Customer Reviews

Fell

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Fell" is the surprising sequel to "The Sight", and it starts off seven years after the events of the first book. Fell is a Kerl (a loner), wandering the forests and haunting the legends of both wolf and human. He has The Sight, a power to see the future, and a power that keeps him young as those he know grow old. Fell is content in living his loner life...until he has vivid dreams of an old adversary, and a vision from his dead sister. He is tied to a new destiny, and it has to do with a redheaded girl who might be the lost long heir to her slain father. Together they learn to communicate telepathically with the power of The Sight, and Fell makes alliances with creatures he never thought possible.

The story is definitely a lot better than `The Sight' in terms of language and style. Davies seemed to realize his flaws in The Sight, and certainly fixed them up in the new installment. Gone are the overused words like `growled' and `said', replaced with real emotions such as `exasperated', `frustrated', `nervous', giving the book a richer language. The characters are far more lively and creative, such as the beaver Fell meets in the beginning of his travels. But while the world is certainly something you'd be interesting in reading about, certain aspects pull this book down.

For one, even with the wolf's philosophy that `things must die, and that's life' is still way overdone, something you head many times before in `The Sight' and `Fire Bringer' and becomes annoying and unnecessary when Fell repeats this phrase over and over to Alina, the girl he aids in his travels. It seems that when someone is on the brink of death, they say this phrase, and it comes off rather forced. A good example of this is when Alina finds a blacksmith and his son. I won't spoil much, but when you read up on the blacksmith's death, you'll see just how forced the dialogue comes out when the man is dying.

There is no real threat in this book, other than the guards and other humans hunting Alina, and the new wolf threat is very poorly done, almost as though there had to be at least an evil group of wolves (the Venegrid)to match up to what went in The Sight. Morgra returns, spiritually, and to me, it rather killed the concept of the whole 'afterlife' business. So in that, the book really did tether out.

Also, the book is called "Fell" but sadly, the book is not all about him. Most of it is about Alina and her relations to a slain lord, and taking her to reunite with her family. Fell is there, but he's used only as Alina's wild guide through the forest. I feel that this sequel was needed, but it wasn't pulled off in what the readers probably wanted to see. They wanted to see Fell and his struggles, not about Alina. What happened to Fell in that seven year gap? The book should've been called `Alina' since the book is mostly about her, the black wolf we know and love giving a secondary role.

Granted, `Fell' is a damn good read, richer than The Sight, but if you're looking for an adventure where Fell truly finds himself, and a story that has less human interaction, you'll be disappointed in this sequel. The book falls, but depending on how you like it, depends if the book will have a safe landing into your reading choices.

After reading the previous reviews for Fell, and a few of the more in-depth reviews said that it was not as good as The Sight, I decided to buy it anyways. I definitely do not regret it.
The main way that Fell is different from The Sight is the theme, besides the plot of the story, the theme focuses more on Fell trying to overcome the struggles that many people face in the world. Death, depression, loneliness, and -the most recurring theme of the book- finding a meaning in life.

One review said that the wolf's philosophy of "everything dies and that's how it is" becomes tiring, but the point of the repetition is to show how much Fell is struggling with this dark thought. Another review says that the characters seem flat and static. I disagree sharply with this, seeing how Alina and Fell change and grow from the first page. (As I'm writing this I see I'm remaining somewhat vague, I apologize I am just trying to not give anything away while emphasizing that this book is fantastic...)

The beautiful imagery that Clement-Davies weaves through the book will definitely leave you craving more, while the characters ideas about the world will leave you questioning your own. The Sight was heartbreaking, but Fell will break your heart in a completely different way.

Buy the book, and look past the basic storyline to see the symbolism, universal lessons in life, and beautiful imagery.

I just want to chime in on a superb read.Clement-Davies has already developed a reader base with Firebringer and The Sight,and Fell just adds to,no,exceeds his great work.I see Richard Adams,Tara Harper,and Anne McCaffery now have a peer in great story telling re.animals and our relationship to them on an intimate level.I sincerely hope that Clement-Davies has a sequel planned for Fell,and it is one of the very few novel of the genre that begs for rereading.

Fell does not stick to the same formula used in The Sight and Fire Bringer. Instead, it borrows some of the elements from these two novels, and introduces a new human element and how humans interact with nature. Fell, a wolf from The Sight, travels with Alina, a new human character. At times they split apart, and the author uses these parts to tell 2 stories, 1 of nature and 1 of humans. These stories begin to interconnect as the main characters learn more of their past, present, and future.

The novel overall was well-written, and captured the magic of nature that was missing from The Alchemists of Barbal and The Telling Pool. At long last, after 5 years, the author has written a tale that fans have been wanting to read since that last page of The Sight.

In Clement-Davies' sequel to The Sight, Fell proves itself in every way to be at least as unputdownable as its predecessor. Without going into detail about the story and run the risk of "giving anything away," Fell is a thrilling adventure about the lonely wolf, Fell, and a girl looking for answers to the visions that haunt them; and both must overcome their natures to share a journey that will bring their worlds -- animal and human -- to a greater understanding. In telling his masterful tale, Clement-Davies has created a plot that is rich with suspense, pathos, and tenderness; and has enhanced the development of characters the reader came to know (or hate) in The Sight (e.g., Huttser, Palla, Kar, and Morgra to a name a few), as well as introduced several new unforgettable characters. Fell is more than just an excellent book -- it is an excellent reading experience. In reading this book it is important to keep in mind that the book is at least just as much about the new human character, Alina, and her quest to find her real family, as it is about what Fell's life has been like in the years since he left his pack in The Sight. As you'll see from other reviews, some readers are disappointed because they feel the book focuses more on the adventures of Alina and not enough about Fell; whom they perceive of as having a more secondary role in the book. In my opinion, Fell is clearly the dominant character and Clement-Davies' has made the mysterious black wolf a character that will live on in readers' memories for many years to come. If you're like me when you Fell, you'll find yourself filled with joy and with pain as you feel that you are right there with Fell and Alina as they go through their incredible journey, both together and separately. I very highly recommend Fell, which should have wide appeal across age and intellectual levels. If you've read The Sight, do yourself a favor and put Fell high up on your reading list. If you haven't read The Sight, definitely read it first and then read Fell. You'll thank yourself for doing so.

I had been a huge fan of his previous novel The Sight, but I found nothing but disappointment in its sequel.

The premise was seductive enough. Fell, the darker and misunderstood wolf, searching for his redemption. Oh, it had me interested without even reading the full summary! I excitedly began reading and immediately noticed that Clement-Davies' writing style, while very much the same, had greatly improved with wider diction and better control over the language. (They were elements sorely missing from The Sight.) However, the plot was not nearly as engrossing as the first novel.

Considering the title of the novel was Fell, I expected it to focus greatly on the wolf himself, however, it usually deviated to the affair of humans. Perhaps it would have been alright in small intervals, but after experiencing the romance of the wolf and their "culture," I wanted more and was not given hardly any in this sequel. The romance in the novel between the humans was childish, something I'd read in middle school, and at best, clumsy. I grew bored with the book quickly as it focused more and more on this girl who had all these amazing powers and abilities out of nowhere that the mysticism was quickly lost to me and instead, I was searching for more parts with Fell.

In the end, the plot was too much of a turn-off and I gave up on the book almost at the very end. And it's rare when a book can make me do that.

Well after having finished up my review of The Sight, I came to learn of a sequel and eagerly ordered it from Amazon. I was really looking forward to reading more about the characters that I had fallen in love with in the first novel and was curious as to what more there could be to the story.

While my initial reaction to this book was excitement, I quickly found myself to be struggling through this sequel. In fact I ended up reading it on and off for several months (which is not something uncommon to my reading habits) but still did not bode well with what I had thought would be a quick read considering my love of The Sight.

Tonally this book felt different from the beginning, and I found the writing to be not nearly as engaging as its predecessor, but the characters did shine through and kept me interested enough to see where the story would lead me. There were a few key scenes that stood out, but my largest disappointment was the focus on the human characters. Especially in the second act, where Fell who should have been the lead character in the book, took a back seat to Alina, who Clement-Davies reminds us goes by a list of different last names throughout the novel. This became tiresome very quickly and with fantasy I find it to be very annoying to have to remember several names for one character. (This is also one of my gripes about The Lord of the Rings Trilogy as well.) It can be affective and give credibility to a fictional world, but when repeated endlessly, it becomes a bit insulting to the reader.

But after having established the humans by the end of the second act, we get back to Fell and the wolves (who are far better written and realistic) and see their lives as time has passed since the first story. The joy of this title really comes in the last third of the book, and if you are a fan of The Sight, and can make it that far into the story, it REALLY pays off. To his credit, I have to say that not many authors are willing to kill off characters, and though he sometimes deals the death stroke in not so in pleasant, or peaceful ways but when he does Clement-Davies does it with superb grace and emotional impact without being cliched or overly sentimental.

Clements strengths come to the forefront again and he ties in all of the plot points and characters (some unexpected ones that I had forgotten about from the first novel as well) in a way that I didn't see coming. This was where my enjoyment of this story came. Where The Sight was predictable in it's twist (and I loved it none-the less because it was so beautifully written), Fell surprised me in the execution of the climax. It was here that we were treated to what I loved so much about the first book. Epic struggles with realistic characters and vivid descriptions, culminating in a well worth reading story.

For fans of The Sight, I highly recommend this title, if only for the way we are given a proper farewell to the characters and the way Clement-Davies ties his themes of humanity and nature into one cohesive, yet complicated destiny.

To begin, I must say that "The Sight" is one of my favorite books of all time, and so had very high expectations when I began "Fell." Unfortunately, the book does not quite live up to its predecessor. The book follows the black wolf Fell as he assists a young girl Alina, whose survival is somehow caught up that of nature's. While helping Alina Fell is forced to confront the darker side of his being once more as he attempts to find resolution for the past. Alina, who initially has no idea of her true value, is young and spirited and is seeking to find her true identity that has been hidden for so long.
The story has enough potential, but Clement-Davis fails to present the masterful storytelling he did with "The Sight." The dialogue is awkward and stiff most of the time, especially with the humans. Compensating for this are the frequent interludes into Fell's mind, which provide plenty of philosophical insight and stream of consciousness narrative. The difficult chapters with the humans juxtaposed with the thoughtful scenes with the wolf highly contrast to the point where all I wanted to do was to read about Fell, though Alina was very enjoyable.
The plot was much more predictable than I have experienced with Clement-Davis' other novels. I was entirely unsurprised at the ending and probably could have guessed it by the third chapter. At times the book also became overly sentimental and maudlin, particularly at the end and some scenes with the humans. I find it ironic that Davis seems to have no problem conveying the emotions and dialogue of wolves, and yet when it comes to humans he is unable to continue the fluidity and continuity of the story.
That said, this book presents a strong departure from many mainstream titles today in terms of characterization and philosophical insight. If "The Sight" had not been so wonderful, I probably would have thought much more highly of "Fell." I also would not recommend this book to someone who has not read "The Sight," as the many characters and plot details would be very confusing without it. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting and thoughtful book, but caution them that it is not nearly as masterful as "The Sight."

I bought this book a little while ago, as Clement-Davies was an instant favorite of mine after reading of "Fire Bringer". Unfortunately this book lacks the "oomph" of Clement-Davies previous works like "Fire Bringer" and "The Sight". At times the book seemed to be dragging along, with no particular direction. Also, Clement-Davies completely brought in the human element in this book, opting for one of the main characters to be human instead of just a mysterious figure on the sidelines. This is of course, merely comparing "Fell" to his completely anthropomorphic books, as I've never read "Telling Pool". I think, in "Fell", Clement-Davies attempted to combine his animals and his humans in close quarters for the entirety of the book, which I think had a detrimental effect on the book on the whole.

The book seemed forced at times, lacked direction, and it seemed Davies himself struggled to keep his characters true to the originals.

I was disappointed by this book, and I will stick to his earlier works.

This is a great book... his best ever so far. This is one of those stories that would make a great movie.