Jennifer Fallon

Reunion by Jennifer Fallon is the third book in the Rift Runners trilogy. You can read my review of the second book, The Dark Divide, but unfortunately I read the first book, The Undivided, before I started blogging. This review, by the way, contains only minor spoilers for the earlier books.

Jennifer Fallon has long been one of my favourite authors, a fact that I was strongly reminded of as I read Reunion. There is a certain amount of snarky wit to her writing that I didn't realise I had show more missed until I came back to it. A small example:

...in prison, as in great literature, it is much more effective to show than tell.

Clearly, I should read Jennifer Fallon books more often; they used to be on my re-read rotation, before I moved to a different continent to most of my books and also became a book-blogger.

Whereas The Dark Divide picked up quite soon after The Undivided left of, Reunion starts after a three year gap. That and the real-world eighteen month gap since I read the previous book left me slightly disoriented at first, but I quickly remembered who everyone was and why, and was soon able to get on with enjoying the book.

The main thrust of the story in Reunion deals with Ren and friends trying to stop the Matrachaí from killing all the magical creatures in all the parallel dimensions and worse. Of course, as soon as they think they know how to fix everything, something else goes horribly wrong. It's hard to get more specific about the plot without spoilers, unfortunately.

One of the things I've always thought Fallon did quite well is write complexly motivated characters. Not only that, but the way she weaves their story lines together to form an intricate web is masterful. At every turn each character does the thing that absolutely seems most right to them in the situation but that has ramifications they could not have predicted. Generally rather entertaining ones.

The ending of Reunion was satisfying but left some threads open to follow on in a potential subsequent series (but not a cliff-hanger, fear not). I hope there will be more books at some point, but I don't mind waiting (especially since the next Fallon series coming is a sequel to the Demonchild Trilogy and Hythrun Chronicles).

In short, Reunion was an excellent read, as has been the entire Rift Runners series. It's not the kind of series you can read out of order, so if you haven't read the other books, I strongly suggest starting with The Undivided. To readers who have enjoyed the earlier books, this is a no brainer. Readers new to Fallon's work will find this series a less epic fantasy introduction to her works, since it's set partly in our world.

5 / 5 stars

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. show less

This is the last exhilarating book in the exciting Second Sons Trilogy.
Dirk’s Machiavellian plan is now well in play. The skill with which this nineteen year old manipulates pretty much everyone around him is amazing. He totally deceives king Antonov, a man more than twice his age; even those closest to him find it hard to believe he has not deserted them and gone over to the dark side. But Dirk is a man with a plan - he is ruthless because he can't see any other way of freeing the show more kingdom of Dhevyn or doing away with the evil cult of the Shadowdancers who use their religion to commit heinous acts.
All the clues laid down in the earlier books come together here. The characters also continue to grow. I was delighted with Neris’s role in this book; and despaired at his final gesture. Misha developed from a cipher to an engaging young man who will no doubt be a responsible and caring ruler. I was pleased to see the shrill edges smoothed a little from Tia and Maquel. Both had the potential to be the two least engaging females I’ve come across in fantasy worlds in a long time.
There’s something a bit out of the ordinary in this trilogy, which only occurred to me some time after I put down Lord of the Shadows. After reading over 1500 pages of this series, there had only been two scenes of battle, and both of those had been very small. The only "magic" was a trick played on everybody in the kingdom. The entire Second Sons trilogy was a story of political intrigue on a grand scale and I enjoyed every line of it.
It's hard to find someone who can get the finish to a trilogy just right, but Fallon has it down pat. She delivers an electrifying tale that will has me thirsting for her next novel. show less

As with most good character driven fantasy, this book will take you on an emotional roller coaster ride of grand proportions. There is tragedy that is painful beyond imagining, there is love and loyalty that knows no boundaries and there are triumphs both heartwarming and bittersweet. That just covers the good guys. The other side of the coin covers every degree of evil from morally disgusting to blatantly cruel with a bit of true insanity and misguided loyalty thrown in to even things out. show more Talk about your page turner! Add in some unexpected twists, and political intrigue that makes Nixon look like a rank amateur and you have a book you just cannot put down. Gone is the occasional slow pacing of book one, this book just flies by!

Full Review Here:
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards show less

(Third of 3: Second Sons trilogy. Fantasy)

The third and final instalment of Fallon's Second Sons, which focuses on Dirk Provin, the second son of the Duke of Elcast, and to a lesser extent Kirshov Latanya, the second and favoured son of Antonov, the Lion of Senet. The kingdom of Senet holds the kingdom of Dhevyn - of which Elcast is part - and the boys are first cousins through their mothers. Dirk, whose ambition had been to become a physician and heal people, is now unwillingly embroiled in show more politics because of Antonov's plans for him. However, Antonov is a fanatical follower of the cult of Shadowdancers which was created by their High Priestess Belagren to further her bid for power. One of her Shadowdancers is Marqel, an otherwise nameless Landfall bastard with whom Prince Kirsh is besotted, who will use any influence she can to claw her way to a position of greater security than she has heretofore enjoyed.

Dirk has also been recognised as a mathematical genius and the only other person apart from Neris Veran, who predicted the emergence of the second son from behind the first which 'miracle' Belagren used to found her cult. He plans to use the information to bring down the cult and end the rites she and her cronies created to perpetuate it which spread misery amongst the people of Senet and now Dhevyn. Marqel, while not as clever as Belagren, is just as ambitious and can see her way to using the same lies to climb to power, using anyone she can as she goes. Dirk has to manipulate these personalities and incorporate them into his grand plan to save the world, having to think on his feet when some of them have their own ideas. He is fortunate that the people who love him best trust him, even when it looks like he has betrayed them in a game they don't understand as he plays his cards close to his chest in an attempt to protect them.

While we don't see much of Kirsh, two characters we haven't seen much of before become major players in this book. One of them is Misha, Kirsh's older brother who is referred to as the Crippled Prince as his left side is weaker than his right due to a stroke in childhood.

The book rolls along at a rollicking pace and had me hooked, although I felt it tapered off a bit after the major religious event in the middle. Most people get their 'happily ever after's but some don't. The ending is quite satisfactory while indicating that life still goes on.

I found the entire trilogy gripping and I must admit to curiosity about the ruins at Omaxin, which indicate that the history of this world is linked to the future of our Earth. Worth hunting down.

"...Dear Goddess! What else is there left to do?"

"I want to find out if lions are real," he said.

I have to say I was disappointed that I couldn't get this last book of the trilogy with a similar cover to my first two. I really like the artwork on those, by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law.

4.5 stars **** show less