Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

Private Cyril Bagger and the ragtag team of Company P are sent to investigate mysterious screaming on the French battlefield during World War I. Instead of finding a wounded soldier, however, Bagger discovers a literal fallen angel. Now, five men with questionable pasts, trapped in a desolate hellscape, and already pushed to the breaking point, must decide what to do with the celestial being. Kraus’ novel is a long, breathless sentence, which could have felt gimmicky, but doesn’t. Instead, word choice, metaphors, and allusions create visceral images that immerse you in Bagger’s physically and mentally exhausting journey to face demons from his past and question the man he has become. This riveting story explores the violence of man in a war-torn land through the eyes of a former conman trying to save an angel. Another intense and haunting Kraus classic.