Synopsis
Elliot is now alone. He’s left Elmor and his friends behind as he heads for the Mountains of the Forgotten World on a mission, which is almost impossible to accomplish.
The Elder Races, the creatures that according to legend are haunted by an ancient curse, are his only hope of defeating Walter. Nobody knows if Elliot has the power to break the curse, and Queen Sophie and the people of Elmor depend on him. Walter may have been defeated in the last battle, but he’ll soon return more determined than ever to destroy his remaining enemies once and for all.
Elliot needs new allies, but the creatures he wants to get on his side have suffered at the hands of humans. Will he manage to convince the Elder Races that he is different?
The second book in the series, The Dance of Light, will engage you in a compelling journey full of unexpected twists and thrills until the very last page.
Review
Firstly, thank you to Gregory Kontaxis for providing me a copy of the book to review. This of course does not in any way play a part in my thoughts about the book.
The Fall of Giants is the second book in a Greek inspired fantasy mythology series, originally published in Greek and translated into English.
After finishing The Return of the Knights, I was very excited for what was in store, after such an explosive ending. The Fall of Giants focused much more on the politics side of things, with both Elliot and his nemesis Walter aiming to form alliances to swing the tide of the war. Despite there being less action throughout the book, it delved much deeper into character development, interactions and world-building, which I loved. Kontaxis really expanded the world and showed how much depth it has. I will say he also created an “on the edge of a knife” type atmosphere throughout the book, really setting the scene for some potentially huge events in the sequels.
In the first book, I found Elliot a bit immature in his decision making. In The Fall of Giants, it’s obvious that Elliot has matured a lot more and continues to do so. I found his character to be much more likeable, and it was interesting to see his motivations and hardships up to that point. Walter, his arch nemesis and big bad, was as before a highly enjoyable villain to read about. Eleanor, continued to be a favourite of mine, showing a lot of character development throughout the story, while making her own alliances and war changing decisions.
I will say the scope of the series is quite huge, which is of course a positive, but at times a bit overwhelming with the amount of information, names and places thrown at the reader. Safe to say, however, this is most definitely an epic fantasy on a grand scale. There’s definitely many similarities to George RR Martin’s style of politics, epic battles, mythical beasts and strong cast of morally grey characters.
If you already read book one, then it’s a no brainer to continue this fantastic series. If you have yet to give it a go, and you’re interested in Greek inspired fantasy, with epic world-building, a strong cast of morally grey characters and lots of action, then I highly recommend giving The Return of the Knights a go!
great imput, thanks