The Fallen, by Lee French and Erik Kort

This week we are going deep into a character study, set in an amazing post-apocalyptic world, where magic and mayhem are as natural as breathing. The Fallen, by indie authors Lee French and Erik Kort is one of the better books I've read so far this year.

But first, THE BLURB:
For hundreds of years, the Blaukenev clan has wandered across Tilzam, from one end to the other and back. Each wagon carries history, love, laughter, pain, sorrow, and secrets. Their greatest secret of all may be Chavali, the clan Seer.

Spirits claim/use/save/damn her.

With her gift/curse, nothing surprises her anymore, no one keeps secrets from her. She, on the other hand, has more than enough secrets to keep. Secrets of her own, secrets of her clan, secrets of the world, secrets she even keeps from herself.

There are always people who want secrets.
Some will do anything to get what they want.

The Fallen is the foundation of the story of The Greatest Sin, of a world adrift from its God that desperately wants Her back. Chavali's comfortable, predictable life will be ripped apart and burnt to ashes as she's forced into the middle of that struggle. Change, she hates it passionately. It hates her right back.

MY REVIEW:

Chavali is flat out an awesome character. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to smack her as I read this story. She is feisty and full of passion, stubborn and wrong-headed at times. The Blaukenev clan is unique, joyous and full of life, an enclosed nomadic society that lives in the world and yet outside it at the same time. Their passion for life leaps off the pages.

The contrast between the two societies that Chavali finds herself living in is night and day. In both societies she is forever apart from the rest, both because of her gift and because she is something entirely separate--Blaukenev, and later, Fallen, and a seer cursed with a gift she has little control over.

This is not a romance, though there are tender moments, this is not a book of battles, although there are plenty of those. This is a book about the human journey of life and death that one woman experiences, and it is gripping.

The greatest accolade I can give any story is to say I didn't want it to end. The sequel to this book is due out on October 27, and I intend to be there to get my copy.