Official Review: Darkness Falling by Mark Franzosa

[Scorsee]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Darkness Falling" by Mark Franzosa.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Darkness Falling is Mark Franzosa’s first novel and an excellent starting point for this burgeoning author. Set in a world where magic, fantastic beings, and ancient stories live, I found this book drawing me in from the beginning to the end. The story focuses on two characters, Sart and Selene. Sart is a human from the western continent who has had many negative experiences with his peers and after an attempt to help a young girl turns for the worst, Sart escapes from his town and vows revenge upon those that have wronged him. While navigating the forest which is unknown to him, he encounters Selene, a lovely elf who has lived in the forest throughout her life. They are given a mission to retrieve ancient artifacts from the orcs who live beyond the desert. This journey forges an alliance between the two protagonists and ignites a great power. Whether their path of vengeance strengthens or corrupts the pair is left for the reader to decide.

As I began reading this book, I found myself pulled into the story and deeply interested in the outcomes of the characters. The trials and tribulations that Sart and Selene encounter are just what any fan of fantasy books would enjoy. The descriptions of the events and the surroundings are carefully cultivated to illicit a clear sketch for the reader to build upon with their imagination. In addition, the author carefully creates culturally specific ways of differentiating the different races of beings which set this book in its own unique world.

Franzosa incorporates many different fantastical creatures including orcs, dragons, elves, vampires, and dwarves. The characteristics of each race of being are carefully noted and their traits are consistently expressed throughout the story. Even through the dialogue it was possible to ascertain whether the person speaking was elf, human, or dwarf etc. and I found this to be positive. As each of these beings came into the story there was a certain point where I wondered if it was necessary to have so many different creatures. But as the plot played out it became apparent that they each enhance the story in an effective and worthwhile way.

While I remained hooked into the story as it progressed, by the end I found myself grappling with the seemingly abrupt changes to Sart and Selene’s demeanors. The balance between the characteristics of Sart and Selene worked well in the first three quarters of the book and they seemed to create an engaging focus for the reader. Sart starts with a well-founded desire for revenge in the first chapters but I felt that these intentions became clouded by last portions of the book. Additionally, the foundation upon which the main characters were built was not a strong as it could have been. While the author gives some background to each of his protagonists there seemed to be gaps that could have been better filled with explanations of their pasts to help flesh out their character development. These are not serious issues that prevent the reader from enjoying the dynamic and creative plot, but I did find that they did detract from the main characters enough to be noted.

Overall, I think this is a book that can appeal to anyone who enjoys fantasy, especially those who have a pension for magical settings with a touch of medieval European concepts. While I found the plot to be creative and the story enticing I found some issue with the development of the main characters. I would give this book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars for these reasons. This is only the first book telling the story of Sart and Selene and I look forward to reading the next installment.

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Darkness Falling
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[miapapaya]

Love this review! It gives me a great information on the content and subject of the book as well as an in depth look into the reviewers opinion. Very helpful insight! I look forward to seeing her other reviews!

[TammyO]

Nice review Scorcee. You really made me want to read this one. Hopefully, the second installment will deliver on the character development that was lacking in this one.

[Scorsee]

Love this review! It gives me a great information on the content and subject of the book as well as an in depth look into the reviewers opinion. Very helpful insight! I look forward to seeing her other reviews!

Thank you!

-- 07 May 2015, 16:50 --

Nice review Scorcee. You really made me want to read this one. Hopefully, the second installment will deliver on the character development that was lacking in this one.

Thank you, TammyO! I'm glad you enjoyed my review. I also look forward to seeing how the author handles the characters in the second book.

[bookowlie]

Nice review. The subject matter sounds fascinating.

[Scorsee]

Nice review. The subject matter sounds fascinating.

Thank you! It's definitely worth a read