Review of The Shade of Highfall
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DannyFrankland
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- Latest Review: The Shade of Highfall by Mark O'Dell
Review of The Shade of Highfall
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Shade of Highfall" by Mark O'Dell.]
Mark O’Dell’s The Shade of Highfall really is quite the impressive debut novel. As another fantasy entry in a sea of thousands, it’s fair to say the odds are stacked against up-and-coming authors, yet here O’Dell sticks the landing with a convincing attack on the genre. We as readers follow Shrew, our teen protagonist, as she’s enslaved to work indefinitely in the sewers beneath Highfall. When she comes across an artefact that appears to hold great power, however, Shrew sees her opportunity to escape the slums - but does the artefact have other ideas?
O’Dell’s mastery of structure is immediately obvious, the book paced evenly across four story arcs before coming to it’s conclusion. Whilst it falls prey to many of fantasy’s genre tropes, the strength of the writing and characterisation prevents it from feeling too cliché. Secondary characters such as Waylon and Dardalloy are reasonably well constructed and feel true to life, but it’s Shrew who steals the show here - from beginning to end we’re made to empathise with her plight, whilst her resilience and humour prevent the story following to far into the grimdark. O’Dell isn’t afraid to get gritty on occasions, with themes of slavery and betrayal hitting particularly hard and tugging at the reader’s heartstrings.
That’s not to say that The Shade of Highfall is perfect, of course - debuts rarely are. Whilst O’Dell’s strengths lay with his pacing, structure and characterisation, on occasion he leans too heavily into descriptive prose without considering whether said prose is actively aiding his storytelling. At times I couldn’t help but feel that dialogue felt overly simplistic, especially in contrast to the extensive world-building on offer. Certain elements of the story are left unexplained, presumably to be expanded upon in a potential sequel, and whilst that’s to be expected, in doing so O’Dell deprives the reader of context around the cast’s actions in places.
In summary, O’Dell’s debut is absolutely a success. The plot captures and maintains the reader’s attention throughout, packed with sufficient twists and turns to keep you guessing. Shrew is an excellent protagonist, in terms of both her characterisation and her existence as a female-protagonist in a genre that sees too few. O’Dell’s world comes to life, fully realised in the strength of his writing. If in his sequel he’s able to balance the density of his prose with deeper characterisation and better contextualise sequences then he’s on to a winner.The Shade of Highfall absolutely earns it’s 3 out of 4 stars, and credit should be given to the quality of his team’s editing, with not a single error jumping out at me.
Mark O’Dell earns his place on any fantasy fan’s shelf, and you’d be remiss not give this novel a shot. If you’re a fan of the likes of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law or Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora then you should love this jaunt through the city of Highfall.
******
The Shade of Highfall
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mark O’Dell’s The Shade of Highfall really is quite the impressive debut novel. As another fantasy entry in a sea of thousands, it’s fair to say the odds are stacked against up-and-coming authors, yet here O’Dell sticks the landing with a convincing attack on the genre. We as readers follow Shrew, our teen protagonist, as she’s enslaved to work indefinitely in the sewers beneath Highfall. When she comes across an artefact that appears to hold great power, however, Shrew sees her opportunity to escape the slums - but does the artefact have other ideas?
O’Dell’s mastery of structure is immediately obvious, the book paced evenly across four story arcs before coming to it’s conclusion. Whilst it falls prey to many of fantasy’s genre tropes, the strength of the writing and characterisation prevents it from feeling too cliché. Secondary characters such as Waylon and Dardalloy are reasonably well constructed and feel true to life, but it’s Shrew who steals the show here - from beginning to end we’re made to empathise with her plight, whilst her resilience and humour prevent the story following to far into the grimdark. O’Dell isn’t afraid to get gritty on occasions, with themes of slavery and betrayal hitting particularly hard and tugging at the reader’s heartstrings.
That’s not to say that The Shade of Highfall is perfect, of course - debuts rarely are. Whilst O’Dell’s strengths lay with his pacing, structure and characterisation, on occasion he leans too heavily into descriptive prose without considering whether said prose is actively aiding his storytelling. At times I couldn’t help but feel that dialogue felt overly simplistic, especially in contrast to the extensive world-building on offer. Certain elements of the story are left unexplained, presumably to be expanded upon in a potential sequel, and whilst that’s to be expected, in doing so O’Dell deprives the reader of context around the cast’s actions in places.
In summary, O’Dell’s debut is absolutely a success. The plot captures and maintains the reader’s attention throughout, packed with sufficient twists and turns to keep you guessing. Shrew is an excellent protagonist, in terms of both her characterisation and her existence as a female-protagonist in a genre that sees too few. O’Dell’s world comes to life, fully realised in the strength of his writing. If in his sequel he’s able to balance the density of his prose with deeper characterisation and better contextualise sequences then he’s on to a winner.The Shade of Highfall absolutely earns it’s 3 out of 4 stars, and credit should be given to the quality of his team’s editing, with not a single error jumping out at me.
Mark O’Dell earns his place on any fantasy fan’s shelf, and you’d be remiss not give this novel a shot. If you’re a fan of the likes of Joe Abercrombie’s First Law or Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora then you should love this jaunt through the city of Highfall.
******
The Shade of Highfall
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Shade of Highfall by Mark O'Dell
