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Annelie Geissler
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ANGEL DOWN

Daniel Kraus

the critically acclaimed author of Whalefall returns with an immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war.
Private Cyril Bagger has managed to survive the unspeakable horrors of the Great War through his wits and deception, swindling fellow soldiers at every opportunity. But his survival instincts are put to the ultimate test when he and four other grunts are given a deadly mission: venture into the perilous No Man's Land to euthanize a wounded comrade. What they find amid the ruined battlefield, however, is not a man in need of mercy but a fallen angel, seemingly struck down by artillery fire. This celestial being may hold the key to ending the brutal conflict, but only if the soldiers can suppress their individual desires and work together. As jealousy, greed, and paranoia take hold, the group is torn apart by their inner demons, threatening to turn their angelic encounter into a descent into hell. Angel Down plunges readers into the heart of World War I and weaves a polyphonic tale of survival, supernatural wonder, and moral conflict. Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Whalefall, received a front-cover review in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more.
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Published 2025-07-29 by Atria Books

Comments

This novel leaves you breathless. You can't guess where it's going, or how it's going to get there. Just, let it take your hand, pull you through these trenches, this war, this century, this . . . this life.

Daniel Kraus has done it again. Angel Down is a dark and frenzied tale, set on the hellish landscape of WW1 France--where amid mayhem and death, something unexpectedly miraculous happens that will change the lives of several men, forever. Kraus writes with a prose that is at once witty in its observations and searing in its depictions, offering glimpses of humanity amid the brutally inhumane theatre of war. This is a story of the supernatural. But it is also a reminder that the horrors we most often face are the ones we create ourselves. A gripping and haunting read that will stay with you for a long time.