Reign of the Fallen was one of my favorite books last month. This book was released in January, but I didn’t have a chance to read sooner. TBR & Beyond had this as a group read and I love participating in those. Reign of the Fallen is a book about necromancers. Did I enjoy reading this book?
Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised–the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.
A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa’s necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead–and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer’s magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?
Cover
This cover is stunning! When I was looking at the January releases, this cover was one of the first ones I noticed. Reign of the Fallen is about necromancers, so the skull makes sense.
Plot
This story was amazing! I haven’t read many stories about necromancers, but this one was amazing. Sarah Glenn Marsh created such an interesting world. This is one of the first books I have read that really gets into grief and addiction in a very realistic way. Not something I have really read in a fantasy book! Odessa’s life takes a course she never expected and the changing in her world makes her think. It seems normal to come back from the dead. But not being able to be touched our have a chance at turning evil, doesn’t sound too appealing. That made me think as well, would I want to be brought back? What is the best choice? Going and finding peace? Or coming back to your family? A big part of this book is Odessa dealing with her grief. This was done in a way that seemed so real. Her grieving also sets things up for the rest of this book. Odessa doesn’t realize at first what her group of friends is trying to do with her. When she does finally realize this and notices something is off, things get exciting and take a turn you don’t see coming. At least I didn’t. In the end, my favorite character is the bear. Everyone needs to experience this character while reading! The only reason this book didn’t get five stars is because I feel like some relationships and events were rushed near the end. All in all, an amazing book! I will be reading the second book.
Even though this book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, I am excited to see where Odessa’s story goes. From the interview I saw with the author, things are going to get pretty intense! Have you read Reign of the Fallen? What did you think?