Following the death of the God-King, the once-great empire of Artalon is facing dark times (both figuratively and literally) as the runes of Karanos fail, sending the once organized people into chaos. Meanwhile, across the realm new seelie are being discovered, all painfully beautiful children of Graelyn the Archdragon. Each of these new-born seelie carries with them memories of the fallen Otherworld of their ancestors. These memories bounce between burden and blessing but undeniably set these seelie apart from the sidhe (elves) and mark them as incredibly important to the future of Artalon. LIGHTFALL introduces several such seelie, though focuses on Aradma who seems likely to become the leader of her race as the series continues. Throughout LIGHTFALL Aradma meets a cast of diverse characters. Some are quickly introduced and abandoned (at least for now, it is only the first book in a trilogy), while others stick with the plot.
While the existence of so many developed characters surely shows Lewis’s talent as a writer, at times it also makes the novel incredibly confusing. There are more than a few characters who are heavily developed at the start and then abandoned throughout the rest of the novel. This can be confusing at times as it’s hard to tell which characters are the ones to truly invest in. Perhaps all of these characters will reappear later in the series, at which point a brief re-introduction will definitely be needed. In fact, it seems as though LIGHTFALL itself could be split neatly into two books, one chronicling Aradma’s time with the Vemnai and the next chronicling Eszhira (another seelie) and her struggles in Artalon. Perhaps splitting the book would lessen the confusion. Both Aradma’s love affairs with the Vemnai trolls and Eszhira’s drug-induced life are incredible standalone stories, but when put together the transition is a little bit jarring.
LIGHTFALL is not difficult to follow. It requires attention and is not a book for a casual reader. LIGHTFALL is worth the investment. Lewis has created a rich world and the main fault is that he wishes to share everything with the reader rather than limiting his work to what’s strictly relevant to the plot. There might be too many characters at times, but overall it is an incredibly rich story.
In LIGHTFALL, Lewis has begun what is sure to be an incredible trilogy with a cast of characters that feel worthy of a reader’s attention.
~IndieReader.