The astounding conclusion to the best selling, Epic Fantasy series, the Five Kingdoms.
Three kingdoms are lost. The King’s Army from Yelsia joins with a host of dwarves and a pride of dragons to make a final stand against the tide of evil sweeping north. Brianna struggles to choose between a king and wizard, while Zollin faces the greatest threat of his life all alone. Wizard Falling is full of surprises as it brings the Five Kingdoms series to a close. It’s a gripping tale from beginning to end, a gripping novel you won’t be able to put down.
First off I should probably admit that I haven’t read the rest of the books in The Five Kingdoms series. I very rarely read a series cover to cover, preferring to dip in and out as I choose, and so for me if I can gain the gist of a series from one book it is a mark of a very well written series.
Wizard Falling follows Zollin and Brianna as they prepare to face Gwendolyn and her mutant army for the final time. Zollin is trying to find his way to Gwendolyn’s lair and overcome the obstacles that she has put in their path, whilst Brianna is helping stage the final defences of Yelsia.
I found that I was much more drawn into Brianna’s storyline than Zollin’s, and I loved how much she cared for her dragons. I would almost be tempted to say that Brianna should be a role model for young women, but I feel that before I can commit to that statement I may need to read some of the other books in the series.
The range of Zollin’s powers were somewhat disappointing; I can think of much better wizards in literature, however the book was enjoyable overall. A solid three stars from me.
Brianna and Zollin must go their separate ways to fight the war against Gwendolyn and her monstrous hordes. Brianna must help the kingdom and the future king and Zollin must win a tremendous battle against Gwendolyn, going to her underground chambers to do so. Each put their heart and soul into the fight but one might lose the battle. Sadly the future king becomes just as treacherous as his father and brother and that breaks Brianna's heart but she must go on for Zollin and Zollin fights to live for Brianna.
This was a great series but perhaps a little long or maybe the agony I felt for Brianna and Zollin at each turn was too much to handle. I have read a lot of fantasy stories and this one seemed to surpass all previous readings in the amount of evil and peril our hero and heroine had to face.
I will certainly read more by Toby Neighbors.
An aside: Though I enjoyed the story I was constantly frustrated by the lack of editing by someone/anyone. There were a great deal of extra words, words with the last letter missing or small words missing altogether. There were also a few redundant sentences. Also, when the dragons were first introduced we were told they were neither male or female (it was mentioned several times) but later in the story the author started referring to them as he and she. It is certainly hard to write without giving some sort of sexual connection. I feel that the author gave up on trying to do so.
I would say that in the last few years all authors and their editors have forsaken the editing process just to get a book out there as every book I read anymore has problems. While people who love to read will do so anyway those who are still coming into their love of reading may be turned off. And, how in the world do dyslexic people deal with this? Or, anyone who may struggle to comprehend what they are reading for that matter?
I enjoyed the first seven books of the Five Kingdoms series. My review is in the first of the books. But elements were introduced as the series progressed that made me decide not to continue after seven.
I admire Neighbors' writing skills and his imagination. For readers who don't share my objections, you may find him to be one if the best authors you read. Characters like Zollin are what place a book in my favorites list. But, Zollin's morality was not typical of the characters in the story, even the 'good' ones.
I have just finished reading Wizard Falling. I have not read the Lorik Trilogy or any of the 5K books beyond Wizard falling. Since Wizard falling is the end of the series prior to Mr. Neighbors having continued the story, I thought I would leave my review here.
Overall I would give the series 3 stars for "liked it". However, I do know that Mr. Neighbors is self-published (or published with the company he created, at any rate). That being said, it was one of the better self-published series I have had the opportunity to read.
On the whole, I think character development on most of the characters was very good. The only ones I would say didn't make a lot of sense to me were King Felix and Mansel. More King Felix than anything, but Mansel also seemed to grow up "suddenly" as he met Nycoll. It seemed like a fast paced development. King Felix on the other hand seemed to be very reasonable until suddenly he wasn't. It was as if he shifted from the personality traits existing in Wilam to Simmeron overnight.
I think that the idea that power goes to people's heads was a central point of emphasis in the 5 Kingdoms. That was a fun exploration to me.
I think Zollin was the most well rounded character in terms of character development and consistency. He's obviously the most important character so that deserves kudos.
I don't have much else to say other than I thought it was a good story. Keep it up, Mr. Neighbors.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Honestly, I was excited the series came to an end. It just seemed like the same unending plot lines were beat to death. Zollin and Brianna just couldn't quite take off (until the very end), Mansel never seemed to grow up (until the end), almost every male in the book was a pervert or corrupt, use magic-get wiped out-drink wine to regenerate cycle, Zollin (for as much as the author says he added creativity to magic) only doing magic shields, lightning, and healing etc. It just all seemed to blend together after a while. Characters didn't seem to actually grow until about book 5, in fact I felt the plot didn't actually take off until about book 5.
The other thing that just bugged me sometimes is that the characters sometimes stepped out of character. For instance, the prince that went off to the Torr (can't recall his name right now), he gets injured, sick and turns into his father all of sudden and sends 3 dragons to their deaths. Way out of character for how he was being built up in the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The last two books in this series could have easily been one story. The characters are at the end of their ropes, and hope is so slim. It reminded me of the quote from Sam at the end of the Two Towers. “It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass.” This story really feels like that. After so much has happened, after the characters have reached their lowest point and been pretty much used up their strength, the kingdoms have been shattered, and most of the inhabitants are dead. How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?
I think this is such a wonderful story about good and evil. The fact that the author was also in love with writing this story really shines through in every volume. I have to admit that I stopped reading book VII about half way through the story because I wanted to keep it from ending so fast. So I read one of the author's books advertised in the "Five Kingdoms" books. I posted the review just before I started this review just in case someone wonders how I did it. I have a very hard time getting to the end of a story. I want to just keep going.
Three kingdoms are lost. The King's Army from Yelsia joins with a host of dwarves and a pride of dragons to make a final stand against the tide of evil sweeping north. Brianna struggles to choose between a king and wizard, while Zollin faces the greatest threat of his life all alone. Wizard Falling is full of surprises as it brings the Five Kingdoms series to a close. It's a gripping tale from beginning to end, a gripping novel you won't be able to put down. This is a great ending to the series. A little long winded in places but all in all well worth your time to read this series. Great reading everyone!
After all they've been through, after Williams control killing of the Dragons....She fell in love and stayed in love with William just like that. A love story building over 6 books betrayed by a handsome face.... A pretty face on "assignment" who ultimately betrays her.....