Beneath Ceaseless Skies #444, October 30, 2025

“The Angel Azrael Visits the Trading Post at the End of the World a Final Time” by Peter Darbyshire

“A Librarian’s Resolution In The Land Of Demons” by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe

Reviewed by Axylus

During most of my time reading the novelette “The Angel Azrael Visits the Trading Post at the End of the World a Final Time” by Peter Darbyshire I was dead sure I’d give it a two out of three stars recommendation, and even wondered if it could reach 3/3. But then the story Fell to earth a bit, much as Azrael himself Fell long before this tale began. This is one in a series of works Darbyshire has written about the Fallen Angel, and some details from previous events remained slightly vague—does Heaven still exist? Does God? But never mind, Azrael’s guns and multiple other objects usable as weapons are still very much at hand, and Azrael sure as Hell knows the best way to to use them. Here he and his dead horse visit the Trading Post referenced in the title, to repay a debt to the Fallen Angel Nakir, but encounters instead four wandering supernatural beings known as the Cursed. As you might guess, mayhem ensues. Sentences beginning with the word “he” became a bit tedious, and events wrapped themselves up perhaps a little too quickly and neatly at the end. So, what is a reviewer to do? There’s no such thing as 1.5 stars. This tale, a saga somewhat reminiscent of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series, is definitely recommended, but could have used just a touch more revision.

In “A Librarian’s Resolution In The Land Of Demons” by Oluwatomiwa Ajeigbe, a powerful but eternally wounded witch named Moshe must travel to the world of demons and do battle against an archdemon mighty enough to destroy the world. This particular demon is bound to the soul of a second powerful witch, a woman who was once Moshe’s true love, when they both were young girls. Some moments of this tale hint at great possibilities here. However, the demon is somewhat cartoonish, and despite the ostensibly huge stakes for the world and for Moshe personally, the story jogs directly through its events with a general lack of tension. It reads more like a summary of an impressive and moving tale that the author could have written, as opposed to that tale itself.