This one’s a bit of a heartbreaker. Angel Down has a unique structure. Each paragraph ends with a comma, the next starts with "and." I know that bothered some readers, but I didn’t mind it.

What did get to me was the pacing. The stream-of-thought style becomes tiring after a while, feeling repetitive more than immersive. Same thing happened to me with Whalefall: I loved the concept, found Kraus’ voice intriguing, but the execution just didn’t land.

There’s a lot of commentary on war, on the selfishness of man, on destruction, but we’re neck-deep in that in real life. So instead of feeling profound, it just felt… what else is new?.. Maybe this wasn't a good time for me to read this one.

The plot itself is wild and I did enjoy that ride. But then came an unnecessarily graphic scene of animal-gore, and it soured the whole thing for me. Just didn’t need it.

Generous 3 stars (more like 2.5, if I’m honest). I’ll still read whatever Kraus writes next, but this one wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC.

Angel Down is a novel sure to divide readers due to its fascinating experimental structure. Delivered as a single sentence - you read that right - it's one of the more unique horror novels you are likely to read this year.
The single-sentence structure means that the story is told in present time with no time jumps and delivered in a stream of consciousness style narrative that has been earning praise for its bold storytelling style.
Unfortunately, it's also a style that can also be somewhat exhausting due to the never-ending projection of thought, meaning your enjoyment of the narrative - in which a solder discovers a fallen angel in the middle of a battlefield - will depend very much on how you react to the structure.
Personally, it didn't quite work for me but more than ever this is a book that you will need to experience yourself and make up your own mind.