Behind Blue Eyes 2, Fallen Angels by Anna Mocikat - Book Review

I loved Behind Blue Eyes, but the sequel, Fallen Angels is even better and it was released TODAY! Another 5-star rating that I didn’t even have to think about. Behind Blue Eyes 2, Fallen Angel is a winsome cyberpunk noir mystery adventure (I just made up this genre).

If you’ve read other books by Anna Mocikat, you know she doesn’t beat about the bush much. Instead, she throws you in the middle of the action and lets you fend for yourself.

The story begins in the aftermath of a gruesome murder, and the victim is a guardian angel. That comes as a shock because they’re seen as invincible killing machines if you remember the first book. The worst part is that this wasn’t the first or the last.

“Although the Angels had been created to be living killing machines, their purpose was to protect and destroy. Protect the Olympias Conglomerate at any cost and destroy its enemies, no matter if they came from outside or from within.”

We meet new characters, a couple of police detectives who investigate the guardian angels’ murders. Their story intersects with Nephilim, and they agree to help each other solve cases.

Following the previous book’s events, Nephilim was rebuilt by Metatron, and her memory was erased, then she was promoted to archangel. She’s now loyal to him. Her new upgrades make her more powerful and dangerous than before, almost as powerful as Metatron. Anna, through Metatron’s voice, references the Pygmalion legend from Greek Mythology. He is obsessed with his creation, and it shows as Nephilim becomes knowns as the “Crown Princess.”

The story unfolds like a detective mystery as they now have a mystery to solve: who has the power to incapacitate the guardian angels, and how can they be stopped. The mystery will be solved, and it will be the best plot twist of the novel. I did not see it coming!

Character development is again outstanding. If Metatron is the ultimate villain you love to hate in the first book, Anna makes it harder to hate him in Fallen Angels. No, don’t expect him to be all rainbow and unicorns! He is not the good guy, nor does he try to redeem his sins. Metatron wants to rule the world, at least the Olympians.

Anna Mocikat constructed a world that’s so intricate and complex but described in such a compact, coherent manner that readers might not realize how much info she’s packed in.

Behind Blue Eyes 2, Fallen Angels has everything you need: multi-layered characters, fast-paced action, a mystery (or more), political intrigue, advanced technology (like you’d expect in any cyberpunk novel), gruesome murders, betrayal, and villains with redeeming qualities.

I don’t usually read cyberpunk as it tends to be too violent and graphic for my taste. What can I say? I’m a delicate flower! But I love Anna Mocikat’s writing style, and she writes complex stories, well-plotted and hard to put down. So, even though I sometimes cringed at the graphic murder scenes, I could not stop reading. The story ends on a cliffhanger that makes you worry for the well-being of the characters you became attached to. 

This intricate, fast-paced story of killer cyborgs and heartbreaking turns of events delivers a thrilling ride for cyberpunk SF fans. I can’t wait for the next book.

*This is the 2nd book in the series. To fully enjoy it, I recommend that you start with Behind Blue Eyes 1.