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Ben Gold lives in dangerous times. Two generations ago, a virulent disease turned the population of most of North America into little more than beasts called Ferals. Some of those who survived took to the air, scratching out a living on airships and dirigibles soaring over the dangerous ground.
Ben, a lone wolf, has reluctantly agreed to use his skills and his airship to help an idealist scientist, Miranda, on her search for a cure. Protecting her from Ferals is dangerous enough but when power-mad raiders run rampant, Ben finds himself in the most dangerous place of all—the ground.
Ben’s journey leads him to Gastown, a city in the air recently conquered by belligerent and expansionist pirates. Old friends and new enemies are drawn into a struggle that quickly becomes a fight for the fate of the world. Ben must decide to focus on his own survival or risk it all on a desperate chance for a better future.
- Sales Rank: #1279990 in Books
- Published on: 2014-10-07
- Released on: 2014-10-07
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.18" h x .66" w x 5.48" l, .81 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 255 pages
Review
"Falling Sky grabbed me right away and held me to the last sentence. Khanna’s book is short, but sharp as a hidden knife. It’s a fast ride, scary and twisty-turny, and it also has plenty of airships, zombies, and sarcasm, three of the best things in the world. It’s also very well written—terse but punchy, like Hemingway meets The Walking Dead."
—TAD WILLIAMS, author of Sleeping Late On Judgement Day: A Bobby Dollar Novel
“A cool world with steampunk and zombies combined. . . . The voice is very real and gritty and I felt immersed in the world. Abercombie-edgy and a quick read at that.”
—FELICIA DAY
“Falling Sky is a gritty and gripping post-apocalyptic thriller, a noirish blend of Firefly and The Walking Dead—with a dash of Hayao Miyazaki. Welcome aboard the airship Cherub . . . your next stop: adventure!”
—E. C. MYERS, author of Fair Coin
“Fast-paced and fiercely imaginative, Khanna’s debut is a different look at a dystopian future.”
—MUR LAFFERTY, author of the Shambling Guides series and winner of the 2012 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer
About the Author
Rajan Khanna is the author of Falling Sky and Rising Tide. A writer, narrator, and blogger, his columns and articles regularly appear on Tor.com and LitReactor.com. He has narrated fiction for markets such as Podcastle, Escape Pod, Starship Sofa, Lightspeed Magazine, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies. His short fiction has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and several anthologies including The Way of the Wizard and Dead Man's Hand (both edited by John Joseph Adams).
Most helpful customer reviews
30 of 35 people found the following review helpful.
Don't Waste Your Time
By Neil Hepworth
Falling Sky suffers from the very worst of everything that makes me cringe at the word “Steampunk.” At first I felt bad posting such a terrible review, but I see that lots of other readers have enjoyed this novel, and their positive reviews more than balance out my review which will detail why I couldn't wait to finish the book because it was so painful. Let the sarcasm and snark begin:
1. A spoonful of water is deeper than than any character in this story. The main character Ben, for example, is Han Solo but without any charm. He’s gruff and arrogant, and he likes to work alone. But deep inside he has a heart of gold that makes him fight for the Rebellion, uh, I mean, the scientists. And even though it literally gets stolen in chapter four, the reader is supposed to care that Ben loves his spaceship/blimp (the Millennium Zeppelin) waaaay too much, but at the end, Ben is forced, forced I tell you! to sacrifice his blimp to save the day. Boo, freakin’ hoo. Oh, and in one of the most irrelevant plot points ever penned, he’s Jewish.
Also, “I’m a gritty character so I can drink, pass out, wake up, and F@#$ING swear like a dying sailor! Also, I use the word boffin. Why? Am I British? No. Am I living in 1800? No. Then why am I using it…? Because I’m Steampunk! See my goggles? Now, get me my parasol!” I jest - he doesn’t actually have a parasol.
(Just describing this character makes it sound like I’m pitching a skit to SNL producers.)
2. Every single decision made in the novel is made by either whining, smirking, or with a gut feeling:
SCENE 1: “I’m not taking someone else with me on this mission.” “But you owe me” whiny puppy
eyes. “Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess I’ll take you along…”
SCENE 2: “Hey, I just screwed you over, and now I need you to fly me around.” Cocky smirk.
“Um, I hate you, but my wise and all-knowing gut says to take you anyway. Welcome
aboard!”
SCENE 3: “Hey, let’s pull a Hobbit and sneak into the base by hiding in these barrels.” “Uh, that’s
the best idea you’ve got?” “Yes.” Whine and smirk. “Okay, barrels it is!”
SCENE 4: “Man, I really shouldn’t sleep with this other character.” Smirk. Sex scene.
SCENE 5: “Man, I don’t have a place to sleep, but I’m Jewish.” “What? You’re Jewish? Me, too! I’ll
give a place to sleep.”
3. Hey, a super-bug created the zombies, so scientists must work out a way to treat the super-bug by capturing zombies! Hey, zombies are people, too! Hey, a rival group of evil scientists is trying to create super-zombies to help create a new World Order! Snore. Hey, horses are immune to the zombie bug. Luck horses. Lucky plot twist. “But I must leave the horse (that I’ve only known for two pages), so I shoot it in the head in order to get an emotional reaction from the reader because the reader actually cares more about this two-page old horse more than they do about me or any other character in the novel.”
4. OMG! I’m about to be eaten by a zombie/evil nameless, faceless character! Oh, look another good-guy just shot the zombie/bad-guy in the head with this gun/rifle/bow and arrow! Lucky me. Again. And then again. And then again.
5. Hey guys, I’m a scientist who thinks that zombies are people too, but I’m a girl, so when I’m forced to shoot a zombie in order to save another character I have an emotional melt-down.
6. The obligatory shoehorned and awkwardly written sex scene that uses the word “guided.” Barf.
7. And. I. Can. Write. Like. This.
8. The cover claims that this novel is “like Hemingway meets The Walking Dead.” Both Hemingway and The Walking Dead are rolling in their respective graves. (Though, actually, while Hemingway is rolling in his grave, The Walking Dead are crawling out of the their graves. See what I did there?)
9. Perhaps if this novel had been billed as a YA novel, I might have been a wee bit gentler on it, but it wasn’t, so I’m not.
10. And finally, first person present tense narration can kiss my pasty white butt.
Conclusion: This is the worst published novel I have read this year. Winner is you! (Unless you actually read this book, in which case, you lose.)
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
I like scaring myself
By Kelly
It’s hard to read about a plague called the Bug when global viral catastrophe is a very real threat. This week saw the first case of Ebola in the United States. I live a couple thousand miles north of Dallas, but I’ve seen the movies and I’ve read the books. Apparently, I like scaring myself. I’m not alone in my fascination, however, which is why post-apocalyptic fiction has always had a place…and currently enjoys such an upsurge in popularity.
‘Falling Sky’ by Rajan Khanna captures the panicked urgency of a viral plague extremely well. It’s not clear how long the world has been under the sway of the Bug, but the effects are profound. The bulk of humanity or what’s left of us has taken to the sky to live in airships and floating cities, some of which are tethered to tall buildings. Below, Ferals roam the detritus of civilisation. The Bug is extremely contagious, but does require contact, generally that of the fluid kind, which has also wreaked some interesting changes on society. Casual sex just isn’t a thing, for instance, not when just kissing someone can cause you to Fade, losing the power to reason.
Accordingly, Benjamin Gold is a bit of a loner. He’s been flying and following his father’s rules for most of his life. When the scientists he’s working with want to capture a live Feral for experimentation, he decides to return to the solo life. But he’s already missing the company of one of the scientists, Meredith, when he learns that the scientific community is in danger from airborne raiders. In his attempt to warn Meredith and her friends, Ben loses his ship. He then has to call on unlikely and former allies to get it back and to put a dent in the raiders more permanent plans.
The adventure aspect of ‘Falling Sky’ is as compelling as the world. Khanna’s writing is clear, Ben’s voice engaging. I quickly became invested in his story and his fate. In between the adventure, we learn pieces of Ben’s past – what happened to his family and, to some degree, the world. I enjoyed these interludes. I also enjoyed Ben’s exploration of faith and what it meant to him. One of my favourite scenes in the book was his visit with the rabbi in Tamoanchan.
The climax of the story is, well, climactic. The best part, though, from a reader’s point of view, is that Ben made a move I did not expect. This really deepened a character I already liked, despite his sometimes immature behaviour. The way Ben bounces off his friends and allies is believable, however, and I enjoyed watching him come to the realisation that Miranda was more than a client.
‘Falling Sky’ ends with a small victory, but it’s obvious that it’s the first battle in a brooding war. The raiders have plans that extend beyond piracy and there is still the Bug for which Meredith and her colleagues hope to find a cure. Given the great start, this is a story and a series I’m keen to follow.
Finally, I’d like to mention the cover art. In short, I love it. So many times the cover art doesn’t clearly represent the content of the book. The illustration by Chris McGrath really captures both the ambience of Rajan Khanna’s world, from the desolate city scape and distant airships to the figure of Ben, who looks exactly as I might have pictured him, outfit and all.
Written for SFCrowsnest.org.uk
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Falling for Khanna's debut
By King Reviewer
Falling Sky's cover art and back-story blurb drew us into purchasing this book. Overall, after having finished it just 3 days ago, we had to think about what we felt about it.
We absolutely love post-apocalyptic books, and have read just about every book or ebook out there with this theme for numerous years. Rajan Khanna's debut book is a good read. Although we felt it wasn't one of the best books in this genre we've read, it surely wasn't the worst either.
Not by a long shot.
Rajan Khanna is a good writer, and his debut book kept us interested, despite the lack of details at times. The world-building is pretty good, and the character development is above average, albeit somewhat inconsistent at times. And again, somewhat lacking in detail where we felt it needed, ie, details in how things work, as in the workings of the various airships. The lack of detail in what main characters look like. Mr. Khanna details what she wears, but no detailed facial features to give us a formed picture in our minds. Things of that nature.
But, on the other hand, sometimes less is better than excess, when it comes to details.
Although it is a large trade paperback, Falling Sky is only 246 pages. Kinda nice to read a shorter paged book for once, when most nowadays are monstrous novels with 400 to 800 pages.
Falling Sky is written in the first person point of view of its main character, Ben Gold. Ben is a loner, who travels the airways in his dead father's airship, scavenging the land for food, weapons, and anything useful or worth bartering for. He hates being on the ground, due to the main populace now being Ferals, all caused by a virulent disease, turning them into animals.
Ben lets a handful of scientists onboard his airship, one a female character named Miranda, whom Ben continually fights and protects, although also fights his attraction for her. These handful of scientists are looking for a cure for the Feral outbreak, despite what Ben thinks is a waste of time. Ben doesn't look at these Ferals as still being human. Miranda does. Thus their relationship is stormy.
All Ben Gold wants to do is scavenge and stay as far away from the Ferals as he can, staying off the ground and flying in his beloved Cherub airship, handed down to him by his father, whose backstory with Ben that comes here and there in snippets throughout the book is rather good. Even the part where Ben finds his lost religion. It was never preachy. Liked that.
Overall, the book is about Ben and Miranda, along with a couple of her male scientist assistants, board Ben's beloved airship on a trip to find a supposed goldmine of scientific equipment that will help them in finding a cure of the ferals. During this journey, they end up capturing a male feral, placing it in a specialized cage aboard the airship, despite Ben's arguments. When they land on one of two known floating cities on the North American continent, this one called Gastown, they are soon a part of an invasion of sky pirates, all dressed like warring Vikings.
Afterwards, Ben finds himself surviving the invasion, but his airship is stolen, and he finds himself stranded on the ground, his worst nightmare. The rest of the book is Ben's journey to recapture his beloved airship, and along the way he meets new friends and enemies, as well as an interesting female characters that comes back from his distant past.
Falling Sky is a very good and well paced book, but reminded us somewhat strongly of a recently read trilogy of books we read, starting with the title - Darwin's Elevator. That trilogy too had a disease hitting the Earth, turning most of its inhabitants into wild animals. Although we felt those group of books were better than Falling Sky, we would still try a sequel to Falling Sky, if one were to come out. We would like to see the author branch out and see what the rest of the world is like after this pandemic.
The weakness of this book we felt were thus: The main character always wanted to be alone, which is not very smart when you have a world filled with Ferals, and you are forced to go to the ground to live off of it. A small group of friends, armed to the teeth and knowledgeable in survival, would have been a better, and much more believable concept. Lack of details in the weaponry Ben used stood out. if one is relying on weapons to survive, you would know the 'names' of the weapons, be they blade or bullet throwers. They would not just be called 'rifles' or 'guns.' We realize some readers could care less about this, but we believe it just makes the book that much more believable. (And with all the scavenging Ben has done, how could he have never found automatic weapons?)
Another weakness was the main character sometimes was kinda wimpy, then he'd all the sudden be hard as nails. He was a well fleshed-out character, but sometimes inconsistent.
The strength of the book were: Pacing was good. We were never bored. The action scenes were plentiful enough, but were not the best, but also not the worst, we've ever read. There were lots of interesting ideas in this book, which kept us interested, and wanting to see more of this feral-ridden world. (Or if it is, in fact, feral-infested?)
Another strength is the characterizations. There were a handful of interesting characters that kept us reading this book, wanting to see what would happen to them.
So, overall, we would recommend this book. 3.5 stars.
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