‘The Faithful and the Fallen’ Read Along – Introduction

Fellow fans of the fantastical written word, welcome!

On Monday the 21^st of September I began a read along of my favourite series, The Faithful and the Fallen. Anyone who has spent more than two minutes in my company will have no doubt heard me bellowing the brilliance of this series.

Ordinarily I can finish a book, tell a few people what I thought of it, thank the author (through Social Media, if I can) and write a review – since I figured out Goodreads! Every now and then though, you come across a book that appears to have been written for you: it has all your favourite ingredients and you just cannot tear your eyes away from it. Do you have one? Well, I’m sure you see where I’m going with this… For me, Malice (book one of The Faithful and the Fallen) is that book and I’d like to share it with you. Here’s the blurb:

A black sun is rising … Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will come all too soon. Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of courage.

The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars.

High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust.

Before we go any further, I would like to say something about how approaching Malice. I think there is an opinion nowadays that a book has to grab you straight away: the first chapter, first page. Indeed, I’ve heard some agents/authors say the first sentence! Well, Malice has a slower start than some, but don’t be fooled by that. Once it gets under way all you can do to hang on, because the book’s current will drag you through the weighty tome, robbing you of every spare moment you have (and probably many you don’t!). Oh, and if you think that the end of Malice is epic, then just wait until you get through book two…

On that note, I should let you know that three books in the series have currently been released: Malice, Valour and Ruin. Wrath is to be released next year, completing the story. This readalong is set to cover the three books released so far and be ready to continue onto book four upon its release.

I decided to start this read along for a number of reasons, the main one being that I don’t think there is quite enough awareness about The Faithful And The Fallen yet – it has enjoyed some good successes, but I don’t think it has been read by as many people as it should have. Connected to this reasoning, it seems that although a lot of people have the books or know about them (I know because I frequently see them saying: ‘I’ve heard good things about it’ or ‘I really need to get reading that’), they’ve not quite built up the required motivation to start on a series of such long books. Finally, I wanted a place where fans of the series could read along together and share their thoughts on the books as they make their way through it.

I have tried to make the read along as interactive and user friendly as possible so the way it works is we break the book (as I said above, it’s large) into quarters. I have given each quarter two weeks as I know some people struggle to get time with family and work commitments so hopefully keeping up will be no problem. To ensure those of us that digest books in seconds are happy too, I’ve given each chapter its own thread. Be warned: as this series has multiple POVs, there will be a LOT of them 🙂

It is my aim to go through all three books and lose a few hours to decent conversation with your good selves. The link to my Goodreads fan page is:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/169010-the-faithful-and-the-fallen

The Fantasy Faction forum link for general chat about the read along can be found at:
http://fantasy-faction.com/forum/read-alongs/the-faithful-and-the-fallen-read-along/

At the end of each book the author has very kindly agreed to do a Q&A, so it is a brilliant opportunity to get some great insights into what created the banished lands.

Finally can I give a big thank you to Marc Aplin and all the staff at the Fantasy Faction for their help and allowing us to use this brilliant forum to spread the word.

Hope you join us! 🙂

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