Falling Kingdoms
By Morgan Rhodes
A high fantasy with multiple points of
view, a complex world separated by differing interpretations of the
same mythology, very real characters that are neither good nor bad,
and plot that moves at breakneck speeds. Rhodes has written the story
in such a way that we see all sides to the same story. It all depends on who
sees it.
You have four main characters (as the
back of the book blurb helpfully describes with my additions):
Princess – Cleiona, the most
frustrating of the characters. She's a spoiled child that does what
she wants. Only knowing a sheltered life of privilege until one day,
things start happening. Not happy things. Her sister's health is
failing, she becomes engaged to a drunk, and she is haunted after
witnessing a marketplace murder.
Rebel – Jonas is enraged at the
oppression of his country and people. His motives are driven by the
sudden death of his brother and he finds himself sparking a
revolution against the oppressing country. Blinded by anger, all
decisions are vengeance based.
Heir – Magnus is rich, entitled,
cold, and suffers the abuse of his father, the King of Blood. Cruelly
treated since he was a child, he has become hard to bear the burden
of being his father's son. The only light in his life is his sister.
Wanting approval of his father, he will do anything.
Sorceress – Lucia is adopted by a
royal family. Young and naive, she is the prophesied sorceress that
will save the world. Of all the characters, she is the least
rounded, but I assume she'll become a force in the second book.
I thoroughly enjoyed how complex Rhodes
made this book. It was easy to follow, but the twists and
turns made for an incredible reading experience. I admire how she was
able to seamlessly pass one character's storyline onto the next
without stalling the overall story. In fact, it takes real creative
thinking to have these four characters encounter each other,
especially being from different class systems.
Recommended to those who are wanting to
delve into high fantasy, but feel too daunted by the 800 page tomes
or 12 book series.
4/5 STARS
Classroom: This book could be
acceptable in a classroom, however, fantasy is rarely used because of
magic. Forgo this one, but recommend it to the struggling reader who
wants to read Lord of the Rings or Song of Ice and Fire.
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