Review: The Fallen Kings Cycle
Originally posted by 
edjohnston at Review: The Fallen Kings Cycle
The Fallen Kings Cycle is a series of two books written by Gaile Z Martin. The first is titled, Sworn, which sets up the
conflict and the second is Dread, which continues the story on to its resolution.
Before I begin the general review, I must mention that Fallen Kings is a sequel to a four part series, Chronicles of the Necromancer, which I haven't read.However, Fallen Kings, read well enough to stand alone, as the background of each of the characters is thoroughly explained and the events of the previous series are given a brief overview.
The genre is Fantasy. Although I wouldn't call them high fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien, but it is epic in scope and reminiscent of the Belgarion and Codex Alera. However, the word built by Martin differs sharply. There are no elves, dwarves, halflings, or living fauna. Instead, outside of humans the only magical creatures to be found are vampires, called vayash moru, and wearwolves, called vyrkin, who can switch forms at will. There are also ghosts and living gods, who play a very important role in the story.
The plot is simple enough. After a long struggle for the Crown (which is summarized in the beginning and detailed in the Chronicles), the new Summoner-King Martris Drayke and his bride Kiara (who is also the heir apparent of her own nation) must now rebuild a broken kingdom beset by war and famine. The other nations of the Five Winter Kingdoms, their neighboring countries and allies, are also facing various disasters. In that time of weakness, a mysterious nation from across the Northern Sea decides to take advantage of the situation and attack them all at once. They must band together and form alliances to beat back the aggressors and survive.
The pros: I liked the world she made. It was cohesive and real. The Winter Kingdoms are alive, with their own cultures and histories. Some of the history we get to learn about through the narrative, and spans thousands of years. The writing itself is sophisticated and to the point. It describes the world vividly without becoming labored in the narrative.
The cons: Some of the points of the plot seemed too thickly laid. There were certain conversations which went over points already covered by other people in the book several times. The entirety of the first book is spent going on about how something is coming but no one knows exactly what except that it is probably an attack from the North. This particular plot point is rehashed at least three times, and it wasn't the only plot point that was repeated various times. I know that she had three countries with similar phenomena and people were trying to figure it out, but she could have cut the dialogue. After all, the reader already knows all of that and would like to move on with the story.
The villains were not unmasked until the middle of the second book. We never get to know them personally, or even a description, until the very last battle, and so the climax seems shallow. The enemy generals, one who is named, are never described. As a reader who likes a good villain, I found this deeply disappointing. Especially since the perspective was written in third person. Who commanded the fleet? Was the king or queen of the kingdom bullied by the Summoner into fighting, or was the Summoner hired by an ambitious monarch? We will never know.
And then there is the improbable fact that in a world where ghosts are commonplace and where mediums are hired as prostitutes, that zombies would be a bridge too far. I'm sorry, we know we can talk to grandma but her corpse walking? Now that's completely out of the question.
But besides those minor quibbles, I found the books very entertaining. If the library ever has the Chronicles available, I will definitely been picking them up.
4 out of 5 x's
edjohnston at Review: The Fallen Kings Cycle The Fallen Kings Cycle is a series of two books written by Gaile Z Martin. The first is titled, Sworn, which sets up the
conflict and the second is Dread, which continues the story on to its resolution.
Before I begin the general review, I must mention that Fallen Kings is a sequel to a four part series, Chronicles of the Necromancer, which I haven't read.However, Fallen Kings, read well enough to stand alone, as the background of each of the characters is thoroughly explained and the events of the previous series are given a brief overview.
The genre is Fantasy. Although I wouldn't call them high fantasy in the tradition of Tolkien, but it is epic in scope and reminiscent of the Belgarion and Codex Alera. However, the word built by Martin differs sharply. There are no elves, dwarves, halflings, or living fauna. Instead, outside of humans the only magical creatures to be found are vampires, called vayash moru, and wearwolves, called vyrkin, who can switch forms at will. There are also ghosts and living gods, who play a very important role in the story.
The plot is simple enough. After a long struggle for the Crown (which is summarized in the beginning and detailed in the Chronicles), the new Summoner-King Martris Drayke and his bride Kiara (who is also the heir apparent of her own nation) must now rebuild a broken kingdom beset by war and famine. The other nations of the Five Winter Kingdoms, their neighboring countries and allies, are also facing various disasters. In that time of weakness, a mysterious nation from across the Northern Sea decides to take advantage of the situation and attack them all at once. They must band together and form alliances to beat back the aggressors and survive.
The pros: I liked the world she made. It was cohesive and real. The Winter Kingdoms are alive, with their own cultures and histories. Some of the history we get to learn about through the narrative, and spans thousands of years. The writing itself is sophisticated and to the point. It describes the world vividly without becoming labored in the narrative.
The cons: Some of the points of the plot seemed too thickly laid. There were certain conversations which went over points already covered by other people in the book several times. The entirety of the first book is spent going on about how something is coming but no one knows exactly what except that it is probably an attack from the North. This particular plot point is rehashed at least three times, and it wasn't the only plot point that was repeated various times. I know that she had three countries with similar phenomena and people were trying to figure it out, but she could have cut the dialogue. After all, the reader already knows all of that and would like to move on with the story.
The villains were not unmasked until the middle of the second book. We never get to know them personally, or even a description, until the very last battle, and so the climax seems shallow. The enemy generals, one who is named, are never described. As a reader who likes a good villain, I found this deeply disappointing. Especially since the perspective was written in third person. Who commanded the fleet? Was the king or queen of the kingdom bullied by the Summoner into fighting, or was the Summoner hired by an ambitious monarch? We will never know.
And then there is the improbable fact that in a world where ghosts are commonplace and where mediums are hired as prostitutes, that zombies would be a bridge too far. I'm sorry, we know we can talk to grandma but her corpse walking? Now that's completely out of the question.
But besides those minor quibbles, I found the books very entertaining. If the library ever has the Chronicles available, I will definitely been picking them up.
4 out of 5 x's
~OP