Eden Fell is a surreal, character-driven novel about a young artist’s slow freefall into self-annihilation. It flows with the fluidity and maturity of the author’s prose, the richness of imagery, and the unique mythology carefully crafted into the inner life of the main character.

Written in the voice of Eden, a highly successful abstract artist struggling with drug addiction, the story begins by revealing her sexual and psychological bondage to her cold, controlling drug dealer. When she meets a new lover named Marcel, it seems as though his unconditional love might save her, but Eden is too close to the precipice. She is drawn toward an inevitable tragedy foreshadowed by her somewhat codified interactions with two mythical companions, a snake and a rhinoceros.

The author, who simply goes by the name Lily, has a distinctively poetic style that is also evident in the four lines of italicized poetry preceding each chapter, a convention that effectively draws the reader deeper into the story. Her novel builds slowly and gracefully, and the tension ascends incrementally—a pace that may alienate readers looking for a more plot-driven storyline.

Although the novel was published by Damnation Books, Eden Fell is more a work of literary fiction than horror genre. In fact, in many ways it is a frighteningly realistic story that illustrates drug addiction and existential despair. Perhaps the jacket should say that the story is about a lost soul who wanders through excesses of wealth, sex, drugs and violence seeking a higher truth that in the end betrays her.

Yet there are some wonderful moments of horror of a different kind, though—such as seeing Eden spiral down from a charismatic and arrogant drug-addled painter to a lost and broken woman, abandoned by her agent and her lover, yet still battling her demons. The surrealistic ending is chilling.

The jacket notes describing the novel are, however, a little misleading. A “fairytale”? In some ways, perhaps, but this is a very real and painful journey for Eden. By calling it a fairytale and mentioning the snake, the rhinoceros, the zombie marionettes, and the frost prince, this description may alienate many readers who might presume the book belongs in the fantasy genre.

Eden Fell is a very impressive first novel that reads like a very long short story. Still, the pacing is consistent, the progression logical, and in every way its lyrical style and crisp characterizations make it a satisfying . . . and disturbing . . . reading experience.