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Deus Ex Universe #2
Deus Ex: Fallen Angel
Written by James Swallow, Fallen Angel ties in with the events that unfold in the "Shanghai Justice" side-quest in Human Revolution. It provides details on Malik's past, her connections in Hengsha, and how she ended up working for Sarif Industries.
Deus Ex: Fallen Angel was originally available as a pre-order bonus for Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut. Enjoy the read!
Deus Ex: Fallen Angel was originally available as a pre-order bonus for Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Director’s Cut. Enjoy the read!
38 pages, ebook
First published October 22, 2013
4 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
About the author
James Swallow
305 books1,072 followersJames Swallow is a New York Times, Sunday Times and Amazon #1 bestselling author and scriptwriter, a BAFTA nominee, a former journalist and the award-winning writer of over sixty-five books, along with scripts for video games, comics, radio and television.
DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.
Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.
For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow
Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.
You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.
DARK HORIZON, his latest stand-alone thriller, is out now from Mountain Leopard Press, and OUTLAW, the 6th action-packed Marc Dane novel, is published by Bonnier.
Along with the Marc Dane thrillers, his writing includes, the Sundowners steampunk Westerns and fiction from the worlds of Star Trek, Tom Clancy, 24, Warhammer 40000, Doctor Who, Deus Ex, Stargate, 2000AD and many more.
For information on new releases & more, sign up to the Readers’ Club here: www.bit.ly/JamesSwallow
Visit James's website at http://www.jswallow.com/ for more, including ROUGH AIR, a free eBook novella in the Marc Dane series.
You can also follow James on Bluesky at @jmswallow.bsky.social, Twitter at @jmswallow, Mastodon at @jmswallow@mstdn.social and jmswallow.tumblr.com at Tumblr.
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 6, 2020
I love Flygirl.
I felt her story was overly dramatic and raised some questions that I’d didn’t feel like asking. Had the idea she was a normal passionate woman who landed a great job after finishing her studies. Honestly thought this short story would be more...mundane. I don’t feel like every character has to be somehow involved in Ilumintati plots to see bad stuff, because in the end it also feels only Jensen is the one that can disrupt them. Ending was also incredibly meh. As a short story is nice. As a Faridah fan, its great. But as part of the whole world, it's just alright.
NOTE: You can find this free at Eidos Interative, just search for Deus Ex Fallen Angel and you'll get the PDF.
I felt her story was overly dramatic and raised some questions that I’d didn’t feel like asking. Had the idea she was a normal passionate woman who landed a great job after finishing her studies. Honestly thought this short story would be more...mundane. I don’t feel like every character has to be somehow involved in Ilumintati plots to see bad stuff, because in the end it also feels only Jensen is the one that can disrupt them. Ending was also incredibly meh. As a short story is nice. As a Faridah fan, its great. But as part of the whole world, it's just alright.
NOTE: You can find this free at Eidos Interative, just search for Deus Ex Fallen Angel and you'll get the PDF.
January 18, 2018
The book is free, and it gives a nice little background story to your pilot Faridah Malik from Human Revolution. You can download the pdf from the official Wiki if you want to give it a try.
April 16, 2024
Any time, Fly Girl.
February 24, 2016
I played the original “Deus Ex” back in the day, but never got into the sequel (“Invisible War”). Years later a prequel ("Human Revolution") came out, and I read a companion book “Icarus Effect” before ever playing it. This short story was written by the same author.
In all fairness, I should note that I adored the “Human Revolution” game, and I liked “Icarus Effect”; I rated it 3.2 out of 5.
SUMMARY
The story takes place a year (or a few) before the events of “Human Revolution” and focuses on Faridah Malik. She is living in Hengsha, China where she works as a pilot for a company called ArcAir along with her friend, Evelyn Carmichael.
Though they both have suspicions that their employer also works for the Red Arrow crime syndicate, they never worry about it until they are tasked with carrying a threatening mercenary to an uncertain location to pick up secret cargo. Faridah’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she learns a secret that her employer is willing to kill over.
OVERALL: 3.2 out of 5
This story asks some questions about the conspiracy that lies at the heart of the revived “Deus Ex” series, but it doesn’t have the time to answer them. In this sense, the story is really a “teaser” for materials that are already out. I think it’s humorous that it was the last bit of media released when it should have been the first.
Still, it’s an enjoyable little adventure, particularly for people who are fans of the series. I will probably work much harder to make sure Faridah survives my next play-through of “Human Revolution”, especially since I’ve heard she may have a cameo in the next game, “Mankind Divided”.
RATINGS BY CATEGORY
CHARACTERS: 4 out of 5
Without a lot of time for character development, I thought the author did a good job depicting Faridah Malik. There is nothing here that contradicts her appearance or character in the video game, but I thought she was interesting and proactive without being annoying or stupid. When things do turn sour, she has the right balance of fear and courage; she isn’t an action star, but I wasn’t stressed out about the odds being stacked too much against her.
The other characters exist without particularly shining, but they aren’t cardboard cutouts either. A mercenary named Khan plays an important role (he was in the video game, but I didn’t remember him), and so does Evelyn Carmichael. She and Faridah have a good, realistic friendship in which they’re friends, but still have disagreements and gripes about the other.
PACE: 3 out of 5
Though this story is very short, it wasn’t very fast either. Time is never wasted, but I found myself asking “where is this going?” while reading it. The ending has some fast-paced action that is appropriate for what’s going on.
STORY: 3 out of 5
I was a little curious what a short story released three years after its related video game and novel had to say. Among other things, the character of Faridah Malik was actually killed during my play-through, so what was she going to do in this prequel story that could interest me?
It’s really a short vignette of a tale, but it’s an entertaining bit that illustrates the type of person Malik is, and some of the things she has been through prior to meeting Adam Jensen and working for Sarif Industries. It also ties into the overall conspiracy of the video game.
DIALOGUE: 3 out of 5
The dialogue is strong though there’s nothing particularly special about it. The characters feel real and their language is never fake or rehearsed; there are no speeches (though Faridah’s employer does sound a little silly near the end). The dialogue does a good job of doing the job without taking the spotlight.
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 3 out of 5
The writing is clear, and events and conversations are propelled forward in an easy-to-read and sensible way so that nothing is ever confusing, though it’s possible that people who aren’t familiar with the game might be a little lost in the descriptions of Hengsha, particularly when there is a chase sequence near the end.
In all fairness, I should note that I adored the “Human Revolution” game, and I liked “Icarus Effect”; I rated it 3.2 out of 5.
SUMMARY
The story takes place a year (or a few) before the events of “Human Revolution” and focuses on Faridah Malik. She is living in Hengsha, China where she works as a pilot for a company called ArcAir along with her friend, Evelyn Carmichael.
Though they both have suspicions that their employer also works for the Red Arrow crime syndicate, they never worry about it until they are tasked with carrying a threatening mercenary to an uncertain location to pick up secret cargo. Faridah’s curiosity gets the better of her, and she learns a secret that her employer is willing to kill over.
OVERALL: 3.2 out of 5
This story asks some questions about the conspiracy that lies at the heart of the revived “Deus Ex” series, but it doesn’t have the time to answer them. In this sense, the story is really a “teaser” for materials that are already out. I think it’s humorous that it was the last bit of media released when it should have been the first.
Still, it’s an enjoyable little adventure, particularly for people who are fans of the series. I will probably work much harder to make sure Faridah survives my next play-through of “Human Revolution”, especially since I’ve heard she may have a cameo in the next game, “Mankind Divided”.
RATINGS BY CATEGORY
CHARACTERS: 4 out of 5
Without a lot of time for character development, I thought the author did a good job depicting Faridah Malik. There is nothing here that contradicts her appearance or character in the video game, but I thought she was interesting and proactive without being annoying or stupid. When things do turn sour, she has the right balance of fear and courage; she isn’t an action star, but I wasn’t stressed out about the odds being stacked too much against her.
The other characters exist without particularly shining, but they aren’t cardboard cutouts either. A mercenary named Khan plays an important role (he was in the video game, but I didn’t remember him), and so does Evelyn Carmichael. She and Faridah have a good, realistic friendship in which they’re friends, but still have disagreements and gripes about the other.
PACE: 3 out of 5
Though this story is very short, it wasn’t very fast either. Time is never wasted, but I found myself asking “where is this going?” while reading it. The ending has some fast-paced action that is appropriate for what’s going on.
STORY: 3 out of 5
I was a little curious what a short story released three years after its related video game and novel had to say. Among other things, the character of Faridah Malik was actually killed during my play-through, so what was she going to do in this prequel story that could interest me?
It’s really a short vignette of a tale, but it’s an entertaining bit that illustrates the type of person Malik is, and some of the things she has been through prior to meeting Adam Jensen and working for Sarif Industries. It also ties into the overall conspiracy of the video game.
DIALOGUE: 3 out of 5
The dialogue is strong though there’s nothing particularly special about it. The characters feel real and their language is never fake or rehearsed; there are no speeches (though Faridah’s employer does sound a little silly near the end). The dialogue does a good job of doing the job without taking the spotlight.
STYLE/TECHNICAL: 3 out of 5
The writing is clear, and events and conversations are propelled forward in an easy-to-read and sensible way so that nothing is ever confusing, though it’s possible that people who aren’t familiar with the game might be a little lost in the descriptions of Hengsha, particularly when there is a chase sequence near the end.
June 6, 2021
Good way to round out one of the better characters in Human Revolution
April 28, 2021
This was a great read. It gave us background for one of the best side-quests in the game and in doing so made our actions matter even more in DX:HR. It fleshed out Malik as a character which gave even more weight to her fate in the game. Its just a great companion the the amazing experience that is to play “Human Revolution”. And to top it all, its an entertaining tale, well written and very exciting. It even works as an introduction to Hengsha and its seedy underworld. What a treat for a fan like me. Well done! NOW BRING BACK DEUS EX, SQUARE ENIX!!!!!!!!!!
November 20, 2015
A nice concise prequel story about Faridah Malik, a side character in the Deus Ex: Human Revolutions game. The short novella features several other side characters from the game, although some of them were such small characters that I had to look up their names to even remember who they were.
The story also hints at some major themes and events from the Human Revolutions game as well. Enjoyable but not a needed addition to appreciate the Dues Ex cyberpunk world.
The story also hints at some major themes and events from the Human Revolutions game as well. Enjoyable but not a needed addition to appreciate the Dues Ex cyberpunk world.
June 5, 2015
This was fun...short, filled with action...The main protagonist was interesting, and it's nice to see how she came to work for Sarif. I liked it more, than the Icarus Effect, despite it being so short. Worth reading :)
February 6, 2017
A good story. james Swallow delivers as usual but sadly this story is rather short, and the ending seems more like "Deus Ex Machina"...
May 14, 2018
Really good novella for ones who are familiar to Deus Ex: universe.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews