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cyanide_latte 's review for:
Fate of the Fallen
by Kel Kade
So I've read and listened to a lot of mixed reviews for this title, and it left me feeling very uncertain about whether or not I was going to enjoy this or if I should bother reading it at all. But, although I've put it at three stars, I do tend to lean a little more on the positive side of things with this review.
First off, I can't say that I really was able to fully appreciate the information given to us in the prologue until I reached the very end of the book, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I don't like that it took so long for all the pieces to come together and make sense. I can understand why; if I understood what I read correctly, the plot twist that occurs at the very end of the book ties right back into what we get in the prologue. So it makes sense, but I do feel like there was a lack of build-up or implication to these interconnected threads, we just got smacked with them.
Second, while I enjoyed the pacing and most of the characters, I feel like the world-building was lacking. A lot was thrown at us with very little explanation before moving on from it, and there's a lot we have to take on faith and just roll with. I like what I've seen of the potential world-building, but I think readers could have benefited from a little more than what we got. (For the record, I do appreciate the character list towards the back of the book. It helped me more than once.)
And finally, while I do have issues with it, I feel like it's a very intriguing series opener. I hope to see the rest of the books in physical print so I can continue reading and better decide how I feel about Kel Kade's writing overall. (Having looked at her list of works, most of them seem to be just in ebook and audible format, and this is the first book in physical print. I am curious about some of her other works, but only time will tell if I end up feeling interested enough to buy ebooks or audible copies.) The last point of note I would like to express is that, I do not recommend this book as a gateway for people looking to try out high fantasy. I don't believe that this is very first-time-reader-friendly because of the way the world-building is handled.
First off, I can't say that I really was able to fully appreciate the information given to us in the prologue until I reached the very end of the book, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, I don't like that it took so long for all the pieces to come together and make sense. I can understand why; if I understood what I read correctly, the plot twist that occurs at the very end of the book ties right back into what we get in the prologue. So it makes sense, but I do feel like there was a lack of build-up or implication to these interconnected threads, we just got smacked with them.
Second, while I enjoyed the pacing and most of the characters, I feel like the world-building was lacking. A lot was thrown at us with very little explanation before moving on from it, and there's a lot we have to take on faith and just roll with. I like what I've seen of the potential world-building, but I think readers could have benefited from a little more than what we got. (For the record, I do appreciate the character list towards the back of the book. It helped me more than once.)
And finally, while I do have issues with it, I feel like it's a very intriguing series opener. I hope to see the rest of the books in physical print so I can continue reading and better decide how I feel about Kel Kade's writing overall. (Having looked at her list of works, most of them seem to be just in ebook and audible format, and this is the first book in physical print. I am curious about some of her other works, but only time will tell if I end up feeling interested enough to buy ebooks or audible copies.) The last point of note I would like to express is that, I do not recommend this book as a gateway for people looking to try out high fantasy. I don't believe that this is very first-time-reader-friendly because of the way the world-building is handled.