaking to a cherub and his dialogue is cut off at '...i have pissed off' and then continues on the next line with “so bad?” In the end, this book isn't ready to be published. It needs to be looked over again, edited, refined, reformatted and have the wordiness trimmed down to something more bearable. I liked the book, but there's nothing you'll be missing if you pass it up. I picked up 2AM at the Cat's Pajamas because I thought this would be a fun and fast read about dreams coming true and that nothing can keep you down.
We follow three different stories through several different characters and their problems all coming together within a day on Christmas Eve. This book tries to be cool and witty, and in ways, it does succeed. It has interesting metaphors and the writing seems to almost be song like. All the characters feel like real people or have had experiences and feelings that I can relate to, such as the death of a loved one due to cancer, being bullied, feeling lost, and feeling like a failure. There were even times I'd say to myself sarcastically while reading, "Yeah, that'd happen. Just my luck working away there." On the other hand, this book tries to be too cool and witty, especially with the writing. There's too much purple prose to see the beauty of the words, and I was often confused as to what was happening at any given time. It's a stream of consciousness as we paddle from one thought to the next at breakneck speed. I can't stand most of the characters. Madeleine especially, who is openly a bully and rude. Yes, I understand that she is 9 years old and her father is self absorbed in sadness, but I certainly wasn't like her when I was little and I didn't know anyone who was. The reader is suppose to come to this understanding that while nothing is fixed, the characters themselves have found their happy ending from within. But through all the needless perspectives of side characters and rambling prose, I couldn't really get into it and I can't think of anyone who would enjoy this book. In the end, I like the realism of how the events unfold and come to a close, as well as the realism of the characters, but the writing is really what lost me. |
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