Michael Barnes
The synopses from Will McClelland at Grimdark magazine is better than anything I could summarise
"Out of the Drowning Deep takes place on a solitary planet (Bastion) orbited by a residential space station, in a universe where all gods have made themselves known. Our main characters are Scribe IV (an automaton who records prayers), Quin (the recovering addict and detective), and Angel (an angel who agrees to help solve the murder-mystery). After the visiting Pope is murdered in the Bastion, Scribe IV’s soon to be defunct monastery, the three team up to solve the case before the Sisters of the Drowning Deep (amphibious nuns who punish people with eternal drowning) rise from the depths to exploit the situation for them and their Drowned God".
This is a tight well-crafted tale that managed to build an incredibly rich world in such a confined environment. I particularly love the biblically accurate description of angels, and this is why in the bible the first words spoken by Angels are usually BE NOT AFRAID, and how simply monstrous an Angel of the Christian mythology would be in your life. This story joins the growing collection of Angels in noir crime stories, 'Wings of Desire' Ian Tregillis' Something More Than Night and C.L. Polk's Even Though I Knew the End to list a few.
The synopses from Will McClelland at Grimdark magazine is better than anything I could summarise
"Out of the Drowning Deep takes place on a solitary planet (Bastion) orbited by a residential space station, in a universe where all gods have made themselves known. Our main characters are Scribe IV (an automaton who records prayers), Quin (the recovering addict and detective), and Angel (an angel who agrees to help solve the murder-mystery). After the visiting Pope is murdered in the Bastion, Scribe IV’s soon to be defunct monastery, the three team up to solve the case before the Sisters of the Drowning Deep (amphibious nuns who punish people with eternal drowning) rise from the depths to exploit the situation for them and their Drowned God".
This is a tight well-crafted tale that managed to build an incredibly rich world in such a confined environment. I particularly love the biblically accurate description of angels, and this is why in the bible the first words spoken by Angels are usually BE NOT AFRAID, and how simply monstrous an Angel of the Christian mythology would be in your life. This story joins the growing collection of Angels in noir crime stories, 'Wings of Desire' Ian Tregillis' Something More Than Night and C.L. Polk's Even Though I Knew the End to list a few.