The Fallen is a prequel of sorts to Peter’s first novel, The Steading, albeit much of the story takes place within a similar timeframe, overlapping with it towards the end. You don’t need to have read The Steading to enjoy this novel, and feel free to read them in any order you like, but it is recommended you read this story second. This tale in the saga primarily sets out to explore the origins of a character whom appears in the first book, while also expanding on the circumstances of the apocalypse in the wider world. The first book in the saga, The Steading, provides a somewhat idealised and best-case scenario of a post-apocalyptic world; this book is its brutal counterpart, where we finally meet the antagonists: ‘The Fallen’.
The tale is set in a world somewhat similar to our own, with various Nordic and Celtic influences, at some unspecified ‘post-modern’ point in the future. Society as we know it has long since vanished and the natural world has more-or-less fully reasserted itself, leaving a few isolated pockets of human existence, teetering on the verge of extinction. Birth rates are very low and infant mortality very high, the cause unclear, with remaining settlements slowly withering out of existence.
As with Peter’s first novel, this book is part guide to survival, the basics of living off the land and home steading. Here though the settlement is more basic, compared to The Steading, akin to perhaps a stone-age settlement. The story is told almost entirely without spoken dialogue, as if it is being recounted around a campfire by an old friend. This style of storytelling also reflects the author’s preferred means of communication as an autistic person. In a world full of verbal communication which is often difficult to correctly interpret, you are to a large extent told what the characters are thinking and feeling.
