The Shield that Fell from Heaven

by William S. Kerr

Recipient of the KIRKUS STAR. Named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2011. From Kirkus A French journalist encounters the American Civil War—and something even stranger—in 1861 Kentucky. Edouard de Grimouville, a supercilious French stringer for Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune, travels to the town of Somerset, Ky., on the eve of the Civil War—a conflict in which the neutral state is coveted by both sides. The newspaper’s better-known, more diligent and more talented (monsieur is somewhat lackadaisical) reporters are covering the higher-profile areas of the state, leaving de Grimouville free to gather background by interviewing the colorful locals, including Susannah, the hilariously filthy minded girl he impregnates and mildly likes; Mr. Graham, the enigmatic old coot who lives on the edge of town; and Nick Bromfield and his friends, who challenge their visitor’s conception of politics in the course of many spirited, and endearingly readable, late-night debates. These same friends also challenge de Grimouville’s concept of reality by revealing to him a mysterious instrument that manufactures odd little stones; when someone holds one of these stones and so wills it, an invisible force field springs to life around that person. Light passes freely through the field, but nothing else does, including sound—and bullets. In a daffy turn of events that is nevertheless convincing and entertaining, these gentlemen spend as much time philosophizing about how the existence of a perfect defensive device alters the nature of societal relations as they do strategizing about how best to use the device against the loutish Southern soldiers who occupy and despoil the town. Civil War fantasies, such as those of Harry Turtledove’s Guns of the South, are here given a far more idiosyncratic and thoughtful twist, in chapter after chapter of sharply intelligent and pithy prose. A delightfully playful cross-genre novel whose science fiction is every bit as enjoyable as its historical fiction. —Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Historical Fiction, Literature, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published March 7, 2011

Reviews

[Buzz Malone]

I took 'The Shield that Fell from Heaven' with me for a ride yesterday when I knew I'd have some extra time to read. I will tell you that I have a stack of books beside my bed that I am working on currently, and another stack on the dresser of upcoming reads.

I should also tell you that I tend only to read classic fiction and history as a general rule, but Goodreads has expanded my horizons a bit (still cringe at the thought of anything with vampires in it though).

With all of that in mind, I had relatively low expectations for this book. Once I started reading I had even lower expectations as the writing style in the first chapter seemed difficult.

Like my own work, William S. Kerr has a tendency to write extremely short chapters (thank you William), so as luck would have it, the first chapter was soon behind me.

By the second and third chapter I fell into the rhythm of Mr. Kerr's prose. It has a beautiful melodic cadence to it once you're into it and it is difficult to put it down. I am about half way through it after one sitting and it would be done by now had I not had other engagements previously.

I am still mildly concerned about where the plot is headed, since there is some sort of mystical thing upon the horizon and I rarely read that sort of thing. The simple fact that there IS a plot though, is a wonderful bonus, because this author does not need one really. William S. Kerr's prose is intoxicating and is worthy of being called literary fiction. I would read this author's work even if it were about nothing it all.

Barring the introduction of a ghost writer for the finale of the book, I can promise that my marks will remain at the level of five stars for the style of prose alone!

[Flora Smith]

I won this thru Firstreads and appreciate the opportunity to review it.

I would have probably given this one closer to 2.5 stars but since we can't give half stars I was generous and rounded up instead of down. This is a story set in Kentucky during the time of the Civil War. Its written in journal fashion from the point of view of a 41yr old Frenchman thats there serving as a journalist. He spends most of his time drinking whiskey and talking about politics with Hugh Graham (who is an elderly hillbilly that just happens to have traveled Europe) as well as some of the other locals. He also takes up with a young woman that eventually becomes pregnant. Somewhere around the middle of the book he comes in contact with another elderly hillbilly that spent some time in a Tibetan monastery and stole a box that made rocks that provide a person with an invisible shield. This box was apparently supplied by extra terrestrials at some point in the past.

If you are looking for a book that draws you in immediately, this isn't it. Its very slow to start out and the timeline in the begining isn't very clear. There are days that he is referring to a day in the past but you have to figure that out on your own. And then there are the discussions on politics. Politics, politics, politics, with a little morality thrown in. If you enjoy that type of debate then this is the book for you. Most of his time is spent in conversation with the hillbilly Graham, not that I don't agree with Graham's point of view, but I get a little sick of the constant talk of politics. And as much as I hate to introduce a spoiler, if you prefer a happy ending, don't look here.

[Dale Hahn]

This is the most literate thing I’ve read in any genre in the past couple of years. As other reviewers say, the style does slow down the action a little at the beginning, though it picks up in a big way closer to the middle. I don’t know, though, that the more action-oriented part of the book would make sense without the sort of build-up that the author does in the first part. That’s especially the case since the book seems to want to do more than one thing.

I can see at least five things it’s trying to do (and I’m probably missing some). Two strands of the story are political. They’re related but they’re not the same thing. One has to do with the fact that most of the people in the story are Scotch-Irish and that seems to be because the author wants to ask what American values were originally like. He manages to tie this in with the question of what government is, but it’s really a different issue. Where the author comes down politically doesn’t come through. I suspect this is on purpose and that Kerr is more interested in raising questions than answering them.(One of the most important characters is pretty “libertarian,” but he’s not the main character.)

The other major strand is the personal one of the main character’s relationship with a local girl. Given the way the book ends, I think the other themes may even be subordinate to this one. I say that because the way things turn out, the ending should be a happy one: the Bad Guys lose and the Good Guys triumph. The reason it doesn’t come across this way is because we’re stuck in the main character’s perspective and that is a tragic one due to how the personal part of the story turns out. Whether he has reached some sort of detachment at the end the way he thinks he has or whether he has simply been devastated is a question I was left with.

Then there’s the science fiction part which involves a mysterious device found in a Slovenian monastery. This is what makes the story really entertaining in the end, but it’s mostly an element of the political theme.

And then there are sections that are almost pure reverie and I think have the best writing.

It’s not a perfect book, maybe because of trying to juggle too many things. The variety is part of the appeal for me though and probably worth the tradeoff. I’d recommend it especially for the quality of the prose and the depth Kerr gives to the characters.

[G]

(This is a Good Reads giveaway. Thank you!)

It took me a while to really get into the book, and sometimes I was a little confused by the time line, but once I got to a certain point, things started to go better, and reading was easier. The historical element was very well explored, and this is coming from someone who isn't a big fan of historical fiction. The characters weren't unlikable, but they weren't to die for either.

I think the strongest point of the book is the way the history is explored, though I don't have any complaints about the writing style either.

[Sarah]

Won this book as a Good Reads Giveaway.

I am part way through at the moment but life is not giving me many reading windows right now. I am enjoying it so far. A full review will follow vey soon I hope.

[LM]

Won it through Goodreads Giveaway and just received it in the mail! I'm excited to read it! Will review when I'm finished reading! I'm thankful for the opportunity to read this book!

[Matthew]

William S. Kerr’s first novel, The Shield that Fell from Heaven, is a delightful surprise. It is not a book I would have expected to find from such a small publisher, Groton Jemez Publishing, and it is not a book I would have expected to find in this century. Indeed, had I been told it was written in the 19th, I would have believed it, at least until I came to a more modern science fiction element.

It is written as the journal of a Frenchman who, in 1861, on the eve of our War for Southern Independence, comes to America as a war correspondent. Edouard de Grimouville is a minor noble whose House has lost most of its fortune. In the neutral state of Kentucky he finds political opinions of all stripes, a woman to fall in love with, and more adventure — and of an unforeseeable sort — than he was looking for.

Kerr writes with the prose of a bygone era, and does so convincingly, like a foreigner who has mastered a native accent. As a lover of that more sensuous, patient style, I was quite happy to immerse myself in it and would have gotten some enjoyment from the experience even if that had been the only appetizing aspect of the novel. There is, of course, much more to enjoy.

The first chapter is enough to give the reader a good taste of what is to come, and to allay any fears he might have as to whether or not he can trust himself in the hands of the author. It opens, “Fornication, whiskey and fiddle music. These are, if Mr. Graham is to be believed, the three pillars of true American society.” What reader could help but read on after such a start?

Mr. Graham turns out to be a libertarian in a time before the term was used for us. Picture Albert Nock with a dash or two of Henry Louis Mencken. In fact, Albert J. Nock is exactly who I imagined Graham looked like. Mr. Kerr describes him, but not in such detail — of the sort I have complained of before — as to rob the reader of his chance to fashion a part of the tale in his own mind. Absent is the bland, photographic depiction of a person and instead we are given something that, through judicious attention to certain details, actually helps create the character the way any wardrobe specialist and makeup artist assist a director and his actors.

I would have taken the old man for seventy or so (he is, in reality, somewhere over eighty — these people keep strangely casual track of their birth years), but a robust seventy (and a more robust octogenarian). His hair, yellowish-white, was longer even than the custom in these parts, but uncustomarily clean and tended. His clothes were worn but presentable and relatively à la mode except for his hat, the wide brim of which drooped in the front and which was obviously an old favorite. He wore a coat, although most in the crowd did not in concession to the warm weather. Boots, well made, reached almost to his knees and had a coating of dried mud. His right hand rested on his knee, holding a cigar with a thumb’s width of ash.

Edouard himself is a well-conceived character, and the author displays such a thoughtful attention to detail that I am tempted to think he has conversed with more than a few French. At any rate, he is able to convince us that this is the diary of a foreigner by his reactions to things that we Americans take for granted but that do strike one, upon reading them, as something a Frenchman would likely notice. For instance, on page 72 he writes, “We shook hands. His grip was slightly too easy, albeit preferable to the competitive pumping one often gets from Americans.” On page 73 he continues, “I believe the word he used was “whipping.” Various forms of it were uttered in what followed, but the vowel never quite settled down.”

It is a testament to Mr. Kerr’s skill with character that I was not able, until near the end, to determine whether his own political opinions are those of Mr. Graham, whose motto might have been Our Enemy, the State; those of Edouard, who stands out more for what he opposes in Mr. Graham’s beliefs than for his own political philosophy; or something else entirely. The characters speak with voices and viewpoints that are wholly their own. Even now I cannot say it with certainty, but I imagine, based on the philosophical question posed to us after the science fiction element is introduced as well as the fact of Edouard’s slow conversion to something like Mr. Graham’s beliefs, that William Kerr is a libertarian.


William S. Kerr
Edouard, at the far end of his gradual conversion, gives us two very memorable lines that I intend to appropriate for my own use. While speaking of politics and warfare, he says on page 282, “To be honest, I am no longer certain that the grand accomplishments for which I wanted a monarch have ever been more than uniformed thuggery — butchery exalted by opera costumes.” On 295, “I have been brought to an appreciation of a jeu d’esprit of Mr. Graham that not all men are political animals, but too many are political livestock.”

As good as he is in creating characters, Kerr may be even better in portraying their interactions. Too many dramatists create nothing more than five basic emotions in a character and then proceed to have him interact with another character by means of straight declarations of what is on his mind. It leaves one about as satisfied as if Velázquez had painted only in primary colors. Kerr’s characters behave more realistically, have subtle reactions, suppressed reactions, mild misunderstandings and misinterpretations, lack knowledge, disguise their intentions and, above all, remain true to their personalities and perspectives.

Though it may not seem like it through the first part of the book, the novel is a work of science fiction in addition to being historical fiction. The exact nature of this science fiction is revealed on the back cover of the book, but I believe this to be a mistake and shall not reveal it here. Suffice it to say that it is an ingenious invention and a marvelous way to give us a new perspective on the State.

Soon after the science fiction element is introduced, the war heats up in the state of Kentucky. The residents of Somerset and surrounding environs come into contact with both Union and Secessionist forces and discover them both to be brutal and dictatorial. It is here that I must register my only complaint of any significance. The struggle against one of the sides is delved into more, better developed. The struggle with the other side seems short and almost rushed by comparison. I would have preferred something a little more balanced.

Other than that, I can think of only nits to pick. Mr. Kerr has peppered his work with a few too many commas, for example. In chapter one we read in a parenthetical aside, “The rains were on, but, even now, two months later, in the warmest month, it is not hot.” This problem is not too frequent, and it never gets worse than the cited passage. There were also discussions of things that might be anachronistic. One character mentions that there is some debate as to whether light, being a wave, has a medium through which to propagate. My understanding is that it was not until 1887 that the existence of the luminiferous aether was seriously questioned. If I thought long enough I might be able to come up with some other petty grievance.

All in all, it is a fine work, one of the better novels I have read in the last couple years. A libertarian will find it especially interesting for the many political discussions that give a serious, honest voice to the anti-state side. This is Mr. Kerr’s first novel, so let us congratulate him even as we chastise him for waiting over half a century to publish. Don’t chastise too hard, though; just enough to get him writing another.

[Larry]

I won this book from Goodreads as a First Reads giveaway**

Thank you to the Goodreads author for sending me a free copy of this book. Review to follow upon completion

[Justin Tyner]

A poignant statement of the state. Starts as a civil War journal by a Frenchman and ends completely upside down.