The Shivered Sky

The Shivered Sky #1-3

by Matt Dinniman

The War is over. The demons have won. Cibola, the citadel of Heaven, has fallen. On Earth, life goes on. No one knows of the war, of the death, of the fire. No one knows that when you die all paths lead to the same one of torment, slavery, and eternal pain. For Indigo, Dave, Gramm, Rico, and Hitomi, death is more dangerous than life. Afraid and naked, they awaken on a forgotten beacon. They set forth seeking answers, revealing a shattered landscape, one crawling with bloodthirsty demons, defeated angels, a Heaven that continues to burn, and a prophecy that offers only the barest sliver of hope.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Demons, Science Fiction, Angels, Death

452 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Matt Dinniman is the best-selling writer and artist from Gig Harbor, Washington. He is the published author of dozens of short stories and a gaggle of books. In addition, his art publications—from greeting cards to stationery kits to calendars—can be found in boutique and stationery shops around the world. Also, he strongly feels like a pretentious twat when he writes about himself in third person.

Reviews

[Michael Brookes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting take on the fall and the war in Heaven. It is well written and easy to read (although could have done with a final edit pass, but the issues are minor). It takes a while to get going, but once it does clips along at a fair pace. A good read.

[Bill Pentland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say, this book was different. Having just finished a Dinniman book to which I gave 3 stars, I was a bit reticent to start this one, but I did and I'm glad. This was a hell of a story and I mean that, literally. 5 humans die, in various, unpleasant ways. They wake up and find themselves in what they assume is heaven. It's not. Seems that there was a war between the angels that fell from heaven and the angels that were still employed there. Fallen angels now are called demons. So, a war between Heaven and Hell, upsetting, right? Our 5 characters, all very different folks, have to unite to face this challenge, which, when you think about it, is the ultimate challenge.
The hierarchy of angels and demons is complicated, Dinniman includes a glossary of all of them. To add to the unease, he has you read the book from back to front, yes, the last page is #1. A bit tough to get used to. That being said, good book. Great characters, great story.

[James Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even giving the author some leeway for this being an early work, not really recommended. Characterization is lacking, the plotting is weak and the whole effort - while readable enough - was forgettable. (Mere hours after finishing the last book I'm already unable to name all the five main protagonists.) It was an easy enough read that I stuck with the book to the end, but I cannot see myself ever reading it again.

My recommendation: give this one a pass and read the Dungeon Crawler Carl books again.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

equal parts confusing, muddled, and brilliant. i still enjoyed the book with all it's flaws and would recommend it.

[Beverly perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best books I have read in a while. Hope there is a part two.

[Plamen Kolev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I mean, it's Matt Dinniman. For people aware of his works, they KNOW. There's going to be adventures, bravery, death, despair, love, anger, mythology and legends and very human and real emotions, everything spiced up with lots of trauma. I can't spend too much time here talking about what makes Matt's books (particularly his magnum opus, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series) so special, and why I have found myself tearing up on more than one occasions, laughing like a mad man or staring in shocked disbelief at something written on the pages. I consider myself to be someone who dislikes modern "woke" culture, but what Matt does is he takes all his diverse characters, from different ethnicities, genders, ages, sexualities and makes them human, way more than their traits, which is what really makes it work. The Shivered Sky series is really nice for people who might not necessarily be into LitRPG, the genre of the DCC, Kaiju Battlefield Surgeon and Dominion of Blades series. As someone who likes stories about angels, demons, Heaven and Hell, this one was brutal, likely the best I have read in this particular fantasy setting. To end with how I started, it is Matt Dinniman. After you read this one and DCC, you will know what I mean.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book, I was looking for a copy of dungeon crawler Carl when I instead happened upon this book. The blurb pushed me over, and I am most pleased to have found it and that I bought it.

It caught my attention from the start, and held it up to the last page, I’m a slow reader with several young kids. So for me to finish it in one week is the best praise I can give!

It started strong, kept on going strong but lost a little by the end.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

[Misty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly Good

I wasn’t expecting for this to be as well put together as it was. Each strand of the story was woven with the others and at the end, they were all tied together. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

[Alon Lankri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dnf 5%
The prose is fine but the author jumps between characters, the characters themselves lack immediacy and motivation. Dungeon Crawler Carl is far far better.

[Gunārs | IG gunars_lasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Graeme Dunlop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. Did not finish, did not enjoy the characters, plot or world. Not for me.

[Clinton Boxley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great.

This is a cool series from Matt Dinniman. I really enjoyed it, and I hope someday he might give us a sequel.

[Xknahku · Rating 4 out of 5]

I see

The story was a bit rushed and time frantic. Good bones though. Interesting characters but their development was slow. Decent story

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needed to be edited much better and some of the ending was a little wack, but I liked it overall

[Rebekka NP · Rating 1 out of 5]

Muddled, confusing and not exciting in spite of battles and other worlds. The characterization is lacking. None of Dinnimans trademark whacky humour. DNF.

[Anna gillam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got for free, still overpaid

Shallow characters, easily predictable, schlock struggling to reach 3rd rate. When I got this book, it had no 1 or 2 star ratings. Proof you should never trust Amazon rating

[Cavehobbit]

Interesting take on the War in Heaven genre or fantasy. Not quite what you would expect, fast paced with a consistent story. Worth a read

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

//

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh