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Avg. Rating: 4.5
As much as I would like to give it 5 stars...
...I'm afraid I can't quite bring myself to do that.
Simon R. Green is one of those authors who writes like few others: his plots are highly original, his characters are unique and memorable, and the dialogue is nothing short of brilliant.
Shadows Fall continues the reality established in Green's Nightside series, with mostly successful results. Like the Nightside, Shadows Fall is one of those Middle America towns that is populated by literal legends and myths, much like the gods Neil Gaiman has written of in his recent novels (beings essentially brought into reality by belief), and ordinary people who seem to have wandered into the town when they were guided by destiny's hand.
At the start of the book, a serial killer is roaming the town and striking out from the shadows. The first significant victim is known as God's Assassin and is supposedly posessed by at least a portion of the archangel Michael. Shortly after this, James Hart's return to his childhood home seems to coincide with a prophecy that nobody seems altogether too certain about.
James is only the first of a slew of main characters (something fans of the Deathstalker series will be immediately familiar with) to step into the spotlight, and each one of them is instantly likeable and, well, inherently cool. The plot starts to follow an epic path within the first 50 pages and introduces its readers to (amongst others) superheroes from cancelled comic books, a lecherous-but-loveable brotherly duo who work as gravediggers but know more than they let on about the town, a dead man who still lives with his parents, and elves who use weaponry straight out of Star Wars against psychotic Christian militiamen. As bizarre as this all sounds, it all works and ties together in ways that only Green could pull off.
The entire novel is electrifying, especially once the true evil haunting the town reveals itself, and Green's fans will most likely devour the book within a day or two. My only complaint is that all the plot's conflicts are resolved within, literally, the final 2 or 3 pages. As much as I hate to say this, it seems that Green painted himself into a corner in regards to the plot's final battle and didn't know how to get his heroes out of trouble without resorting to the solution he does. While it works, it still feels like a bit of a cop-out and might leave some readers disappointed. As a result, Shadows Fall is an amazing entry into the adventure and fantasy genres with an ending that might some folks a little disappointed, but that's only in comparison to Green's normal literary brilliance.
Welcome to Shadows Fall
Shadows Fall is a place where legends go to die. Not the big legends - people still believe in them. But the pulp fiction characters, not-so-popular comic book characters, and musicians who didn't quite make it big. Shadows Fall is a town outside the boundaries and laws of the mortal world, a place that's easy to find if you're looking for it and it stretches the limits of the imagination.
That is the gift that Simon R. Green presents in this stand-alone novel; a town and a book that defy labels and genres. The town of Shadows Fall is ancient, and Old Father Time presides over its working. But something is going wrong in this normally peaceful town - people are being murdered in grisly ways and the man whose fate is tied to the town by an prophecy has just strolled back into Shadows Fall after 25 years away. There's danger in the air, an invasion brewing and it's all tied to the Forever Door, a mysterious portal leading beyond this world and into...somewhere else.
For those fans of the Nightside series, this is an in-depth look at the town mentioned now and again by John Taylor and his collegues. For those new to the world of Simon R. Green, 'Shadows Fall' is a remarkable introduction to his work. Green himself considers this one of the best books he's ever written, and it's not hard to understand why. At times the narrative is a bit rambling and there are a lot of things happening at once, but overall the novel is so bright with creativity and magic that these minor flaws are easily overlooked in favor of the world Green has so masterfully created.
An Wondrous Epic Fantasy Where Dreams Never Die
There is a place where forgotten dreams live on and that place is Shadows Fall.Simon R. Green takes the reader on a wondrous journey of magic, fantasy and the fine line that divides reality and dreams. The story concerns a young man by the name of James Hart who returns to Shadows Fall where he once lived as a young boy seeking answers to unravel the mystery of his life. After his arival in the town he meets a legendary rock star by the name of Sean Morrison and a dead man walking named Leonard Ash.However something is very amiss in the town as people are slowly being murdered one by one. This would have to be one of my all time favourite books and it is the one I choose to take with me when I am on vacation. The book is a wondrous journey through a mythical town and the book works like the magic depicted in it. I could not put this book down and was lucky enough to be able to read it in one sitting.
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