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A Novel
by Daniel Kraus
Book Reviewed by:The critically acclaimed author of the "crazily enjoyable" (The New York Times) Whalefall returns with an immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war.
Private Cyril Bagger has managed to survive the unspeakable horrors of the Great War through his wits and deception, swindling fellow soldiers at every opportunity. But his survival instincts are put to the ultimate test when he and four other grunts are given a deadly mission: venture into the perilous No Man's Land to euthanize a wounded comrade.
What they find amid the ruined battlefield, however, is not a man in need of mercy but a fallen angel, seemingly struck down by artillery fire. This celestial being may hold the key to ending the brutal conflict, but only if the soldiers can suppress their individual desires and work together. As jealousy, greed, and paranoia take hold, the group is torn apart by their inner demons, threatening to turn their angelic encounter into a descent into hell.
Angel Down plunges you into the heart of World War I and weaves a polyphonic tale of survival, supernatural wonder, and moral conflict.
Chapter I
I
and Cyril Bagger considers himself lucky, he ought to be topped off, gone west, bumped, clicked it, pushing daisies, a new landowner, napooed, just plain dead, not only dead but scattered around in globs, for the last thing he saw was a shell dropping on top of him with the noise of colliding freight trains, a jim-dandy of a shot from Fritzy the Hun, and kind of ironic, seeing how the whole reason Bagger prefers burial duty is artillery shells can't reach this far behind the frontline trench, but this shell sure did, the way he always pictures it in dreams, a red skull of fire screaming down, giving him one second to think, That old Bagger luck has finally run out,
and the afterlife, for the brief time he knew it, had been delectable, he was gentled back into the arms, and the long, long legs, of Marie-Louise, the prostituée on whom he'd lavished all his francs when the Butcher Birds of the 43rd had been stationed in Vosges, pretty, dry, warm, quiet, bloodless Vosges, ...
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/28/2026)
...s trained for a bakery where he specializes in donuts which provides cover for the past life he needs to escape—until the day the past comes calling. Angel Down by Daniel Krause, read by Kirby Heyborne. I tried reading the book but couldn't get into it in print so I decided to move to the audio. To my shame I knew nothing ab...
-Anne_Glasgow
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (5/21/2026)
...one didn't really work for me. I think literary humor is very dependent on personal taste and I didn't sync with what was going on here. NOW READING: Angel Down by Daniel Krause. As I have stated previously I didn't get along with the print version of this one so I picked it up as an audiobook. I'm so sorry but anyone who re...
-Anne_Glasgow
Pulitzer Prize in books for 2026
@Anne_Glasgow Thanks, I love your detailed response. You really get into the research and can appreciate the vote as you are familiar with the judges. My guess is most readers aren't and like Techeditor, they are interested but never agreed. I would say that is usually my and most of those in our...
-Connie_K
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/09/2026)
I finished "Angel Down" by Daniel Kraus this week and it was a visceral experience. So much was going on at once and it was a lot to take in for me. I started "Time of the Child" by Niall Williams. It is off to a slow start but a couple of people here told me to stick with it so I am giving it a ...
-Anthony_Conty
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/02/2026)
I finished "The Invention of Charlotte Bronte" by Graham Watson and it was a great trip into the 1800s. I was not the biggest fan of her work but now want to go back and give some of the books a second look. Now, I am reading "Angel Down" by Daniel Kraus, which is an immersive experience into the...
-Anthony_Conty
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (3/26/2026)
I finished "Raising Hare" by Chloe Dalton last week and thought it a nice read for animal lovers. I should be done with "The Invention of Charlotte Brontë" by Sunday. I am in my hometown for a funeral and should have down time to read. "Angel Down" by Daniel Kraus is next and I hear great things!
-Anthony_Conty
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (2/5/2026)
...Backman is nearly over. Quite different from others he's written, but I liked it. Waiting in the wings are two books, The Man in the High Castle and Angel Down by Daniel Kraus.********
-NanK
BookBrowsers Ask Daniel Kraus, author of Angel Down and Whalefall
I know you've got Partially Devoured on deck for March, and of course Whalefall comes out in theaters in October. What else is on tap for you? Can you tell us anything about the projects you're currently working on?
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (1/22/2026)
In the past week I finished https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm/ezine_preview_number/19458/harlem-rhapsody Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray for our upcoming book club read next week. I thought it was very well done and I'm looking forward to discussing it with the ...
-kim.kovacs
Ask the Author mug winners
Here are the latest BookBrowse mug winners for the questions to our visiting authors: Eve J. Chung ( https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/4821/daughters-of-shandong Daughters of Shandong ): @Jorene_J Princess Joy L. Perry ( https://www.bookbrowse.com/bb_briefs/detail/index.cfm...
-kim.kovacs
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/16/2025)
I just finally, finally made by way through Angel Fall by Daniel Kraus. Let me say I really like his writing in general. I don't think anyone could make the visuals from WWI any more startling or vivid than he does. His take on the angel and the meaning she took on for each of the doughboys is th...
-Connie_K
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (10/09/2025)
...It's the kind of read that moves along and is easy to put down and pick right up again. On the other hand, this week I'm still working my way through Angel Down by Daniel Kraus. The author is so talented, it's almost unbearable to read. (Kim, I'm wondering if I can get these emails earlier, as it is regarding week of 10/09 a...
-Connie_K
Anyone read WhaleFall by Daniel Kraus (2023)?
I have read both Whalefall and Angel Down. Daniel Kraus is a very inventive writer very character -driven and descriptive. Gore- filled but with a purpose to illuminate the settings of his story not gratuitious.
-Jolene_Blankley
What are you reading this week? (8/28/2025)
@Connie_K I'm glad to hear you're a fan of Daniel Kraus. I really enjoyed https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/5060/angel-down Angel Down and I hope you like it! I haven't read Whalefall but I plan to.
-kim.kovacs
Pulitzer Prize
2026
Daniel Kraus's novel Angel Down takes place late in World War I, just weeks away from the November 11, 1918 Armistice. Private Cyril Bagger, self-professed gambler, con man, and card cheat, has remained safe behind the front lines by volunteering to dig latrines and mass graves. He considers himself a coward, but he's OK with that; his only goal is to survive the war. Told in a third-person voice entirely from Bagger's point of view, the novel unspools in one long stream-of-consciousness sentence. Kraus's prose is so glorious and his descriptions so alive that the entire book is a marvel...continued
Full Review
(779 words)
(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
Daniel Kraus's novel Angel Down is set on a WWI battlefield in France. After a particularly brutal shelling, Private Cyril Bagger is sent along with a small group of others to "take care of" someone shrieking nonstop in No Man's Land. Instead of a wounded comrade, however, he discovers what appears to be an angel. One of the squad believes she's the Angel of Mons, referring to an incident that occurred during the Battle of Mons on August 22-23, 1914. The rest of the novel follows Bagger's attempts to keep this enigmatic creature safe.
The British declared war on Germany early in August of 1914, and the first troops from the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were sent to France soon thereafter. The army was ...
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