Indifference of Heaven

Braunbeck's debut as a dark fantasy novelist shows the same passion and originality as his short fiction collection, Things Left Behind (1997)--and the same fearless sidesteps into obscurity. The grim realism of the first chapter belies the unpredictability of what follows: Ohio television news anchor Robert Londregan watches helplessly as his wife, Denise, stricken with catastrophic mysterious symptoms, and their unborn child die in a hospital emergency room. Then things get very weird. Robert is assaulted in the morgue by a man with a hideously deformed face, the fetal corpse disappears and the deformed assailant, who calls himself Rael, informs Robert that Denise, like Rael himself, is one of the Hallover, the guardian angel offspring of humans and repentant fallen angels who are "able to move freely between the Earth of men and the Kingdom of God." The fate of Rael and his kind depend on Denise's return, and Robert is charged with retrieving her in one of the many incarnations she has assumed. Much of this strange mythology is related in preachy parables, since there is no way Robert (or the reader) could possibly parse it from the chaotically orchestrated events. But though Braunbeck puzzles with his plotting, he has a knack for summing up in concise images the abstruse concepts he kicks around--for example, the recurring symbol of Denise's matryoshka, or nesting dolls, which eloquently expresses how a part of her invests every person whom Robert has ever loved. The novel bursts with moving insights about grief turning one's world upside down and about the restorative power of love, and Braunbeck can't be taken to task too severely for expressing them with more feeling than sense. 

Limited to 199 signed and numbered copies and sold out at the publisher

David G. Barnett - You will notice that there are a number of books we are listing that will have the designation of DB, Dave Barnett, David Barnett, Necro, Necro Dave, etc. in the limitation line.  Dave was a great friend of ours, whose life was tragically ended way too short in an auto accident in 2021.  Dave was a book designer (we will be listing a number of books by other publishers which he either designed or were set to him and they will be designated as listed above) and publisher, his imprints were known as Necro Publications, Bedlam Press and Wierd Press Books, among others.  We have acquired his personal collection (and working on getting overstock from his business to his authors (if you were published by Dave and we have not gotten in touch with you please reach out to us at tony@camelotbooks.com) the book listed in this listing is from his personal collection and marked as such.

NOTE: This copy carries the following inscription, and is a great association piece.

For David:

Thank you for buying this-now I'll always know that at least one person has read it!

(Let me know what you think, okay?)

/S/ WHC '02