Fall of the Angels follows Vega (a terminally hard-headed 20-something who is breathtakingly impulsive) and her far more level-headed older brother Nova; the last two mech pilots, known as Angels, that stand between their home world and utter destruction.

* Characters:

Each of the characters' personalities are well defined, consistent, and believably react to and cause the events in the story. Vega, as the point of view character, is an especially beautifully executed example. Fruit makes you care for her, get angry with her, root for her, and cry with her. Mostly, you just want to reach your hands through the screen to shake her shoulders until she LISTENS.

* Story pacing:

The story's pace fits neatly into its genre, and the passage of time is generally believable for the time-frame that the story plays off in.

The main focus of the story and much of the character development is witnessed within battle sequences. These are highly detailed and written in real-time. This means that much of the story requires a high level of concentration to follow, but it is also satisfying for readers who enjoy this style.

Fruit manages to give enough breathing space between sequences for the events in and related to these battles to show their weight without removing any urgency from the main threat. Balancing action, tension, and character moments is something that takes experience to pull off well, and Fruit displays that.

* Worldbuilding:

On a macro level, it is evident that Fruit's considerations of location, resources, technology level, and general scientific realities surrounding the setting directly influence the story in satisfying and complete ways. On a micro level, the social and cultural interactions with spirituality and worldview across a wide spectrum are wonderfully executed.

The mechs get their own special shout-out. The care and description of how they are piloted, what happens if and when they get damaged, and the downstream consequences of each failure in a system is evident of someone who has a true love for and understanding of technology. I could write reams about how much I enjoy reading Cerviel and Valoel and their interactions with their pilots.

* Impact:

The build-up to the last stretches of the story is rewarded with an unexpectedly poignant and effective payoff. This is where the story truly 'comes out' as a character study all along.

* Verdict:

If you love detailed wordbuilding, spatially aware and well-written action sequences, and an absolute whammy of a character payoff, this is the story for you.