Shadows Fall by Simon R. GreenMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Jacket Blurb: A town of amazing magicks, where the real and the imagined live side by side, where the Faerie of legend know the automatons of the future. Time sees all here - but even he cannot escape the prophecy of James Hart's return. Casting his own ominous veil, the man without a past can only mean the death of Shadows Fall...
If you've read the Nightside novels, then you will have a passing familiarity with Shadows Falls from the same world. But that familiarity will end about there - you know about Shadows Falls, but not really. Not until you've read this book.
Where Nightside is everything dark, Shadows Falls is everything else. Shadows Falls is its own place and time. It has its own rules. Shadows Falls is a conglomeration of times and places held together by Old Father Time's say-so, rules are enforced by a creepy scarecrow named Jack Fetch, Eric the sheriff, and the Mayor Rhea. The problem is, Old Father Time is afraid, and so is Shadows Falls.
I enjoyed the world building, the cast of characters was different and delightful, the quirks that make everything tick and tock are quirky and different. Where I struggled with the book was in the author's repetition. I often felt like I was reading the same paragraphs over and over and over, the sentences phrased a tiny bit differently (or the same), and after a while that becomes really annoying. Not only am I being told how things are different, then I'm shown, and then I'm told again. I consider myself a fairly astute reader, I can figure things out without being bashed over the head.
Plot wise, moderately predictable. No huge Ah HA's leaping off the page. Without giving any spoilers, the ending dragged on, reading more like a bad action film with bombs, flames, guns and explosions then took an exit ramp right into Disneyland. Not my favorite.
While the book has it's issues, overall Shadows Falls is a story that gently pulls the reader along for a lovely little boat ride as long as you don't expect a lot. Perfect for mindless vacation reading.
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