9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
hugely disappointing, May 17, 2008
This review is from: Fallen (Paperback)
This book was enormously frustrating, because it was pretty well conceived and written right up until the end. Nomi and Ramus, who have a well-detailed love-hate relationship, are off on a quest for a Sleeping God-- but this book has no ending to speak of, and nothing is ever explained, leaving this reader at least feeling totally ripped-off. Ramus, for example, has some form of cancer, or maybe a parasite, or maybe a mystic curse, or maybe he's sort of possessed... all those are offered as possibilities, but nothing's ever resolved there. There's a race of beings supposed to guard the God, but for some unknown reason they've devolved until they can no longer do their duty-- why? Worst of all, after telling the entire tale from the pov of both characters, the book ends with Nomi's story totally unresolved, for no reason that I could tell other than that the author didn't seem to have really figured out how his book should end. He told a pretty good action story with some dramatic scenes, but in the end nothing makes sense, and I wasn't left with any confidence that even he knew what really happened to his characters, or why. There was no world-building here at all, and the fantasy setting seemed more like a way to evade having to give explanations than a well thought-out or plotted read. A waste of time.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Exploring a strange fantasy world full of peril and death and old gods, July 19, 2008
This review is from: Fallen (Paperback)
For the past century, there has been a growing interest in Exploration. Ramus and Nomi are members of the Voyagers Guild. Ramus is a scholar, a man who can read and study the old dusty books and tomes of the few libraries of Long Marrakash; he feels he is a pure and proper Voyager, interested only in exploring and gaining knowledge of new things. Nomi is too impatient for reading. She goes on her voyages with an eye for wealth and fame and her last two voyages have made her wealthy. She comes to her old rival and friend Ramus with news of a possible voyage of interest to them both.
A lone wanderer has come to Nomi with a story--he has gone where no one else has gone--part the way up the endless cliffs of the Great Divide that cuts across the land to the south, beyond which no man has been. He has also found some ancient parchments with drawings and symbols. Nomi knows she needs the skills of Ramus and she doesn't want the Guild of Voyagers involved... she wants the glory and excitement of this last and greatest exploration--of the Great Divide--all to herself, and Ramus.
Ramus sees the parchments and has doubts... can someone actually climb the Great Divide? And fears... He thinks the symbols involve the mysterious Sleeping Gods and wonders if humans should mess with the business of gods, even though their worship is mostly dead and he is no believer himself.
The book is primarily one of exploring dangerous territory. Even the parts of the lands that are known about are hazardous--filled with poisons and creatures and wildmen that have caused many a Voyager never to return. Nomi bankrolls her expedition with Ramus, hiring a group of Serians, hardy men and women of Mancoseria who often work with Voyagers and who hire themselves out for protection and general services.
Lebbon is at home with creating a strange, yet alluring, and varied landscape for this group to travel across.
Quite aside from natural hazards, the group faces some catastrophic personal problems that cause even greater danger. And then there are the hints that disturbing the Sleeping God could spell disaster.
The author also writes horror and there are certainly horror elements that come into this story--in increasing amounts to the very horrific end. The characters are well-drawn, making their various fates even more horrific. This is not a light, or even very positive, book, so be warned.
I'm not a huge fan of horror, particularly some of its more standard formats (of which this book, fantasy though it is, almost classically accords). Nor did I find the end terribly satisfying. But it was a well-written book, with well-described lands and adventures... and a sense of the excitement of discovery and exploring the mysterious and unknown. Just not quite my favorite kind of story...
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Suspenseful and Relentlessly Entertaining, May 12, 2008
This review is from: Fallen (Paperback)
I highly recommended Tim Lebbon's Fallen. Once Ramus and Nomi set off for the Uncharted Lands, and the mystery of what they may find begins to be explored, the book for me became impossible to put down. I, too, needed to discover why the divide was there. I had to find out what was being hidden. During the suspenseful journey, I loved the way Lebbon created a believable world, filled with creatures and entities original and often horrifying. It is NOT the best fantasy novel ever written, but if you are a fantasy fan, and want a solid, well written, well paced, entertaining novel with elements of horror, dark fantasy, and dark revelations, I highly recommend this book.
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