“Beneath a Fallen Sky is one of the finest historical novels I’ve ever read…

Scott Gould carries us back to 1910 Alabama when Halley’s Comet makes its pass and people are truly afraid the end of the world is nigh. The intricate story of each singular, memorable character is told in a language so rich and old it sounds new, like the music of The Band, and the revelation of human nature we witness is deep and profound enough to render the story timeless, which is why the novel speaks to all of us in the here and now. What an absolutely remarkable book.”

- Marlin Barton, author of Children of Dust and Pasture Art 

"Scott Gould is a fantastic, natural born storyteller, and in Beneath A Fallen Sky he brings the Sand Mountain region and its inhabitants to full, singing life as they anxiously await the arrival of Halley's Comet in the spring of 1910. The history here is deeply felt and fully inhabited, a true pleasure on the page — as are the cosmic questions this novel raises and turns over, which lift from the book to lodge in your chest."

- Ethan Rutherford, author of North Sun: Or, The Voyage of the Whaleship Esther (longlisted for the 2025 National Book Award)