jolietjane's review
This is one of the most bizarre chop shops I've ever read. DNF @ about 2/3rds complete.
Fate of the Fallen is an incredible missed opportunity. The concept is so cool. What if the chosen one dies- and his friend- the side character needs to complete his mission.
BUT WAIT..what if that side character had to carry his best friend's head around with him, and that head wouldn't stop talking to him.
Hold on, what if this impending doom is actually a bunch of asshole gods and goddesses controlling a multiverse who seem to just be sick of this world.
Fate of the Fallen is an absolute crack infested fever dream. Every plot thread is so exceptionally strange that you can't help but read a little further to see what happens next. Kel Kade deserves points for originality, of that there is no doubt.
Unfortunately, this book needed editors. A whole team of them. Reading Fate of the Fallen kind of feels like watching someone play a videogame.
The beginning of the book does a good enough job justifying this. Aarlo and Matthias are hanging out together talking about going to a dance (?) like they are on an episode of The Vampire Diaries. You then find out that his lifelong love actually isn't that into him and wants to marry Matthias. Then BOOM, they find out he's the chosen one. His grandma stole him from his parents to raise him because shes the only person strong enough...but she never trained in him anything. Also, something is destroying the world, but nobody knows about it or feels its effects. The kickoff is super strange, really fast, and instantly will give you whiplash. I wish I had the Ebook so I could drop some of the utterly bizarre, fast-moving, super strange dialogue that you get within the first 50 pages of the story.
Aarlo, the main character, keeps running into people on his vague mission, and they all feel like soulless NPCs meant to exhaust out dialogue options with them. It feels like this book is wearing the mask of what it thinks an epic fantasy should be with none of the personality of one. Aarlo's journey is diced into small sections where he runs into wealthy folks, thieves, kings, sorcerers, etc, and then...leaves. And that's it. It's so hard to put the whole picture together to understand what it all actually means because none of these characters truly leave their mark on him. None of his adventures change who he is or make him feel he is more deserving of his quest. There's no theme, no character growth, just a ton of extremely strange character introductions.
The gods and reapers side of the story also works awkwardly with the rest of the book, and the short POVs you get with them feel super jarring, like perhaps they were meant for another book.
I was determined to finish this because I think its subversive exploration of fantasy tropes was too cool not to honor, but the farther I got in the book, the more it felt clear to me that the clumsy writing and bullet train pace of the novel wasn't an accident- and I found it harder and harder to give a shit about Aarlo and his quest.
I think if you like weird stuff, this could be a great book for you. It's very weird and very readable. It's also short (Goodreads says 400 pages, but its only 344) Personally though, this one ain't for me.
Fate of the Fallen is an incredible missed opportunity. The concept is so cool. What if the chosen one dies- and his friend- the side character needs to complete his mission.
BUT WAIT..what if that side character had to carry his best friend's head around with him, and that head wouldn't stop talking to him.
Hold on, what if this impending doom is actually a bunch of asshole gods and goddesses controlling a multiverse who seem to just be sick of this world.
Fate of the Fallen is an absolute crack infested fever dream. Every plot thread is so exceptionally strange that you can't help but read a little further to see what happens next. Kel Kade deserves points for originality, of that there is no doubt.
Unfortunately, this book needed editors. A whole team of them. Reading Fate of the Fallen kind of feels like watching someone play a videogame.
The beginning of the book does a good enough job justifying this. Aarlo and Matthias are hanging out together talking about going to a dance (?) like they are on an episode of The Vampire Diaries. You then find out that his lifelong love actually isn't that into him and wants to marry Matthias. Then BOOM, they find out he's the chosen one. His grandma stole him from his parents to raise him because shes the only person strong enough...but she never trained in him anything. Also, something is destroying the world, but nobody knows about it or feels its effects. The kickoff is super strange, really fast, and instantly will give you whiplash. I wish I had the Ebook so I could drop some of the utterly bizarre, fast-moving, super strange dialogue that you get within the first 50 pages of the story.
Aarlo, the main character, keeps running into people on his vague mission, and they all feel like soulless NPCs meant to exhaust out dialogue options with them. It feels like this book is wearing the mask of what it thinks an epic fantasy should be with none of the personality of one. Aarlo's journey is diced into small sections where he runs into wealthy folks, thieves, kings, sorcerers, etc, and then...leaves. And that's it. It's so hard to put the whole picture together to understand what it all actually means because none of these characters truly leave their mark on him. None of his adventures change who he is or make him feel he is more deserving of his quest. There's no theme, no character growth, just a ton of extremely strange character introductions.
The gods and reapers side of the story also works awkwardly with the rest of the book, and the short POVs you get with them feel super jarring, like perhaps they were meant for another book.
I was determined to finish this because I think its subversive exploration of fantasy tropes was too cool not to honor, but the farther I got in the book, the more it felt clear to me that the clumsy writing and bullet train pace of the novel wasn't an accident- and I found it harder and harder to give a shit about Aarlo and his quest.
I think if you like weird stuff, this could be a great book for you. It's very weird and very readable. It's also short (Goodreads says 400 pages, but its only 344) Personally though, this one ain't for me.
anova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
_readwithash's review
3.0
This book was sort of weird. The writing was mediocre, the plot didn't pull me in too much, and the characters felt extremely shallow, and yet I'm fascinated by it.
This is a Chosen One novel, but in chapter 2 the chosen one dies. (That spoiler tag is for the truly adamant NO SPOILERS people, but it won't change the way you read the novel.) This story took such a unique turn because of that, so I absolutely had to see what other twists Kade had up her sleeve.
Ultimately the book was a bit of a disappointment. It had such incredible potential, but it needed to be filled out and polished up. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but if you're looking for something that is somehow extremely familiar, while also being wildly unique, this is a great choice.
This is a Chosen One novel, but in chapter 2
Ultimately the book was a bit of a disappointment. It had such incredible potential, but it needed to be filled out and polished up. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but if you're looking for something that is somehow extremely familiar, while also being wildly unique, this is a great choice.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Fate of the Fallen is the first book in a new series by Kel Kade. Released 5th Nov 2019 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 352 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
I thought this was going to be a standard epic quest 'chosen' one series. It's emphatically not that. I loved that the author basically took a large axe to the standard narrative trope within the first few chapters and the rest of the book was an interesting exploration of what happens when the 'one true prophecy' is lost?
The author has a strong and readable voice in her narrative. The plotting and tension arc are impressive. The characters are well drawn and the technical aspects of the writing are very well controlled. The author can certainly write. This book has been difficult to review because I don't write spoilers into my reviews (even with spoiler warnings) which means even a general precis is out of the question. I'll just say that I enjoyed the heck out of this one, I fully intend to search out the following book(s), and in fact, I intend to search out some of the author's other books.
Four stars. Strong story and engaging characters, creepy antagonists and monsters, and even a touch of humor.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Fate of the Fallen is the first book in a new series by Kel Kade. Released 5th Nov 2019 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 352 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats.
I thought this was going to be a standard epic quest 'chosen' one series. It's emphatically not that. I loved that the author basically took a large axe to the standard narrative trope within the first few chapters and the rest of the book was an interesting exploration of what happens when the 'one true prophecy' is lost?
The author has a strong and readable voice in her narrative. The plotting and tension arc are impressive. The characters are well drawn and the technical aspects of the writing are very well controlled. The author can certainly write. This book has been difficult to review because I don't write spoilers into my reviews (even with spoiler warnings) which means even a general precis is out of the question. I'll just say that I enjoyed the heck out of this one, I fully intend to search out the following book(s), and in fact, I intend to search out some of the author's other books.
Four stars. Strong story and engaging characters, creepy antagonists and monsters, and even a touch of humor.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
skconaghan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Well. This doesn’t begin where it should, beginning at a sort of beginning, and thus it seems rushed in order to lay the foundation, which is to say it isn’t well written at the start...
But THEN, once the scene is set, which really only takes a tenth of the novel, it gets thick with plotty plot and comes alive with character, witty banter, and the darkly humorous quest of a reluctant hero.
This is a sword-wielding adventure, full of bizarre characters from all the fantasies and fairytales, twisting every expectation and dumping it on its head.
To say it’s similar to Robert Jordan’s Eye of the World is a bit of an understatement since it uses many of the same symbols, themes, characters (in different bodies) and plot devices throughout. Although, the journey itself doesn’t drag nearly as heel-heavy as Jordan’s multiple lengthy tomes.
If you want fantasy adventure without the political complexities and an infinity of pages of being lost in the woods and stranded on unknown islands, read this one instead of the fine-print door-stops of Martin, Tolkien, Jordan and other epic writers of the genre.
This is the McDonald’s version of a gourmet fantasy burger: Ready fast, over fast, not nearly as filling as others, immediately satisfying but not long-lasting, and always good in a pinch—oh! and slightly addictive because of that secret sauce, the je ne sais quoi that keeps us coming back.
I do like a dark, broody-type for a reluctant hero though, so Aslo has my full attention for this and any more to come…
enbyglitch's review against another edition
3.0
This book tries to do a lot of unique and interesting things, but falls flat more often than it succeeds.
The Good:
-Characters are self-consistent and fairly realistic
-Female characters actively drive the plot forward
-(The premise of this novel) works well enough
-Seeing the gods in the background was surprisingly interesting, reminded me of 'The Color of Magic' and Greek/Norse mythology. Also a nice method of skipping travel.
The Bad:
-The book starts with one frame narrative and never returns to it, then adds another in the form of the gods. I guess the goal will be to return to the former at the end of the series? But I was really disappointed that we didn't get more insight there, and it just seems sloppy to double dip like that.
-Just STOP having Aaslo talk out loud to Matthias, when it is so clear to the reader that mental communication would be entirely functional. It would be fun if it happened 2-3 times in the book, but after the twentieth or so the mistaken bits of conversation were utterly annoying.
-For the conceit of being a story where the chosen one dies immediately, Aaslo spends this book acting like more of a chosen one than just about any I have read about.
The Ugly:
-I listened to the audiobook, and I was really turned off by the performance of Peck, Mory, and most of the women. I don't recall having the same reaction to the narrator's performance of Name of the Wind, but some of the characters' voices ranged from cringeworthy to offensive.
-There are just so many threads dangling at the end of this book that I would be surprised if even half are picked up again. This book could have been at least 3-4 hours shorter and conveyed the same general plot.
The Good:
-Characters are self-consistent and fairly realistic
-Female characters actively drive the plot forward
-(The premise of this novel) works well enough
-Seeing the gods in the background was surprisingly interesting, reminded me of 'The Color of Magic' and Greek/Norse mythology. Also a nice method of skipping travel.
The Bad:
-The book starts with one frame narrative and never returns to it, then adds another in the form of the gods. I guess the goal will be to return to the former at the end of the series? But I was really disappointed that we didn't get more insight there, and it just seems sloppy to double dip like that.
-Just STOP having Aaslo talk out loud to Matthias, when it is so clear to the reader that mental communication would be entirely functional. It would be fun if it happened 2-3 times in the book, but after the twentieth or so the mistaken bits of conversation were utterly annoying.
-For the conceit of being a story where the chosen one dies immediately, Aaslo spends this book acting like more of a chosen one than just about any I have read about.
The Ugly:
-I listened to the audiobook, and I was really turned off by the performance of Peck, Mory, and most of the women. I don't recall having the same reaction to the narrator's performance of Name of the Wind, but some of the characters' voices ranged from cringeworthy to offensive.
-There are just so many threads dangling at the end of this book that I would be surprised if even half are picked up again. This book could have been at least 3-4 hours shorter and conveyed the same general plot.
iam_griff's review against another edition
4.0
This story starts out like so many other novels, there’s a prophecy & the chosen one who has been groomed & trained since birth “to save the world”. Unfortunately/fortunately the chosen dies in their first encounter & the B team steps in to try. . .
I’ve enjoyed Kade’s other series & for some reason put off reading this book. After a miscalculation of my vacation dates I picked this book up & moved it up my ‘to read list’. Like another reviewer said “this story is better if you don’t know too much about the plot”, Kade does a great job of trying some new tropes about prophecy’s. Her world building & character development for the story are pretty solid. I do plan on continuing to the second book.
I’ve enjoyed Kade’s other series & for some reason put off reading this book. After a miscalculation of my vacation dates I picked this book up & moved it up my ‘to read list’. Like another reviewer said “this story is better if you don’t know too much about the plot”, Kade does a great job of trying some new tropes about prophecy’s. Her world building & character development for the story are pretty solid. I do plan on continuing to the second book.
troll_for_initiative's review against another edition
Two dimensional characters making dumb and unprompted decisions (if any) and the plot got lost somewhere in the first 100 pages. That's a nope from me.
lindseyllado's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0