But I’ll write a review that’s double the length of my normal ones. Watch me.
Hey, all, it’s Alexa! Long time, no see! 😉 Honestly, it’s still probably going to be a while before I’m back to blogging consistently, but I had to come out of the woodwork to talk about what has become one of the most-anticipated series endings in the history of ever for me, The Chronicles of Fallhallow: Bane of the Dragon King.
Description from Author’s Website:
Fallhollow is at war. The sudden deaths of the only two heirs that could have saved it has plunged the entire land into chaos. Despite all the magic thrown at him, the Dragon King still lives. Hope for any sort of victory seems faint until Charlotte discovers a secret that could change the course of history.
Armed with the power to set things right, Charlotte embarks on a perilous journey with the sly and cunning Prince Izmayel Ascatar Venniver IV, Lord of the peaceful Edryd dragons. But her journey of peace is thwarted, and Hirth’s most fearsome enemy plans to use Charlotte to destroy the kingdom and claim the universe as his own.
As Fallhollow and the Kingdom of Hirth descend into a battlefield of bloodshed and death, David, Trog, and the warriors of Hirth march toward war with an impossible plan to bring down the Dragon King, destroy his armies, and return the kingdom to its former glory.
All they need is a little faith, a few extraordinary surprises, and a lot of magic of the most unexpected, generous kind.
Bane of the Dragon King is the final dramatic and magnificent conclusion to the Chronicles of Fallhollow trilogy.
Plot:
After the CLIFFHANGER ending to the last one, I gotta say, I expected this to be nonstop action, just one battle after another until we hit the climax. But instead, the beginning of this book is much more emotional. These characters have been through just about everything that is horrible, and the first section of the story has them coming face to face with their ordeals, fighting through the terror and the turmoil, and choosing how they’re going to allow these past horrors to affect their future choices. Even though it wasn’t what I expected, it was powerful. The emotions are raw and intense, they punch you in every feel; and the tension in each scene, battle or not, is stretched to the breaking point. As far as things actually happening, the beginning is kinda slow, and I could’ve done with a little more action and a little less angst, but hard emotions and complex questions have always gotten a lot of page-time in the series, and the real-life issues that make you think have always been one of the things I’ve loved most about it.
Also, in the beginning, we finally get answers to the big questions that have plagued the kids throughout the entire series! And I’m glad that we got them (clearly), but at the same time, some of the answers seemed a little too contrived. I will not give spoilers, but I will say that the way some of it came together seemed a little too convenient. For instance, some characters are given incredible power—in the explanation scenes and others—but these powers don’t return or have as much use later in the story as they could. So, I do wish that things like that had been tied together a little better, but I am glad that the adults were FINALLY honest with the children and that everyone had the answers they needed to actually take on the big bad dragon.
Anyways, once the issues had been sorta-kinda, more-or-less patched up and the final clash occurred—it was precisely as powerful and action-packed as I thought it would be. I will not give spoilers (IT’S SO HARD THOUGH, I WANNA TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK. *stuffs sock into spoilery mouth*), but the battle was wicked epic! ALL OF THE (living) PEOPLES FROM PAST BOOKS came back, which I loved. Everyone they had met along the way tied in in some way to the final fight, and that was just amazing to read. There is also sufficient villain buttkicking—as well as the realization of what that kind of battle does to oneself, both on the side of the good and the side of the bad. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to see a villain get beat and I’m never gonna not want that—but I also think it’s important to have stories that remind us that war is not a good thing, and the goal should be to finish and forgive, not strike back in revenge. We need stories that remind us of the depths of what is occurring in those scenes, and the need to absolutely never do more than is absolutely necessary.
As far as the ending… it shocked me. I really can’t say anymore than that. I wish things had turned out differently and I don’t like all the choices made, but there is still a lot of sweetness in the final scenes. I adore the characters and I wish them the best.
Plot: 3 ½ stars out of 5
Characters:
As I said before, the characters spend a lot of time dealing with the trauma from the last two books. A lot of them are broken and desperate and afraid, and it’s hard to see them like that. It comes out in different ways, but for some, they’re raw, they’re wounded, and they’ll flip to fury on a dime. Sometimes it seemed like they didn’t remember who they were and there were certainly scenes when I didn’t like that change; but at the same time, for some of them, it did make sense because of the enormity of what they have seen and endured. For better or for worse, going through something like that changes people, and that struggle and trauma is a lot of what this story is about.
Now to speak individually about my favorites:
David: MY BOY. MY PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL, GROWNUP, MATURE, AND BRILLIANT BOY. I don’t have words for how proud I am of this boy. Just thinking of how he was when the series started (not that he was bad, he was just very different) and then reading the final pages of this book and seeing how far he’s come and how much he’s grown, it just aghhghg!! There’s a depth and a strength to him that wasn’t there before, as though those moments on the battlefield gave him a power and a clarity that just revolutionized him and shoved him into manhood. I guess it probably built on everything that had happened throughout the past two books, but in this one, you get to see the fullness and fulfillment of his journey. He puts the world ahead of himself and sets aside all his deepest desires to fight for a people that dragged him out of his normal life and tossed him into a living nightmare. The moments when he doesn’t mouth off and he does do the hard thing when he doesn’t have to, that’s when I see all that he has become. I adore his relationship with Charlotte, the way he cherishes her. I adore the way he fights, the way he steps up to protect those who can’t protect themselves. I adore those moments where he does something hard to help his friends even when they shove him away. I’m just so proud of him, I don’t even have the words to say how much.
(yet I wrote a whole paragraph, whoops)
Charlotte: Charlotte’s role is significantly different here than in the past books. She was always a main character, but in this one, she takes center stage. The last two books were David’s toil to accept his place in this great big mess; this book is hers. She struggles. She fails. She makes some dumb mistakes. She’s real spitfire and sometimes she lets it out on the wrong people. But then she accepts, she grows, she learns, and she makes the biggest changes. When push comes to shove, she recognizes what must be done but does not compromise her principles. She finds a way to do both: to stand for her beliefs and save the world at the same time. I didn’t 100% agree with her, but I do respect that.
I’d love to talk to you about the villain but I can’t because spoilers. He’s evil. Like, he’s really evil. I hate his guts. But even he had his lesson to teach and questions to prompt, and that’s one of the thought-provoking and unique things about this story.
Characters: 4 stars out of 5.
Writing Style/Setting:
As before, the writing is incredibly descriptive. Every scene, you’re right there. You’re in the moment with the character as they stumble down the hall of a magnificent castle; as their heart screams in the night, wrestling under the weight of their duty and their pain; as they come face to face with finality and struggle to make the choices that decide the fate of a world. Every moment next to them, the reader is right there.
The one big issue I have with the writing is the dialogue: as I’ve mentioned in past reviews, it’s absolute fire in the other two books, but in this one, it does lack some of their personality. It’s not quite bland, but it’s also not as full as before. The sarcasm and wit are replaced with a heaviness that, though understandable, didn’t always feel like the characters I knew.
Writing Style/Setting: 4 stars out of 5.
Altogether, we come in at 4 stars out of 5. Honestly, this ending is not what I expected and I didn’t always understand what the book was trying to be; but as the end came around, I began to see how it all fit together. And for all the times I yelled at the them (and literally every other character in the book), I loved taking the ride with Charlotte, David, and the rest and I will cherish these characters forever. ❤ If you’d like to pick up a copy for yourself, IT COMES OUT TODAY and you can purchase it on Amazon for $15.29.
What big series endings are you anticipating? Read one lately that just left you reeling? Can’t wait to hear from you, and I will see you in the comment section!
~ Love, Alexa ❤
Note: I voluntarily and honestly reviewed a free ecopy of this book.
Content Warnings: some language, intense descriptions of violence.
Lessons and Values: Forgiveness. The Pricelessness of love. The importance of family. Dealing with grief. The horrors of war. Personal Responsibility. Selflessness. The nature of choices and of freedom.