Review of The Shade of Highfall
Posted: 07 Sep 2021, 02:15
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Shade of Highfall" by Mark O'Dell.]
“I have journeyed with you through your dreams, child. The wickedness is delightful, and you…..you are so strong.”
Here begins the tale of Shrew, the orphaned girl from the Duns, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Highfall. The imagination of the author, Mark O’Dell, created the splendour of Highfall with its various cities, lush forests and vegetation bordering it on every side. A city created by the Sylvan Fey but now overrun by humans, who are unaware of the catacombs beneath the city and the horror that lurks within. Mr. O’Dell has managed to create one of the most enigmatic stories in The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew. This book is brilliantly written with a solid storyline. All the characters are well developed and aptly appropriate for this masterpiece. He provides a refreshing outlook on adventure, war, and magic. The story draws you into the elaborate plot unfolding in this modern city with ancient magic. The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew takes place in a city on a mountain known as Dragon’s Spine, which is to the east of Swan River where trading in all things exotic take place.
The book depicts the wonderful story of Shrew, who stumbles upon an unusual artifact which astonishes her and imbues her with magical powers. The author begins by building Shrew’s character and providing readers with a sense of how she lived in the Duns. The world he created for her, depicted what seemed to her, to be an ordinary life for a girl her age, who had no one to care for her. Shrew spent most of her life living in the shadows, unseen by most. Mr. O’Dell slowly draws you into Shrew’s life and how she survived. He delved into how she developed the skill of blending into the background and remaining anonymous to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to herself over the years. She became the fearless mastermind of childish disguises that worked in her favour and allowed her to roam the streets unimpeded most of the time.
But Shrew always seemed to be hungry and it’s her attempt to quell this hunger, that got her caught up in a series of unfortunate events which eventually led to her capture and arrest. What happened next, was truly unexpected and I was taken by surprise at the artfulness of the author. He manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. After reading about Shrew’s cunning, some of the events in the story were unexpected, but did not take away from the suspense and excitement that this book created.
To escape her captors, Shrew employed the full extent of her imagination, which eventually proved to be futile. But this lavish notion of outwitting her captors only spiralled her further into a world of illegal activity, hostility, and torment. Being taken to the Low Reach in the city, inevitably led her to discover secret passages within the city’s underground sewer and the Guild of Thieves. Waylan, her new guide and mentor, taught her the secrets of the Everdark and introduced her to the greatest adventure of her life. Her new life, gift and skills took her to the different cities within Highfall that she never thought she would ever see. It is in this new world that she becomes a hero of sorts to save Highfall from the priest of the void, the commander of an army of the undead.
The author created excitement in this story from the beginning and maintained its consistency throughout the book. This is truly an original piece of work; the author’s style is exquisite. He manages to draw the reader in from the start and remained consistent with the storyline. The book maintained its crescendo while exploring the nefarious lives of the main characters.
I loved everything about this book, the characters, the author’s ability to draw readers into the story, the storyline, and the fantasy world it created for readers to feast on. I have nothing bad to say about this book. There were no negatives within this book that I can talk about. The story was masterfully written and executed. The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew is a surprise within itself, and I believe readers of all ages will enjoy this book immensely.
Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of its brilliance and the ability of the author to keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more. This body of work will be an absolute treat for lovers of fantasy novels.
******
The Shade of Highfall
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
“I have journeyed with you through your dreams, child. The wickedness is delightful, and you…..you are so strong.”
Here begins the tale of Shrew, the orphaned girl from the Duns, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Highfall. The imagination of the author, Mark O’Dell, created the splendour of Highfall with its various cities, lush forests and vegetation bordering it on every side. A city created by the Sylvan Fey but now overrun by humans, who are unaware of the catacombs beneath the city and the horror that lurks within. Mr. O’Dell has managed to create one of the most enigmatic stories in The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew. This book is brilliantly written with a solid storyline. All the characters are well developed and aptly appropriate for this masterpiece. He provides a refreshing outlook on adventure, war, and magic. The story draws you into the elaborate plot unfolding in this modern city with ancient magic. The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew takes place in a city on a mountain known as Dragon’s Spine, which is to the east of Swan River where trading in all things exotic take place.
The book depicts the wonderful story of Shrew, who stumbles upon an unusual artifact which astonishes her and imbues her with magical powers. The author begins by building Shrew’s character and providing readers with a sense of how she lived in the Duns. The world he created for her, depicted what seemed to her, to be an ordinary life for a girl her age, who had no one to care for her. Shrew spent most of her life living in the shadows, unseen by most. Mr. O’Dell slowly draws you into Shrew’s life and how she survived. He delved into how she developed the skill of blending into the background and remaining anonymous to avoid drawing any unwanted attention to herself over the years. She became the fearless mastermind of childish disguises that worked in her favour and allowed her to roam the streets unimpeded most of the time.
But Shrew always seemed to be hungry and it’s her attempt to quell this hunger, that got her caught up in a series of unfortunate events which eventually led to her capture and arrest. What happened next, was truly unexpected and I was taken by surprise at the artfulness of the author. He manages to keep you on the edge of your seat. After reading about Shrew’s cunning, some of the events in the story were unexpected, but did not take away from the suspense and excitement that this book created.
To escape her captors, Shrew employed the full extent of her imagination, which eventually proved to be futile. But this lavish notion of outwitting her captors only spiralled her further into a world of illegal activity, hostility, and torment. Being taken to the Low Reach in the city, inevitably led her to discover secret passages within the city’s underground sewer and the Guild of Thieves. Waylan, her new guide and mentor, taught her the secrets of the Everdark and introduced her to the greatest adventure of her life. Her new life, gift and skills took her to the different cities within Highfall that she never thought she would ever see. It is in this new world that she becomes a hero of sorts to save Highfall from the priest of the void, the commander of an army of the undead.
The author created excitement in this story from the beginning and maintained its consistency throughout the book. This is truly an original piece of work; the author’s style is exquisite. He manages to draw the reader in from the start and remained consistent with the storyline. The book maintained its crescendo while exploring the nefarious lives of the main characters.
I loved everything about this book, the characters, the author’s ability to draw readers into the story, the storyline, and the fantasy world it created for readers to feast on. I have nothing bad to say about this book. There were no negatives within this book that I can talk about. The story was masterfully written and executed. The Shade of Highfall: Tale of Shrew is a surprise within itself, and I believe readers of all ages will enjoy this book immensely.
Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because of its brilliance and the ability of the author to keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more. This body of work will be an absolute treat for lovers of fantasy novels.
******
The Shade of Highfall
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon