Customer Reviews
sorry to say but disappointed - By: R.G, 19 Sep 2008 
I have read & loved 6 of Phillipa Gregory's books, so I must say I was really disappointed with this book. I thought that Stephen was a very troubled man who had a lot of scars from the war (mentally). His obsession with young Lilly is ruthless. You do tend to feel sorry for him at some points but then he goes on saying how he could either lover her or hit her. The man is messed up. I did not like Lilly when she fist met Stephen, as she was leading him on. Maybe that was just because she was young & naïve, but as the book went on I felt so sorry for her. Here she was young beautiful, talented but trapped into a marriage with a monster, who rapes & bully's her. He married her because she hated the war, she did not want nothing to do with the war, that was the key feature to his attraction (as all he wanted was to stop having the nightmares, & to forget that part of his life)
Even though I did not like the book, Phillipa Gregory I found was so good at writing the pain of the boys & men who suffered metal & physical painin the war.
I would not recommend this book to a young audience (me being 18), but at the end of the day everyone has different opinions & tastein books.
I am currently reading the wise women I will let you know when I am done
Not another "The Other Bolyen Girl." - By: World Traveller, 03 Aug 2008 Gregory is one of my favorite authors. Her "factual fiction" books of English royalty are well-written, thought-provoking, & undeniably interesting. However, I have read two of her books that are different from this style: "The Little House" & "Fallen Skies". The first was well-written, with a twist I think we've all considered at one time. "Fallen Skies" was boring, with an ending easily figured out after reading a few chapters. If you are a fan of romance novels, then "Fallen Skies" may be for you. It's just not to my taste.
Fallen Skies - Superb! - By: Janie, 05 Apr 2008 
Having read all of Philippa Gregory's "Tudor Court" novels & thoroughly enjoyed them, I was a bit apprehensive about reading a "non-Tudor Court" one. But I need not have worried. Fallen Skies is an excellent story & kept my attention literally right up to the very last page. Philippa Gregory is such a wonderful & versatile storyteller.
Fallen Skies takes place just after World War 1 & tells the story of the marriage of two very differrent & unlikely people. It is one of those marriages that should never have taken place. The husband is Captain Stephen Winters, newly back from the horrors of war, & the wife is Lily Pears,a music hall singer & dancer. Not only are their social backgrounds & ages very different, but their outlook on life too. The war has taken it's toll on Stephen's mind, & when not being the perfect upper class lawyer, he is drawn to "low life" pubs & dance halls etc. Nothing he enjoys more than getting drunk & picking a fight with someone & leaving them for dead. Throughout, Philippa Gregory very vividly portrays the horrors of war by describing Stephen's flashbacks & nightmares.
Lily Pears,his wife is just so different. She is working class, lively,sociable & extroverted, & with no thoughts about the war. Best forgotten, she says. She is very fond of Charlie Smith, her musical director, but he too is affected by the war. He sustained an injury that has left him impotent.
Once he sees her on stage, Stephen Winters wants Lily. He sees her as the means whereby he can forget the war. Lily wants Charlie, but he feels that it would be unfair on her to marry him, so very reluctantly she marries Stephen. What a mistake she makes. Stephen is so brutal to herin every way, & at the same time turns her into a Lady, aided & abetted by his distant & aloof mother. Lily sees no way out but to endure.
A son Christopher is born, & much to Lily's annoyance a nanny is employed to look after him. She loves her son dearly & this only serves to make her husband jealous. Coupled with this growing jealousy, & the realization that his marriage to Lily is not going to help him forget the trenches, Stephen instructs his faithful chauffeur Coventry to take the child & drown him. Philippa Gregory builds up the tension even more as Lily becomes more & more distraught & the Police are called in. Efforts are made to sedate her, but through her drugged haze she remembers enough to get into her car & drive to Coventry's houseboat where the story reaches a tense & exciting climax.
This novel has all the ingredients for an enjoyable & entertaining read, but at the same time the author is able to convey to the reader the seriousness of the problems faced by many of those returning from the war & the effects on their families.
Different to Gregory's usual but still great! - By: Ikula Nappa, 15 Mar 2008 
The previous reviews I have read of this book have been very mixed & understandably as it is a diversion from Gregory's usual historical novel based on famous characters. However, I didn't think thisin any way detracted from the book's worth & I really enjoyed reading it.
Fallen Skies is set post World War One & deals on a personal level with the effect the war had on the survivors. Gregory is able to create whole back stories for her characters that really gave the plot depth & credibility.
If you're a fan of Gregory's writing style & don't mind trying something slightly different from her Tudor based novels, it really is worth giving this book a go (and don't be put off by it's volume, it's such a pager turner you won't even notice....)
A really good read - By: Book Lover, 16 Jan 2008 After enjoying Philippa Gregory's novels setin the Tudor times I was inquisitive to see how she would depict a very different era. She didn't disappoint.I loved the book. It really gave you a sense of the time,attitudes to women, upper middleclass life & at the same time, how times were changing! As the reader you get inside the unhealthy mind of Captain Winters & know from the start that his 'love' for Lily isn't as it should be. Poor Lily - the sex ..aghhhhhhh!!!!Like the other reviewers, I found I was racing through to see how it was all going to end - while at the same time not wanting it to end!!
