The Fallen by Dale Bailey

by Dale Bailey

Book Overview

Saul's Run is a great place to raise a family. Life is good, folks live to a ripe old age, and there hasn't been a violent crime in nearly a generation. It's almost as if some force were protecting... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 073943005X
• Release Date: January 2002
• Publisher: Signet
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Three gems from 2002

Each year brings a new crop of first novels, many of which are, quite predictably, substandard in terms of quality. Every so often, however, a first novel appears that sets itself apart from the pack; as readers, we experience that special thrill of recognition that announces, "Here is something special." 2002 was unique in that it saw the publication of several novels that provoked such a reaction, among them Alexander Irvine's A Scattering of Jades, Dale Bailey's Fallen Angels, and Glenn Hirshberg's The Snowman's Children. The best of the three is Irvine's gripping secret history of the United States, which opens with the great New York fire of 1835 and ends in Mammoth Cave circa 1843. In between, it relates the story of newspaperman Archie Prescott who seemingly stumbles on the story of the century, one that centers on the mad ambitions of con man Riley Steen. Believing that great power and influence will accrue to him as a result of his schemes, Steen implements a plan to resurrect the Aztec god Tlaloc. This plan's first step is to animate Tlaloc's avatar, a Mesoamerican mummy known as the chacmool. Once revived, however, the chacmool proves to have a mind of his own, embarking on a journey of death and destruction. Having witnessed the chacmool's bizarre rebirth, Prescott follows the deadly creature across America, eventually coming to realize that their destinies are intertwined. Masterfully weaving period detail, historical fact, and compelling characters both fictional and real (Edgar Allen Poe, Aaron Burr and P. T. Barnum all make cameos), Irvine creates an absorbing tale whose historical elements are as intriguing as its more fantastic elements. Irvine's imaginative energy brings the period to life in all its gaudy, dirty splendor, detailing a 19th century America whose glorious promise is diminished by the petty schemes and ambitions of the mere mortals who inhabit it. His greatest accomplishment, however, is to have made this tale of the fantastic a very human one, focusing on the passions, ambitions, strengths and failings of his expansive and variegated cast. Dale Bailey's Fallen is another winner. Set in the isolated mining town of Saul's Run, Pennsylvania, it tells the story of Henry Sleep, a young man who returns to his hometown to bury his father, whom the local police believe took his own life. Not willing to accept this conclusion, Henry begins poking around in his father's affairs. Suspense builds as Bailey artfully raises the stakes, plunging Henry into an investigation that uncovers unwelcome childhood memories and the fantastic secret of a town whose inhabitants almost uniformly live long, untroubled lives. Although Bailey trods familiar ground in his debut (there are smatterings of works as diverse as IT, Ghost Story, and The Killer Inside Me), he does so with such confidence and bravado that similarities to other books are easily overlooked. At heart a mystery, the book's satisfying payoff is

Fantastic First! Truckdrivers LOVE IT!

It takes a bunch to impress this old country boy, but Dale Bailey has done it. Over the years, working in a truckstop and driving eighteen wheelers, you read a bunch of horror and SF books that all read and sound the same. Well, not the Fallen. I was blown away by how well-written this book is! Every chapter played on my mind's eye like them midnight flicks at the all-nite drive-in here in Texas. Full of dread, wonder, and suspense, Bailey's book puts alot of these new fangled spooky writers (and some of the older ones too--you listening, Dean Koontz?) plumb to shame. I hope he does a sequel. Heck, make it a series. These characters are made for a more drawn out story they are so well developed. And the mystery involved is so deep and profound that you'll be thinking about it for days after you finish it wondering if you really saw what you thought you saw. It reminds me of HP Lovecraft where the hero only gets a glimpse of the monster, but it is enough to send his hair white. Bailey does this with the Fallen. A great first book and I cannot wait to get in something else by him!

At Last, A LITERATE Genre Writer!

Be it called "horror," "SF," or "suspense," THE FALLEN is nothing if not literate. It is a grand read that grabs one from the initial page and will not turn loose until the last. Morever, one finds oneself saddened to see it end as Henry Sleep and Sam and all the rest of the inhabitants of Saul's Run become hugely interesting. Bailey's ability to draw the reader into the characters and elicit empathy for them is an important part of the successful suspense novel. Only when the reader truly cares for the charaters can any suspense be drawn. One only worries about someone one cares about; the characters in THE FALLEN are those people. As a final positive to this finely crafted first novel I say this: any book that has me wondering what the characters are doing while I am at work is a great book. Only Dan Simmons, Robert McCammon, and Chet Williamson have ever accomplished this. Now, add Dale Bailey to the mix. Try THE FALLEN. You will love it.

Don't Miss The Fallen!

If you read only one book this year, let it be this one. The Fallen is a good, engrossing story -- part suspense, part police procedural, part horror/fantasy, part philosophical thriller. Its characters are psychologically complex, doing what is understandable but not predictable. When the protagonist gears up for his fight against evil in the final pages, don't assume you know the rest. You don't. If Henry Sleep has trouble loading a gun, you can bet he is not the typical mass market paperback hero. And this is not the typical mass market paperback. It is literate and sure to make you think if you are so inclined, but entertaining enough to keep you happy if you are not. Don't miss this one!

The Fallen Soars

Every once in a while there comes a novel that incorporates the best of several genres, that crosses and blends and makes startlingly new. The Fallen is one of those rare treats, a murder mystery, a contemporary fantasy, a meditation on religion. The cherry on top: the book is beautifully written, a musical tumbling of words.Fans of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction already know Dale Bailey, author of such stories as the Nebula-nominated "The Resurrection Man's Legacy," Touched," "The Anencephalic Fields," and "Death and Suffrage," In his first novel, Bailey returns to his beloved West Virginia Appalachia, the hardscrabble lives of miners, and makes it as heart-breaking as Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha, as gritty as King's Castle Rock.When his father supposedly commits suicide, Henry Sleep is called back to his hometown, the sleepy mining hamlet of Sauls Run. Upon return, Sleep discovers secrets by the dozen: murder, intrigue, and something utterly fantastic. Henry, his ex-girlfriend, and a cancer-riddled newspaper reporter unite against the forces that hold Sauls Run, venturing deep into the Appalachian mines. What they discover is a wonder that could quite possibly change their world.This is an amazing first novel, one that introduces a marvelous new writer, one who simultaneously handles words like silver and forges a wonderful story. Highly recommended.