The Fallen (novels)
Encyclopedia
The Fallen is a tetralogy
series of young adult modern fantasy
novel
s written by American
author Thomas E. Sniegoski
. The ABC Family
six-episode miniseries
Fallen
was loosely based on the series.
, the child of a human
/angel
pairing, and that he is being pursued by a group of angels called the Powers. The Powers believe that all Nephilim are an abomination and affront to God. However, there is a prophecy
that a Nephilim will be born that will redeem all the Fallen
.
The story starts out with introducing us to our main character, Aaron Corbet. Aaron's not such a bad kid, though he was orphan
ed since birth and shoved from foster home to foster home, and had some anger issues to get over and under control. He was finally adopted
by Tom and Lori Stanley, and tried very hard to be a good son and a big brother to their autistic
son Stevie.
Aaron meets Vilma Santiago, a beautiful girl at his high school to whom he is immediately attracted to. It seems like things are finally working out for Aaron; he has everything that he has ever wanted, so he thinks. On his 18th birthday, everything changes. He starts having nightmarish dreams and visions, has trouble concentrating, experiences bad headache
s, starts hearing voices in his head and feels painful changes occurring inside his body. Other weird things start happening, too. Suddenly, he has the "gift of tongues" and can speak and understand languages he had never known; he can even understand his dog Gabriel talking to him. Surely Aaron is losing his mind. He reacts to this transformation with confusion; just when his world seemed normal, it now begins to unravel before his eyes.
A chance encounter with what Aaron thinks is a homeless bum turns out to be a fallen angel
by the name of Ezekiel ("Zeke"). It was Zeke who sensed Aaron's true nature and told him what he really was: A Nephilim
, the offspring of an angel
and a mortal woman. Zeke warns Aaron that the Powers will hunt him down and kill him, that he must learn how to use his divine gifts and flee immediately. Aaron, of course, thinks the guy is nuts.
Nevertheless, Aaron goes to his local library and looks up information on Nephilim. He begins to wonder if it could be true. Another angel, Camael, appears at his high school and tells him that his is the chosen one that the angels have been waiting for: The one spoken of in the Prophecy. Camael tells Aaron that he has come to protect him from the Powers and help him fulfill his destiny.
We are introduced to the Powers and their leader Verchiel, a cruel, relentless angel who feels it is his sacred mission in the name of the most Holy to eradicate the Fallen and their offspring from the face of the earth. He especially wants to eliminate the Nephilim spoken of in the Prophecy who is supposed to redeem the Fallen, forgive them of their sins against the Creator and send them back home to Heaven
.
In this book, Aaron meets Verchiel for the first time. Zeke and Camael come to the rescue, but not before Verchiel kills Aaron's adoptive parents and takes his brother Stevie captive. Enraged, Aaron's angelic nature takes over and he battles with Verchiel.
The Fallen saga continues. This story opens with a fallen angel praying to the Divine and listening to others who are also praying. He is seized by the Powers and offers no resistance. Verchiel torments this prisoner with utter relish.
Aaron is now on the run with Camael and his dog Gabriel. Together they are searching for Stevie and trying to elude capture by the Powers. Along the way, Camael tries to help Aaron merge with his angelic self.
The trio are lured to a seemingly peaceful town which has been seduced by a malevolent ancient creature known as Leviathan
. Camael is drawn into Leviathan's web and is captured. Aaron's angel instincts feels something isn't right, but he can't quite put his finger on it. Gabriel also senses something is wrong. He searches the town for Camael.
Back in Aaron's old town of Lynn, Vilma is going through similar changes that Aaron went through: She, too, is Nephilim.
Verchiel, meanwhile, uses angel magic and transforms Stevie into Malak, a deadly hunter of false prophets and the Fallen. He intends to use his new creation to find Aaron and, if possible, kill him. What a sweet irony for Verchiel: To see Aaron killed by his own brother.
Aaron finds Leviathan in an underground cave where he sees Camael, Gabriel and other magical creatures hanging in translucent sacks beneath the belly of the beast. He is seduced by the beast, but his angelic nature surfaces and rebels against the seduction; Aaron breaks free and saves those whom the beast feeds upon.
The Archangel Gabriel, one of the angels Aaron frees from Leviathan, tells him, "You have done much to expunge the sins of the father and to fulfill the edicts of prophecy... You are your father's son... You have his eyes..."
Our story picks up with Aaron, Camael and Gabriel still searching for Stevie. Aaron is still no closer to discovering the identity of the angel who sired him. By pure accident, they stumble upon folks who are from Aerie, a place where the Fallen and Nephilim live together to avoid the Powers.
Verchiel is still in hot pursuit of Aaron and sends his magical warrior Malak to hunt for Aaron's scent. Malak wears armor impervious to angel fire, and possesses the keen ability to pick up the scent or trail of the Fallen and Nephilim; he mercilessly kills them. He is determined to prove his worth and find the chosen one for his master Verchiel.
Aaron must prove to the citizens of Aerie that he is indeed the chosen one, a hard enough task when he is unsure himself. An ancient, wise, and gentle fallen angel named Belphegor
helps Aaron to fully unite his human and angelic natures. While in the process of becoming whole, Aaron hears Vilma's pleas for help and instinctively goes to her rescue, not realizing that it could be a trap. Despite overwhelming odds, he battles Verchiel and the Powers to save Vilma. Aaron meets Malak and realizes that it is his little brother Stevie who has been changed somehow; however, he cannot bring himself to kill his own brother.
Aaron rescues Vilma and takes her back to Aerie, but the battle follows him and he loses many friends and loved ones.
Verchiel learns from Belphegor who Aaron was sired by; during the battle, he taunts Aaron with jibes about his father. Enraged, Aaron demands that Verchiel reveal his father's identity.
Aaron learns who his father is from his friends at Aerie, and is stunned by the news.
In the conclusion of The Fallen series, Verchiel is rapidly deteriorating, and he becomes more demented and full of rage. He tries to undo the "word of God
" and, with the help of the Archons and magical shackles, he has his prisoner, Lucifer
Morningstar, strung up and he orders the Archons to disembowel Lucifer. With magicks and sacred runes, the Archons attempt to unleash the sins of the father upon the world, all the fury, hatred, rage and sorrow which is buried deep within the center of Lucifer's being by the Creator.
Aaron is now struggling with the knowledge of his true parentage: That Lucifer, the greatest sinner and first of the Fallen, is his sire. Aaron has accepted his destiny as the Redeemer chosen by God to be able to forgive the Fallen for their sins and send them back home to Heaven. He also becomes more comfortable and familiar with his angelic powers; with the demise of Belphegor, he is now the protector of the citizens of Aerie. They know he is the son of Morningstar, and are aware of how powerful his angelic nature is, yet given the circumstances of his parentage, some of the citizens are torn and do not know if they can trust him. Aaron must win their trust and fight to save them and mankind from Verchiel's madness.
Vilma, the woman Aaron loves, is not able to cope with her angelic transformation, and Aaron must find a way to help merge both her human and angelic natures. To do this, Aaron must find the last of the angel sorcerers known as the Malakim to help save her or else face the unthinkable decision to put her down like a rabid animal.
Verchiel is eventually successful in releasing Hell from Lucifer's body while Lucifer himself, repentant of his crimes, struggles in vain to hold the essence back, although it costs the mad angel the lives of his magicians and the remainder of his soldiers. Aaron faces Verchiel down in a titanic battle in the gym of St. Athanasius. Verchiel's formerly blind healer Kraus decides to help Lucifer reclaim Hell and, in the end, Verchiel is taken up to Heaven to face God's judgement. Aaron is unable to redeem his father and Lucifer decides to live in Aerie alone.
The DVD
contains the following sequels;
Tetralogy
A tetralogy is a compound work that is made up of four distinct works, just as a trilogy is made up of three works....
series of young adult modern fantasy
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s written by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Thomas E. Sniegoski
Thomas E. Sniegoski
-Career:A number of Sniegoski's works have been related to the Buffyverse, the fictional universe established by TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel....
. The ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
six-episode miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Fallen
Fallen (ABC Family film)
Fallen is a 2006 ABC Family miniseries based on the novel series by Thomas Sniegoski The Fallen, and broken into three parts. The first part was originally advertised as an "ABC Family Original Movie", but nearly a year later, it was followed up with two other parts of equal length over the course...
was loosely based on the series.
Summary
Aaron Corbett learns on his 18th birthday that he is a NephilimNephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
, the child of a human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
/angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
pairing, and that he is being pursued by a group of angels called the Powers. The Powers believe that all Nephilim are an abomination and affront to God. However, there is a prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
that a Nephilim will be born that will redeem all the Fallen
Fallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
.
Novels
- The Fallen (Pocket BooksPocket BooksPocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books.- History :Pocket produced the first mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in America in early 1939 and revolutionized the publishing industry...
, 2003)
The story starts out with introducing us to our main character, Aaron Corbet. Aaron's not such a bad kid, though he was orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed since birth and shoved from foster home to foster home, and had some anger issues to get over and under control. He was finally adopted
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
by Tom and Lori Stanley, and tried very hard to be a good son and a big brother to their autistic
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
son Stevie.
Aaron meets Vilma Santiago, a beautiful girl at his high school to whom he is immediately attracted to. It seems like things are finally working out for Aaron; he has everything that he has ever wanted, so he thinks. On his 18th birthday, everything changes. He starts having nightmarish dreams and visions, has trouble concentrating, experiences bad headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
s, starts hearing voices in his head and feels painful changes occurring inside his body. Other weird things start happening, too. Suddenly, he has the "gift of tongues" and can speak and understand languages he had never known; he can even understand his dog Gabriel talking to him. Surely Aaron is losing his mind. He reacts to this transformation with confusion; just when his world seemed normal, it now begins to unravel before his eyes.
A chance encounter with what Aaron thinks is a homeless bum turns out to be a fallen angel
Fallen angel
Fallen angel is a concept developed in Jewish mythology from interpretation of the Book of Enoch. The actual term fallen angel is not found in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. Christians adopted the concept of fallen angels mainly based on their interpretations of the Book of...
by the name of Ezekiel ("Zeke"). It was Zeke who sensed Aaron's true nature and told him what he really was: A Nephilim
Nephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
, the offspring of an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
and a mortal woman. Zeke warns Aaron that the Powers will hunt him down and kill him, that he must learn how to use his divine gifts and flee immediately. Aaron, of course, thinks the guy is nuts.
Nevertheless, Aaron goes to his local library and looks up information on Nephilim. He begins to wonder if it could be true. Another angel, Camael, appears at his high school and tells him that his is the chosen one that the angels have been waiting for: The one spoken of in the Prophecy. Camael tells Aaron that he has come to protect him from the Powers and help him fulfill his destiny.
We are introduced to the Powers and their leader Verchiel, a cruel, relentless angel who feels it is his sacred mission in the name of the most Holy to eradicate the Fallen and their offspring from the face of the earth. He especially wants to eliminate the Nephilim spoken of in the Prophecy who is supposed to redeem the Fallen, forgive them of their sins against the Creator and send them back home to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
.
In this book, Aaron meets Verchiel for the first time. Zeke and Camael come to the rescue, but not before Verchiel kills Aaron's adoptive parents and takes his brother Stevie captive. Enraged, Aaron's angelic nature takes over and he battles with Verchiel.
- Leviathan (Pocket Books, 2003)
The Fallen saga continues. This story opens with a fallen angel praying to the Divine and listening to others who are also praying. He is seized by the Powers and offers no resistance. Verchiel torments this prisoner with utter relish.
Aaron is now on the run with Camael and his dog Gabriel. Together they are searching for Stevie and trying to elude capture by the Powers. Along the way, Camael tries to help Aaron merge with his angelic self.
The trio are lured to a seemingly peaceful town which has been seduced by a malevolent ancient creature known as Leviathan
Leviathan
Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
. Camael is drawn into Leviathan's web and is captured. Aaron's angel instincts feels something isn't right, but he can't quite put his finger on it. Gabriel also senses something is wrong. He searches the town for Camael.
Back in Aaron's old town of Lynn, Vilma is going through similar changes that Aaron went through: She, too, is Nephilim.
Verchiel, meanwhile, uses angel magic and transforms Stevie into Malak, a deadly hunter of false prophets and the Fallen. He intends to use his new creation to find Aaron and, if possible, kill him. What a sweet irony for Verchiel: To see Aaron killed by his own brother.
Aaron finds Leviathan in an underground cave where he sees Camael, Gabriel and other magical creatures hanging in translucent sacks beneath the belly of the beast. He is seduced by the beast, but his angelic nature surfaces and rebels against the seduction; Aaron breaks free and saves those whom the beast feeds upon.
The Archangel Gabriel, one of the angels Aaron frees from Leviathan, tells him, "You have done much to expunge the sins of the father and to fulfill the edicts of prophecy... You are your father's son... You have his eyes..."
- Aerie (Pocket Books, 2003)
Our story picks up with Aaron, Camael and Gabriel still searching for Stevie. Aaron is still no closer to discovering the identity of the angel who sired him. By pure accident, they stumble upon folks who are from Aerie, a place where the Fallen and Nephilim live together to avoid the Powers.
Verchiel is still in hot pursuit of Aaron and sends his magical warrior Malak to hunt for Aaron's scent. Malak wears armor impervious to angel fire, and possesses the keen ability to pick up the scent or trail of the Fallen and Nephilim; he mercilessly kills them. He is determined to prove his worth and find the chosen one for his master Verchiel.
Aaron must prove to the citizens of Aerie that he is indeed the chosen one, a hard enough task when he is unsure himself. An ancient, wise, and gentle fallen angel named Belphegor
Belphegor
In demonology, Belphegor is a demon, and one of the seven princes of Hell, who helps people to make discoveries. He seduces people by suggesting to them ingenious inventions that will make them rich. According to some 16th century demonologists, his power is stronger in April...
helps Aaron to fully unite his human and angelic natures. While in the process of becoming whole, Aaron hears Vilma's pleas for help and instinctively goes to her rescue, not realizing that it could be a trap. Despite overwhelming odds, he battles Verchiel and the Powers to save Vilma. Aaron meets Malak and realizes that it is his little brother Stevie who has been changed somehow; however, he cannot bring himself to kill his own brother.
Aaron rescues Vilma and takes her back to Aerie, but the battle follows him and he loses many friends and loved ones.
Verchiel learns from Belphegor who Aaron was sired by; during the battle, he taunts Aaron with jibes about his father. Enraged, Aaron demands that Verchiel reveal his father's identity.
Aaron learns who his father is from his friends at Aerie, and is stunned by the news.
- Reckoning (Pocket Books, 2004)
In the conclusion of The Fallen series, Verchiel is rapidly deteriorating, and he becomes more demented and full of rage. He tries to undo the "word of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
" and, with the help of the Archons and magical shackles, he has his prisoner, Lucifer
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
Morningstar, strung up and he orders the Archons to disembowel Lucifer. With magicks and sacred runes, the Archons attempt to unleash the sins of the father upon the world, all the fury, hatred, rage and sorrow which is buried deep within the center of Lucifer's being by the Creator.
Aaron is now struggling with the knowledge of his true parentage: That Lucifer, the greatest sinner and first of the Fallen, is his sire. Aaron has accepted his destiny as the Redeemer chosen by God to be able to forgive the Fallen for their sins and send them back home to Heaven. He also becomes more comfortable and familiar with his angelic powers; with the demise of Belphegor, he is now the protector of the citizens of Aerie. They know he is the son of Morningstar, and are aware of how powerful his angelic nature is, yet given the circumstances of his parentage, some of the citizens are torn and do not know if they can trust him. Aaron must win their trust and fight to save them and mankind from Verchiel's madness.
Vilma, the woman Aaron loves, is not able to cope with her angelic transformation, and Aaron must find a way to help merge both her human and angelic natures. To do this, Aaron must find the last of the angel sorcerers known as the Malakim to help save her or else face the unthinkable decision to put her down like a rabid animal.
Verchiel is eventually successful in releasing Hell from Lucifer's body while Lucifer himself, repentant of his crimes, struggles in vain to hold the essence back, although it costs the mad angel the lives of his magicians and the remainder of his soldiers. Aaron faces Verchiel down in a titanic battle in the gym of St. Athanasius. Verchiel's formerly blind healer Kraus decides to help Lucifer reclaim Hell and, in the end, Verchiel is taken up to Heaven to face God's judgement. Aaron is unable to redeem his father and Lucifer decides to live in Aerie alone.
DVD/Movie
Fallen first aired in 2006 and 2007, and released for re-sale in 2010. The movie is based on The Fallen novels, but doesn't follow the same sequence of characters and events as outlined in the novels. Actors in the mini-series are as follows;- Paul Wesley as Aaron Corbet
- Rick Worthy as the former Powers Leader Camael
- Hal Ozsan as the fierce Fallen angel Azazel
- Will Yun Lee as the Powers leader Mazarin
- Fernanda Andrade as Vilma Santiago
- Bryan Cranston as Lucifer MorningStar
The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
contains the following sequels;
- The Time of the Redeemer
- Mysterious Ways, and All That
- Someone Always has to Die
- Il Gran Rifiuto (aka, the Grand Refusal)