SYNOPSIS
For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.
Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.
There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.
REVIEW
IN A WORLD…WITH NO HUMANS…MONSTERS RULE THE WORLD. UNTIL…A NEW RACE MAKES ITSELF KNOWN…THREATENING THE BRITTLE TRUCE…BETWEEN WEREWOLVES AND VAMPIRE…HOLDING BACK ALL OUT WAR.
Just when you thought you’ve seen everything the vampire sub-genre has to offer, in comes Ed Crocker with one of the most original novels I’ve ever read. Lightfall is a stroke of brilliance that will suck you in and it won’t let go until you’ve been bled dry.
The world-building is next level, both in imagination and scope. A rich land with deep lore and secret histories, the world building alone is gripping enough to keep you invested. Once you think you’ve got it all figured out, Crocker throws a wrench in the whole thing, flipping everything you and the characters thought you knew on its head.
Speaking of characters, Lightfall has a great cast that comes from all stations in life, giving a broad view of the world in a smaller setting. We spend most of our time in the vampire run city of Last Light. We follow leaders, servants, monks and more, each character feeling unique and lived in. Sometimes in these multiple POV epic fantasy novels, I’ll feel more attached to certain characters and anticipate their chapters more than others. Not the case here, I was always excited to switch POV’s, being equally invested in them all.
Crocker blurs the lines between horror and fantasy with expert ease, switching gears from one sentence to the next while never feeling jarring. This book is advertised as a debut for Ed Crocker, but I refuse to believe that. He comes out swinging with this novel, stamping his name down in horror and fantasy as an author to definitely keep your eye on.
A reverse Nighbreed meets Assassin’s Apprentice, with a dash of Broken Empire and the wit of Joe Abercrombie, this novel has something for everyone. Lovable and hateable (is that a word?) characters, an endlessly fascinating world, and a story dripping with blood…I mean intrigue…I guess both…this is a new fantasy series you don’t want to miss.
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