Godfall

In this riveting small town thriller, Sheriff David Blunt is faced with a string of murders following the arrival of an alien life form--perfect for fans of Blake Crouch and Jeff Vandermeer, and soon to be a television series from Ron Howard!

"A fully engrossing, genre bending procedural that will have you staying up long past your bedtime." ―Karin Slaughter, New York Times and #1 international bestselling author

When a massive asteroid hurtles toward Earth, humanity braces for annihilation--but the end doesn't come. In fact, it isn't an asteroid but a three-mile-tall alien that drops down, seemingly dead, outside Little Springs, Nebraska.

Dubbed "the giant," its arrival transforms the red-state farm town into a top-secret government research site and major metropolitan area, flooded with soldiers, scientists, bureaucrats, spies, criminals, conspiracy theorists--and a murderer.

As the sheriff of Little Springs, David Blunt thought he'd be keeping the peace among the same people he'd known all his life, not breaking up chanting crowds of cultists or battling an influx of drug dealers. As a series of brutal, bizarre murders strikes close to home, Blunt throws himself into the hunt for a killer who seems connected to the Giant.

With bodies piling up and tensions in Little Springs mounting, he realizes that to find the answers he needs, he must reconcile his old worldview with the town he now lives in--before it's too late.

"Godfall is a fresh and surprising genre mashup, bringing a laconic small town sheriff together with a crash-landed alien and a series of brutal killings, beautifully interweaving otherworldly images and naturalistic details of rural Nebraska life. Van Jensen is a terrific writer, and I was under the book's strange and extraordinary spell from start to finish." ―Dan Chaon, author of Sleepwalk

"Godfall is the genre-mashup novel of my dreams. With breathtaking imagery and razor-sharp prose, Jensen gives us a story that is part alien sci-fi, part mystery, with a doomsday cult, a serial killer, and a dash of sandhill cranes, all against the beautiful backdrop of rural Nebraska. I expect Godfall to rocket to the top of many best-of lists for the year." ―Erin Flanagan, Edgar-Award winning author of Deer Season and Blackout

Author: Van Jensen
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 01/13/2026
Pages: 384
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.30w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781538776865


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2026

About the Author
Van Jensen is an acclaimed novelist, screenwriter, and comic book writer. Godfall, his debut novel, is in development as a TV series with Academy Award winner Ron Howard attached to direct. Jensen began his career as a newspaper crime reporter, then broke into comic books and graphic novels as the writer of ARCA (IDW), Two Dead (Gallery 13), and Tear Us Apart (Dark Horse). Jensen has written world-renowned characters, including Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Godzilla, and James Bond. He has served as a Comic Book Ambassador for the U.S. State Department, teaching refugee children to tell their stories through comics. He lives in Atlanta.