Godfall
Published on 1. November 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
308 pages
978-1-4962-3521-3 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the 2024 Midwest Book Award
Gold Winner for the 2023 Foreword INDIES Book Award
Longlisted for 2024 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award
When a massive asteroid hurtles toward Earth, humanity braces for annihilation-but the end doesn't come. In fact, it isn't an asteroid but a three-mile-tall alien that drops down, seemingly dead, outside Little Springs, Nebraska. Dubbed "the giant," its arrival transforms the red-state farm town into a top-secret government research site and major metropolitan area, flooded with soldiers, scientists, bureaucrats, spies, criminals, conspiracy theorists-and a murderer.
As the sheriff of Little Springs, David Blunt thought he'd be keeping the peace among the same people he'd known all his life, not breaking up chanting crowds of conspiracy theorists in tiger masks or struggling to control a town hall meeting about the construction of a mosque. As a series of brutal, bizarre murders strikes close to home, Blunt throws himself into the hunt for a killer who seems connected to the Giant. With bodies piling up and tensions in Little Springs mounting, he realizes that in order to find the answers he needs, he must first reconcile his old worldview with the town he now lives in-before it's too late.
Gold Winner for the 2023 Foreword INDIES Book Award
Longlisted for 2024 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award
When a massive asteroid hurtles toward Earth, humanity braces for annihilation-but the end doesn't come. In fact, it isn't an asteroid but a three-mile-tall alien that drops down, seemingly dead, outside Little Springs, Nebraska. Dubbed "the giant," its arrival transforms the red-state farm town into a top-secret government research site and major metropolitan area, flooded with soldiers, scientists, bureaucrats, spies, criminals, conspiracy theorists-and a murderer.
As the sheriff of Little Springs, David Blunt thought he'd be keeping the peace among the same people he'd known all his life, not breaking up chanting crowds of conspiracy theorists in tiger masks or struggling to control a town hall meeting about the construction of a mosque. As a series of brutal, bizarre murders strikes close to home, Blunt throws himself into the hunt for a killer who seems connected to the Giant. With bodies piling up and tensions in Little Springs mounting, he realizes that in order to find the answers he needs, he must first reconcile his old worldview with the town he now lives in-before it's too late.
Reviews / Votes
"A gripping, fast-paced, genre-bending novel full of heart and wonder. Give this one to fans of Ben H. Winters and Dan Chaon."-Portia Kapraun, Library Journal "A giant's body falls from the sky, exposing extant rifts in a small Nebraska town in Van Jensen's shocking novel Godfall-a murder mystery with a science fiction twist."-Michelle Anne Schingler, Foreword Reviews "Van Jensen delivers the sense-bending strange in this tale of mystery and wonder."-Gary Phillips, author of One-Shot Harry "I felt slapped awake by Godfall's brilliant conceit and the profound change witnessed in a small town that suddenly finds itself on a global-and even cosmic-stage. This book is thought-provoking, awe-inspiring, and visionary but always grounded in human particulars."-Benjamin Percy, writer of Wolverine for Marvel Comics and author of The Ninth Metal and Red Moon "Godfall is a fresh and surprising genre mashup, bringing a laconic small-town sheriff together with a crash-landed alien and a series of brutal killings, beautifully interweaving otherworldly images and naturalistic details of rural Nebraska life. Van Jensen is a terrific writer, and I was under the book's strange and extraordinary spell from start to finish!"-Dan Chaon, author of Sleepwalk "Godfall is the genre-mashup novel of my dreams. With breathtaking imagery and razor-sharp prose, Van Jensen gives us a story that is part alien sci-fi, part mystery-with a doomsday cult, a serial killer, and a dash of Sandhill cranes-all set against the beautiful backdrop of rural Nebraska."-Erin Flanagan, Edgar Award-winning author of Deer Season and Blackout "Godfall blends rural noir with a daring dose of sci-fi to create something wholly new and engaging. Van Jensen comes in hot with his [fiction] debut."-Alex Segura, author of Secret Identity and Miami Midnight "It isn't easy to infuse magical realism with grit, but Godfall does it with panache. I was under Van Jensen's spell from the first chapter. A striking debut novel from one of my favorite writers."-Kevin Maurer, coauthor of No Easy Day and author of Damn LuckyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Lincoln
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-4962-3521-3 (9781496235213)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Van Jensen
Godfall
E-Book
11/2023
1st Edition
University of Nebraska Press
€23.49
Available for download
Person
Van Jensen is a former newspaper crime reporter. Breaking into comic books with the acclaimed Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer graphic novel series, he has written some of the biggest characters in comics, including The Flash, Superman, Wonder Woman, and James Bond. A native of western Nebraska, he lives in Atlanta.