Reviews

The Fall by Ryan Cahill

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brittney_tyler's review against another edition

5.0

Star Rating: 5 stars
Date: 6/29/24- 6/30/24

Note: According to the order in which I am reading this series (publication order), this is book 2 so this will not be an in-depth review to avoid spoilers.

After reading Of Blood and Fire, the 1st book in the Bound and the Broken series by Ryan Cahill, I was intrigued but not completely hooked so I decided to pick up The Fall, the first novella in the series to see if it would get me any more hooked, and I have to say it helped.

This book tells some of the background for this series, specifically the part about how the initial conflict started- how the Draleid Order was betrayed, how Fane Mortem came to power, how Ilnaen was destroyed, and the Lorian Empire formed. It also gives us a glimpse of the magic system and how Cahill writes characters.

When I read Of Blood and Fire, one of the main reasons why I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would is because I couldn’t feel Cahill’s unique voice. He had all the elements to make a great classic-leaning fantasy story, but he was missing his individuality. However, after reading this novella, I am starting to see some of that individuality, and I really think that in later installments of the series, it will start coming through more and more.

There is one thing, though, that Cahill does do extremely well, and that is write characters. He understands that characters can’t be all black or white-that they will all be shades of grey and that they would have different facets to their character. This makes them more interesting and fun to read about; it gives them humanity and makes them feel more real. I really hope he continues this in later books because it is one of the main things that I like about his books.

All in all, even though I am not completely sold on this series, I am enjoying it enough to continue, and this book especially helped with that as well as adding context for the series. 5 stars and a great addition!!!!

candycandisco's review against another edition

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4.0

This novella was so action packed and had me on the edge of my seat for the whole time…read this ad well as Of Blood and Fire almost like a tandem read