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Big Cranky #1
Fall into Darkness
A failed god determined to succeed. A fresh generation hungry for his throne. Can the universe survive when the greed of immortals collides?
The Almighty El is tired of his creations dying and his offspring questioning his competence. After purging his latest failure and raising up a new cosmos, he’s certain that this time success is assured. But just as his handiwork takes root, his greatest enemy rises from the void to challenge him in a vicious tentacled battle.
Leader of the Seraphim, Lucifer is sick of his father’s catastrophic missteps. And when he temporarily takes charge while the useless deity rests, he vows this rightful reign will be permanent. Except Lucifer soon finds himself not only dethroned, but kicked into the fiery flames of the Inferno.
Now as El’s family spirals into death and madness, he must fight to keep all of existence from imploding. And Lucifer’s hunger for vengeance has inadvertently paved the way for every celestial with a lust for power to ravage the multiverse in their bid for the coveted crown.
Can the embattled pair stop the playground of the gods from becoming a killing field?
Genres: Mythical Fantasy. Epic Fantasy. Portal Fantasy. Sword and Planet. Shades of dark and grimdark fantasy.
The Almighty El is tired of his creations dying and his offspring questioning his competence. After purging his latest failure and raising up a new cosmos, he’s certain that this time success is assured. But just as his handiwork takes root, his greatest enemy rises from the void to challenge him in a vicious tentacled battle.
Leader of the Seraphim, Lucifer is sick of his father’s catastrophic missteps. And when he temporarily takes charge while the useless deity rests, he vows this rightful reign will be permanent. Except Lucifer soon finds himself not only dethroned, but kicked into the fiery flames of the Inferno.
Now as El’s family spirals into death and madness, he must fight to keep all of existence from imploding. And Lucifer’s hunger for vengeance has inadvertently paved the way for every celestial with a lust for power to ravage the multiverse in their bid for the coveted crown.
Can the embattled pair stop the playground of the gods from becoming a killing field?
Genres: Mythical Fantasy. Epic Fantasy. Portal Fantasy. Sword and Planet. Shades of dark and grimdark fantasy.
518 pages, Paperback
Published December 3, 2020
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60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
spfbo7
May 20, 2021Read this as a guest judge (With FanFiAddict) for SPFBO 7.
January 22, 2021
Big Cranky is the nickname of Almighty El, who, along with a slew of other mythological gods, form a pantheon of vibrant characters who suffer from all-to-human emotions, despite their statuses as immortals. Through a careful construction of these characters, their interrelations, and the worlds they inhabit, the author crafts a compelling narrative which disrupts common tropes and never loses sight of its entertaining premise. With keen imagery and wild characters, the author constructs a drama for the ages with hidden morals in every playful and destructive tendency of the (anti) hero and various other high-level beings.
With fast-paced narration and varied prospective, we get an easy-to-read style throughout. It has some commonality with the quirky tone and word choice of Gaiman. The author weaves subtle world building into every chapter, recounting the games of gods, an interplay of celestial powers and clearly motivated plans leading to a joyride of anarchy and questionable responsibility. While it ponders the nature of reality through immersive storytelling, it takes us on a tour of epic proportions with dark and humorous undercurrents.
Combining elements of myth and fable with modern panache, the bizarre and unpredictable developments shed light on our history, playing with literary traditions, through the disparate moody gods, enacting their visions and squabbles on the microcosmic and macrocosmic scale.
If you are a fan of interplanetary mythos or action-packed battles, you will be enthralled. The author fondly conjures familiar tropes from Lovecraft, Greek myth and many other sources to build a concoction both familiar and new. While the large number of interrelated gods puts me in mind of Percy Jackson, this story has a darker tone and more sophisticated literary twist.
With fast-paced narration and varied prospective, we get an easy-to-read style throughout. It has some commonality with the quirky tone and word choice of Gaiman. The author weaves subtle world building into every chapter, recounting the games of gods, an interplay of celestial powers and clearly motivated plans leading to a joyride of anarchy and questionable responsibility. While it ponders the nature of reality through immersive storytelling, it takes us on a tour of epic proportions with dark and humorous undercurrents.
Combining elements of myth and fable with modern panache, the bizarre and unpredictable developments shed light on our history, playing with literary traditions, through the disparate moody gods, enacting their visions and squabbles on the microcosmic and macrocosmic scale.
If you are a fan of interplanetary mythos or action-packed battles, you will be enthralled. The author fondly conjures familiar tropes from Lovecraft, Greek myth and many other sources to build a concoction both familiar and new. While the large number of interrelated gods puts me in mind of Percy Jackson, this story has a darker tone and more sophisticated literary twist.
February 12, 2021
Don’t let the name of this book deter you- this is not Young Adult or silly fiction. This is divinity fiction at it’s BEST. A fun, emotional, and riveting tale from the very beginning. The story follows the angels and gods of mythology from around the world, weaving a tale about what reality is like for immortal beings. You’ve got mythology’s MVPs: Lucifer, Zeus, Poseidon, Medusa, and even Lilith (for those Pagans among us). All the names you know are fully fleshed out characters in this book. It’s really fun and creative.
The main storyline focuses on El, the almighty, the stubborn, Big Cranky himself. As creator, El is the ruler of the immortals. He is the creator and destroyer of worlds designed to be inhabited by mortal beings. El seems to run his universe as an artist: haphazardly bringing life to his ideas just to watch the consequences. When things get too bad, he destroys the world he’s created in favor of the next project. This destruction proves unpopular among some of his fellow immortals, thus springing the main battle for power between El, the Almighty, and others in his court. El’s only son, Lucifer, has been groomed for rule since inception, but his views are at odds with El’s. Spoiler not spoiler: Lucifer gets banished to Hell to rule there, leaving a bit of a power vacuum for the role of "dissenter". This is just ONE of the many relatable themes in this book. Parents vs. children, old vs. new, house vs. house, love and tragedy- it's all here and expertly-written into a compelling story. The political and emotional drama of Big Cranky feels so relevant right now, and it’s a storyline that’s easy to relate to and get invested in.
Overall thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. The writing is excellent, the author has good use of metaphor, and the writing just feels modern. This story really finds a way to rethink our concept of religion and divinity, and why humans worship these immortal figures in the first place. I was captivated from the very first page and the book really held my attention throughout. I will be reading more from this author.
The main storyline focuses on El, the almighty, the stubborn, Big Cranky himself. As creator, El is the ruler of the immortals. He is the creator and destroyer of worlds designed to be inhabited by mortal beings. El seems to run his universe as an artist: haphazardly bringing life to his ideas just to watch the consequences. When things get too bad, he destroys the world he’s created in favor of the next project. This destruction proves unpopular among some of his fellow immortals, thus springing the main battle for power between El, the Almighty, and others in his court. El’s only son, Lucifer, has been groomed for rule since inception, but his views are at odds with El’s. Spoiler not spoiler: Lucifer gets banished to Hell to rule there, leaving a bit of a power vacuum for the role of "dissenter". This is just ONE of the many relatable themes in this book. Parents vs. children, old vs. new, house vs. house, love and tragedy- it's all here and expertly-written into a compelling story. The political and emotional drama of Big Cranky feels so relevant right now, and it’s a storyline that’s easy to relate to and get invested in.
Overall thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. The writing is excellent, the author has good use of metaphor, and the writing just feels modern. This story really finds a way to rethink our concept of religion and divinity, and why humans worship these immortal figures in the first place. I was captivated from the very first page and the book really held my attention throughout. I will be reading more from this author.
January 18, 2021
I'd like to start off by noting that I received an e-book copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
This novel tells several stories weaving religions and mythologies from all over the world together into a diverse pantheon. The organization and houses, as they are called, feel Grecian while the overarching hierarchy (El, The Almighty, "Big Cranky" ruling over all) harkens more to an Abrahamic/Christian tradition. With characters ranging from the already mentioned El to Lucifer and Michael, to Zeus and Poseidon, to Quetzalcoatl and Baiame, the range is staggering.
This leads me to my first critique. As soon as I started to feel like a character is being given a unique personality and identity, something would shift in that character and his or her perspective to homogenize them with the other characters. For example, at various times, I felt myself pulling for Lucifer and his starry-eyed idealism, only for him to change his tune in the next chapter and become a self-righteous demagogue like his father. I rationalized this in my mind several times throughout the book by noting that in religious and mythological tales, the gods and heroes often weren't very likable, even though they would occasionally do something redeemable. I just didn't feel like this translated favorably to Pyne's more modernized tellings. In other words, I felt like many of the characters had the same voice; they were almost all arrogant edge-lords (smirk, sashay, and smug are just a few words that saw regular play).
With that being said, I feel like there are a couple of things that I think would greatly improve the reader's experience with this book. The first would be adjusting target audience. I went in to reading this expecting some dark fantasy a la Clive Barker or similar -- many author profiles and reviews elsewhere hinted at this. What I got felt much more like the young adult fiction that precedes Barker or Lovecraft. This is in no way a bad thing, but that YA mood and tone has just never sat well with me personally. Another thing that would bump this book up for me would be the inclusion of a well-versed editor. I double-checked the credits pages to see if an editor had worked on this, but what I found was that this was largely a one-man show (not entirely, but we will get to that) as many self-published books are. I found several things throughout the book that are a bit hard to explain -- they're less denotation and more connotation for me -- that detracted from the experience Pyne was trying to convey. I mentioned before some of the language that conflicted with the subject matter: smirk, sashay, etc., at a few points, some of the deities are described as "just chilling." Sometimes this works (I'm thinking Gaiman) but other times, especially if it is splashed in as a flavor instead of being the main voice, it falls flat. These smaller things would be prime real estate for an editor to comment on and suggest for revision.
I feel like I've mostly been ragging on this. I don't want readers of this review to be dissuaded from reading this. It really is an interesting and fun book. Also, the illustrations by Luke Spooner are really something special. With all of that being said, if you get about 100 or 200 pages in and you just aren't really feeling it, don't feel compelled to continue; the tone, voice, and pacing stay the course throughout.
This novel tells several stories weaving religions and mythologies from all over the world together into a diverse pantheon. The organization and houses, as they are called, feel Grecian while the overarching hierarchy (El, The Almighty, "Big Cranky" ruling over all) harkens more to an Abrahamic/Christian tradition. With characters ranging from the already mentioned El to Lucifer and Michael, to Zeus and Poseidon, to Quetzalcoatl and Baiame, the range is staggering.
This leads me to my first critique. As soon as I started to feel like a character is being given a unique personality and identity, something would shift in that character and his or her perspective to homogenize them with the other characters. For example, at various times, I felt myself pulling for Lucifer and his starry-eyed idealism, only for him to change his tune in the next chapter and become a self-righteous demagogue like his father. I rationalized this in my mind several times throughout the book by noting that in religious and mythological tales, the gods and heroes often weren't very likable, even though they would occasionally do something redeemable. I just didn't feel like this translated favorably to Pyne's more modernized tellings. In other words, I felt like many of the characters had the same voice; they were almost all arrogant edge-lords (smirk, sashay, and smug are just a few words that saw regular play).
With that being said, I feel like there are a couple of things that I think would greatly improve the reader's experience with this book. The first would be adjusting target audience. I went in to reading this expecting some dark fantasy a la Clive Barker or similar -- many author profiles and reviews elsewhere hinted at this. What I got felt much more like the young adult fiction that precedes Barker or Lovecraft. This is in no way a bad thing, but that YA mood and tone has just never sat well with me personally. Another thing that would bump this book up for me would be the inclusion of a well-versed editor. I double-checked the credits pages to see if an editor had worked on this, but what I found was that this was largely a one-man show (not entirely, but we will get to that) as many self-published books are. I found several things throughout the book that are a bit hard to explain -- they're less denotation and more connotation for me -- that detracted from the experience Pyne was trying to convey. I mentioned before some of the language that conflicted with the subject matter: smirk, sashay, etc., at a few points, some of the deities are described as "just chilling." Sometimes this works (I'm thinking Gaiman) but other times, especially if it is splashed in as a flavor instead of being the main voice, it falls flat. These smaller things would be prime real estate for an editor to comment on and suggest for revision.
I feel like I've mostly been ragging on this. I don't want readers of this review to be dissuaded from reading this. It really is an interesting and fun book. Also, the illustrations by Luke Spooner are really something special. With all of that being said, if you get about 100 or 200 pages in and you just aren't really feeling it, don't feel compelled to continue; the tone, voice, and pacing stay the course throughout.
January 29, 2021
I received a free e-book copy in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book, ie an alternative story of creation is very interesting as is the fact that the author blends together creatures from different mythologies and different religions (I particularly liked the use of Greek mythology, as I am Greek myself). I enjoyed the story of the book, it was fun to read, but I didn't find it particularly dark. I liked the characters and how the author took events from different creation stories and integrated them inside his narrative.
I gave the book three stars because it has some issues in three areas. Firstly, character development is not very consistent in some parts of the book and that really threw me off. A major example of this is Poseidon. Secondly, at parts the book felt like I was reading a presentation of history events happening one after another and not a narrative. Thirldy, I think it needs a good editor to organise the chapters better and correct some minor syntax issues.
Despite those problems, I really enjoyed Fall into Darkness and I will definitely read the following books, as I want to find out where this story goes.
The premise of the book, ie an alternative story of creation is very interesting as is the fact that the author blends together creatures from different mythologies and different religions (I particularly liked the use of Greek mythology, as I am Greek myself). I enjoyed the story of the book, it was fun to read, but I didn't find it particularly dark. I liked the characters and how the author took events from different creation stories and integrated them inside his narrative.
I gave the book three stars because it has some issues in three areas. Firstly, character development is not very consistent in some parts of the book and that really threw me off. A major example of this is Poseidon. Secondly, at parts the book felt like I was reading a presentation of history events happening one after another and not a narrative. Thirldy, I think it needs a good editor to organise the chapters better and correct some minor syntax issues.
Despite those problems, I really enjoyed Fall into Darkness and I will definitely read the following books, as I want to find out where this story goes.
December 18, 2020
Do you think you know everything about myths and legends? Well, think again. This version of events combines deities from Christianity such as Lucifer and Michael, from Greek mythology such as Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, and Athena, and mentions deities from Norse mythology such as Odin and Thor, just to name a few. This book is a mashup of everything, and Pyne puts his own dark twist on these characters by weaving them together into his own amazing storyline. I’m not gonna lie, this book can be extremely dark at times, but that’s why it’s called dark fantasy. I was totally absorbed in this book. As a huge mythology fan, the spins Pyne puts on those characters are darkly enchanting. This is an extremely unique story, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
*i received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
*i received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
January 26, 2021
James Pyne throws us into the middle of the war between gods in his epic dark fantasy Big Cranky Fall Into Darkness! Lucifer takes advantage of failed overgod El’s distraction, plunging a varied who’s who pantheon of gods into a power struggle spanning multiple universes. I loved Pyne’s creative use of various mythologies and the convoluted (in a good way) tangle of plots and struggles across this book! It’s sort of like Game of Thrones meets The Clash of the Titans, and I loved it! If you enjoy mythology and dark fantasy epics, come hoist your magic sword and step into the twisted fray of Big Cranky Fall Into Darkness!
January 29, 2021
I honestly couldn't stop reading this book!
The way that James pyne has put this story together is like nothing I have ever read before. it grabs you and pulls you in.
Blood, lust, revenge, ohh boy it has it all!!
A must read to anyone who is a dark fantasy fan in my opinion I give this book 5 stars.
The way that James pyne has put this story together is like nothing I have ever read before. it grabs you and pulls you in.
Blood, lust, revenge, ohh boy it has it all!!
A must read to anyone who is a dark fantasy fan in my opinion I give this book 5 stars.
January 6, 2021
Action-packed with an interesting mix of familiar characters (including a twist on a classic monster) but not quite what I was expecting from an otherwise brilliant short story writer. I attribute my distate to the genre though since I do think the action was well written. I get the feeling that, if you're into superhero action, you will like this..and I actually think it would make a cool graphic novel. The artwork included is awesome. And something about the first chapter alone stands out as being closer to the short-story-Pyne I was expecting.
I will be reading/listening to the sequels to see where Pyne takes the story, and because I have heard some readings of other tales from this universe that are quite good.
I will be reading/listening to the sequels to see where Pyne takes the story, and because I have heard some readings of other tales from this universe that are quite good.
January 3, 2021
Big Cranky Fall Into Darkness is an interesting hotchpotch of mythology and legend. If you like mythology, as I do, then this book will be a treat. In here, you will find many gods and heroes from a variety of sources: from Christian to Greek, from Old Norse to Hindu.
The main players are the House of El and the House of Cronus/Zeus. El rules as the Almighty, the oldest and most powerful of all the angels. But other angels are discontent with how El rules. When an ancient enemy enters the playing field, El must use a lot of power to defeat him. After that things start going downhill.
I was afraid this book would be sacrilegious, what with the Almighty being described as a tyrant and flippantly referred to as Big Cranky. But I soon realized that even though Pyne has borrowed the names from Christianity (and the big plot, of course), the execution and the telling of the story has the feel of a Greek myth. Here, as in Greek myths, the gods are described every bit as flawed as humans with petty grievances, jealousy, infidelity et cetera. And I did note that they are not referred to as gods, but angels, even the Almighty El.
I like the idea of mixing different mythologies like this. In this story, it actually works very well. Pyne has created some interesting worlds, not the least Hell, where Lucifer is cast down with his wife Lilith for their defiance. Pyne even added some elements from classic Lovecraft lore to his plot, and I'm eager to learn how that will play out in the series.
To continue, there are some fascinating characters in the book, perhaps especially Lilith and Lucifer. Some of the other characters come across as flat, e.g. Persephone and Hercules, but not Lilith and Lucifer. They are well rounded characters with flaws, weaknesses, passions and strengths. You feel for them. And root for them.
Some things I did not like about this book were the title (sorry, but when I saw the title I thought this would be sci-fi and that Big Cranky might be a ship or something) and the strange interlude with short and seemingly irrelevant fragments of stories from different human ages. Also, sometimes the story skips around too much with new POVs for each chapter and the chapters being very short.
All in all, this book is a page-turner with its unique take on mythology, cleverly woven plot, and interesting characters. I am looking forward to the next installment.
***I received a free copy of this book for an honest review***
The main players are the House of El and the House of Cronus/Zeus. El rules as the Almighty, the oldest and most powerful of all the angels. But other angels are discontent with how El rules. When an ancient enemy enters the playing field, El must use a lot of power to defeat him. After that things start going downhill.
I was afraid this book would be sacrilegious, what with the Almighty being described as a tyrant and flippantly referred to as Big Cranky. But I soon realized that even though Pyne has borrowed the names from Christianity (and the big plot, of course), the execution and the telling of the story has the feel of a Greek myth. Here, as in Greek myths, the gods are described every bit as flawed as humans with petty grievances, jealousy, infidelity et cetera. And I did note that they are not referred to as gods, but angels, even the Almighty El.
I like the idea of mixing different mythologies like this. In this story, it actually works very well. Pyne has created some interesting worlds, not the least Hell, where Lucifer is cast down with his wife Lilith for their defiance. Pyne even added some elements from classic Lovecraft lore to his plot, and I'm eager to learn how that will play out in the series.
To continue, there are some fascinating characters in the book, perhaps especially Lilith and Lucifer. Some of the other characters come across as flat, e.g. Persephone and Hercules, but not Lilith and Lucifer. They are well rounded characters with flaws, weaknesses, passions and strengths. You feel for them. And root for them.
Some things I did not like about this book were the title (sorry, but when I saw the title I thought this would be sci-fi and that Big Cranky might be a ship or something) and the strange interlude with short and seemingly irrelevant fragments of stories from different human ages. Also, sometimes the story skips around too much with new POVs for each chapter and the chapters being very short.
All in all, this book is a page-turner with its unique take on mythology, cleverly woven plot, and interesting characters. I am looking forward to the next installment.
***I received a free copy of this book for an honest review***
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