One of the elements of writing in this genre that Nix is particularly gifted at is creating original fantasies and worlds. This series is no exception. However, in comparison to some of his other works, especially The Abhorsen Trilogy, the exploration of this world and the characters within is weak at best. The story is interesting because Nix presents the audience with a new mythology, but he rushes through the plot, circumnavigating what could be some really amazing explorations of the world he’s created. As a result, it’s more difficult to imagine this parallel universe and its characters and creatures, and it doesn’t draw the reader in nearly as much as it could.This series breaks one large story into several books, and since each of these is easily around the high 100s and low 200s in page length, Nix could have spent more time giving description, metaphors, and poetic/aesthetic language to flush this world out. This would make everything significantly more engaging for the readers, and ultimately, foster growth and interest in the books, the fantasy, the world, and the characters therein. Ultimately, there’s just nothing to bite into.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

For readers like myself who find it difficult to become engaged in a story that is filled with abstract labels like "the Tower," "the Veil," and "the Chosen," the first book of the Seventh Tower series may prove to be an insurmountable citadel. Yet if such a reader allows for a bit of frustration and presses on through Chapter Zero and Chapter One, she might discover the satisfaction of having an unusually rich and intriguing new world unveil itself as the novel progresses. ( )

My book review:
http://ganimede.dreamwidth.org/10297....
*CONTAINS SPOILERS* ( )

I loved Garth Nix's Abhorsen series, and was quite excited about The Fall, the first in his new series, The Seventh Tower. The series starts with Tal, one of the Chosen, a keeper of the magical Sunstones. Everything in Tal's world revolves around light, in which the sunstones are key, and when his father disappears, along with the family's Primary Sunstone, Tal finds both his and his family's future in jeopardy. In an effort to help his family and save his ailing mother, Tal makes it his mission to get hold of a new Primary Sunstone, but any means necessary. This leads him onto a very different path in a world he didn't even know existed.

There definitely is very little time to breathe in this fast paced book (I read the entire thing in bed on Sunday morning!), but little to keep me very gripped. I did not find myself particularly interest in Tal or his family, and this kept me from caring much about whether or not he did manage to find a new sunstone. I did however, really enjoy the descriptions of shadowguards and spiritshadows, protectors and defenders, bound to serve the sunstones and their masters. And I found the idea of Selski very amusing (well I am a zoologist!)!!

I'm not sure whether I will read the next in the series, perhaps like William Nicholson's Wind on Fire trilogy, it will be the second book that gets me hooked. In the meantime, I have more than enough to read! ( )

Read my review at www.yasarah.blogspot.com ( )