Book Review: The Fallen Child by David Thompson

I Didn’t See this Coming from the Blurb

While a book’s cover may catch my eye, it’s generally the author’s synopsis that drives whether I hit the buy button or not.  With The Fallen Child, I read a synopsis describing a Walter Mitty-type character, living in his dream world as much as in the real one.  The book delivered on that front, along with the humor that’s implied – who ever heard of a serious dream world.  But the synopsis also mentioned that Adam’s illusions encroached on his reality, sending him on a journey with implications for the future of humanity.  It sounded like the stuff of a taut psychological thriller.  On that front, the book never lived up to the promise.

What The Fallen Child provided was a look at a man, Adam Reynolds, moving from a pointless, aimless existence to someone with purpose, with happiness, and maybe with a better understanding of life…or perhaps just a more elaborate misunderstanding of it.  Adam was drifting through life, until his adventures with Evelyn changed him.  Sounds heart-warming, and to a degree, it is.  But the story intertwines life and dreams, and life that’s stranger than dreams, in ways that are both confusing and familiar.  While the source of the confusion is apparent, the familiarity stems from the fact that the story is basically a modernized, retelling of a Biblical tale.  There are some heavy hints in the first quarter of the book, and by the midpoint, Adam and Evelyn are discussing the parallels openly.  But even with these philosophical and religious roots, it was hard to find much to ponder in its pages.

Overall, The Fallen Child has its moments, particularly in the touches of humor and Adam’s metamorphosis, but you’ll need to wade through strange dreams, some stranger than truth reality, and even a few imaginary friends to find them.