The Fallen: An action-packed romantic fiction full of magic and mystery during the time of Atlantis.: An action-packed romantic fiction full of magic and ... Atlantis.

by Ravek Hunter

Drystan, Temple Knight of Lyonesse, is sent to retrieve the betrothed of his uncle, the powerful Duke of Tintagel. And then he falls in love. This simple journey sets into motion a parade of events that will upend the lives of three unsuspecting innocents and everyone they care about.And then there are those poised to gain from the chaos. A healer with a remote background and a dark secret, a soldier with a penchant for debauchery and two mysterious brothers from the mystical island of Hy Brasil all have a stake in the outcome.Betrayal, intrigue, jealousy, murder . . . and love, will drive the human condition to its breaking point. Who will survive the struggle and find true love in the end? Or will love be lost forever? Two lovers desperately search for redemption, but no hand is left unmarred by the blood of another, and in their wake, they leave tragic loss and the drumbeat of war.Yet, the ripples of unrest spread far beyond the concerns of soldiers, citizens, and young nobles. Dark forces conspire behind the scenes as the wheels of power turn, controlling the levers of influence that reach all the way to the crowns of two kingdoms.And the stakes are higher than anyone could imagine.NEW! Fully edited and re-formatted version available now!

277 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 23, 2018

About the author

Born in Homestead, Florida, Ravek Hunter grew up in the United States and Belgium. He earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida International University and went on to become a sporting goods executive. He currently serves as a consultant in the same industry and occasionally assists his wife of twenty years at her floral design company. The proud father of two boys, Ravek counts reading, exercising, and family travel among his leisure hobbies.
Over the past four decades, Ravek’s passion has been researching ancient civilizations with a focus on the origin stories behind their mythology. His writing style attempts to immerse the reader into the story by bringing to life historically accurate, rich details of the culture and time-period that frame the narrative.
Inspired by classic fantasy authors like Robert Jordan, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and R. A. Salvatore, Ravek writes to entertain and provoke his readers, who, he hopes, share his fondness for mythology.

Reviews

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of The Fallen in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Fallen is Ravek Hunter’s debut novel. It’s an epic fantasy story; include knights, princesses, druids, and demons. It’s a story that’s unafraid to take it’s time in the telling, and will never rush to get to the point. It’s a tale of love and war, and everything in between.



Warnings first: During the establishment of one of the main antagonists it was made very clear that he is not a good man. The scene is only mildly graphic, but it leaves no room for doubt; he tortured and raped a young girl. It’s the only scene of that variety, thankfully. If this disturbs you it’d be easy to skip over, and you can easily see it coming if you know what to look for.
The Fallen enjoyed taking classic tropes and twisting them on their heads. It took a classic knight’s tale, a princess romance, and a fantasy saga and mashed them all together with surprising results.
I really wanted to like The Fallen more than I did, but there were several factors that kept me from enjoying it more. For one thing I never really found myself particularly attached to any of the characters – despite trying very hard. The princess felt vapid and easily swayed, which I guess isn’t all that different from a lot of princess stories, so I can’t really be surprised or hold too much of a grudge for that.
The story tends to drag on at times; I know there’s a saying about how all knight’s tale happen in the summer, because there’s no fighting in the winter (I’m horribly botching that saying, please forgive me, but that’s how it always stuck in my head), but that isn’t really the case here. There’s a lot nothing between each of the pivotal scenes, which is a shame.
As for the antagonist of the novel; I feel like a lot of time was spent building up is threat levels (such as the scene mentioned during my warning), but very little was actually done about him. I felt right from the beginning that he would be a larger threat to the princess (for obvious reasons) than the knight, which is true. I would have preferred that he had been set up to be a larger threat to knight, but that may just be personal preference there.
I do believe this story had some good bones to it, and I am genuinely curious to see what the sequel will be like. There were some loose ends (I won’t call them cliffhangers, because that has a negative connotation) left about at the end, leaving plenty of room for the next book in the series to pick up with.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an ok book. The major plot points were pretty predictable, but it was still a fun read. Drystan, Temple Knight of Lyonesse, is sent to retrieve the betrothed of his uncle, the Duke of Tintagel. When Eselt and Drystan meet, there are immediate sparks between the two. As they start the journey back to Tintagel, the couple can't resist getting together and start a doomed love affair. When they reach the Duke's house, cruel soldier Purin discovers their affair and is determined to tell the Duke. Meanwhile, two mysterious brothers hunt down a rogue healer that is possessed by a chaos demon.

This book has a hodge podge of different ideas that don't necessarily go together, or go anywhere. There are certain characters and situations that start out promising and then are just abandoned with no explanation. This was a bit distracting. The story stalled at certain points and the main characters were just a bit too earnest. But, overall, it was a fun read.

[Carmen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had an idea that two characters were going to connect once they had met; this was a book I ended up enjoying, and got a copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Judith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best fantasy novel I have read all year. Drystan is a delightful character with wonderful dialog, but my favorite character is the devious Purin. He plays a very dark role throughout the story which culminates in final standoff that is unexpected. No spoilers! The novel was an enjoyable page turner that left me wanting more!

[Kristine WESTER · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel by new Author Ravek Hunter was surprisingly well developed and enjoyable page-turner. I found the characters likable and the dialogue was easy to follow. I REALLY loved the way the story was set in a time before our modern history. It's not clear when, however, there are numerous references to actual places, some still exist today. Eriu, modern Ireland, and Lyonesse, modern England and Scotland I recognize from a class I took on Mythology in college. Overall, I liked this novel and now that I follow the Author I see he has another one that looks like it is based in Mesopotamia. I look forward to reading that one as well.

[Kenneth Hersend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

[Diane Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fallen By Ravek Hunter ended up on my facebook news feed. One of my facebook friends read it and shared it on facebook and gave it a thumbs up. This genre isn't something I would normally read, but I am so happy I snagged it up when I did. It Changed my thinking about the genre. I absolutely enjoyed the time setting, made it seem more dramatic in a good way.

Drystan is temple night and the main character of the story. He is everything you expect a knight to be. I don't want to go into much of the story cause I have a habit of spoiling. I will tell you that If you like historical romance, magic, and paranormal reads you will love this book.

This book was a hard to out down kinda book, but took me a while to finish it, because I did not want it to end. I think I would recommend just about anyone who can read to read this book.

Thank you for your review.

The Fallen By Ravek Hunter ended up on my facebook news feed. One of my facebook friends read it and shared it on facebook and gave it a thumbs up. This genre isn't something I would normally read, but I am so happy I snagged it up when I did. It Changed my thinking about the genre. I absolutely enjoyed the time setting, made it seem more dramatic in a good way.

Drystan is temple night and the main character of the story. He is everything you expect a knight to be. I don't want to go into much of the story cause I have a habit of spoiling. I will tell you that If you like historical romance, magic, and paranormal reads you will love this book.

This book was a hard to out down kinda book, but took me a while to finish it, because I did not want it to end. I think I would recommend just about anyone who can read to read this book.

[Fordith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a big fan of fantasy and love nothing more than discovering new worlds to live in book by book and so I was really looking forward to reading this book.

I personally found that the story was a romance for the first 60% of the book and then it became much more action packed. If the other 40% wasn't there I would have asked why it needed a new world to exist it but that's another matter. I realise that's because it is a book within a series but my personal preference is that a book could be stand alone if needed.

It was a little bit predictable in places and I certainly saw one of the 'twists' coming a long way off however it was still enjoyable to read and follow the story. The characters were good solid characters whose motives were always clear and reasoning made sense.

All in all I did like this book don't get me wrong and I would love to know how this story ends!

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the second of ‘Worlds of Atlantis’ and a true fairy tale. Though predictive, once again, the strength of Raven Hunters’ writing is in his devotion to character. Whether strong or weak in the story, they are always honest and true. His characters are given depth and purpose of being whether for good or evil making you care about what they’re feeling and will do next. They are never just fillers.

This story is like the fairy tales of old, good clean fun with, of course, some blood and grit along with a moral to keep it true to the genre. We have our knights in shining armor, even when that armor grows dull, kings and princesses, fair folk and foul. All to be expected in any good tale as any bard will tell you.

We all need a good fairy tale every now and again if for no other purpose than to take the load of the world off and relax in our imagination.

[Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was awesome. I love wizards, knights and paranormal evil bad guys that always muck things up. The references to characters from lore was subtly done and powerful. My favorite bad dude was Purin. He's pretty messed up guy with lots of bad inclinations. I want to be him. Drystan was cool too and a perfect hero. Well worth the 2.99 on Amazon.

[Lindsey Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full Review Here

I pride myself on being an honest reviewer. When I don’t like a book, I’ll say so. It makes the good reviews more effective. The Fallen, however, is one of the worst I’ve read this year.

I had multiple problems with the construction of both the plot and the characters. It infuriated me at times!

The synopsis hints towards the romantic element. Let’s be clear here: this book is a romance through and through. That’s it. Every page was a lament to their undying love.

‘In the time of Atlantis’ is misleading. Three characters are mentioned, in passing, to be Atlanteans. Nothing about the myth, the legend or anything else for that matter.

It’s also off-putting with the reference to Tintagel. Considering Atlantis draws readers interested in legends, I was also expecting an Arthurian connection. This is a fantasy – why bring in two legends and then not develop either? It could have been set anywhere!

There is no character development. There’s barely any personality!

Drystan had the initial makings of a fun character – reluctantly fetching his uncle’s bride, hoping to escape back to adventure rather than being entangled with love. After that snapshot, the rest of the book is him pining over Eselt. He spends time contemplating the honour of being a Knight…and also actively trying to murder someone, without any remorse.

Eselt was worse: shallow and immature. She ‘loves’ the Duke at first sight. She quickly forgets that love when she meets Drystan. Her adamance she is a young woman is undermined when her actions are described as ‘shrieking’, implying a childish tantrum, not a young lady determined to be heard. I can’t think of a redeeming feature for the princess.

And so, the plot (beware of spoilers!).

The entire thing is a love story, true. Halfway through, you’re given the impression there’s something more at work and it’s revealed a love potion is involved. The author appears to have forgotten, however, is that their feelings started developing before the potion was introduced: it’s not all witchcraft’s work! Two powerful wizards release the effects, and decide to leave it for no apparent reason.

Dyrstan and the High King have a connection; they always know where each other are and if they have died. When, that is, the characters remember… Drystan declares it would be better for the king to believe they were dead – which makes no sense. He conveniently remembers this bond later on when confronted with the king. As a reader, it was frustrating that this connection is conveniently overlooked just until it suits the plot.

As for the ending, I think I was hysterically laughing by that point. Remember that love potion, and how the whole book has been about their undying love? Think of how it felt as a reader to get to the end, someone innocently lift the potion’s effects and one of the characters decide actually they weren’t in love after all…

I haven’t been so frustrated in a book for a long time!

[KatsCauldron R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet idealistic alternate knights fantasy that has also touch on the wtf were they think folly of an aged lord/king sending a hit young knight to go and pick up their wife to be. Good turning story with a slight twist. The only slight annoyance I have with these stand alone but interwoven tomes is the placement of peoples in time frames of their alternate realities versus legends and fact or their counterparts with here. Worth a read

[Sue Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thankyou to NetGalley and Raven Hunter for the opportunity to read and review a copy of The Fallen.
I found the storyline to be well thought out and easy to follow. The atmosphere of the book made it come alive. I really enjoyed this novel and cannot wait to read more from this author.
Well worth a read for fans of the genre.