Fell

The Sight #2

by David Clement-Davies

The sequel to The Sight comes to eBook. The story of the loner Fell and his fight to save a human girl, and unravel the mysteries of the power that has haunted him all his life.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Animals, Fiction, Wolves, Childrens, Adventure

546 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

David was born in 1964 and went to Westminster School and Edinburgh University. There, Clement-Davies read History and English Literature, specializing in the Italian Renaissance, and Russian Literature and Society. For many years, he dreamed of one day becoming an actor taking a drama course and working in theater. However, he was also interested in writing and soon became a freelance travel journalist.

Clement-Davies lived in a little mountain home in Andalusia region of Spain to write The Sight, has traveled the world and now also lives in London. He has also written a musical, two adult novels, and a play, set in the present and the 17th century, called Startled Anatomies, alongside his children’s books. His online publishing website is phoeniarkpress.com and from there he is trying to create a grass roots publisher.

Reviews

[Mikayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Technically, it was a good book, but I didn't like it. It had everything to make it enjoyable, a good vocabulary, decent structure and a pretty good plot. But for those who read The Sight and Fire Bringer it was a serious let down. His other wolf-based novel was provacative and amazing, creating a hidden world that was rich with culture and depth. It was brilliant but this one seemed lacking, or even less than lacking. It was missing something that I can't seem to pin down. I actually haven't read the whole thing because I didn't want my image of David Clement-Davies to be ruined, and my vision of the characters from The Sight to be ruined.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

VERY NEARLY BETTER THAN THE FIRST!! AND I DIDN'T EVEN THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!! David Clemet-Davies totally nailed it with his breath-taking sequel to 'The Sight', his amazing previous masterpiece. Clemet-Davies weaves words the way Monet could weild a paintbrush. His writing was, as always, riviving and extrodinary.
'Fell' is the story of the she-wolf Larka's brother Fell, now a loner. Fell, like his sister, weilds the Sight, an ancient and terrifying power that has seperated him from other wolves, even his dear pack. Now he roams the Transylvanian mountains alone, searching for truth, stalking lies, and hoping to find solace. Finally, he is presented with a purpose when the spirit of his beloved sister Larka tells him of a human child whose destiny is intertwined with the fate of nature.
This child is a 15-year-old girl named Alina.
Alina was abandoned as a young toddler, found in the snows. A man named Malduk found her and adopted her, and both he and his ghastly wife Ranna mistreat her horribly, calling her an evil changeling. Her only friend is a Malduk's 9-year-old neice, Mia, who (though she has a big heart) has no power to help Alina. But, Alina is special. Like Fell, she has a sliver of green in one of her striking hazel eyes. She is connected with Fell, and she is the first human to possess the Sight. When fate whisks her away(well, actually chases out) from Malduk's arrogent grasp, Alina finds herself with a strange and fearful compainion in Fell. Now, they must both embark on a perilous quest to discover Alina's identity and her destiny.
HOLY. 'Fell' left me breathless, wishing desperately that I'd read it much, much slower.
As always, David's writing pulled me along the long journy. The characters were absolutely amazing, especially Alina. I'll admit; at first I was a bit wary of a human character coming into the picture. I worried that would kill the whole animal fantasy thing. But it really didn't. Clemet-Davies balanced everything out really well. Also, I simply fell in love with Alina immediantly. She really was a wonderful character that I could easily relate to. I understand that constant sense of lonelieness and longing she and Fell both had. She feels so disconnected from the world that won't have her, that rejected her because of her mysterious past. But when she finally relizes that her feelings don't have to keep her down, she quickly rises to her own power.
Fell, however, was a much more malancholy character. Like Alina, he is detactched from a world he was supposed to belong to, but simply couldn't. Thanks to the Sight, he knows he will never be able to be a true, free wolf. There is a constent sense of tragedy. He can never forgive himself for the things his evil aunt forced him to do, nor can he forget Larka's death. Without her to remind him that he is not evil, he begins to think that he might have always been just as bad, if not worse, than Morgra herself. But Alina's presense gives him hope that he can redeem himself and turn his heart away from Morgra's engulfing darkness.
Redemption is also a big theme of this book. I certainly can't tell you why without spoiling the whole ending.
With deep characters and poetic writing, 'Fell' will not dissapoint.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved Fire Bringer and The Sight, I must say this is definitely not as fulfilling as those two books.

It became quite apparent to me about halfway through the book that DC-D thrives in the world of animals and lacks in the world of humans. I can't say this with all certainty, as I haven't read his two human books. But I can say the human side of this story was hardly compelling, while the animal side grabbed me every time.

What I liked:
Fell. I love Fell and everything about him. His adventure with the Sight and through life itself drew me in every time. His character was incredibly complex and compelling and never once was pushed aside in the story, he was always the focus of the story. I felt very connected to Alina and him.

The beaver, the salmon, and the stone mouth. Each of them had very interesting and relevant points about life and the experience of love and hate, as well as the meaning of being truely alive. This is what I felt the story was written for, and not really about the whole narrative.

Fell's old pack. While we only saw them briefly, it was fun to revisit them from the old book, and rather emotionally charged and certainly the strongest feelings shown in the story.

What I disliked:
Alina's story. She is FAR too young to experience everything she did. I couldn't wrap my brain around the concept of her age and her maturity and experience, it just wasn't believable.

The narrative as a whole. It was way too predictable. As in, I predicted the end of all conflicts at least 10 pages or so before the resolve was written, sometimes even further than that. The conflict itself was very minimal and very short. Most conflicts were resolved in a paragraph or a page, which was a bit disappointing.

The "perfect"ness of it. Everything worked together far too perfectly...it was as though there was no anomalies in changing the course of the story. The story was given from start to finish, and felt much less like a journey as it felt like an observation of events. There was no downside.

The lack of a villian. That isn't entirely, true, of course there was a villian, but he didn't feel like a villian. He was more of a corrupt person that was there simply to push the narrative along and give the characters a common goal. He didn't pose any threat for the entire story as Morgra and the Lord of the Herd were posing threats.

Jalgan. Same as Vladeran, Jalgan didn't even feel like a villian at all. He was just some tool to get Fell to truely understand himself. He didn't pose any real threat, nor did we learn much of anything about him aside from his want to kill all the Sikla. I felt very disconnected from the villians in the story.

However, I would definitely recommend this to those who have read The Sight and are interested in a sequel. I would not recommend it to those who don't already know the story, while I would highly recommend The Sight and Fire Bringer to anyone.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

   Fell is the continuation of the story – and destinies – begun in The Sight, and reads very similarly. The prose is lovely, full of nature images and details, plus multiple nods from past to future in mythology, fairy tales, allusions to scientific discoveries, and out-right prophecy not only about the immediate future, but also about the world to come (and easily recognizable as our own as it stands). The allusions to future scientific discoveries were always a treat to stumble across, as they enriched the past and present of the world created here (I especially liked the mention of an ice man). It also had an enjoyable feminist-bent which, despite the time period this is set in, did not seem very out of place to me, as it was well handled and even discussed between characters.

   There were also many themes that flowed through from The Sight into and throughout Fell: how freedom can be contradictory in that you have freedom in life but all life/freedom must end in death, how conflicting faiths/religions can co-exist, how fear and greed breed lies, how you need truth to have justice in order to grow strong, the question about being one’s brother’s/sister’s keeper, how love is one of the greatest forces in all of nature, how hate poisons the mind and soul, and of course, how stories can teach us much of the world:

      How could it be that wolf and man shared the same story? Or were they just in a story themselves, lost in a fable, as they hunted through the world for meaning?
    – page 187

   However, one major way in which it differs from The Sight though, is that not only does it follow a wolf’s point of view, but it also follows a human, Alina, a girl disguised as a boy, a storyteller, a traveler in search of her past while she journeys on to her future. Through both of them, two new themes are introduced: for the wolf, it is a quest to discover what it means to have freedom, what it means to be free, and the responsibilities which come with such freedom. For Alina, it is a quest to discover her own abilities, and how she might play a greater role in the story of life than society has dictated for her – after all, she has already experienced living life as a boy, and why should she not be able to follow any path she chooses before her, whether it be one of “feminine pursuits” or more “manly pursuits”?

   With all of the above ideas packed into this book, you can see how there are many opportunities which Mr. Clement-Davies takes to pound home morals and messages about life. In fact, taking this book piece-meal, you can almost divide it up by these ideas and lessons, making each individual piece interesting and very much like a fable in that it wraps not-so-succinctly with a life/moral lesson. However, when the book is as full as this one with all these ideas, with characters spending incredible amounts of time within their own heads, it loses rather a bit of its steam – nearly all of it, really. I could happily ready two or three chapters at a time, but I had no problem putting the book back down, even near the end when destinies were being made and the action had ramped up into a head complete with an epic battle and a betrayal and bloodshed. I did not even feel at any time that I simply had to keep reading – except so that I could finish it and move on to the next book on my shelf – nor that I couldn’t put it down. Part of this was definitely not helped by the character’s actions themselves, which was essentially to leisurely stroll towards their prophesied destiny after some initial rocky and slippery beginnings, without any sense of urgency, even when informed that for someone, one of their loved ones was dying (sure, let’s mosey about in one place or continue strolling forward for at least two WEEKS after getting the news, no big deal, the dying can wait!). Plus, once again the revelations were either easy to spot from a mile away: one, regarding someone’s identity, while the other seemed sudden and like a complete about-face from what we knew of the character, and with no development nor clues to it either. The sum of the stories pieces fall short of adding up to the whole.

   But I should say, as a student and lover of languages, I also especially loved the below idea/quote brought up, even though it did not extend past its page:

      What would it be like to hear these [sounds] though and not know what they were, or to not have the human words to describe them, and thus picture them in her mind?
   Then Alina wondered about the black wolf [… and the] other Lera too, all of them in the wild. Was thought itself only possible with language, and if it was, where did that come from? Fell had a kind of language, because of the strange powers of the Sight, yet those creatures did not, whose minds and words had not given them a map of the world, and of reality, what did they hear in the shadows of their lives? Only the ghosts of longing, struggling towards consciousness? It gave Alina a pain to think of it. How could it all be? It seemed quite miraculous.
   – page 443

   Overall, as it regards style and imagery, I would give this book a four – as a piece of “literature”, I think it can hold its own. (Poor comparison: rather like I can appreciate what Catch-22 does as a piece of literature and society commentary, but that doesn’t mean on a personal level I enjoyed it reading it at all.) But as a leisure book, as a story, as a means to escape the real world, well, it was really only a two-star “okay”. It’s not quite that I felt I truly wasted my time reading this book, but I also did not feel like I got much out of it nor was it even really time well spent. Even if some of the moral lessons offered up some interesting views, the imagery was pretty, and the nods to past and present science and knowledge were satisfying. Maybe for someone younger than I the lessons would have propped up the story more, and that plus the anthropomorphism and magic of the Sight would have been enough to make up for the lack of a more focused and actively-and-energetically-pursued plot (I for one kept forgetting what the original prophecy, the one which we learned about very early on, was even supposed to be about). For me though, sadly, as a whole the book just simply did not do it for me.

But I still have some preferred quotes I pulled out of here, in case you want some meat without all the fat filling it up:

Favorite/memorable quotes:
   Alina had not given up yet though, on herself or the strange wolf, a creature she had touched with her mind. In that moment she learnt one of the greatest secrets of life: It is often easier to fight for others than it is for yourself. – page 139

   [Tarlar said,] “Another’s eyes may always temper the arrogance of the triumphant heart, while when the sadness and the weariness come, happier eyes can renew the world again with their vision.” – page 208

   “Look there, Alina. My father always taught me that although, as we grow, we desperately seek others’ approval – our friends’, our parents’, the world’s – what really matters is what we see when we look [at our reflection], and see ourselves. That’s the true judge we always wake to in the morning. The mirror of ourselves.” – page 249-250

   “A single arrow can pass twenty men easily enough,” said Catalin suddenly.
   “True, my boy,” whispered the blind old man with a laugh, looking into the distance, as if trying to read the future, “but what matters is that which comes after the arrow has done its work.” – page 337

   “The future?” came the voice sadly, and it sounded closer to Fell. “And do we really pass anything on to the future, except mirrors of ourselves? What if the future is as painful as the past?”
   “That we can never know,” answered the wolf angrily. “That’s for the future. But what we can know is the importance of what we owe to the present. Here and now, and nowhere else. For nothing else exists, except in our minds. What we owe to ourselves, and to those we’re bound to. And we can at least hope to make a better future, for everything.” – page 368

   But why do adults, why do parents not realize that children desperately wish to do things not so much out of duty, but out of love? And you can’t force anything to love anything else against its nature. Not with talk of family or pack, not with talk of greater borders, or the truths or lies of Tor and Fenris. – page 383

   [… “] the very power of myth is that it is myth. Why do you think the ancient Roman oracles always spoke in riddles? Trust that power. It comes from deep inside, and it has purpose.”
    […] “Like thought itself perhaps, or words. Where do they come from, and why do the humans’ stories so often echo each other?” […] “Perhaps because they carry inside them the secret journey that all things make […] For does not everything feel itself to be somehow inside a story, like an unconscious being struggling towards thought? Struggling to see what it really is? As man evolves, does he not wake to that, as a child wakes from a story into adulthood?” – page 420

   “But there will also be a sun when scientia will threaten to rob man of spirit and hope and love […] For he must overthrow his gods to come to his full power, but in doing so may forget the wonder and mystery of it all.” – page 422

   “Death,” whispered Tarlar, “you do not fear it, Fell? By water, or any other way?”
    “What is there to fear?” answered the black wolf. “If it is an end, then so be it. For there is no pain in that, except the pain left to the living. I once thought, and felt with the Sight, that I could see the pain of the whole world, and it grew and grew like a sea. But though all feel pain, it does not join together like individual droplets in a pool. A million deaths is really only one death. And if death is not an end, then what more wonderful journey, if we do not fear it? We must have courage to face the truth, and the future.” – page 521

Typos:
…and feast on blood and gaze animal flesh. – page 72 – In describing what a werewolf does. I’m not sure what verb is actually supposed to go with animal flesh. Maybe “gorge on”?

In the days to come [the bound poultice] had fallen from the wolf’s leg again, but the poultice… -- page 179 – the “again” is strange, as for all we know she only makes one poultice. Either remove “again,” or turn it into “again and again” to imply it would fall off and she would replace it – which would also make more sense from a medical standpoint, refreshing the bandage.

…if he knew what Lord Vladeran has being doing to his subjects… -- page 331 – Should be “has been doing”

…Alina WovenWord shivered as the door slammed and she sank her head sadly. – page 454 – Not necessarily a typo, but just sounds strange. What she did with her head is usually rendered as an adjective phrase (at least, I think that’s the right label for it!), such as “and her head sank sadly”. To keep with the form, “lowered” would probably flow smoother – “she lowered her head sadly”

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, let's try to write a review for this! Fell is a sequel to The Sight, picking up five years later with an older Fell, along with a new prophecy, new adventures, and harking back to some familiar faces. Ultimately, I'm docking a star vs. its predecessor because despite being a slightly shorter book, it felt much longer and really dragged its heels, to the extent that I was looking forward to finishing it and just moving on to something else already.

It's really, really hard to pick out exactly what's missing, because by all accounts it seems to tick all the boxes and should have been great: more wolves! a plucky heroine travelling across the wastes with her wolf familiar! war! royalty drama! attempted assassinations! And arguably the action was even more pronounced here: the climactic scenes are literally in a blood-stained battlefield, with armies clashing and wolves ripping out throats!

And yet there's just no urgency in these 500+ pages. Partially because the prophecies are laid down for you right from the get-go, so you know that they're going to succeed in their quest, plus you have an idea of the vague shape their quest will take. It just deepens my antipathy towards Chosen One stories even further, because it feels more like you're going through the motions rather than experiencing something spontaneous and dangerous. Prophecies are frustrating because they don't have to exist: Fell & Alina could have gone forth on their mission without, and it would have been completely fine and, imo, played out with more tension. Plus, there are a couple different villains in this book, but they're not well-utilised at all and don't seem like an immediate threat; they don't cast their shadow over the narrative as effectively as Morgra did in the previous book. The urgency suffers, also, because the writing style is just really, really slow and ponderous and languid: characters disappear into their own thoughts often to philosophise & ruminate about their current position, their past and future, the stakes at hand, their relationships to others, the nature of good and evil and spirituality, the possibility of an afterlife... etc etc etc.

Meanwhile I just wanted a lean, punchy, exciting tale about a girl and her wolf. :(

I'm a little afraid to go back and reread Fire Bringer someday in case it turns out that I really just dislike DCD's writing style now that I'm older, but a lot of the reviews namedrop that one as his best, so I think it's (hopefully) more likely that The Sight + Fell are just the inferior books.

The good:
1) Rebelling against sexism! Alina runs into some gross misogyny throughout the course of her tale, and she has to stand up for herself a lot, defending the fact that a girl can be a badass and do whatever she puts her mind to and Fight Evil. It's a big undercurrent to the plotlines throughout Fell. There are continued environmental messages as well, re: mankind's destined future to fuck up nature (as we have done in real life).

2) I did like the characters when they weren't being idiots. Alina especially, because I found her really engaging in her first chapters (her opening as an abused foundling needing to escape death, almost fairytale-like, was probably my favourite part of the whole book because it felt the most tense/dangerous/anxiety-inducing). Her relationship with Fell is fantastic, too.

3) There's a bigger scope/scale! As before, this book is weirdly cinematic in its melodrama.

4) I did like how it tied off loose ends from the previous book, and there are some #feels wrt Huttser and Palla.

The bad:
1) Chosen Ones. Prophecies. Commandments from beyond the grave. I hate them. They made me actively angry.

2) Insta-love -- not once, but twice!

3) The characters, when they were being idiots. Catalin is a sexist asshole who doesn't deserve Alina. Morgra makes an implausible reappearance -- I was ultimately satisfied by the end of the arc, but I hate it when sequels retread their predecessor too much. Vladeran started off interesting, but devolved into moustache-twirling eeeeevil.

4) The attempt at darksiding Fell was not well-handled, imo. I mentioned this in status updates but it really just reminded me of a far more hamhanded Palpatine-to-Anakin conversation, except that I couldn't see any plausible motivation for Fell to go that path.

5) The whole book was really, really, really slow going.

6) The premise itself felt a bit shoehorned in, timeline/plot-wise. After The Sight, Bran was obviously supposed to be the hero, considering his relationship to wolves, the flashforward to his future, etc -- but the lifespan of a wolf meant that if we wanted Fell, Bran wouldn't be old enough to participate in a sequel. DCD already had to magically push the envelope to keep Fell from aging too much. Hence: the existence of Alina, through a convoluted combination of circumstances to make her a long-lost amnesiac sibling to Bran, but also only half-sibling, from a village, but ALSO royalty from the castle. Don't get me wrong, I actually do like her! But it's forced.

7) Soooo much philosophisingggggg and interiority.

8) Predictable non-twists.

PS: Am I the only one who felt short-changed by the fact that Vlad Tepesh was teased and referenced for so long and we heard tale of his horrifying war atrocities, but he never joined into the narrative? After two books, Clement-Davies, you gotta give me Dracula. #disappointed

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like The Sight, this is one of my favorite books. There is nothing like a novel about wolves, especially wolves who save the world. In the first book, they save the world from themselves, and in the sequel, they save the world from humanity's folly. While I don't remember seeing these themes in The Sight, Fell truly is an environmental book, broadly demonstrating our impact on nature. Or rather, or future (i.e., present) impact on nature as seen from the past. The novel also deals with gender inequality, and makes sure to show girls that they are just as important as boys, which is a plus. And as the reviews on the back cover state, the presentation is entirely believable... except for the fact that everything turns out completely okay in the end. Otherwise, a wonderful read.

[Annie/Soul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book because in the first book, The Sight, Fell was my favorite character! When I found out there was a second book about Fell, I did a happy dance! XD

Fell (the book, not the character) is about a black wolf (called Fell, of course) who in the first book, was Larka's, the main character, brother. It turns out that he had the power of the sight too, and he eventually in his travels finds a human girl who for some mysterious reason, also as the power of the sight-- The first human who ever had the power!. They go on an adventure and- Oop! Can't tell you that. X)

I LOVE this book a little more than the first one because 1, the poetic writing that filled every line had me glued to the pages, 2, IT DIDN'T KILL ALMOST ALL THE FREAKIN CHARACTERS LIKE BEFORE!!! And 3, It's about Fell. X3

READ IT NOW!!

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for this book ever since it came out, and now that I've read it, it was worth the wait!
I have to compare this one to The Return of the King. The scope is tremendous, the pace is exhilarating, and the depth is astounding. If The Sight made me cry in a few spots, I could hardly stop crying while reading Fell. Mr. Clement-Davies hits all the right notes and weaves his story with impressive skill. The bond between Fell and Alina is deep and profound, and the message of love, courage and redemption resonates. Flitting back and forth between the Varg and the humans doesn't get old due to the smooth transitions, and I particularly enjoyed seeing some of the old characters from The Sight again. And of course, the author still challenges the reader to re-examine every belief, every assumption, every single aspect of life, all in search of finding some deeper meaning.
I've always known I loved David Clement-Davies' work, and this one was no exception. Do yourself a favor: read this book.

[Lyanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fell written by David Clement Davies, is a fiction book. I chose to read this book because it is the second book to The Sight. Also because this book is about wolves and my favorite animal is the wolf. Fell is a lone black wolf who possesses the sight. The sight is a power born too few animals and it is both a curse and a gift. It gives Fell the ability to touch minds, control others, see through another’s eyes, see the past, present, and future in any body of water, and understand any animal. But also feel the pain of his prey and can throw off any opponent with a swing of his head. But Fell is a troubled wolf because he feels guilty of his dear sister Larka. Larka’s destiny had caused her death and Morgra’s. Larka helped Fell out of the darkness and evil that his aunt Morgra had persuaded him in the first place. Larka and his aunt Morgra posses the sight as well. After his sister’s death Fell decided to walk the world alone in search of the truth and meaning. He abandoned his father, Huttser, his mother, Palla, and his adopted brother Kar. Yet after the years pass Larka’s spirit communicates with Fell in a cave. She tells him to help a human child on her great destiny that will involve nature itself. At first Fell denies this destiny and wanders off. Meanwhile a young teenage girl named Alina Sculcuvant lives with a shepherd named Malduk, his wife Ranna, and their niece little Mia. She was saved from the forest where she lay unconscious and was thought to be changeling. She was said to be a fairy child and they disguised Alina into a boy so the goblins of the forest would not take her back. She has had strange dreams of her past but does not seem to recall. She dreams about her family and wolves. Yet clever little Mia discovers a document in which it reveals the truth of Alina's past. So Alina runs away from the hated town of Moldov to find her true home. Soon after, Alina and Fell’s path cross and together they go to find out their true destiny. But many other events happen during their journey involving their families and friends. It is filled with horrors, happiness, and shocking revelations. The antagonists are Lord Vladeran and Morgra. Through magic spells Lord Vladeran communicates with Morgra.
The central conflict is wolf vs. self (man vs. self). Throughout most of the story Fell is often troubled with his life. He often thinks about his family and wonders what has become of them. Also he thinks of his sister Larka and grieves for her. All his sorrow makes him not want to think of a life for his own, his future. I think the theme for this book is you can’t run away from your destiny. You have to face it with your head and tail raised, paws firmly on the ground, and teeth bared to face destiny. And Alina who is constantly dreaming about her family and feels guilt as well, because she feels she did something wrong but can’t remember. Also another conflict is man vs. nature. Alina and Fell are always in trouble and chased by people or animals because they are wanted dead. A motif would be the word destiny. It is repeated a lot in the book.
The writing style of the author is really detailed and descriptive. It is as if you can imagine it in your mind. It is also very descriptive on the deaths too. Yet he also puts in his opinions of life, which makes you relate or think it over. He talks about religion and saving nature as well. I would recommend it to anyone who likes animal fantasy books or people who are just animal lovers. It is a really good book, but I recommend you to read the first book, The Sight. Because some events are recalled in the book and you won’t be able to understand it. But after you read The Sight, I strongly recommend you to read Fell. It is a spectacular book, at times dark which makes it better. It's hard to only read just one page.

[Jasmine · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I first saw that David Clement-Davies had written a sequel to The Sight I was ecstatic. I loved The Sight, as well as Fire Bringer. This book feels completely different from both of them.

Even though this is technically a sequel, it really doesn't have much to do with the first book, other than having some of the same characters. In fact you don't even have to have read The Sight at all. This book copies the same cover style as the first, with the main wolf character's face taking up the whole cover, superimposed over the scenery, with the eyes boring into those of the reader. But in reality it should have had the HUMAN character's face on the cover, because this book is really about her!

Fell is more or less just a big, furry accessory to her story, and her story takes up a lot more of the book than Fell's, and more time is spent in the human world than with the animals. There is some conflict with Fell's birth pack, and you get to see the old favorite characters and the pups from the end of the first book as adults. But so little time is spent with the other wolves that these scenes are more or less cameos.

This short changes Fell's little brothers and sisters because since very little time is spent with the wolf characters, and they are brand new characters more or less, they get very little development, which is a shame because they seem like they could be interesting characters. And poor Kar is probably short changed most of all. There is a very touching scene where Huttser and Palla die, and thankfully Fell is there for that. But still, it's almost like you can completely cut all the parts with Fell going back to his birth pack and that whole subplot out of the book, and nothing would change. It would still be a decent story. That is how unimportant it is. The villain is dealt with rather swiftly, and because the book doesn't dwell much on that conflict I was never that scared of him, or anxious about what he might do. Fell has a romantic interest in the story, but their romance is NEVER developed in any way. They share a few scenes together, and the love interest is important in the climactic final battle--which revolves solely around the human characters.

In fact, I would much rather have read a book about Fell and the new she wolf and how their relationship develops. A story about Fell finding his way in the world, coming to terms with his past, and eventually starting his own pack would have been great! But no.

It isn't even that I particularly disliked the human characters, or their storyline. It was a really good story, and all the human characters are pretty likable. It's just not what I thought I would get when I bought a book with a wolf's face on the cover and said wolf's name as the title! To put it frankly, I didn't care at all about any of the human characters, I just kept hoping the story would get back to the wolves. But that didn't really happen except for a small bit towards the end, because this story simply isn't about them.

[Logan Fisher]

David thinks of nothing but getting to America. He has a love affair with a woman named Matilda. In the end she served a great purpose in his life because she made his trip to America possible.

When David arrives in America, he was greeted with no kindness. David finds out he has no family or friends in this land. Eventually when he goes into a Jewish neighborhood he feels like he doesnt belong there. People were calling him a greenhornaE made him feel bad about himself, and he very quickly decides that he does not want to be called a greenhornaE.

[WolfLover · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sequel to The Sight, following the further adventures of Fell after the events of the first book. It’s nowhere near as good as its predecessor. Much of the focus is on humans instead of wolves and there are prominent factual errors, but my main problem with it is just that it’s incredibly boring. I always finish the books I start on principle, but I really had a hard time getting though this. Reading it felt like a punishment!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good. It challenged me like The Sight did, but I thought at times the author got rambly and drifted off the story line. I also think he was talking WAY too much about religion and death. At those times, it was a pretty dark book. But aside from that, it was an excellent read. Very exciting, and a nice ending.

[Chris Cornelison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was much better than its predecessor. Finally the characters had a little personality and the storyline was entertaining. And the main characters DIDN’T DIE in this one! The only thing that got on my nerves was the author’s use of the word “learnt” throughout the story instead of learned but the author is British.

[H.M. Gooden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t read the first book in this series so I may have missed some details. This book was a grand adventure where the power of love and perseverance wins out over darkness- I can’t wait for my kids to be old enough to read this!

[Rainbow007 · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's hard to believe that the same author who wrote The Sight and Firebringer, two of the greatest masterpieces of the animal fantasy genre, wrote this monstrosity. It's a direct sequel to The Sight, even though it had a perfect conclusion and no reason at all to continue.
Right off the bat, this novel starts off on the wrong foot. What's that? The last book stared wolves who were dynamic, interesting, and had more layers of depth than an onion? Well, here's a plain, boring human protagonist that's just like every other fantasy heroine you ever read!
Yeah, despite the book being titled "Fell", in honor of the "main character", most of the chapters are seen from this girl's perspective. Talk about false advertising. Because if they were honest and named the book "Generic Fantasy Girl #506", no one would buy it! (She has a name of course, but I don't remember what it is. It's been years since I read The Sight and yet I still remember every character's name. I'll prove it. Husker, Palla, Larka, Fell, Kipcha, Khaz, Morgra, Bran, Brassa, Kar, Slavka, Keeka, Karma....the list goes on. What does that tell you?)
We start off with the girl in her boring village life. She was rescued by a shepherd long ago when she was found lost in the snows, and he forces her to dress like a boy and work hard for him. The other villagers think she’s a changeling, (I...don’t know what that is, and the author never explains it. He makes the same mistake in Firebringer. Come on, Davies, you have to explain the basic principles of your story to the audience!) and treat her like an outcast for it. One day, she finds a vital clue to her true past, but her guardians have tried to hide it from her, so they frame her for a murder, forcing her to flee into the mountains.
And, oh my God, just writing that summary was painful! It is every single fantasy main character back story I’ve ever heard in my life! Imagine how it feels actually reading it!
So, allow me to go into better detail of why this bugs me so much. Number one, this character's origins are so miserable, you can tell the author is trying wayy too hard to make you sympathize and pity the protagonist. Emphasis on the pity, and that’s not the right emotion to invoke from your readers when you first introduce them to your main character. They need a fascinating personality, something to invoke the reader’s interest and make them want to see the character’s succeed. But when you try to bypass that process and overload the audience with reasons to feel sorry for them, then the character just feels like a wimpy masochist. And no one wants to experience an adventure through the eyes of a wimpy masochist.
Then there’s reason number two, the elephant in the room. This backstory has the tell tale signs of a Mary-Sue written all over it. If you don’t know what a Mary-Sue is, allow me to explain; a Mary-Sue is a character that lacks personality flaws, never gets on any other character’s bad side, (unless their villains) doesn’t get called out for any bad things that they do, usually excels in anything they try, and in general, are absolute perfect beings. Mary-Sue’s often make whatever story they’re in worse in every aspect, by shattering the reader’s suspension of disbelief and making it less meaningful. No one person is perfect, and our fictional characters should reflect that.
Often, an author will compensate for a Mary-Sue’s awesome nature by giving them an overly sad backstory, without actually letting those traumatic experiences leave any scars on their personality, just so they can have something negative to them.
And sure enough, this girl fits the bill to a tee. We got the sob story origins, and as the book goes on, we never see any major character flaws from her. She’s always kind, strong, smart, well meaning, ya-ta ya-ta ya-ta. Even Fell, the proud, grief-stricken loner, warms up to her for no apparent reason. It gets even better when we find out near the end of the novel that she is the long lost heir to the throne! Give me a freakin’ break!
So the protagonist already makes this book hard to get through, add to that the uninteresting story, and Davies signature lecturing asides,(Often throughout the text, he’ll go on and on, for several paragraphs, about science or history that has absolutely nothing to do with the story! One of the worst examples in Fell is when the girl and Fell are trapped in an ice cave, and he suddenly decides to explain how 80% of your body heat goes through your head and you should cover it, but the girl doesn’t know that and so freezes faster. It adds nothing, grinds the story to a halt for a painfully boring page and a half, and teaches the readers false information! That “80% of your heat escapes through your head” crap was proven false a long time ago!) and you got a recipe for a horrendous novel. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it, and trust me, I KNOW I am not missing anything.

[Mothlight · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Sight did not wow me at all. I have a review for Fell's sister novel that doesn't exactly sing praises, and my opinions haven't changed. But for all The Sight's flaws, I was invested in the characters enough to check out the sequel because I have a hard time turning down books about talking wolves.

Fell started strong but couldn't keep me engaged. Plot points are revealed way, way, way too early and strip the story from powerful twists. At over 500 pages already, Fell doesn't need anymore bulk, but DCD sacrificed time he should have spent characterizing and build up on unnecessary (and lengthy) human history and philosophy. History in particular is his weak heel, and he just can't seem to keep it out of his writing. The Sight and Fire Bringer had verbose, out of place paragraphs explaining this culture or that kingdom or how this country would do this thing, blah blah blah, but it was contained. Here, where most of the book takes place under mankind's shadow, it's everywhere. The philosophy is just as bad. You get it when the characters are alone, when the characters are together, when the characters are talking, even when the characters are FIGHTING. It just never, ever, stops.

Fell, the title character himself, who I liked in The Sight, annoyed me. He spent the entire book whining and brooding and relearning the same lessons. Most of the returning characters just weren't the same either. Kar seemed to lack personality entirely, and don't get me started on the obvious-love-interest she-wolf who shows up for five seconds. As for the human characters, I don't really know what to say. Alina was okay, I guess. She was a standard hero and aided by other standard-hero-helpers. The villain wasn't complex or interesting or fun. It was just a very run-of-the-mill fantasy story about a girl and her talking psychic animal friend, reusing elements from two previous novels. More prophecies, more red herring lines about a traitor that don't amount to anything, more 'chosen ones', more big flashy battles with other species showing up to help at the last minute.

Fire Bringer is definitely the best of the DCD lot.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Clement Davies.....I don't know what it is about this man, but the two books I read (Sight and now Fell) were really difficult to read. It might have been because I was working full time over the holiday and just didn't fancy reading when I got back home, not to mention the fact it was Christmas and it is a time to spend with family. But onto the review/words of evaluation.....

I preferred this book immensely compared to the Sight as it included more of an adventure, in my opinion and it included humans, which always helps to relate. I loved how it started with Fell but then moved onto Alina, making way for their eventual entwined story. I also liked the layout of the book - split into past present and future. It made the story link and make more sense. I read the first 200 pages in a heartbeat because it was really intriguing and gripping. And it didn't seem to let up which I loved. It was fast paced and never had a dull moment. The only thing I didn't like -and consequentially thought would not end well - was the reemergence of Morgra, I even growled when I said her name - :] but alas it was sorted and for once it turned out better than I expected.

It was an exciting and thrilling journey of saving the world and nature and discovering oneself - Alina, Catalin and Fell. When the truth slipped that Vladeran's fall would occur when his old best friend and King Dragomir would reappear I knew that he couldn't be dead, it was one of those expected story lines, but you were all the more happy for it.

It was an inspiring tale and a book that I will re-read again so I can fully appreciate the amazing story of love and discovery. What I do love about David Clement Davies is his ability to put so many messages and morals in his stories. Brilliant

[Amanda Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

So well written and well thought out!! It was a bit complex to get into at 1st but once you fall into the rhythm of the book it then becomes an impossible weight you can put down until you've read the last page....great arm workout as it is rather thick...just the way I like such imaginative books <3 <3

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to see that there was a sequel to THE SIGHT! I devoured this book in three days and was in tears at the end. Clement-Davies has a real talent for writing about the animal world in a philosophical, multi-layered way. And I loved the thematic dynamic between dark fatalism and the odd sense of mystique surrounding the Sight, a theme that he also pulled of so well in the first book.

Granted, Clement-Davies writes about Fell's struggles and story more compellingly than Alina's, but I enjoyed reading about both; I especially appreciated the veins of gender equality and environmentalism in this book. What I did miss, though, was the rich wolf-culture that was in THE SIGHT; perhaps that's partly a given, since Fell is a Kerl and not in contact with wolves for a majority of the book, but I wished for some more wolf storytelling time.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is a great follow up to 'The Sight' the book i thought was my favorite book until i read 'Fell' five years after what happened at the bridge (trying my hardest not to give anything from the sight away to people that haven't read it) and after Fell became a Kerl, a lone wolf, he has a vision from Larka, telling him to find the Guardian. So he sets off looking for the Guardian. Alina is living a hard life, having many weird dreams, and being called a changeling, a child of goblins. But after she is falsly and horibbly accused she leaves her hard life for an even harder one, but this one with adventure and thrills. When the two characters meet the real adventure begins, one with love, of both friendship and romance, revenge, some horror, traiters, new enemies, and much more.

[Corbin Billington · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is basically a continuation of "The Sight". The young black wolf in the sight is now old and so is the boy he keeps seeing. This time the book tells the story from the wolf's point of view instead of the boy. The Black wolf's name is the same as the title. Fell and his family of wolves journey the world with the help of the boy who is now a man, to try and save their forest from a foreseen darkness. I gave this book three out of five stars because it was an interesting read, but it carried on too long. I can't relate much to this book, but the only part I can relate to is the adventure in the woods, since I do a lot of hunting. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a long detailed fantasy book, over the age of 13.

[Natasha Superville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it! Very touching story. Nice to see that Clement-Davies wrote about a powerful female lead character. Not your typical tough guy concourers the world. Alina is portrayed as a strong female with honorable qualities and a strong determination. About time the girl saves the day. I enjoyed the interaction between animal and human. So often the wild thing is tamed, but I was glad to see that when all was said and done, no one had to change who who they were. The more I read, the more I did not want the connection between Alina and Fell to end. It seemed so natural between them. Courage, sacrifice, action, adventure, beauty, this book has it all.

[BerriCat Razberri · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is the best i hav ever read because i luv reading books that comes from an animal's point of view. this book is a sequel to "The Sight" also by David Clement-Davies. In this book the legend and fantasies of the mysterious power continues. a kerl is searching for the guardian of all lera, and he will soon find himself in a relationship with man. The story is very visual with deep descriptions and u can picture a movie once u start reading. one thing i especially like is the language the wolves have to name many things.

[Lone Wolf · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a struggle to read. Boring, poorly written, full of factual errors, falling back on tired old wolf-human tropes at every turn - just a real chore to get through. Whilst I was somewhat disappointed with the previous book, 'The Sight', that was at least mildly entertaining. This isn't. Even if you are a fan of 'The Sight', avoid this mess!

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would be ugly crying right now but I'm sitting in public and don't want to look insane. Omg. The feels

[Gabriella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as impressive as the first. A beautiful end to a tragic tale. ❤️ I can't wait to read more from this author.

[sundragonheart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was good, but not as good as the Sight. I found myself skimming some sections because I just wasn’t as interested in the human characters and wish they’d had a smaller role in the story.

[Rakuen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally published on Flayrah.

Fell is the sequel to David Clement-Davies earlier book, The Sight. The Sight was an excellent book following a wolf family, living in Middle Ages Transylvania, as they struggled through a prophecy and learned to deal with a legendary power and the crazed aspirations of an ex-pack-member.

Fell claims to deal with the mixed destinies of a wolf, Fell, and a human child, Alina. In reality, Fell is relegated to a minor character in his own story, only getting about a fifth of the chapters, and the aspects that might have interested fans of The Sight have been vastly minimised.

Flayrah contains reviews of Clement-Davies' previous books The Sight and Fire Bringer (which is similar to The Sight but deals with a herd of deer living in Britain slightly after the events of that book). Another review of Fell, feeling pretty much the same way, is written by Darfix.

The biggest change to Fell from both Fire Bringer and The Sight is the inclusion of human characters. Humans have not been absent from the other two books but played only minor or supporting roles, and I don't think any humans in The Sight had speaking roles. In Fell the main character is actually a human and the vast majority of interactions are those of humans. Fell is nearly the only animal character – a huge mistake in a sequel to what was undoubtedly an animal fantasy – and, apart from in a short run of chapters near the end, is the only recurring character from The Sight.

Nearly the only function of the sight here is as a tool of prophecy and to allow mental communication between Fell and Alina. Clement-Davies also uses the sight as a way to communicate with all animals because, unlike in most animal fantasies, his characters can only understand those of the same species. Still, this is poor use of it's true potential, which includes the ability to see through the eyes of birds and control the minds of other animals (but not humans).

For having far fewer characters than in The Sight, there is very little development or connection to them. The human characters appear very one-dimensional and Fell never really had much of a personality after the sixth chapter of The Sight where he was essentially turned evil. The main character change is of a minor character and only revealed right before the end. The reunion with the old wolf pack is well done, but meaningless to those who haven't read The Sight, and too short and with too few familiar characters for those that have. That said, this section is the only part that is true to The Sight and contains a far more evil villain than the human one who dominates the story.

Too often the book attempts to be philosophical, at times when it's completely inappropriate. This might have something to do with the lack of characters to interact with. While putting forward some good messages – that man is also an animal, that it's up to us to protect the environment and that religions are nothing more than stories like fairytales – it is done with no subtlety and makes the book appear preachy. As much as I might agree with some of the points, they often failed to support the plot and broke the fantasy.

The storyline itself is nothing special, following a fairly standard fantasy line of prophecies and travels climaxing in a final battle. However, it falls short in that it doesn't contain the features one expects when coming to the story. It's a huge change from it's predecessor and that only serves to alienate those coming to it from The Sight. This results in a story that is decent but feels disconnected and, despite having strong areas, overall is disappointing.

Fell is available on Amazon for $13.97 hardcover, $9.95 paperback and $5.99 on the Kindle. The Sight and Fire Bringer are both $8.99 paperback.

[Pandora Elinor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting contrast to the first book in the duology. In some ways, it feels more like a children's book than the previous one. It is a lot more hopeful and positive, even though the author can't help but be liberal with the deaths again. The plot also felt much more linear and simple.

I think in some ways this is due to the author approaching writing about people quite differently. He seems to be much more aware of sexist stereotypes and even advocates against them (although clumsily) with his human characters. Meanwhile his wolves are as ridiculously sexist as in the previous book. I won't go over this again as I discussed it in the last review, but it's still a problem here. Once again, he writes exasperating male characters. Huttser is still an ass. His son Skop is also a toxic masculinity caricature. At times in the story, Catalin also displays the same repulsive characteristics. Hateful, dismissive, that horrible entitled rage whenever he feels his privilege is being threatened. It's strange that it comes up so often in these books, and doesn't really make me want to read more of them.

On that same note, wolf behaviour in this book has not really improved. I mean, hell, just reading the Wikipedia page would have vastly improved the accuracy here. The pack structure is just as absurd this time around. Huttser and Palla had a second litter, and then inexplicably stopped reproducing, despite living to a very advanced age. All 4 pups, now 5 years old, have remained with the pack. Compare this information to the aforementioned Wikipedia page... Yeah.

In general, the story of the human characters feels more like it is aimed at children in its tone. There is still plenty of darkness, although it feels a little more told than shown, compared to the last book. There is also a lot of philosophising, rambling passages on the meaning of life, death, etc. that feel self-indulgent and are never as wise and thought provoking as the author seems to want them to be. I thought they wasted a lot of page space and in fact this book really didn't need to be as long as it was. It could have easily lost 100 pages, if not more, of rambling philosophising, weird asides on historical facts none of the characters could have known but the narrator wants to inform us of anyway, and general overexplaining. Look, I don't mind books that make things clear. I like books that let you work things out for yourself from hints, but I also find books that are straightforward and spell things out to be restful for me as a reader, as it lets the facts sink into my sometimes tired brain and requires less effort from my increasingly bad memory. But this book really does explain too much. The author has to constantly remind us of things we have already been shown, and spell out every single implication. Trust your reader!

I could complain about how Lescu's death and its impact on his son is completely ignored after a 100 pages or so. Or the villains always taking the time to explain and answer questions before getting to the killing part. Eh. It's an imperfect book, it can be clumsy and ham-fisted about its messages.

Still, despite all these negatives, it has to be said that the themes are once again lovely. The girl and the wolf, the mountains, the blacksmith's little house... It catches the imagination. The settings are beautiful, and the imagery striking. I also think the writing has improved since the previous book. And as I said the lighter tone and the storytelling feel makes for a good read. I liked Fell here, he was perhaps my favourite part, when he wasn't beating himself up and condemning himself to darkness. He is a strong and likeable character. Alina is also a dynamic, brave and kind character, although at times a touch self-centred.

Worth a read if these themes are up your alley, otherwise flawed though.