Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1) by Susan Ee | A Your Shelf Life Review

ANGELFALL by Susan Ee

I was captivated by Susan Ee’s Angelfall. There are so many things to like about this book. It takes place weeks after an Armageddon instigated by angels. Angels are the bad guys? Yes. That’s only one of Angelfall’s quirky elements. The characters are endearing and fascinating: The tough/tender heroine Penryn. Her mentally ill and very dangerous mother. Disabled sister. Absent father. And the hunky angel, Raffe, who may or may not be a good “guy”.

None of these are stereotyped or predictable. Which is so refreshing. I am not a fan of popular fiction. The current preoccupation with faeries, vampires, werewolves, witches, and angels leaves me cold. But this book didn’t.

Superbly well-written and perfectly paced, Angelfall could be used as a model of good writing in any creative writing seminar. The action never ceases as the plot unfolds to reveal unpredictable scenes and situations. Like the politics of angel society. Humans preparing to revolt against angels. And what those angels are up to in San Francisco.

The author’s use of place enthralled me. I was born in San Francisco and spent most of my life on the San Francisco Peninsula. The book is set in my old stomping ground. So when she describes Penryn and company heading for Page Mill Rd and crossing El Camino in Palo Alto, I could visualize the scene exactly. The same was true for her locations on Skyline and in San Francisco. When authors site a story in a physically real place that I know, I get really perturbed if the location isn’t portrayed correctly. Ee does this perfectly.

I’m looking forward to the next installment of the Penryn & the End of Days series.

I highly recommend this book for adults who like intense fantasy with horrific elements and violence. I didn’t find either disturbing, but some might. I would recommend this for older Young Adults.

Reviewed by Sandy Nathan

Susan Ee, author of Angelfall

About Susan Ee

Susan Ee is the author of Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1). Her short stories have been in various publications including Realms of Fantasy and The Dragon and the Stars anthology. She is also a filmmaker whose latest film played at major film festivals and on cable TV stations throughout the U.S. She studied creative writing through workshops at Stanford, The Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Clarion West.

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