Thursday, December 28, 2006

Falling Angel
William Hjortsberg
Millipede Press, 2006
Limited 300
300 pages

Although this is the fifth volume from Millipede I received it last; fortunately, the line of books is theme oriented and can be read or collected in any order, which is probably a good reason for not numbering the books. The dustjacket on this novel is nice, very nice. The black is a matte finish, whereas the devil and angel (which is on the back) are glossy—a great touch. The only thing that detracts from this limited is the typos—over a dozen; in one instance, an entire line has no spacing between words, which is inexcusable for a $65 dollar book. Now, the story . . . phenomenal! I wish I hadn’t seen the movie Angel Heart before I read this because it gives too much away. A first-timer to this story is in for a hell of an adventure. The writing is professional and creates the detective ambience most characteristic of noir. But this is a horror novel. There’s no mistaking that fact. It’s worth reiterating; this is a horror novel. Not only that, it’s a book you’ll comeback to. Harry Angel, Epiphany Proudfoot, Johnny Favorite, and Louis Cypher are unforgettable characters. Also included is an intro by Ridley Scott, a revealing but brief forward by James Crumely, a letter by Stephen King, and a short story. The story is the highlight of the extra material—a quirky, humorous tale of the old west that doesn’t have anything to do with the main novel, so I recommend reading it much later, after you’ve had time to absorb what Falling Angel, the novel itself, has to offer.

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