The Fallen Gate

The Last Elixir #2

by Ryan Muree

Shenna knows Revellis is in trouble, and now Eien could be next.

Both the Stonetree Arch and the twelfth gate have been oddly quiet, leaving Shenna to suspect the worst. Aramil is determined to take control of the cycle between Eien and Revellis, and Shenna might be the only one who can do anything about it.

When nearly all of the Kwendi pass through the gate into Eien, her fears are confirmed. She must go to Revellis and reunite with old friends before Aramil destroys the balance. Except Revellis is all but lost, and it'll take sailing across an ocean filled with monstrous beasts, flying over a new continent on winged gryllids, and defeating Aramil's army of ghostly, hollow men if they hope to find the world's most sacred treasure -- the Fallen Gate.

Only the Fallen Gate can bestow enough Vigor to save them. Shenna and her friends must rely on each other's strengths, gain help from new friends itching to wake a lava giant, and muster their courage to face Aramil in a race for all life as they know it.

342 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2017

Reviews

[Lene Blackthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could there be a happy ending if there are no endings?
Evil has spread over the whole world, and it became unbalanced. After Shenna and Izan's reunion with Ezra, Kori, and Raddox, they realize the importance of stopping Aramil and her army, and prevent the world from absolute collaps. But learning about the only way she can be stopped, they are pushed in front of a terrifying decision and the ultimate sacrifice. With great bravery and strongly united, the five of them together with two clans stand up to Aramil in a desperate effort to save the world from vanishing completely.
I admit that the first half of the book sounded a lot like a wild goose chase. Searching for the gates without any solid knowledge and with many unpleasant discoveries, running from one side of the world to the other, and with Izan acting like a total jerk, I was not sure how this could end. But then, something changed and I was totally sucked into the story. The constant danger, lots of fighting and tension, and the dark mood kept me on the edge for the whole time. And then, coming to the surprising conclusion left me emotional and soft. I was not aware how much I became attached to the characters until it was all over. Even those who were getting on my nerves - well, practically all of them but Ezra - I missed after I finished the book. Kori with all her determination, strength, and responsibility, was acting as a whiny child afraid of casual things; Izan switched his charm and support to jerky attitude full of doubts and coldness; Raddox was, well, Raddox; and even Shenna was really blind and naive sometimes, even self-centered despite following a great goal. Nevertheless, in the end, they showed their true characters, and I admired them for their accomplishments.
This book is absolutely worth reading (the whole series is), and I recommend it to everyone who seeks stunning, imaginative world full of magic, wonders, sadness, and heroic acts.

[Miranda Honfleur · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading The Last Elixir, I didn't think that ending could be topped (if you read it, you KNOW what I mean!). Then I picked up The Fallen Gate.

It still has the things that made The Last Elixir such a delicious read--Shenna, Izan, deep worldbuilding, friendship, love, courage. But this book takes Shenna's journey so much deeper, exploring a beautiful and complex tapestry about the mystery and fears surrounding life and death, our own mortality, the notion of immortality, and loss along with what we leave behind when we're gone. The suyoks are scary, and Aramil, the antagonist, is so much more than a "villain." Gah, I don't want to give it away, but this book is BEAUTIFUL. I cried, and I'll be rereading these books just to relive the journey.

That said, this is a book with Raddox and Izan in it, so yes, there are HIJINKS galore and funny moments that had me in stitches! And the romance is lovely and developed further on from Book 1. If you liked Book 1, get Book 2--you won't be disappointed! I also downloaded the bonus Shenna story mentioned in the note at the back of the book, and it was wonderful, a fun glimpse into Shenna's occhemist training from before Book 1. My only question is: when's the next book coming out?!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t wait to read the sequel to The Last Elixir, and it was certainly all I’d hoped for!

Right from the start, the beauty and danger of Muree’s world jumped right off the page, pulling me into the story and upping the stakes. Building on the battle brewing in The Last Elixir, Shenna and her group of friends travel to amazing new lands to defeat Aramil, one of the best antagonists I’ve read in ages.

The tension built to an unforgettable battle and the ending brought me full circle in a deeply satisfying testament to the power of persistence, the beauty of friendship, and the harmony in life and death.

I would love, love, LOVE more from this series!

[Xena Elektra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love the first book but I was at least hooked enough to want to continue.

The book failed to hold my interest throughout. And there came a point where I was only reading to see the end.

The end really sunk this for me. I honestly found it the level of depressing of like Tuck Everlasting. Only if the poor kids entire family had died and left him to live eternity by himself.

I got the whole "this is just how the world works" thing but I guess I wasn't the audience to appreciate it.

I mean EVERY single person dies. The entire land is wasted. Everything is gone. The few friends she has with her basically as avatars are essentially dead. Their souls or whatever or dormant in the earth by their arches until the next time the earth hits its doomsday. In which case they'll surface and pass their powers onto the next desperate people and just be gone.

And then of course Shenna is just going to live forever. No end in sight. How depressing. Not to mention that there's like a several thousand year jump in the epilogue. We have what seems to be animals that have magically appeared over time. Which makes no sense. Why weren't they created right at the start when the avatars created everything anew?

How did they magically show up later?

Shenna also mentions that soon humans will come back. But what? Her people in her original country (the afterlife place) were spared but to my knowledge they can't just come through the gate like she did. Also she doesn't imply that is what's going to happen. She seems to think they're magically going to pop up like the animals.

I have some logistic problems with this. For starters if souls from her country vanish and reappear in this other land when a baby is born don't we need at least two people to start things? What was the point of waiting thousands of years. If this is a total rebirth why didn't the avatars BAM make animals and people right away.

Are people just going to walk out of the flowers one day?

And how depressing that Shenna is just going to live like this...forever. She's liable to go crazy or evil. I mean eventually she'll forget her origins. The handful of years as a normal human with friends will be a blip.

Overall there's little reason to get invested in anything or anyone that's in this book.