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beefmaster's review against another edition
4.0
Okay believe it or not I figured it out with the first dream Harry Angel has on page 77 in my edition. He sees his twin in the dream. Combine that with the former fiance claiming to be a twin led to conclude correctly that the person Harry is looking for is himself. Couple of clues cemented it for me: Harry serving in the war, his wax nose, the astrology chart being tbe exact same. I'm giving this 4 stars because I liked knowing what happened ahead of time and the pleasure I got knowing I outsmarted the book
lucia_bell's review against another edition
4.0
A quick read. Wish it took place in New Orleans like the movie did but Harry Angel is such a fun character and this is such a fun premise.
modernzorker's review against another edition
4.0
Having just finished "Falling Angel" there are only three words that come to mind: Ho. Lee. Shit.
Hjortsberg's story is absolutely mesmerizing, an awesome mix of Raymond Chandler detective noir and Richard Bachman horror without a conscience. I've not seen the movie Angel Heart, but after reading some reviews I'm not sure I want to. This is one story I'm not willing to spoil by watching the film.
It all starts out so innocently...a streetwise private eye, a mysterious client who wants to track down a missing person, and a trail of leads that twist and turn into one dead-end cul-de-sac after another. And the deeper our PI digs into shadows, the worse it gets. The leads he finds while attempting to locate the missing crooner Johnny Favorite keep turning up dead in increasingly violent and horrifying fashions. And the more he uncovers about the vanished man's past, the more bizarre the story becomes: voodoo cults, sideshow magicians, prominent businessmen, even the aging fiancee Johnny left behind when he pulled his disappearing act all fit together in a macabre backdrop of New York painted with hell's own blackened and scorched blood.
It's sordid. It's violent. It's sexual. It's perverse and unnatural, and the twist at the end smacks you in the face so hard and yet so logically that you'll curse yourself for not seeing it coming because the clues were there all along. Hjortsberg hung his hook out in plain sight, and you along with Angel run headlong into it, not realizing until it's too late.
Detective novels really aren't my thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the literary cesspool this story dragged me through. Even if you can't stand noir fiction, even if horror really isn't your thing, this book is something else. If you've got the stomach, you'll tear though it like the blade of a sharp knife through the neck of a thrashing chicken.
You may need a shower when it's over, but dear God is it worth the mess.
Hjortsberg's story is absolutely mesmerizing, an awesome mix of Raymond Chandler detective noir and Richard Bachman horror without a conscience. I've not seen the movie Angel Heart, but after reading some reviews I'm not sure I want to. This is one story I'm not willing to spoil by watching the film.
It all starts out so innocently...a streetwise private eye, a mysterious client who wants to track down a missing person, and a trail of leads that twist and turn into one dead-end cul-de-sac after another. And the deeper our PI digs into shadows, the worse it gets. The leads he finds while attempting to locate the missing crooner Johnny Favorite keep turning up dead in increasingly violent and horrifying fashions. And the more he uncovers about the vanished man's past, the more bizarre the story becomes: voodoo cults, sideshow magicians, prominent businessmen, even the aging fiancee Johnny left behind when he pulled his disappearing act all fit together in a macabre backdrop of New York painted with hell's own blackened and scorched blood.
It's sordid. It's violent. It's sexual. It's perverse and unnatural, and the twist at the end smacks you in the face so hard and yet so logically that you'll curse yourself for not seeing it coming because the clues were there all along. Hjortsberg hung his hook out in plain sight, and you along with Angel run headlong into it, not realizing until it's too late.
Detective novels really aren't my thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the literary cesspool this story dragged me through. Even if you can't stand noir fiction, even if horror really isn't your thing, this book is something else. If you've got the stomach, you'll tear though it like the blade of a sharp knife through the neck of a thrashing chicken.
You may need a shower when it's over, but dear God is it worth the mess.
zare_i's review against another edition
5.0
Movie based on the novel (Angel Heart) seems to be better known than the book. And that is a pity because this is one excellent thriller with supernatural elements that are scary but not in overtly (slasher like) way. Some of the elements of the story and definitely characters are much better presented in the novel (IMHO).
I won't go into details here because, unfortunately, both book and movie suffer from what I call Sixth Sense Syndrome - once seen/read (and if you have seen the movie before reading the book - like I have - you made the greatest offense :)) you need to fully forget it to enjoy it again (and since it is truly interesting story I bet you wont forget it that easily :)).
Our main hero, PI Harry Angelo, gets hired by a mysterious figure to find even more mysterious singer who is thought to be dead for decade. Task starts relatively routinely but soon Harry starst to see weird behavior and patterns with people he meets and questions. Soon he will find himself throwin into the unknown [and rather dark] world of voodoo and other rather darkish Southern/Caribbean religions and people beliefs. Final revelation will hit him like a sledge hammer.
Written in the best manner of noir detective books, story flows very fast and reader gets glued to the pages 'til the very end. Harry is pretty street-wise (although he gets into decent amount of predicaments) and quite a smart mouth so dialogues do get very interesting (not that the other sides in conversation dont have quips and remarks of their own). I especially enjoyed conversations Harry has with his employer.
Highly recommended.
I won't go into details here because, unfortunately, both book and movie suffer from what I call Sixth Sense Syndrome - once seen/read (and if you have seen the movie before reading the book - like I have - you made the greatest offense :)) you need to fully forget it to enjoy it again (and since it is truly interesting story I bet you wont forget it that easily :)).
Our main hero, PI Harry Angelo, gets hired by a mysterious figure to find even more mysterious singer who is thought to be dead for decade. Task starts relatively routinely but soon Harry starst to see weird behavior and patterns with people he meets and questions. Soon he will find himself throwin into the unknown [and rather dark] world of voodoo and other rather darkish Southern/Caribbean religions and people beliefs. Final revelation will hit him like a sledge hammer.
Written in the best manner of noir detective books, story flows very fast and reader gets glued to the pages 'til the very end. Harry is pretty street-wise (although he gets into decent amount of predicaments) and quite a smart mouth so dialogues do get very interesting (not that the other sides in conversation dont have quips and remarks of their own). I especially enjoyed conversations Harry has with his employer.
Highly recommended.
_lilbey_'s review against another edition
3.0
Not what I expected. I did like that I couldn't predict the ending from miles away.
donasbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Instagram Review: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCZ0X_zAqeo/
Who remembers Mickey Rourke? Well I do, before he was a fighter, when his face was beautiful and his acting mesmerized every teenage girl and stay at home mom in the country. That was the eighties, and in case I've aged myself, let me set myself straight: I was still falling out of trees. But I did see Angel Heart when I was a junior in high school and just tumbling head-injury-coma-style-long into my horror junkie phase (still haven't woken up, in case you're asking, though I'm a somnambulist and a chatty one). I crashed into an odd something with Mickey Rourke, aka Detective Angel. And that movie stuck with me.
I think what shocks me most about William Hjortsberg's Falling Angel is how long I had to read it before I realized it was the book version of that pinnacle eighties horror film, Angel Heart. It was not until I was approaching the climactic scene and Angel started stacking the evidence together that I recognized the setup of the bombshell reveal at the end (which I will keep to myself, for those of you who still want to read this book). Once I did realize what book I was reading, I admit, I was disappointed.
Mostly because the film, I think, is superior. I find this book's organization a bit distressing in the sense that Hjortsberg seems to favor the horror story over the mystery. I often struggled to follow the case from one scene to the next, even within a given scene. I don't have the patience to read material multiple times to catch the narrative nuance; perhaps you will.
This book gets a three for a really great horror story; I can't really make sense of the author's decision to include the mystery subgenre. At the same time, had he not, we would not have one of my favorite ever horror films, Angel Heart, or one of Mickey Rourke's best roles. If you want something weird (and you won't mind if it turns out to be junk), give it a shot.
One last thing: I don't know anything at all about voodoo, but I'm pretty sure this book gets every single thing it touches wrong about voodoo.
Hope you all stay safe and calm <3
Who remembers Mickey Rourke? Well I do, before he was a fighter, when his face was beautiful and his acting mesmerized every teenage girl and stay at home mom in the country. That was the eighties, and in case I've aged myself, let me set myself straight: I was still falling out of trees. But I did see Angel Heart when I was a junior in high school and just tumbling head-injury-coma-style-long into my horror junkie phase (still haven't woken up, in case you're asking, though I'm a somnambulist and a chatty one). I crashed into an odd something with Mickey Rourke, aka Detective Angel. And that movie stuck with me.
I think what shocks me most about William Hjortsberg's Falling Angel is how long I had to read it before I realized it was the book version of that pinnacle eighties horror film, Angel Heart. It was not until I was approaching the climactic scene and Angel started stacking the evidence together that I recognized the setup of the bombshell reveal at the end (which I will keep to myself, for those of you who still want to read this book). Once I did realize what book I was reading, I admit, I was disappointed.
Mostly because the film, I think, is superior. I find this book's organization a bit distressing in the sense that Hjortsberg seems to favor the horror story over the mystery. I often struggled to follow the case from one scene to the next, even within a given scene. I don't have the patience to read material multiple times to catch the narrative nuance; perhaps you will.
This book gets a three for a really great horror story; I can't really make sense of the author's decision to include the mystery subgenre. At the same time, had he not, we would not have one of my favorite ever horror films, Angel Heart, or one of Mickey Rourke's best roles. If you want something weird (and you won't mind if it turns out to be junk), give it a shot.
One last thing: I don't know anything at all about voodoo, but I'm pretty sure this book gets every single thing it touches wrong about voodoo.
Hope you all stay safe and calm <3
nicksenior's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kostula's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
tatzel's review against another edition
5.0
A masterpiece that blends amazingly noir and the occult. Absolutely a must read!