• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
    • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2022
    • TBRCon2023

Review: The Fall (The Bound and the Broken #0.5) by Ryan Cahill

October 22, 2021 by Tom Bookbeard Leave a Comment

Rating: 9.0/10

Synopsis

Pain is the path to strength.

The Order have watched over Epheria for thousands of years … until a traitor in their midst has decided their rule must come to an end. Their home city of Ilnaen is now in flames, dragons and death filling the skies.

The remnants of the Order, the dragon-bound Draleids and the Knights of Achyron battle the forces of Efialtír, the traitor god.

Review

If the synopsis sounds like there’s a huge amount crammed into this novella by Ryan Cahill, it’s because there’s a huge amount crammed into this novella by Ryan Cahill.

From the first line the action explodes from the page. Cahill doesn’t hold back in depicting every exploding wall, dragon roar, and arterial spray of blood. It’s the sacking of a city with blood magic, dragons and ogre-like Uraks; it’s not going to be pretty.

The first chapter tells of the treacherous toppling of the Order, through dragon combat and a simple yet satisfying magic system known as the Spark. We are then introduced to the Knights of Achyron, who are summoned to the scene in their sentinel armour. The book ends with the perspective of the antagonist, giving us three separate narratives – and a handy index at the back to keep track of everything.

The Knights of Achyron chapter was my firm favourite. I loved the way Cahill had fun with the knights – they march through a rift into battle, clad in fantasy’s equivalent of what I can only describe as a combination of Earthworm Jim’s suit and Iron Man power armour. It’s just completely epic and awesome.

While I don’t believe it is strictly necessary to read this before Of Blood and Fire (that’s a review for another day), The Fall provides a great insight into Cahill’s world and really delivers. The illustrations within were a welcome edition and display the author’s passion for this indie series. The Fall was a tremendous hour of fun you can find through The Broken Binding. Remember to enter FANFI for 5% off!

Me fanbearding with the hardback edition.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Ryan Cahill, The Bound and the Broken

About Tom Bookbeard

Former chef turned constantly hungry foodie, TTRPG nerd, writer of fantasy stories about sky pirates. Currently working on The Sky Whale Trilogy. Beards.

Other Reviews You Might Like

Three Mini Reviews in One

The cover for New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage.

Review: New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage

Book Review: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

The cover for New Yesterday by Frasier Armitage.

Recent Comments

  1. zidane on Review: A Fractured Infinity by Nathan TavaresMarch 14, 2023
  2. Gary Weston on Bender’s Top 10 Fights in Fantasy BooksMarch 14, 2023
  3. David S on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 13, 2023
  4. Komikinime on My Top 15 Favorite Male Anime Protagonists (So Far)March 11, 2023
  5. Jennifer Mcvey on Review and Essay: Midnight Sun by Stephenie MeyerMarch 11, 2023

Archive

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In