The Fallen Bind-up #1: The Fallen & Leviathan

The Fallen #1

by Thomas E. Sniegoski

The Fallen and Leviathan [FALLEN #01 FALLEN & LEVIATHAN] [Paperback]

Genres: Young Adult, Angels, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Supernatural

517 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Thomas E. Sniegoski, often credited as Tom Sniegoski is the author of more than two dozen novels for adults, teens, and children. His teen fantasy YA series Fallen was adapted into a trilogy of monstrously successful TV movies by ABC Family Channel. His other books for teens include Sleeper Code, Sleeper Agenda, and Force Majeure, as well as the upcoming series The Brimstone Network. The author's first adult novel, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse, hit the shelves in 2008, with its sequel, Dancing on the Head of a Pin to be released in 2009.

Sniegoski's work for younger readers includes Billy Hooten: Owlboy, and the fantasy quartet OutCast, which he co-authored with Christopher Golden. OutCast is in development as a film at Universal. Sniegoski and Golden have also collaborated on the adult dark fantasy series The Menagerie, and multiple creator-owned comic book series, including The Sisterhood, which is being prepped for a feature film by InterMedia, and Talent, currently in development at Universal after a major bidding war.

As a comic book writer, Sniegoski's work includes Stupid, Stupid Rat Tails, a prequel miniseries to international hit, Bone. Sniegoski collaborated with Bone creator Jeff Smith on the prequel, making him the only writer Smith has ever asked to work on those characters. Sniegoski and Golden also wrote the graphic novel BPRD: Hollow Earth, a spinoff from Hellboy.

Sniegoski was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his wife LeeAnne and their Labrador Retriever, Mulder. Tom recently completed the new young adult novel, Legacy, which is set to be released in October of 2009.

Reviews

[Sita · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars... it got rounded to 2, and 1.5 was really generous.

I couldn't finish it. I read the first part and that was about it, really boring! Normally a book does not take much to please me, it needs:
1. Romance
2. Action
3. Cool back story
This book had all of this but together they were all really crap. I bought the book for $15 and am now really regretting it. The only reason I read it was because I wanted to read it before I watched the movie. But truthfully really not worth it! Don't bother, seriously.

[Chandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say about this book? The first part was dull and the second part was, while admittedly more entertaining, a bit bizarre. And not in a creative, original way, but just in a "wtf" sort of way.
And then there's Verchiel, our villain. And at times, he can be a pretty bad-ass one. But most of the time he was around, all I could do was scratch my head and wonder why. What's his motivation? I get what he's SUPPOSED to be. He's that self-righteous villain who thinks God wants him to do evil things in the name of good. But here's the thing: HE'S AN ANGEL. Why hasn't God talked to him and told him, "Hey, stop doing evil things"? Why hasn't God fired him? It's clear that the God in this book has no qualms about that. It's like watchmaker theory plus angels, and it just doesn't work. The only explanation I can think of to explain this is that Verchiel got kicked out of heaven ages ago, and just didn't get the memo. But if that's the case, you would think Camael would have mentioned it at some point.
In conclusion, while some parts of this book at the very least had epic imagery, it's all shrouded in a cloud of "wtf" that just will not go away.

[Liang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's about a boy (Aaron) who discovers he is a nephilim, half human and human angel. At the beginning, he was just a regular kid. But soon he discovers he would understand any language - as well as animal languages. I was over the moon when they included some Portuguese dialogues! Everything is always in Spanish or French nowadays. I could relate to the character, because it's my dream to be multilingual, and what's funny is he didn't even have to work hard for it!

The dynamics between Aaron and his dog, Gabriel, is just gold! The dog is a bit of a smart ass too, which I loved. I would love to be able to talk to my dog too.

I hope Aaron sees Vilma again. Their relationship is just too cute to not continue with that plot. Plus she's Brasilian too. ;) lol.

Overall, 4.25 stars.

[Lynn Spinks · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband picked this book out for me. He knew how much I liked reading about angels from the last book I had read (Becca Fitzpatricks, Hush Hush) so as we strolled the book aisle at Target, Shaun reached down picked this up and said "How about this one?" My husband doesn't ever hand me aaaaanything with half naked boys on it so I figured he intuitively knew something I didn't and took his advice. The first few chapters were somewhat rough to me. I had just read about 6 books in a row that were all the typical YA undying love and lust kind. This book shows Aaron Corbet, a young man turning 18 who is a foster child in the only home that ever made him feel loved. He's working hard in school for a scholarship to college and loves his younger step brother, Stevie more than anything...anything except his golden lab Gabriel :) Gabriel is his best friend and constant comapanion. It's charming and quaint but you can almost smell the calm before the storm. The girl of his dreams, Vilma, has even recently noticed him and has spoke to him much to his surprise. The night of his birthday Aaron goes through traumatic changes. He can now understand any language and speak it, even the languages of the bugs, dogs and Angels. It's a painful transformation full with dreams, physical pain and the horrors of "losing your mind" although it's really the angelic presence inside of him coming in and wanting a place of it's own. Soon enough Aaron's life is turned more than upside down. He meets fallen angels that help him begrudgingly see what it is that he is, Nephilim. One of them even throws a ball to Gabe into oncoming traffic in a desperate attempt for Aaron to embrace what he is to save his dogs life. The act of saving Gabe has altered the dog and as he heals he finds he's no longer just a simple minded canine. He's special. Aaron's foster family is killed and his step brother taken, Aaron no longer has anything but Vilma (who isn't even his girlfriend but he does soo love) to keep him here. And he can't stay. The leader of the Powers was in his home, fought with him into the sky and killed his family. He has to find him and kill him, he has to get his step brother back. Ontop of this huge amount of pressure there's yet another pressure. Camael, a fallen angel and only companion of Aaron at this point, thinks Aaron is a Savior. The reason that fallen angels like Camael are on this earth is because of a great war in Heaven sometime around the time man was created. Some of the angels were jealous that God could love these lowly creatures as much as He loved the angels and took up arms against an army of the Lord, the Powers, that fought in His name. The fallen, were sent out of heaven and onto earth never to see heaven again. Until a human seer would tell a prophecy of a young nephilim who would be able to build a bridge to heaven for the fallen, a chance to be saved by the grace of God once and for all. This is the journey of a young boy who becomes a savior to angels and the fight it takes to realize sometimes, we are more than we could have imagined.

[Syndi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Supernatural, you will like this book. But for me, this book is dry. For Aaron who just relaize he an angel, his reaction is dry, predictable and bland. His character is shallow and boring. The only reason I give 3 stars because I love love love Gabriele the dog. he is such adorable. I want to kidnap him and have him as my own dog.

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I struggled with reading this book. I read a lot of the YA stuff. And lately, I have really been enjoying the stuff related to angels. This was hard to read though for me. I think for 2 primary reasons.

First - The Fallen:

First, I read somewhere the the author got started in comic books. If that's true - I totally see it. The abruptness with which chapters jumped between our main character, Aaron, and others was hard for me to handle. The character development was almost non existent. In fact, there were a number of chapters where we met characters and they died - in the same chapter. That's all we ever seen of them. It was, I think, intended to provide background. Or context so that we see that the "Powers" (real original name for them by the way) are really scary and should be taken seriously. But we sort of know that all along. Aaron is the one who needs to know that but since these chapters don't have anything to do with him or people he knows (for the most part), those chapters feel very wasteful. Additionally, there is a lot that is left unsaid. I think if I had a lot more bible knowledge/knowledge on the "lore" of angels it might have helped. I think. But the jumps and the use of these disposable characters felt very comic book like. If there were artwork to go along with it, the chapters might have been more interesting.

The second reason I struggled with this book was the religiousness. It's sort of tone, but it was more then that too. It's like the story itself should be one that is discussed in a theology class. I don't mind the theology of angels, but it's as if the plot itself is really about believing in God and having faith. And when I picked this book up, I thought it was just another YA book with an angel theme/spin. I didn't expect to feel like I was sitting through the homily at my church (a roman catholic one - I say that for context).

The plot goes something like this: boy is a half angel/half human; there are "bad" angels who believe they are doing God work by killing all the Nephilim; Aaron is a special Nephilim (and I can guess who his father is after the first time it's commented about how powerful he is, so why not just spit that out instead of pretending like that's some big dark secret); Aaron needs to embrace the angle half of himself and then he will save the "Fallen" angels who are stuck on earth and can't get to heaven because of their sins. We have the typical "bad" guys: the Powers. Lead by Verchiel who is so evil it was almost comical to think that he is an angel (and the line he says towards the end to God about why he's been forsaken... REALLY? am I supposed to believe that an angel that evil really can't see it? Pleeeaaasssseeeee say it ain't so!) and the guy we aren't sure to trust or not (Camael) and the faithful companion to Aaron (that is really the only interesting/original part - his faithful friend is a dog. But, given the changes to the dog when Aaron heals him, he's more intelligent so it's hard to continue to think of him as a dog throughout the end of the first and all of Levithan). And we are left with a tragic event that forces Aaron to chose whether he is going to accept or reject his true self as a Nephilim. Add in lots of religious theory and some fairly gruesome deaths and there you have it.

At 272 pages, it's a fairly short read too. So, there isn't a whole lot of room for character development. But it certainly would have been nice to have some. When the battle at the end happens, I barely felt sad for the characters that are lost (and I didn't feel at all sad about the characters we loose in the beginning because the author never even attempts character development for those folks - as mentioned earlier) - because we barely know the characters. Even Aaron isn't really all that well developed. Zeke certainly isn't - he comes and goes quickly. I felt like if there had been pictures to go with the story you might know more about him. The author tells us very quickly that he's a loner. There's a whole whopping 2 scenes with him at school...? How does that really tell me anything? It introduces us to Vilma but she is promptly set aside and we get very few scenes with her (although, I read this in the re-released double with Levithan - which will get barely 1 star, and I see that we will end up seeing more of Vilma in the next installment, but I am not sure I care enough to pick it up, especially after reading Levithan).

The end of this book leaves the reader totally hanging off a cliff. I think it was smart to re-puiblish this with Levithan, but Levithan was bad enough that I probably won't bother with the next two (maybe they should have put all 4 together and just charged a little more - then I would have spent more money and that's probably the only way they would ever get me to finish the series). And since we really don't have much additional resolution or information even after Levithan, well, I was unsatisfied.

Second - Levithan:

Yikes. Worse then the first half. I don't have a whole lot of religious background. I've never read the bible. While raised Roman Catholic, I'm not exactly a staunch church-goer nor was I raised on the "lore" of demons and angels and stuff. So, I really, honestly had no idea what the "Levithan" could be. This was a detour in the overall story line if you ask me. Had this installment been skipped, with the exception of a few small chapters, I am guessing you could go on and read the other 2 that come next and not have noticed anything. The gross sea monster that is Levithan and the battle to kill it (I wonder, was this written before or after Tommy Lee Jones pulled the same basic stunt in Men In Black?) was just pointless. Granted, we wouldn't know that Stevie is now some grotesque tracker in an adult body with no memories or Aaron, nor would we have met the Archangel Gabriel, but really, those couldn't have been done in the first few chapters of the next book? And since the Archangel disappears faster then he's introduced, I am not sure even that would have been necessary to address in the next book.

This one doesn't do the jumping around to random people who we really don't care about nearly as much as the first book (but there are still some - and some really random scenes that seem to not do much of anything - like the scene where Gabriel the dog gets fed by that family in the park - unnecessary and unhelpful and a total waste of pages in what already was a pretty short book), but we still get no character development at all. We still don't have a clue if we can trust Camael and he is only present for about 1/3 of the book (before he ends up in a digestive sack). The Orsha's...? What the...? They were an annoying distraction. I was interested in knowing what they were and why they were important to the story for about 30 seconds. We get so very little about them - even by the end of the book - and they really had no material impact on the plot whatsoever, that I really didn't care about them.

The plot continues where we left off. After the big bad battle, Aaron is struggling to embrace his angel half. If he doesn't... blah blah blah. He, Gabriel (the dog) and Camael are on their way somewhere - but they don't know where. Aaron wants to find Stevie and Camael thinks they might be headed to a place called Aerie. Camael thinks Aaron needs to accept his true nature, and Aaron doesn't want to. They stop in a small town after Gabriel gets bit by something. Aaron gets hired by the vet, get a room to stay in, and they discover something isn't right with the town or the townspeople. What is it that is wrong? The Levithan. Battle ensues. For how it ends, see the note above pondering which came first, Men In Black or this. So, clearly, I didn't find the plot all that thrilling.

Not only did the lack of character development continue, but the religiousness did too. And so did the patheticness of the villain and the "Powers". They are uninteresting, whiney characters. And I still find it laughable that they are written to believe that they are doing God's work. There's a flaw in the logic that is motivating the Powers and their leader and it's hard to ignore (I normally don't care, but the good vs. evil tone of this book and the religious context makes it hard for me to ignore their motivations in this case) and so it just made me not want to read them or about them.

When we first are introduced to the Archangel I was hopeful that we'd get some good action, some good information on what's really going on, or we'd at least be getting a new and interesting character. My hopes were dashed quickly though since there is still zero character development.

It's always a bad sign when I start skimming pages. But I read all @280 pages of this half of the bigger book last night in about 90 minutes. That's how terrible this was. I don't think I will bother with the next ones. Unless I am really bored and at the library and there is NOTHING else to read.

[lucie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was my first book about angels and it was not a good pick. I didn't like the writing, the level of repeated words on one page was too high. The main character, Aaron, wasn't interesting at all and his talking dog was annoying af. The story was dull and it didnt keep my attention.
I really struggled with reading this book. It was boring. And the final battle against Leviathan was the most boring. I skimmed it.

[Kaila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Is An Average Teenage Guy, Until He Turned 18. A Foster Child With Quite A Temper, He Begins Having Terrible Nightmares. Two Men Appear To Warn Him About His Destiny. And So Begins An Adventure You Will Never Forget! Aaron Learns He Is A Nephilim, A Child Born Of A Human Female And An Angel. There's A Group Of Angels That Are Out To Finish Everything They Feel Is Ungodly. They Are Called The Powers. They're Seeking Aaron Out Because According To The Prophecy, There Is The ONE That Will Have The Fallen Angels Forgiven And Returned To Heaven. The Powers Are Not Too Happy About This And Are NOT About To Let It Happen. Who Could The ONE Be? You Have To Read To Find Out!

This Is A Special Re-Release Edition Of The First Two Novels In The Fallen Series. This Series Will Compel You To Adore It And Make Your Head Spin At The Same Time. Angels Are Quickly On The Rise! I Was Drawn Into This Book Not Only By The Cover But By Sniegoslki's Wonderful Writing Style. There Are Tons Of Surprises And Twists In The Plot That You'll Be Happily Lost in The World Of Fallen. I Haven't Read A Book This Good Since Last Year! I Already Pre-Ordered Book 2 In The Series (Which Is Actually Books 3 And 4 Bound Up Into One!) I Highly Recommend This Book! Especially If You Want To Deviate A Little From All The Vampires, Fairies, And Wolves!

[~Bellegirl91~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.....

I've been on this since basically the beginning of January and even though I don't do supernatural type books and this did end up sounding pretty good, I feel now that I have to force myself to read this, I wasn't getting into it much, and it got a bit weird for me when I got into a little into Leviathan and had to quit at chapter 3.


Also it just got too slow, too confusing, and just kept getting into a reading slump and I hate not finishing a book. But I want to get to other books and this I don't want to drag. And if I've dragged this book this long, I don't want to drag all the others and get in so many reading slumps because of it.

So overall, I got major bored after just two chapters in Leviathan and need a change so unfortunately I'm going to have to DNF this which I was going I didn't have to after my first one last year. But oh well.

But I say if you like this genre and type of book, go for it. I just personally couldn't get through this after the first story.

[Beagle Lover (Avid Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Read quite a while ago. I remember these books as interesting and good reads.

[Shaheen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This omnibus edition of the first two books in Sniegoski's series about fallen angels is both entertaining and thought-provoking. In The Fallen, we are introduced to Aaron, a lonely seventeen year old boy who doesn't feel like he belongs in the world, and in the sequel, Leviathan, we follow Aaron as he finds out more about his Nephilim heritage.

The Fallen

The first thing that stuck me about the book is Aaron: despite all the angst and woe-is-me stuff, he is a genuinely nice kid who is just trying to figure out his life. Unlike many of the other YA protagonists I read about, Aaron has his priorities straight and really doesn't want anything to do with the freaky-deaky angels that come into his life and disrupt its monotony. I felt for him, because in this aspect I would be exactly the same! It's also refreshing to read from a male perspective, especially one who has angelic powers.

Aaron's life is very realistic: he has loving parents and although he doesn't have many friends, it's clear that the people who take the time to get to know him really like him. I love that the author hasn't shied away from writing in Stevie, Aaron's foster-brother, as an autistic child, and I can tell that he will end up playing a vital role in the story. I also like Vilma, and although there was minimal romance between her and Aaron, I think there is a lot of potential between them that would be great to explore. It's obvious they both care for one another a lot.

My favourite aspect of the book has to be the angels. Some authors like to make their angels inaccessible and alien, and I think this is the way to go in reality, but authors who instil their angels with humanity usually don't succeed. Sniegoski's angels are imbued with human characteristics and are wonderfully flawed, but I think it makes perfect sense given their millennia away from heaven without guidance. This is the reason that Verchiel's disillusionment is one of the most realistic aspects of the novel - the line between his divine mission and his own beliefs is blurred and it becomes increasingly clear that he has no idea what he is doing and is acting on orders given thousands of years ago. This aspect has irked some readers, and I understand why, but I think the whole point of the novel is about how these soldiers act on Earth when their generals gave lost contact with God, and no one is clear on whether the war is still going on or not.

Leviathan

In Leviathan we take up with Aaron and the angel Camael as they try to reclaim Stevie from the vengeful angel Verchiel. The book is still gripping, but a little confused because it doesn't take long for the duo to become distracted from their mission. Although this aspect is explained later on in the novel, I was perplexed at the beginning.

This book is action packed and creepy, with strange mutated animals and zombie like people emerging in the sleepy town of Blithe, and the disappearance of Camael initiating a surprising sequence of events that leads to Aaron discovering a dark secret its inhabitants. I did like that even Aaron grasped how ridiculous his situation is - he comments that if he wasn't living it himself, he'd think it a plot from a bad science fiction movie. However, the elements of the story coalesce nicely and tell a brilliant story, and the ending was great!

The characters continue to be enjoyable in Leviathan, especially Gabriel, the talking dog, who brings humour to an otherwise dark book. The angel Camael is also great, for all his arrogance about being so much better than humans, it's nice that he's found out that he has more in common with them than he'd realised. We get to meet very few other angels in the book, which was disappointing, and Verchiel is off-screen for its entirety (although we get glimpses of what he is up to, and it's terrifying). This book is more about Aaron accepting his new powers and place in the prophesy than about getting revenge on Verchiel and the other Powers for destroying Aaron's life. I also liked the snippets we got of Vilma and Stevie: they provide grounding for Aaron's past and attest to how different he has become.

The Fallen and Leviathan are both enjoyable reads, and it's great to have them in this omnibus edition so I could transition between them easilty. I am looking forward to reading the rest of Sniegoski's The Fallen novels, and finding out how Aaron handles the prophesy. Readers who enjoy angel themed fiction but are tired of monotony will benefit from trying this series.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book so bad! Aaron was a vision of pure perfection and I was so excited to dive in and get to know him and everything he was about.

After the bore of the firt few chapters I kept trucking along thinking that at some point it would have to get good. About halfway through, I realized that nothing good was going to come out of this book but I insisted on finishing since I have already spent the money on the book and invested my time. Unfortunately for fallen angel lovers everywhere the book not only sucked ass the entire way through it actually took some of the stupidest turns. There was a point towards the end that the plot got so rediculously stupid that I threw the book across the room out of frustration.

The only thing remotely interesting about this book is the dog, Gabriel. He is the best character in the book and he doesn't even speak in complete sentences. I hate it that my review is mean but it's truly the way I felt.

[Danielle (Arabbitinwonderland) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars.

To enjoy this book you need to have a reasonable working knowledge of Christianity else half the terms aren't going to make a lot of sense to you.

The Fallen isn't at all a bad series however it is difficult to read, the POV jumps around frequently and can be difficult to remember who's point of view you're reading, and you're going to miss points about both the characters and the terms if you don't already know you Christianity, but it does have an interesting story line and is far from the worst Angel story I've read.

[Lexy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good and took me two weeks to read though

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tematika anjelov patrí medzi moje obľúbené, preto som sa na túto knihu tešila. Moje nadšenie bolo obrovské, a tak som dúfala, že ma nesklame. Nestalo sa tak, ba naopak. Ešte viac ma pohltila, ako som očakávala. Podľa knihy bol natočený aj seriál, ktorý okolo príbehu išiel obrovskou okľukou, keďže seriál z knihy pochytil iba námet, nič viac. Ak ste videli seriál a nepáčil sa vám, nesúďte podľa toho knihu, pretože majú spoločné žalostne málo. Padlí anjeli a Leviatan je prvá kniha, ktorá obsahuje dve časti série Padlí anjeli. Po dočítaní som zostala čumieť ako teľa na nové vráta, či to autor skutočne ukončil tak, ako ukončil. Sniegoski má neuveriteľný dar, chytiť vás, vtiahnuť do deja a nepustiť, pokým nedočítate posledné slovo epilógu.

Postavy v knihe nie sú povrchné. Každá má osobitú hĺbku, či je to hlavný hrdina Aaron, jeho pes Gabriel alebo anjeli, ktorí nie sú práve takí, akých ich poznáme z iných príbehov. Sniegoski svoje postavy prepracoval do hĺbky a vdýchol im dušu. Žiadna postava mi nebola ľahostajná, či už to bol najväčší záporák knihy alebo Aaronovi pomocníci. Všetci sa mi svojským spôsobom dostali pod kožu a niekedy som na nich nadávala, inokedy ich ľutovala a na ďalších stranách som im držala palce.

Aaron je obyčajný tínedžer, ktorý má svoju budúcnosť dobre premyslenú. Chce zmaturovať, podať si prihlášku na vysokú, nájsť si dievča, neskôr si založiť rodinu. Tieto predstavy sa však zrútia ako domček z kariet, keď dovŕši osemnásť rokov. Začnú sa mu diať zvláštne veci, po ktorých si myslí, že sa z neho stal čistý blázon. Po tom ako stretne starého muža, ktorý ho osloví nephilim, ničomu nerozumie. Jeho život sa obrátil na ruby.

Sniegoski príbeh nabil akciou od začiatku až po samý záver. Nenájdete tam hluché miesta a autor vám nedá vydýchnuť. Kto by čakal aj nejakú romantiku, sklamem vás. Je jej strašne málo, vlastne len pár scén. V knihe vôbec nechýba, ba naopak. Príbeh by bol zbytočné prepchatý. Takto autor čitateľom naservíroval trochu toho, čo by sme mohli očakávať v pokračovaní. Okrem akcie, napätia a tajomstiev, Sniegoski šikovne do príbehu zakomponoval humor. Na niektorých scénach som sa doslova šúľala a musela som si utierať slzy.

Postavou, ktorú zbožňujem, sa stal Aaronov verný kamarát, pes Gabriel. Nielen, pretože je to labrador a ja takých psov mám veľmi rada, ale aj pre jeho správanie. Po tom, ako Aaron začal rozumieť psej reči bola s ním kopa zábavy. Práve jeho postava oživila príbeh a dala mu trochu vtipnosti.

Autor Aarona vykreslil realisticky. Po tom ako sa dozvedel, že má anjelské schopnosti, odmieta tomu uveriť. Až doteraz bol ako každý iný chlapec v jeho veku, no v deň jeho osemnástych narodenín sa všetko zmenilo. Začal rozumieť všetkým rečiam, dokonca rozumie reči jeho psa, Gabriela. Jediné racionálne vysvetlenie je, že načisto zošalel. Aarona som mala rada, hneď od prvej stránky. Snažil sa prijať svoje anjelské schopnosti, hoci neveril, že on je práve ten, ktorého hľadajú. Chcel byť, znovu obyčajným človekom, ktorý zbožňujem svoju pestúnsku rodinu a malého brata. Pre Aarona sa začal boj o holý život a nielen o ten jeho.

Nestáva sa často, že nejakú postavu neznášam, avšak autorovi sa takú postavu podarilo napísať. Verchiel, najzápornejší zo záporákov, je krutý, bezcitný a bez mihnutia oka si plní misiu, o ktorej si myslí, že koná v mene Božom. Z jeho činov som často mala husiu kožu. V duchu som prosila, aby prestal páchať také podlé veci. Nemá zľutovanie ani s tými, ktorí mu slúžia. Je zlý až do špiku kostí a práve pri jeho činoch mi miestami padala sánka, kvôli jeho chladnokrvnosti.

Za povšimnutie stoja aj ostatné postavy. Či už to boli Ezechiel a Kamael, ktorí pomáhali Aaronovi alebo jeho malý brat Stevie, ktorý je zlatíčko a nemožno si ho neobľúbiť alebo Vilma, dievča, ktoré sa Aaronovi zapáčilo. Všetci, svojim spôsobom, zohrávali v príbehu dôležitú úlohu.

Prvá kniha zo série Padlí anjeli je skvelá, božská, geniálna. Zaraďujem ju medzi to najlepšie, čo som tento rok prečítala. Ak máte radi anjelov, napätie, akciu s dávkou humoru, táto kniha je pre vás ako stvorená. Mestami, mi vyrazila dych. Pán Sniegoski je majster opisov a za túto knihu by som mu udelila zlatú medailu.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

THESE BOOKS ARE AMAZING!!!!

I was immediately hooked on these from the very first sentence in the first book and read all the way through to the end of the second omnibus. They are a FANTASTIC series of four WONDERFUL books with losts of unexpected twists(and a few expected ones) and turns. DEFINITELY a must read for anyone who loves the supernatural! Yes, there are strong Catholic and Christian overtones in the books(it IS a series about angels, after all), but they don't beat you over the head with it.

Basically it's a journey of self-discovery and family; Aaron-our main character-tries to figure out who he is while dealing with the family ties from both his human and angelic sides. The results from both are quite a doozy and with have you cheering, crying and screaming along with Aaron the entire way! It's absolutely breath-taking!

I would recommend this book to anyone, religious views aside, because it opens up a great many ideas and plays around with well known mythology to make a really thought provoking set of books! Not only a great story, but something you could discuss for hours!

Five stars!

[Briar's Reviews · Rating 1 out of 5]

What feels like eons ago, The Fallen by Thomas E. Sniegoski was a VERY popular book among my classmates. Me, being the closer Avril Lavigne-esque bookaholic, decided I was not going to read what the popular kids like. Now that it's 2019, I decided that it was time to see what all the fuss was about... and I was right in my original decision.

I did not enjoy this book. It was well written and truly intriguing, but I just couldn't get into it. I was going to DNF this book, but I decided to finish it off and send it on it's merry way to a Christmas Adoption (some teenagers were looking for presents, and I'm sure that age group would like it more than me).

It felt like a stereotypical YA novel - angels, nephilim and magical powers with one guy being the most special - but it felt very, very slow. I'm a fast paced kinda girl, so this book made me feel bored.

My biggest positive for this book was that the descriptions and building plot was marvelous. It was truly awesome to read how Thomas was building up this series, but it felt like that - part of a series and not an initial stand alone. Books that build up for a bigger universe tend to fall flat for me - I need a good initial story to pull me in and hook me.

My biggest pet peeve was the dog incident. If you read the book, you know what I'm talking about. I just... nope. Big nope for me. No matter if it's a happy ending or not, that hurt wildly and I put the book down for DAYS because of it.

Overall, I'm glad I picked the book up to see what all the hype was about but it just wasn't for me!

One out of five stars.

[Erica Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only character I cared about was the dog 🐕

[Cait · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE FALLEN
THE FALLEN is a wildly entertaining, dark, yet hopeful read. Aaron is such a great character – he loves his foster family, does good in school, works at a local veterinary clinic…he’s normal. Except when he isn’t. I really connected with Aaron and the trials he has to face. The story really revolves around Aaron and his journey. Yes, there’s a potential love interest, but it’s realistic and not the overall point of the book.

The plot moves along wonderfully, and there’s some great action sprinkled throughout. The angel mythology is done really well, especially the reasons for the fallen angels. I absolutely disliked Verchiel, the angel in charge of hunting down Aaron. I just wanted to shake some sense into him, to make him stop and see reason, to listen to Aaron and the fallen angels. The plot for the first book was wrapped up nicely, with just enough problems left unresolved to make me glad I bought the two-in-one version of the book

LEVIATHAN
The story picked right up from where the first book left off and the plot continued at a great pace. I was swept along with Aaron as he grows into his power and discovers more ceatures than he could have ever guessed existed. Every once and a while an interlude is inserted between the chapters. These interludes give us a glimpse into other characters and their activities, all of which are adding to a bigger picture and most likely the climax of the series. As you’re reading you just get the sense that everything is clicking into place and there is going to be an epic confrontation between Aaron and the head of the Powers, Verchiel.

Aaron continues to grow as a character. He’s determined to save his brother, and is going to let nothing stop him. He knows he’ll need his angelic powers to do that, but he’s anxious and reluctant to use them. The power is overwhelming, and Aaron is clinging to his humanity. As the situation in Maine continues, though, he begins to understand that he has control over his power and can – and should – use it to help him while he searches for Stevie. We also get to see a bit more of Vilma, Aaron’s potential love interest. Presented in the first book as a normal girl, we’re slowly finding out that it might not be the case. She seems to have some sort of connection to the angels, and Aaron. This series is moving along great, and the plot remains fresh and interesting.

[Abigail Shotwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an extremely good book. It's a highly addicting and I couldn't put down.
The main character's name is Aaron Corbet. And he is just a normal boy in his senior year of high school. Or so he thinks. As the truth inside of him begins to emerge of who he truly is, Aaron starts hearing voices, dreaming the same dream every night, and believes that he is going crazy. But when an angel finds Aaron and tells him about the change that is occuring within him, Aaron is even more dumbfounded. The angel told Aaron that he is a Nephilim. The spawn of a fallen angel and a human. And that there are many more like him. As Aaron begins to accept who he truly is, he finds out that he is the One fortold of in an ancient prophecy that says he will reunite all of the fallen angels with God. Of course there would have been no fallen angels at all if the Great War in Heaven hadn't occurred. Now, Aaron must protect the other Nephilim, reunite the fallen angels, and also battle a group of angels. The group is called the Powers. Their leader, Verchiel, is a crazed angel who believes it his his job to rid the earth of all that is wrong in God's eye. Aaron has many difficulties in the beginning, but to find out what happens, read the book! :)

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it takes me 2 weeks to read a book, it's either because it's really heavy and I need to read it slowly, or it's only mildly entertaining. This definitely falls into the second category. The version of the fallen angels theme is much more involved and speaks more of religion. This volume is composed of two books and I would rate the first one (The Fallen) 4 stars versus the second one (Leviathan) which I would probably give 2 stars. Hence the average rating of 3 stars. The first book was interesting and has some different portrayals of angels and righteous dominion. My personal beliefs differ greatly from this fiction book, so I read it lightly without thinking too much about it. The second book was a bizarre tangent. The character development because of the story was necessary, but it came about in a strange and disturbing way. So, read at your own risk, I guess. I hate leaving things unfinished, so unless I hate it or it is particularly offensive, I'll keep reading. Although I've figured out a few things (the kind that get the "oh, come on!" reaction while I'm reading) I'm still interested to find out how this entirely blasphemous story plays out.

[Bookrazy-Koi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not really one of the best books I've read, but it was definitely an interesting read. I'm going to write the review as a whole, which means I'm including Volume 2.

The whole journey was a bit so-so. Not that exciting but there's a sense of intrigue. I don't know, perhaps I wanted to see what would happen to the Morning Star ...(I mean, c'mon, we all want an insight on the ultimate villain's head...) the writing is consistent and I could really see where things were going..although sometimes, it's a bit dragging..but when there was action, there's ACTION.

But overall, i guess the thing that really makes me give this book at least some stars is the concept and the ending and twists..:D I mean, the book makes you hopeful for those who have "fallen" (not really just pertaining to angels or beings but also people who just can't really stay out of trouble! LOL)

Props for being "FRESH" (in a way...)
Props for not having "VAMPIRES and WEREWOLVES"
Props for not being a "SAPPY LOVE-STORY-TRIANGLE"
Props for the TALKING DOG! ! ! ! ! (sorry, i'm a dog lover)

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fallen was a rather interesting text and I am pondering upon how I should review such a book. The writing was, well – truly breathtaking, however, gore seemed to be a main theme within the plot (which is to be expected). Sniegoski did a phenomenal job writing this book, the writing was fluent, detailed but carried the story along nicely. I’m not sure I would have written it in any other way if given the chance.

The thought of fallen angels, Nephilim and among other things including angels and the Lord Himself have always intrigued me so. The Fallen was a marvelous tale to satisfy my craving for yet another angel book.

I’m absolutely thrilled for the second volume in The Fallen knit.

Writing: 1/1
Plot: 1/1
Detail: 1/1
Concepts: 1/1
Overall text: 1/1

In the end, The Fallen is rated 5/5 in my book (no pun intended).

Grades Suggested: 10+ (16 or older)
TV Rating (wink): R (violence, cuss words)

[Libby Wyatt · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 should have been 1.5 stars. This was an absolute let down for me. I've never been so disappointed in a book before in my life. I love all things angel and nephilim and I had hoped that this would be a great read. It has been sitting on my TBR shelf for almost a year and I'd finally picked it up only to wish I'd never bought it. Not only was the whole villain/evil doer bizarre and hardly explained the fucking dog becomes all human like and has his own chapters in his POV. Umm. No. WTF. Now because of some ritual the baby foster brother is now a hunter and is going to kill Aaron. God this is just too stupid. Such a let down and I will NEVER continue this series. I can only imagine how stupid the rest of the series will progress.

[Yianna Yiannacou · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such a garbage book. I expected more but I got worse than less. I do not reccommend this book to anyone. I would say it was a waste of my time. It took me so long to read it since I couldn't be bothered to find the time for it. Blah! Wont buy No. 2!

[Hallie · Rating 3 out of 5]

NO SPOILERS:
It was outstanding writing but the plot, I wasn't too impressed with. At the beginning it was very interesting, then it became more boring. I will not read the second book because I don't think it is worth it.

[Noey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love getting book recommendations from friends because they bring stories I wouldn’t have otherwise known about to my immediate attention. Case and point – I hadn’t heard about Sniegoski’s The Fallen until my friend, Kate brought it to mine. She’d given me the first omnibus volume as a gift, and from the moment I caught sight of the cover under the newly–torn wrapping paper that hid the book from view, I can, in all honesty say that I could not wait to read it.

As you can see from the synopses posted above, The Fallen chronicles the journey of Aaron Corbet, a regular teenaged boy living in a small town whose concerns initially have to do more with figuring what he wants to do once he graduates high school and how not to blush each time he crosses paths with the girl he likes. Unfortunately, for Aaron, his life takes a drastic turn (for the worst?) when he finds himself with the newfound ability to speak and understand tongues –– and yes, I know it sounds very biblical.

The fact of the matter is, biblical is not too far from the truth of things. Aaron is a Nephilim –– the child of a mortal woman and an angel, and this accounts for his ability to understand and speak foreign languages like Brazilian (which is what the girl he’s crushing on speaks) and other foreign languages –– and yes, even Canine.

As a reader, I haven’t really come across that many stories wherein the hero is of angelic origin. Most of the angel stories I have come across and remember reading were from well back in the 90’s, when the trend for angels were mostly of guardian–angel ilk.

The Fallen is not that. As my Dad once mentioned to me, there is actually no place in the Bible where angels are described as beautiful, peaceful guardians hovering protectively over children. What they are described as are Messengers, and the most memorable of their appearances are those where the places they go to, find themselves dealing either death or destruction. In the Old Testament, the final plague that God sent was Death to the all the Firstborn in houses unmarked by those who knew what was coming. If you’ve ever seen Disney’s the Prince of Egypt, pay close attention to the light that starts up in the sky and then runs through the city like a mad wind with a mind of its own. Yup, you got it: Angel.

Pretty heavy, I know, but I think that’s what drew me into the story most of all. The conflict between Good, Evil and the gray areas found in between is a theme that crops up in a lot of stories. Sniegoski’s The Fallen understands this trope and ties his hero’s story with that of the Fall, when rebel angels took up arms against the All Father, lost in the war and were consequently banished from Heaven.

Now while I’ve yet to read the second volume of the omnibus set (Kate’s got me reviewing that one too, by the by) containing Books 3 and 4, I find myself deep enough into the story to know that this is not just Aaron’s story, though he is right in the thick of things. Perhaps we can say that this is a story about Choice, and Aaron, as the main character, serves as the medium by which we, the readers, find ourselves considering questions like: What is Good? For that matter, what is Evil? Is it as simple as telling black from white, because then, what about the various gradations of gray that lie in–between? Is it possible that something good could end up serving evil as well? If one is good, does that mean they are completely immune to doing evil?

Well, don’t look at me. I don’t have the answers –– but if you’d like to talk it over a cup of coffee, chocolate or tea, let me know and we’ll set something up.

Sniegoski’s characters are strong, distinct and memorable, and whether they be the (perceived) good guys or the (again, perceived) bad guys there is something in them that makes you –– or well, me, as a reader, want to understand more.

There is Gabriel the dog, who worms his way into your heart with little to no effort at all, and then Camael, the uptight, former leader of the Powers who develops a rather endearing addiction to French fries. There is Verchiel, current leader of the Powers – devoted to the Creator, singly–focused on ensuring the eradication of every Nephilim in existence as they are a stain in the Almighty’s Plan. There is Vilma Santiago, clearly Aaron’s love–interest, who I have to wonder what role she’ll play given that there are two more books to go. And then there is the Morningstar –– yup, that Morningstar. But I won’t elaborate on that. After all, the point of this review is to get you guys to hunt up the books and read as I did.


The Fallen is a read that will have you turning pages and running through chapters until you hit the back cover and either (a) be incredibly glad that you are lucky enough to have the last two books sitting, unopened on your shelf, or (b) you could be like me, going through each and every bookstore in the city, frustrated that all current copies of these books are ridiculously unavailable.

I finished the book in two days (not for want of putting it down, but I do work and also have to sleep). This is not because the writing is complicated, because it is anything but. It is a book that you find you want to pace yourself, because it is a read that encourages you, as a reader, to pause, consider and think.

If you’re a fan of any sort of mythology or books that springboard from mythology, you will definitely enjoy this read. If you aren’t, I am totally willing to take the blame for any interest sparked; And finally, if you’re a fan of strong character–driven writing balanced with a plot that makes you want to guess, this is definitely worth the buy.

[SeaBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Patřím do té menší skupinky čtenářů, která byla knihou unesena... aspoň co se týče začátku.

Autorův styl mi naprosto sedl a kniha pro mne byla čtivou, zajímavou, poutavou a díky Gabrielovi (kdo by toho psa nemiloval) zábavnou. Poslední čtvrtina ale byla muka. Jakoby ji napsal úplně někdo jiný. Ploché, krkolomné a napsáno stylem, který ani zdaleka nepřipomínal čtivý zbytek knihy. Právě kvůli konci snižuji hodnocení, ale jinak musím říci, že jsem si příběh Aarona a Gabriela zamilovala a těším se na další díly :)

HODNOCENÍ: 3,5/5

[Jay Madeleine]

Honestly I dont know how I feel about this book.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caídos foi o meu livro de estreia com este autor, o primeiro de uma série em que prevalece a temática dos anjos.
Aqui temos um muito pouco típico livro YA, porque é que é YA? Porque o protagonista Aaron tem 18 anos e os motivos acabam aí. Não há mais nenhuma caracteristica tipica de livros YA.

Este livro foi algo esquisito de se ler, apesar de estar de bem com a classificação que lhe dei, pois no fim senti-me bastante satisfeita com a leitura e com vontade de ler mais, nem sempre foi uma leitura fácil. Não por ser um livro chato, incoerente ou mal escrito. Primeiro a forma como livro está dividido (como que em 2 livros) é pouco usual, e depois a forma como o autor nos conduz pela história, a forma como vamos descobrindo o mundo dos anjos, as suas caracteristicas, as diferentes categorias destes, também não é semelhante a nenhuma outra que tenha lido.
Enquanto estava a ler, tive a constante sensação de que andava às escuras, ou seja, não fazia ideia do que se poderia passar a seguir, nem porque, nem como, nada... Portanto foi um livro completamente imprevisivel. Isso fez com que durante a leitura houvese momentos em que me sentia-a algo perdida e distante da leitura, mas no fim o autor soube ligar os acontecimentos disperssos dando-lhes sentido e coesão de modo a que o livro acabasse por se tornar um todo bastante apelativo.

Quanto aos personagens, temos o Aaron Cobert, que a meu ver pode-se descrever como um rapaz bem educado, com um sentido de lealdade e do correcto bastante apurado, nas páginas com maior acção esperava que houvesse uma maior explosão de poderes e jogos de luz, e movimento (imaginados ao ler, claro) mas iso só aconteceu no fim. No entanto acho que teve a reação esperada quando soube aquilo que realmente era, um Nephilin) não o aceitou de animo leve o que nos dá uma sensaçãod e realismo.

Temos o Gabriel, um cãozinho muito especial e que a certa altura se torna ainda mais especial. É um personagem que serve principalmente para aligeirar uma leitura que se podia tornar pesada conferindo-lhe algum humor algo aparvalhado mas que nos deixa smepre com um sorriso na cara.

O Camael é um anjo, um antigo lider dos Potestades (um conjunto de anjos que diz agir consoante a palavra de Deus e que tem a missão de exterminar o mundo dos Nephilin), vive na esperança de encontrar o Nephilin que segundo a profecia irá trazer o perdão aos anjos caídos dando-lhes a oportuinidade de voltarem para o céu. Este é um personagem bastante intrigante que nos dá a ideia de ter tido um passado algo conturbado e de estar em sofrimento, ainda que possua uma mascara fria e de desinteresse, a maior parte do tempo. No fim este anjo acaba por ser tornar como que um mentor para Aaron que se inicia neste novo mundo dos anjos.

O actual lider dos Potestades é o Verchiel, que como seria de esperar é um estupor autêntico. Ainda que a certa altura consigamos perceber que Verchiel tem algumas dúvidas de que o que está a fazer é realmente uma missão que Deus lhe conferiu ou algo que ele próprio idealizou e assim acaba por se tornar o vilão da história mas com alguns momentos de sofrimento por estar tão dividido.

Por fim temos o Stevie, a única "familia" que resta a Aaron. Stevie sofre de um autismo bastante acentuado, uma temática que o livro aborda de forma bastante leve mas explicita, e é irmão de Aaron. Ao ser capturado pelos Potestades para sr escravo de Verchiel, a missão de Aaron, mais do que conferir o perdão aos anjos caídos passa a ser salvar o seu irmão.

Concluindo, acho que acaba por ser um livro bastante interessante, com algumas criaturas e acontecimentos pouco usuais que acabam por trazer alguma novidade ao género do fantástico/paranormal. A escrita é intrincada de certa forma mas bastante perceptivel, no fim faz-me querer ler o próximo o que é bom.

Sinto que a opinião está algo confusa, mas eu tive muita dificuldade em decidir-me pelas 4 estrelas e ainda mais dificuldade em escrever o que tinha achado do livro. Achei-o mesmo peculiar!