AngelFall Book IV - A Novel of Hell

AngelFall #4

by S.E. Foulk

As Limbo falls, a new prisoner emerges from the Forbidden area cave of the Seventh Circle. The demons are closing in on the dwarf Clavius and all allies of the fugitive prisoner. Chiron is pressed to control the unrest by his centaur kind against the newly arrived humans to his circle, and the miners join the ranks of the fugitives while attempting to assist Clavius and the newcomer, John Moore, who has been caught up in the tumult against his wishes.

A new guest, and a more ancient fugitive of Hell arrives at the river Phlegethon, throwing off the fragile balance of Chiron's circle once and for all. In the midst of the chaos, a connection between John Moore and the new prisoner is revealed, and new allies are found in the journey to escape Hell.

Can they make it or will the Fallen discover their attempt at freedom?

This is Book IV. Book V, the finale of The AngelFall Series will be available in June 2013.

Genres: Fantasy

290 pages, Paperback

First published December 2, 2012

About the author

S.E. Foulk, son of a milkman dad and an 18-wheeler truck driving mom, was born and raised in southern NJ, and has also lived in Florida, Hawaii, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Humboldt County, California, where he currently resides. He attended the University of Hawaii and graduated in 2000 where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, then attended the UH CoE graduate school for a post-baccalaureate certificate in secondary school education, specializing in Science teaching.

Some of S.E. Foulk's inspiration behind the AngelFall Series came from his encounter with Dante's Inferno when he was just 13 years old. It is then that Foulk became captivated with Dante's Infernal landscape. With drafting starting in 2007, Foulk's first book AngelFall Book I: A Novel of Hell was originally created as a narrative for a video game, but later evolved into a complete book series.

Reviews

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING: If you're reading this but haven't read books 1 to 3, stop wasting your time here and go read Book 1. Immediately. Seriously.

Now, on to the important stuff. I've had my issues with this series so far - finding the writing style a little too formal for my liking, hugely convoluted and oftentimes fragmented multiple storylines, loads (too many for my tired brain at times!) of characters to keep track of ... but despite all of these niggles there's been something that's kept me faithfully coming back for more. Book 4 is solid evidence that this series is going somewhere really, truly exciting, and is itself a series of revelations and shockers that had me turning pages long after bedtime.

As I was finishing this book, my brain made a random connection to Arthur C Clarke's 'Rama' series (of which I was a huge fan although similarly in two minds about stylistically). The final chapter of Book 4, title and all, just felt like one of the 'false' endings in the Rama series, where the immediate storylines were all tied up, but you knew something bigger and even more awesome was on the way. In that respect, I'm fully expecting Book 5 to be a jaw-dropper ...

I'm also beginning to understand the subplot much better, and the more I understand, the more its genius is revealed. At first I thought this series was just loosely based on The Divine Comedy (as was the author's intention, I would presume), but it's much more intricate and creative than that, and once realisation hit it took the narrative into completely new territory and made it ultimately even more compelling.

I do still struggle with the formality of the writing which, particularly when switching to the first person account, can feel a little forced, and I'm also still struggling to keep up with all the characters and individual storylines, but these pale into insignificance when the overarching narrative structures start to assert themselves, and things begin to converge. I also had a bit of an issue with the method by which the plot refreshers were delivered in this one - it had been a while since I'd finished Book 3, and I was hoping for a 'Previously, in AngelFall ...' lead-in chapter, but instead the plot refreshers were delivered along the way in an 'As you may recall ...' fashion, and often via dialogue (which I found particularly bizarre). I'd much prefer a refresher preface. He hinted.

So, in conclusion, if you didn't heed my warning at the start and are still considering whether or not to jump in to this, in all seriousness, go and start book 1 now. Just make sure you have books 2, 3 and 4 lined up once you're done. This one was the best yet, and I have high expectations for Book 5, due for release in June 2013.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts with Dante and his friend in a lower circle of hell trying to escape , but than suddenly dante dissapears, leaving his friend alone to face, the fallen, the most terrifying of all hellish creatures. Than the story goes to John Moore a recent inhabitant of hell, who has found himself in limbo. He meets a group of people after witnessing a gruesome attack by a group of demons. He tells them that where they are planning on going he knows of from a book he's read "Dante's Inferno". After these People hear this they insist he must come with them, on their journey to escape Hell. After much deliberation John Moore accepts.

I really enjoyed this book. It is bone-chilling. The way Hell was described is exactly as I would imagine it would be like. Every page was thrilling, and I could not put it down. This book is for sure a must read. I am going to be reading the rest of this series.

[Michelle Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is very different - totally interesting, a little hard to follow. Based on Dante's inferno - but a total back story of hell - very strange!

[Michelle Brownlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, kept me on my toes and held my imagination

[Christina]

Love this series! When will Book 5 be available!!!! Anxiously awaiting!! :)

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 4

Daniel's storytelling of the levels of Hell continues as the growing party of friends continues to explore and learn how the creatures within are trapped.