Synopsis:
The thrilling sequel to Lightfall, a fantasy epic of revolution set in a world of vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers, for fans of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire and Cassandra Clare’s Swordcatcher.
The revolution is here… but in the Everlands, nothing comes easy.
In the last vampire city of First Light, the rebels know the truth about the Grays. But nothing has changed. Sam has a plan to bring the whole rotten city down – a plan of peace, not violence. But in this city, the best laid plans have a way of falling apart, and she’ll need the help of the city’s ex ruler and former enemy if she’s to avoid a bloodbath.
Meanwhile, in the Wolflands, Jacob, Sage, and Raven must seek help from the wolves. But when a murder is committed, the land threatens to descend into war, and unless the culprit is found, they might not escape with their lives. But with a long list of suspects and a long set of claws out for them, the odds don’t look good.
And then there’s Neuras Sinassion. History’s most dangerous sorcerer has decided it’s finally time to tell his secrets and the truth about the humans. But the truth will come at a price.
When the dust has settled and the bodies are counted, only one thing is certain—the Everlands will never be the same again.
Review:
After polishing off Ed Crocker’s debut, Lightfall, I was definitely in on a sequel. The characters were solid and the ideas were intriguing. But now, after reading the sequel in Crocker’s Everlands Trilogy, I can honestly say that the further Crocker gets into his series and delves deeper into the plot and lore of his vampire/werewolf/sorcerer mash-up society, the better it gets. As soon as I finished reading Moonfall, I was ready to finish the trilogy.
Moonfall takes some big swings as a book and I”m not entirely sure they all paid off, but I appreciate Crocker trusting his readers as he plotted and paced this book differently than most books we would see as the middle book in a fantasy series. For me, the second half of Moonfall more than made up for some of the mild shortfalls of the first half, even as I acknowledge that we needed the first half to get to the second half.
So, the book is essentially two shorter novels put together — but instead of alternating chapters like some books would do, we get almost exactly 50 percent of the book told from the perspective of those working towards a revolution with the vampires, then the last half is what happens in the wolf society, not exactly at the same time, but close. I see why Crocker chose not to alternate chapters as the timelines didn’t exactly match up in that regard, but it was still a little odd to get one chunk…then the next.
And for me, my favorite characters from Lightfall were Jacob and Raven, who are referenced in the vampire chapters, but not shown until later. It felt as if something was missing and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it until the wolf portion of the book. The first half reads a bit like a heist novel with Sam trying to orchestrate a rebellion behind the scenes and the second is more of a murder mystery with Jacob taking the central lead role. Jacob’s fellow mage, Sage, plays key roles in the book, but is largely absent for significant chunks of time.
But the relationships between the characters are where Crocker shines, particularly for me with Jacob and Raven. The tension is there and maybe the romance won’t ever happen, but the two have a mutual respect and admiration for each other which pushes the second half over the first half for me. But, if you like villains, the first half is for you. The ever-present threat while Sam works to take down the Lords of First Light, Rufous is truly one of the most vile characters to grace the pages of a book I’ve read in quite a while.
There is an undercurrent of a plot with mortals and who they are and where they are if they still exist, which is fascinating to me. I have a sneaking suspicion that Crocker’s fantasy series might turn out to be a sci-fi (or sci-fi adjacent) series in the end due to what we uncover about the history of the Everlands, but either way, I’m down for the ride. So far, Crocker’s story improves as the pages wind down in his books, so I’m really looking forward to whatever he gives us in Book 3 of his series.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
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