Falling Angel

Falling Angel is a hard-boiled detective novel combined with a horror story about Satan worship, cults, voodoo and other supernatural stuff. Hjortsberg writes in a clear, easy-to-read style. It's a page-turner and a quick, entertaining read.

The only problem is, I watched the 1987 film a few months ago, Angel Heart. The only difference between the book and the movie is that the book keeps the story in New York and the film moves down to New Orleans, for a touch of atmosphere and extra sweat. If you watched the film, the book has nothing new to add, no additional depth of character, nothing you'd miss out on by not reading it.



In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Lisa Bonet really breathed some life (not to mention sensuality) into this story. Not that Hjortsberg didn't give them personality, but the actors are able to give the characters so much more. This is a very rare case where I might actually prefer the film to the book.