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Bleed Away The Sky
EVERY BLOODLINE HAS SECRETS
Audrey Darrow lost her mother when she was a child. Now, her absent father has passed away and Elliot, the half-brother she never knew, wants to connect with the only family he has left on an impromptu cross-country road trip.
BUT SOME SECRETS ARE BEST LEFT HIDDEN
Soon after the journey begins, she learns that her mother belonged to an ancient line of women — women who held powers they used to seal and protect our realm from an onslaught of nightmarish entities — and Audrey is the last of them.
AND YOU CAN’T FLEE THE PAST FOREVER
Now a mystic cabal is determined to force her into her role, while a parade of otherworldly creatures attempt to kill her in order to end her line forever. Audrey must decide how to deal with the strange blood in her lineage, and about whether the world is worth saving or not… before it’s too late
Audrey Darrow lost her mother when she was a child. Now, her absent father has passed away and Elliot, the half-brother she never knew, wants to connect with the only family he has left on an impromptu cross-country road trip.
BUT SOME SECRETS ARE BEST LEFT HIDDEN
Soon after the journey begins, she learns that her mother belonged to an ancient line of women — women who held powers they used to seal and protect our realm from an onslaught of nightmarish entities — and Audrey is the last of them.
AND YOU CAN’T FLEE THE PAST FOREVER
Now a mystic cabal is determined to force her into her role, while a parade of otherworldly creatures attempt to kill her in order to end her line forever. Audrey must decide how to deal with the strange blood in her lineage, and about whether the world is worth saving or not… before it’s too late
- GenresHorror
267 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 25, 2019
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Brian Fatah Steele
40 books90 followersBrian Fatah Steele has been writing various types of dark fiction for over fifteen years, often describing it as “cosmic horror with elements of urban fantasy and sci-fi.” Steele originally went to school for fine arts but finds himself far more fulfilled now by storytelling. His own titles include DIRE BRANCHES (Alien Agenda Publishing), OUR CARRION HEARTS (Bloodshot Books), HUNGRY RAIN (Severed Press), CELESTIAL SEEPAGE (Alien Agenda Publishing), BLEED AWAY THE SKY (Bloodshot Books) and THERE IS DARKNESS IN EVERY ROOM (Sinister Grin Press), along with the self-published YOUR ARMS AROUND ENTROPY, BRUTAL STARLIGHT, FURTHER THAN FATE, and IN BLEED COUNTRY. His work has appeared in such anthologies as 4POCALYPSE, BLOOD TYPE, CTHULHU LIES DREAMING, DEATH’S REALM, THE IDOLATERS OF CTHULHU, and the Bram Stoker Award-nominated DARK VISIONS, VOL.1.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 30, 2019
Crazy fun!
This is one of the stranger books I've read but it's a lot of fun! For me this was a quick and enjoyable read.
This is one of the stranger books I've read but it's a lot of fun! For me this was a quick and enjoyable read.
June 14, 2019
Aloha,
I try and try this book. I could not get into it. I give it up. This book is 2 stars and I only finish half of this book. It like the old saying," I rather watch paint dry " then read this book.
Mahalo,
RM
🇺🇸🐾
I try and try this book. I could not get into it. I give it up. This book is 2 stars and I only finish half of this book. It like the old saying," I rather watch paint dry " then read this book.
Mahalo,
RM
🇺🇸🐾
January 28, 2019
My review of Bleed Away The Sky can be found at High Fever Books.
Bleed Away the Sky is my first time reading the work of author Brian Fatah Steele, and I found this to be a mighty solid read, one that feels heavily influenced by Clive Barker and features a welcome dose of Girl Power throughout.
Audrey Darrow was left orphaned after her mother died in a car accident. Now, on a road-trip with her half-brother, she finds herself on the run from opposing forces that both want her dead. When her mother died, so too did the secrets of the the women’s bloodline and the power that kept Earth safe from multidimensional gods that would otherwise destroy our world. Audrey, of course, knows none of this, but she’ll learn, and she’ll have to make a choice and decide if this world is worth saving.
It’s not a spoiler to tell you that Audrey, like her mother, is a Crimsonata, and it’s through the cyclical flows of blood that keeps the dimensions separate and safe. The Ovessa, a gutter god, is seeking to break through dimensions and feast on the Earth. To satiate its hunger, it must ensure that Audrey, the last Crimsonata, is destroyed, and so it births its children, the deformed Invocated, onto our plane of existence to hunt her down and eliminate her.
I admit, at first I thought The Invocated to be little more than Cenobite copycats, but as I worked my way through Bleed Away the Sky, I ultimately found myself digging what Steele did with these creatures. I was wrong to presume them as little more than riffs on Barker’s hellraising creations, and although they are clearly inspired by the Order of the Gash, Steele gives The Invocated an interesting mythology that helps separate them from their literary forefather.
Those mythological bones that help give shape and form to the plot are, in fact, one of Bleed Away the Sky’s biggest selling points. I dug the hell out the lore surrounding the Crimsonata, the Ovessa, and the secret societies that have come to surround these figures. I’m a sucker for secret histories and the hidden occult, and Steele injects a heady dose of both of these into the proceedings, slowly peeling back the various layers for both Audrey and his readers. I’d also really like to get the perspective of women readers on this one, given the mythologizing of menstruation here and the importance of the Crimsonata’s blood flow. There’s room for some really interesting discussions on the cosmic importance of periods, I think, and it’s a topic male authors tend to shy away from, either out of disgust or obliviousness perhaps. It’s an interesting conceit to pin a book of horror fantasy around, but I do wonder if perhaps it’s a bit too romanticized here. Even if it is, it’s still an interesting plot element to say the least, and makes for an interesting spin on the concept of Girl Power itself.
Although I enjoyed Bleed Away the Sky for the most part, I did find myself having a few qualms along the way. The first few times we meet The Invocated, Steele relies too heavily on repetitious descriptions of what these monstrosities look like. By the fifth time I had to read about their various disfigurements and unnaturally elongated finger bones, I’d pretty well gotten the gist of what they were supposed to look like. The climax felt a bit too rushed and too easily resolved, and was followed by an odd scene of unnatural levity that didn’t quite work given the book’s overall tone. The story’s resolution goes on for too long as Steele sets up what looks to be a longer-running premise to turn Audrey into a serialized heroine with further adventures on the way. This wouldn’t at all be a bad thing, but given how long the book continues to run after the primary threat has been dealt with made me wonder why all these pages were necessary. They’re not bad mind you, but they feel slightly misplaced here. It’s gets into some Return of the King territory, with too many endings as if Steele, like Peter Jackson with his Lord of the Rings finale, wasn’t quite sure where to stop and kept finding one more ode to pay and one more concept to play with and one more loose string to tie up while creating another one for later. That last handful of chapters make for an odd shift as the central story concludes, but the book keeps on going anyways in order to establish itself as a series in its final moments.
This, of course, begs the question on whether or not I would read more about Audrey. I certainly think I would. Steele is a capable story teller, he’s got good ideas, and Audrey’s evolution was well handled. There’s certainly more to her character, and her role as Crimsonata, that can be fleshed out in further installments. The action scenes were well staged, and I loved those chapters of absolute horror that found The Invocated paying visits to various small towns around the US as they tracked Audrey and her brother. I loved the cosmic horror conceits quite a lot, and Steele appears to have been influenced by two of my favorite heroines — Ellen Ripley and Buffy Summers — so I’m certainly curious to see where this all goes. Steele certainly has left the door open wide enough, and set up a world broad enough, to ensure all kinds of danger can head Audrey’s way. And, just as Buffy famously said, if the apocalypse comes, beep her.
Bleed Away the Sky is my first time reading the work of author Brian Fatah Steele, and I found this to be a mighty solid read, one that feels heavily influenced by Clive Barker and features a welcome dose of Girl Power throughout.
Audrey Darrow was left orphaned after her mother died in a car accident. Now, on a road-trip with her half-brother, she finds herself on the run from opposing forces that both want her dead. When her mother died, so too did the secrets of the the women’s bloodline and the power that kept Earth safe from multidimensional gods that would otherwise destroy our world. Audrey, of course, knows none of this, but she’ll learn, and she’ll have to make a choice and decide if this world is worth saving.
It’s not a spoiler to tell you that Audrey, like her mother, is a Crimsonata, and it’s through the cyclical flows of blood that keeps the dimensions separate and safe. The Ovessa, a gutter god, is seeking to break through dimensions and feast on the Earth. To satiate its hunger, it must ensure that Audrey, the last Crimsonata, is destroyed, and so it births its children, the deformed Invocated, onto our plane of existence to hunt her down and eliminate her.
I admit, at first I thought The Invocated to be little more than Cenobite copycats, but as I worked my way through Bleed Away the Sky, I ultimately found myself digging what Steele did with these creatures. I was wrong to presume them as little more than riffs on Barker’s hellraising creations, and although they are clearly inspired by the Order of the Gash, Steele gives The Invocated an interesting mythology that helps separate them from their literary forefather.
Those mythological bones that help give shape and form to the plot are, in fact, one of Bleed Away the Sky’s biggest selling points. I dug the hell out the lore surrounding the Crimsonata, the Ovessa, and the secret societies that have come to surround these figures. I’m a sucker for secret histories and the hidden occult, and Steele injects a heady dose of both of these into the proceedings, slowly peeling back the various layers for both Audrey and his readers. I’d also really like to get the perspective of women readers on this one, given the mythologizing of menstruation here and the importance of the Crimsonata’s blood flow. There’s room for some really interesting discussions on the cosmic importance of periods, I think, and it’s a topic male authors tend to shy away from, either out of disgust or obliviousness perhaps. It’s an interesting conceit to pin a book of horror fantasy around, but I do wonder if perhaps it’s a bit too romanticized here. Even if it is, it’s still an interesting plot element to say the least, and makes for an interesting spin on the concept of Girl Power itself.
Although I enjoyed Bleed Away the Sky for the most part, I did find myself having a few qualms along the way. The first few times we meet The Invocated, Steele relies too heavily on repetitious descriptions of what these monstrosities look like. By the fifth time I had to read about their various disfigurements and unnaturally elongated finger bones, I’d pretty well gotten the gist of what they were supposed to look like. The climax felt a bit too rushed and too easily resolved, and was followed by an odd scene of unnatural levity that didn’t quite work given the book’s overall tone. The story’s resolution goes on for too long as Steele sets up what looks to be a longer-running premise to turn Audrey into a serialized heroine with further adventures on the way. This wouldn’t at all be a bad thing, but given how long the book continues to run after the primary threat has been dealt with made me wonder why all these pages were necessary. They’re not bad mind you, but they feel slightly misplaced here. It’s gets into some Return of the King territory, with too many endings as if Steele, like Peter Jackson with his Lord of the Rings finale, wasn’t quite sure where to stop and kept finding one more ode to pay and one more concept to play with and one more loose string to tie up while creating another one for later. That last handful of chapters make for an odd shift as the central story concludes, but the book keeps on going anyways in order to establish itself as a series in its final moments.
This, of course, begs the question on whether or not I would read more about Audrey. I certainly think I would. Steele is a capable story teller, he’s got good ideas, and Audrey’s evolution was well handled. There’s certainly more to her character, and her role as Crimsonata, that can be fleshed out in further installments. The action scenes were well staged, and I loved those chapters of absolute horror that found The Invocated paying visits to various small towns around the US as they tracked Audrey and her brother. I loved the cosmic horror conceits quite a lot, and Steele appears to have been influenced by two of my favorite heroines — Ellen Ripley and Buffy Summers — so I’m certainly curious to see where this all goes. Steele certainly has left the door open wide enough, and set up a world broad enough, to ensure all kinds of danger can head Audrey’s way. And, just as Buffy famously said, if the apocalypse comes, beep her.
March 3, 2019
Wow. It's been a while since I read something like this-- complex, genre-bending, multi-layered. Brian has crafted one helluva fine piece of fiction here, one that'll have you feeling echoes of Clive Barker, both gory and fantastical...the NECROSCOPE series by Brian Lumley...and just plain old Fatah Steele Ferocity, folks.
Yeah, I'm vamping a bit, here, but I loved this book. I read it as I worked through other books, and it became a comforting friend. One I came back to, over and over, after that mean old Mr. Laymon showed me those girlie magazines.
Man, what a summer.
Anyway. Please, do yourself a favor. Read this book. Not quite a horror fan? That's okay. Not a fantasy lover? No problem. Want a story that reaches far outside of genre to the point of being *gasp* just a good story?
BLEED AWAY THE SKY by Brian Fatah Steele. You'll make 500 dollars by the end of your first month!*
*Not a guarantee**
**Not even a book about making money
Yeah, I'm vamping a bit, here, but I loved this book. I read it as I worked through other books, and it became a comforting friend. One I came back to, over and over, after that mean old Mr. Laymon showed me those girlie magazines.
Man, what a summer.
Anyway. Please, do yourself a favor. Read this book. Not quite a horror fan? That's okay. Not a fantasy lover? No problem. Want a story that reaches far outside of genre to the point of being *gasp* just a good story?
BLEED AWAY THE SKY by Brian Fatah Steele. You'll make 500 dollars by the end of your first month!*
*Not a guarantee**
**Not even a book about making money
April 14, 2019
Bleed Away The Sky is the latest cosmic horror offering from Brian Fatah Steele. The weird girl, Audrey, learns that she has a half brother and they go on a cross-country adventure to get to know each other. What she doesn't know is that she is the last of the Crimsonata, a hereditary power that is passed on down from mother to daughter that keeps Cenobite-like creatures from crossing over into our world. Unfortunately, her mother died when she was a little girl and she has no idea about these powers that are laying dormant within her. Without Audrey "flowing", the creatures are slipping through into our world and wiping people out. A secret government X-file-like agency is investigating these murders and strange happenings. They all merge together and attempt to save the world.
The premise had promise and I went in with high expectations. Brian has ability, there's no doubt. There were some good things in BLEED. Unfortunately, the execution needs some work. While the creatures were good, the constant description of them using the same words was tedious. Audrey's legacy was definitely an interesting thread that I would have liked to learn more about. The fact that her and her brother seemed to take the world going to shit all in stride seemed to be a misfire. There seemed to be too many times where they easily accepted the ultra extraordinary without much resistance. Some of the characters had a little bit too much of cartoonish qualities to them and blew out any suspension of disbelief for me. A little too one dimensional without depth. Another was where was the military and/or police during all of this hell breaking loose? There were just too many areas that needed tightened up for me to enjoy this one. I really do think Brian would've benefited with more proofreaders going through BLEED to point out all the discrepancies so that he could've tightened up the story. I do feel that, if that had been done, BLEED could've been that much more.
2 Dormant Traits that aren't Blue Eyes out of 5
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://intothemacabre.com
http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
The premise had promise and I went in with high expectations. Brian has ability, there's no doubt. There were some good things in BLEED. Unfortunately, the execution needs some work. While the creatures were good, the constant description of them using the same words was tedious. Audrey's legacy was definitely an interesting thread that I would have liked to learn more about. The fact that her and her brother seemed to take the world going to shit all in stride seemed to be a misfire. There seemed to be too many times where they easily accepted the ultra extraordinary without much resistance. Some of the characters had a little bit too much of cartoonish qualities to them and blew out any suspension of disbelief for me. A little too one dimensional without depth. Another was where was the military and/or police during all of this hell breaking loose? There were just too many areas that needed tightened up for me to enjoy this one. I really do think Brian would've benefited with more proofreaders going through BLEED to point out all the discrepancies so that he could've tightened up the story. I do feel that, if that had been done, BLEED could've been that much more.
2 Dormant Traits that aren't Blue Eyes out of 5
You can also follow my reviews at the following links:
https://intothemacabre.com
http://intothemacabre.booklikes.com
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5...
January 25, 2019
** Edited as review is now live on Kendall Reviews**
3.5/5
Bleed Away the Sky is my second go around with work from Brian, the first being his collection of tales Your Arms Around Entropy.
In that collection I found myself pulled back and forth between whether I liked all the cosmic tales together or whether there were too many similar tales in a small space. Ultimately I did enjoy it.
The thing I found with Bleed Away the Sky is Fatah Steele really knows how to work a cosmic horror tale when he has the room to fully flush it out. The first 75% of this book hums along with loads of otherworldly horrors, psychological strife and plenty of well done gore. I would describe this section as something born of Lovecraft if Guillermo Del Toro was allowed to adapt it.
Oh but what could have been.
I was so invested in this work that the first of what I considered three endings just fell flat for me. It all rose up, came to a head and then the balloon burst and the air deflated. But then the story didn’t end.
What I can only assume was a way of developing further books in the series we get an unexpected creature feature for a chapter that really didn’t need to be included, which I considered ending number 2, before… an epilogue.
I was so heartbroken at this turn. It should have finished but then it didn’t end and by the epilogue I just wanted it over.
This started out easily as a 5/5. I cruised through it, growing more intrigued about the Crimsonata, the Promethean Wall and Mr. Inaisis. But the first ending knocked it down to a 4/5 and then it just felt forced.
If you are looking for some really well done, creepy cosmic horror, you can’t go wrong here, but you may want to call it a day at the 80% mark to not be so saddened by the forced ending.
3.5/5
Bleed Away the Sky is my second go around with work from Brian, the first being his collection of tales Your Arms Around Entropy.
In that collection I found myself pulled back and forth between whether I liked all the cosmic tales together or whether there were too many similar tales in a small space. Ultimately I did enjoy it.
The thing I found with Bleed Away the Sky is Fatah Steele really knows how to work a cosmic horror tale when he has the room to fully flush it out. The first 75% of this book hums along with loads of otherworldly horrors, psychological strife and plenty of well done gore. I would describe this section as something born of Lovecraft if Guillermo Del Toro was allowed to adapt it.
Oh but what could have been.
I was so invested in this work that the first of what I considered three endings just fell flat for me. It all rose up, came to a head and then the balloon burst and the air deflated. But then the story didn’t end.
What I can only assume was a way of developing further books in the series we get an unexpected creature feature for a chapter that really didn’t need to be included, which I considered ending number 2, before… an epilogue.
I was so heartbroken at this turn. It should have finished but then it didn’t end and by the epilogue I just wanted it over.
This started out easily as a 5/5. I cruised through it, growing more intrigued about the Crimsonata, the Promethean Wall and Mr. Inaisis. But the first ending knocked it down to a 4/5 and then it just felt forced.
If you are looking for some really well done, creepy cosmic horror, you can’t go wrong here, but you may want to call it a day at the 80% mark to not be so saddened by the forced ending.
March 22, 2019
What Are We Reading?: Bleed Away the Sky, by Brian Fatah Steele
Rating: 4/5 Pulsating Worlds
***WARNING: This review contains spoilers! Proceed at your own peril.***
Give me the short version: The epic birth of a paranormal agent
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pre-release copy of this, which was nice as I was all set to buy it anyhow (and, dear reader, I did; because the easiest thing you can do to support writers is to buy their book). I'll be chuffed to see more of Audrey Darrow in future. Bleed Away the Sky follows her journey from damaged social outcast to embracing her ancient heritage and ultimately becoming a magic badass; which is all any of us wants, really.
First up, Bleed Away the Sky was extraordinarily rich in mythos and I'm calling it a must-have for Clive Barker fans. Lavish in world building while at the same time no-nonsense in getting down to business.
The Ovessa and its followers were a particular drawcard. They came embedded in a rich culture all of their own which believably informed their actions and made for fascinating immersive antagonists.
Being a rapid pace cinematic type of adventure, I did find Bleed Away the Sky to be a tad light on the languorous navel-gazing I love best when picking up horror, and a bit too neat toward the end. Do not be put off: many readers would put that in the plus column!
Favourite bit:
"There, in the ceiling, where reality was ripping itself apart, the cold light was brightest. There, flesh heaved and undulated, slick with pus. Coiled muscle, pink and hairless, prepared to bend. Only part of that other real was visible through the portal, only part of a sky made of viscera."
Rating: 4/5 Pulsating Worlds
***WARNING: This review contains spoilers! Proceed at your own peril.***
Give me the short version: The epic birth of a paranormal agent
I was lucky enough to get my hands on a pre-release copy of this, which was nice as I was all set to buy it anyhow (and, dear reader, I did; because the easiest thing you can do to support writers is to buy their book). I'll be chuffed to see more of Audrey Darrow in future. Bleed Away the Sky follows her journey from damaged social outcast to embracing her ancient heritage and ultimately becoming a magic badass; which is all any of us wants, really.
First up, Bleed Away the Sky was extraordinarily rich in mythos and I'm calling it a must-have for Clive Barker fans. Lavish in world building while at the same time no-nonsense in getting down to business.
The Ovessa and its followers were a particular drawcard. They came embedded in a rich culture all of their own which believably informed their actions and made for fascinating immersive antagonists.
Being a rapid pace cinematic type of adventure, I did find Bleed Away the Sky to be a tad light on the languorous navel-gazing I love best when picking up horror, and a bit too neat toward the end. Do not be put off: many readers would put that in the plus column!
Favourite bit:
"There, in the ceiling, where reality was ripping itself apart, the cold light was brightest. There, flesh heaved and undulated, slick with pus. Coiled muscle, pink and hairless, prepared to bend. Only part of that other real was visible through the portal, only part of a sky made of viscera."
April 1, 2019
Fun book with lots of monsters and a great crew! I love the main character, she was kick ass with just the right amount of down to Earth being that really made you connect. Right when I thought it was over I got quite the surprise. I would love to find out more about Audrey and see where her adventure brings her next. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
put-aside-forever
August 22, 2023This author shares what he really thinks of his readers:
You want a subtweet?
I feel 90% of “reviewers” and “book bloggers” are leeches on the industry, desperate to get famous while doing the bare minimum. Yet writers/publishers allow them almost unchecked power & freedom all for a blurb from a random reader w/ a WordPress. There is no oversight for these “reviewers,” no behavior or quality control. If an author dares question anything, we’re attacked - “reviews are for the readers.”
How about something I learned in art school… “if you cannot DO the thing, you cannot critique the thing.” - @Brian_f_steele
You want a subtweet?
I feel 90% of “reviewers” and “book bloggers” are leeches on the industry, desperate to get famous while doing the bare minimum. Yet writers/publishers allow them almost unchecked power & freedom all for a blurb from a random reader w/ a WordPress. There is no oversight for these “reviewers,” no behavior or quality control. If an author dares question anything, we’re attacked - “reviews are for the readers.”
How about something I learned in art school… “if you cannot DO the thing, you cannot critique the thing.” - @Brian_f_steele
April 29, 2019
I have to begin with saying I am not a sci-fi fan at all. I love paranormal, ghost, witches, and the hautned house books. With this being said, I'll try an write a fair review. I thought Audrey was a terrific character. She became a strong woman. The author's description of creatures was detailed. I understood the story pretty well, especially for not ever reading sci-fi or fantasy. I had trouble understanding the ending. I also wondered what happened to her brother. The details of gore were good. If you like sci-fi, gorey books then you might like this.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews