Paperback, 916 Pages
Adult/ Epic Fantasy
By: Ryan Cahill
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 1/2
“Besides, there is nothing more important in the darkness than a ray of light.”
The Fall ★★★★
Of Blood and Fire ★★★★
Of Darkness and Light ★★★★ 1/2
Ryan Cahill understood the assignment! Second books are a really scary experience for authors specially those who have a successful first book in the series because the second book may make or break the whole series and Cahill outdid himself with the entry.
Let me start by the outside which is neat, the production quality is very high and I love the simplistic and matching designs of the covers. Then we go into the story itself and there is a map and there is a summary for the first novel and novella (Authors who do this are simply the best) and not only that but there is a glossary too at the end and a few illustrations by Ryan’s brother inside just like in book one.
“Risks should always be taken, for nothing is gained when nothing is risked, and preparedness was the key to a successfully taken risk.”
Risks were indeed taken with this book and the bar raised a lot for me now. The story continues after the events of the first book so if you read that book you know we were left with a bit of a cliffhanger and this starts with an epic war that sucks the reader right into the story. The book is a big one coming around 900 pages so that war is only a small part because there are many threads and it was just amusing to follow them all.
I highlighted a ton of quotes and if you know me then you know I am not easy to please but Cahill just knows the way to my heart (It may have to do with white chocolate) and the prose was just so darn beautiful and felt natural. I had an unlucky streak lately with a few novels were the dialogue was very weird but this was not the case here at all.
“Your power is raw, but your potential is vast. I would not have sponsored you if that were not the case. All swords were once scraps of metal buried in the earth, waiting to be forged.”
The book follows many characters and I loved the icons at the beginning of each chapter because each thread have its own icon which made it easier knowing which story line we are continuing without even starting it. We have Calen, his sister Ella, Farda, Rist, Aeson and Dayne. I can’t say I had a favorite POV because Cahill made it so easy to care about them all and it was balanced in a way that the transitions between them was so smooth and effortless.
The world-building gets better too which is no surprise at this point. I love the Dragons and all of the different creatures in the story. I love the magic and the battles and I had tons of fun just continuously checking the map to see where every character was and where they are in comparison to each other. I have to admit that the map sometimes feels a bit too detailed so finding a certain place is hard even if I know where I should be looking. This level of immersion in the story reminds me of Gwynne’s writing style which I really love too.
“It is true, brother. Books are not a complete history. They are only the history people chose to record.”
Summary: This was close to perfection and a sure step up from book one. The prose is immaculate, the characters are very well written and the plot and magic system are also very good. I already bought The Exile which I am super excited about and it goes without saying that I will be looking forward for the rest of the series.
The book prescription 