Fallen Angel Risen by Darren Crofts

Fallen Angels is the first installment in a new series, and it opens with prose that is genuinely striking. Darren Crofts has a talent for evocative, textured language, one line in particular, “...patina of a hundred conversations,” has stayed with me long after reading.

The story itself is an intriguing concept and is what I would describe as a slow burn. I found the earlier timeline a little disorienting at first, but if you stay with it, the threads do come together in a way that makes sense and rewards your patience. There are quite a few characters to keep track of, and at times that made things a little challenging, but not enough to pull me out of the story.

Although the book is labelled Sci‑Fi/Horror, it didn’t read strongly as either genre for me. It certainly requires some suspension of belief, so I can see why it sits in that space, but as someone who doesn’t usually read horror — and is admittedly squeamish — I was able to read it comfortably. If it were adapted for film, I can imagine it being pitched as horror, but on the page the violence isn’t what I would describe as gratuitous.

I also found the linkages back to Christian faith and symbolism interesting. They added an extra layer of meaning without overwhelming the story.

In some ways, the book reminded me of Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon novels in the way it blends mystery, symbolism, and religious undercurrents into a contemporary setting. Readers who enjoy that style of layered, idea‑driven storytelling may find a similar appeal here.

There were a few typos and a couple of time shifts that left me unsure whether they were intentional or not, but they didn’t significantly disrupt the experience.

As the beginning of a series, Fallen Angels lays intriguing groundwork, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where the next installment takes the story. Readers who enjoy atmospheric, slow-building narratives will find plenty to appreciate here.