Book Review - Falling Kingdoms
Labels:
book review,
epic fantasy,
falling kingdoms,
fantasy,
high fantasy,
morgan rhodes,
young adult
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| Cover image courtesy of Barnes and Noble. |
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: March 11, 2014
Version I Read: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5
I'm pretty conflicted about this book. On the whole, it's a good story that, at least in this first volume, is a little superficial. The major characters are both likable and infuriating, which means they are most certainly not boring. Oh, yeah, and my favorite character dies. When I read it for the first time, I was so angry I didn't want to pick up the next one. But something about this world kept calling me to come back, and I'm honestly glad I did, because, putting my emotions aside, this really is a good book.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
There are three kingdoms on the continent of Mythica: prosperous Auranos to the south, poor Paelsia in the center, and cold and strong Limeros in the north. The story is told from four perspectives: Cleo, the headstrong princess of Auranos who, though no fault of her own, sets off an international incident; Jonas, a young man in Paelsia, who, after being wronged, ends up becoming a budding rebel leader; Lucia, the princess of Limeros, who, unknown to except a few, is destined to become one of the most powerful sorceresses who ever lived; and Magnus, the prince of Limeros, who harbors a forbidden love for his sister and struggles to hide his true self from his tyrant father.
Some spoilers.
The action kicks off when a party including Cleo and her soon-to-be fiance Aron go to Paelsia to purchase some wine and are involved in an altercation where the wine-seller's son is killed. Cleo has nothing to do with this - Aron was trying to rip them off - but the incident becomes a rallying cry for the people of Paelsia. With the murdered man's brother out for revenge and the cruel king of the north seeking to take advantage of the tragedy, the powder keg finally explodes into all-out war. I like that a single isolated incident like this is enough to start a major war - after all, throughout history, a seemingly small event has set things in motion when tension has been boiling beneath the surface for years.
I think the biggest problem with this book is that the writing and narrative itself are a little superficial, which doesn't work well for high fantasy. There are no organic detours from the main plot, which I think detracts from what is otherwise a good story.
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The characters swing from likable to nearly intolerable, which, whether you like them or not, means they invoke strong emotions, so the author is doing something right. On the likable side, you have Cleo, who, while she makes mistakes and bad decisions some of the time, is a rather fleshed out and believable character, given her age and status. I ship her hardcore with Theon. *Sob*
Jonas has the least development of the main characters (he also has the least amount of POV chapters, which I find a little odd). I'm not sure why the author gave him so much less to do than the other main characters, and, as a consequence, he's much flatter than the others. He also changes his opinion more or less at the drop of a hat, which is rather poor writing.
Lucia is naive and easily manipulatable, which gives some depth to her otherwise Purity Sue character, as these are some major character flaws that have terrible consequences towards the end of the story. Seeing where she's going to go from here will be interesting.
Magnus is a little harder to get behind because of what an ass he can be, but as the story goes along you do see why he is the kind of person he is. We'll see which road he chooses to take in the sequels.
The mythology of the Kindred and the Watchers is also pretty well thought-out and adds a lot of depth to the story. I always like it when worlds have their own mythology and stories that get told to the readers - it makes the story feel all the more real.
There are also some minor (Why did Jonas bother getting with Chief Basilius' daughter in order to gain an audience rather than request one directly as the brother of the man who was killed?) and not-so-minor logic flaws, namely, why Jonas was so obsessed with getting revenge on Cleo when she was clearly not comfortable with the situation (and even tried to get them all to leave!). Fixating on Aron would have made sense, and I understand people do stupid things when they're that upset, but it still feels contrived by the author to make the plot move along rather than something the character would logically think or do.
(And why did you have to kill Theon off? WHY?!)
The Verdict: A more ambitious YA fantasy than most which falls short in some places but ultimately holds up.
Neither Karen Lofgren nor Loyalty Press has any affiliation with the author or publisher. This review constitutes Fair Use.
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