Angel Down is a World War I novel with a narrative structure that is a continuously streaming monologue, consisting of one continuous sentence, from the first page of the novel to its last page. The protagonist is a draft dodger and then an army private who encounters an angel on the battlefield. It was written by Daniel Kraus, an American author. It was published by First Atria Books, and imprint of Simon & Schuster, in July 2025.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Five American soldiers near the end of World War I, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, are on a bloody battlefield in France.[2][5] Major General Reis, who is focused on his own advancement, orders an infantryman, Private First Class Cyril Bagger to investigate an unearthly shrieking sound that is causing the troops to go insane. Bagger is sent out with four other soldiers, a group of misfits. First there is Arno, who is young and innocent. Next is Popkin who is very much a brute. Then there is Goodspeed who is nervously "squirming," and Veck, who is suffering from severe shell shock.[5]
The five men discover the source of the sound is an angel, and she looks like women that each of the men recognize. She is tangled in barbed wire and emitting an very bright aura.[5] They believe Major General Reis will try to exploit the angel for his own benefit and career advancement. Determined to keep her away from Reis, the soldiers desert their post. They carry the angel, dodging artillery fire while arguing with each other. Each man tries to gain favor with the angel hoping she will grant their personal wishes.[5]
Writing style
According to Publisher's Weekly, Kraus builds the tension with the rhythm of his writing, creating a sense of non-stop action because the entire story is a single, continuous sentence. Despite the pacing, the writing is also poetic, as there are lyrical passages like "Bagger sits up with vision aswirl and shoos away the filthy pelt of air, the pigeon-gray smoke and eyeball-white fog."[5] Ben H. Winters of The New York Times says that this novel starts at the outset in the middle of a sentence and in the middle of a battle, while the narrative ends in a comma indicating that there is no conclusion, only continuation.[2]
Winters also says that the text shows an exemplary example of the "additive style", in which the "writer’s prose is associative and spontaneous, piling up new facts and ideas without necessarily spelling out their relationships. The additive style — as distinct from the precise and ordered subordinating style — suggests that the relationship between events, their quote-unquote 'meaning,' is as uncertain in stories as it is in life." [2]
According to Kirkus Reviews, Kraus structured the entire novel as one extended run-on sentence, broken up only by paragraph indentation. This structure works by "giving the story a relentless and intense rhythm."[7]
Themes
Kirkus Reviews says that in the realm of horror, the novel vividly portrays the violence, and blood and guts of the battlefield. This continuous run-on sentence structure is applied to "keep a story moving." According to Kirkus Reviews, the latter part of the book asks philosophical questions about: Why people seem naturally inclined to wage war. What force or idea might be strong enough to stop this cycle of conflict.[7]
Reception
According to Publisher's Weekly, the novel is a vigorous and fresh take on the war novel genre.[5] Winters, of the New York Times says, "Angel Down, mysterious and full of grace, may work a similar power on its readers, even as it walks the fields of death."[2]
Awards
In 2025, this received noted kudos from the following media platforms:[1][8]
New York Times Top 10 Book Of 2025
People Magazine Best Books of 2025
New York Times Notable Book Of 2025
Vulture Magazine’s Best Books Of 2025
New York Times Editors’ Choice
Financial Times Best Book Of 2025
Vulture – The 16 Best Horror Books Of 2025
Chicago Review Of Books – 12 Must-Read Books Of 2025
1234567Magazine, Staff (April 26, 2025). "Review: Angel Down". Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved January 10, 2025. and so Bagger sits up with vision aswirl and shoos away the filthy pelt of air, the pigeon-gray smoke and eyeball-white fog
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