March 28, 2024
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LocalLit book review 'Abyss of the Fallen' by Diana Estell of Romeoville

As I've said in previous reviews, I don't read many books in the fantasy genre.

But I definitely wanted to make an exception with Diana Estell's "Abyss of the Fallen."

It's the first book from this Romeoville author, one that she worked on for 10 years. I met her a few years ago at The Book Market in Crest Hill and have followed her updates since then.

First, here is the book's Amazon description: "For centuries, Dagon, the Guardian of Light, balanced between two worlds, the Earth and the Abyss: the underground lair of the Fallen Seraphs. Half-Seraph, he sees into the hearts of mortals and hears their thoughts. Half-human, he shares their flaws and their addictions.

"His two worlds collide when Dagon finds Mary, a troubled girl enslaved by her abusive past. While humans remain unaware of the spiritual battle around them, Savila, the ruler of the Abyss and of Dagon himself, wages war for their blood and souls in a devious plot to rule both worlds. A plot that centers around the fate of one child, 13-year-old Mark Bennett.

"Intrigued by the mysterious Dagon, Mary must choose to help him for the sake of all humanity, the choice to save or sacrifice Mark. Is Mary's love strong enough to forgive Dagon the atrocities committed at Savila's command?

"The stakes of love climb higher and higher, and even with all his supernatural powers, Dagon can't save Mary, much less the Earth, from sure destruction. Can anything overcome the evil in both of their pasts?

"The fate of humanity very well may depend on it…"

So I haven't finished the book completely. But here are my initial impressions.

First of all, it's a dense read, which I really like. It's not a "beach read" or a book that you can skim for the highlights and then skip to the end. If you want to read it, you actually have to sit down and read it.

The love story between Dagon and Mary reminds me of Edward and Bella in "Twilight." So if you're a "Twilight" fan or like paranormal romances, even if you don't read fantasy, you might like this book.

Slight spoiler: the back story of Mark reminds me of "Hotel del Luna," a Korean drama I'm currently watching with my daughter. In the opening episode, a thief promises his only son to the owner of the hotel in exchange for 20 more years of life.

And some random fun details:

Uncle Henry is more than he appears, and my favorite scene in the entire book so far is when he walks down the hallway, looking at the portraits and stopping at one in particular.

In true schoolboy fashion, the Cherubs mock Dagon's love for Mary by making kissing faces.

Can you imagine the price of cigarettes if you smoked golden ones?

And some nice turns of phrase:

[Love} means power in brokenness.

He swallowed a lump in his throat just as the ground swallowed him in darkness.

She walked methodically like a chess piece. Not a knight or a rook but a queen.

The only downside is that "Abyss of the Fallen" is not in print (yet) and not available anywhere except on Kindle through Amazon.

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Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 ordunland@shawmedia.com.

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