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Half-Orcs #8
The King of the Fallen
“Yet again, the brother gods destroy the land with their selfish war...”
----
The angels were meant to protect Dezrel. They were meant to guide humanity out from the wreckage of the second Gods' War. But their high priest Azariah has betrayed them all. The ruling angels have fallen, their forms twisted, their color faded, and their wings stained black with the god Ashhur's disgust. In their rage, they are no longer content to guide. With Azariah at their head, they will rule. They will form their perfect world, no matter how many human lives must be sacrificed.
In the north, the greatest remaining angel Ahaesarus gathers the beastmen tribes to wield them as an army against the Fallen. To the south, the surviving members of the Eschaton Mercenaries flee the ever-expanding reach of the Fallen. The boy king of Mordeina travels with them under the protection of the Godslayer, Harruq Tun. He is the last hope to unite the fracturing human kingdom to stand against complete domination, and the Fallen will capture him at any cost.
But Azariah has in his possession the journal of Karak's Prophet, and access to its forbidden spells within. Those beloved to the Godslayer will suffer...even those beyond the grave.
THE KING OF THE FALLEN by David Dalglish
Even gods may betray their beloved.
----
The angels were meant to protect Dezrel. They were meant to guide humanity out from the wreckage of the second Gods' War. But their high priest Azariah has betrayed them all. The ruling angels have fallen, their forms twisted, their color faded, and their wings stained black with the god Ashhur's disgust. In their rage, they are no longer content to guide. With Azariah at their head, they will rule. They will form their perfect world, no matter how many human lives must be sacrificed.
In the north, the greatest remaining angel Ahaesarus gathers the beastmen tribes to wield them as an army against the Fallen. To the south, the surviving members of the Eschaton Mercenaries flee the ever-expanding reach of the Fallen. The boy king of Mordeina travels with them under the protection of the Godslayer, Harruq Tun. He is the last hope to unite the fracturing human kingdom to stand against complete domination, and the Fallen will capture him at any cost.
But Azariah has in his possession the journal of Karak's Prophet, and access to its forbidden spells within. Those beloved to the Godslayer will suffer...even those beyond the grave.
THE KING OF THE FALLEN by David Dalglish
Even gods may betray their beloved.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2020
39 people are currently reading
157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 20, 2023
With this, my journey with the Half-Orcs is over (for now). There's been many moments I loved throughout the series, many characters I loved, and for most of them I grieved. The first part is going to be about overall all the main characters, and then I'll review the book.
I want to begin with my three beloved ones: Jerico, Tarlak. and Qurrah. Jerico was always my favorite one during both the Paladins and the Half-Orcs. The man who changed my view of the world, the man who taught me the importance of love and compassion. The man I admired, the man I really cried for, the man I felt him being a broken human despite all the heroic actions he performed, and probably the man I spent most of my time. It was so nice to witness his journey through almost 9 books. Every time I read him, I just wanted to give a hug to that huge, unshakable, indestructible man. But sometimes I felt like his emotions weren't completely shown. But not in this book, it's for another book.
Tarlak, who I deemed 'rip-off yellow Gandalf' the moment I saw him but grew with him as the story continued. I felt his pain in every moment he was sad, I always saw his inner side, which was broken and cloaked under his wit. Yet I enjoyed every moment I spent with him.
And Qurrah, who I said "This man literally grew up, became a real man!" at the last moments of his life. Though his death wasn't how I expected it. Not bad, but not enough. I also can say that Qurrah was, unarguably, most complicated and most changed character throughout all the story, and one of the very few whom I enjoyed to read every second of him.
Now let's talk about those who I loved lesser. These are Lathaar, Tesenna, Haern, Dieredon, Jessilynn, Delysia, Mira, Brug, Antonil Copernus, Aheasarus, and probably a few others who I don't remember their names right now. I can't say much about those. These dudes were (mostly) nice and interesting, yet I never felt the same emotions what I felt for Jerico or Qurrah or Tarlak. When something happened to them, I just said 'eh', when they died, I just said 'whatever', when they were happy, I just said 'okay', when they felt sad, I just said 'meh'. There hasn't been a bond between me and them.
And those I never loved: Aurelia and Harruq. It isn't like they were mediocre-written or something. It was just because they never felt reliable. They were the gods of Dezrel, those who reshaped the entire history with their thoughts, and this just felt, 'awkward'. Despite their losses, despite their pain, I couldn't feel anything for them. And I never worried about them, for I knew they were too OP to die, and this also ruined the relationship between them and me. For example when Jerico was about to die at the end of book three, I just cried almost all the day. But when they were in the same situation, I just said 'Nah, they will survive anyway.'
Now, I want to talk about the book. It was quite nice, and I really enjoyed many moments especially the fall of the Citadel, but also there were a few moments I didn't like and a few flaws.
The first is Darius. I mean I love him, as much as I love Tarlak and Qurrah. But why him? Why does he have to be Jessilynn's guide? I think he's the last man who deserves to be mentor of someone. It would be nice if he only had showed up to Jerico. I also didn't like the part where Azariah sees himself getting killed by Harruq. It would absolutely be better with the slightest change: Put Judarius in stead of Harruq, and voila! With that, you have the tenfold better scenario. Especially right before the conflict between them, that scene would be thousands of times better. Brothers could question each other and the relationship between them could completely collapse. And I also would like a part to be spared for the moment where Jerico and Darius meeting by a lake in Dezrel. Not the most necessary thing, but it would be nice anyway.
And the flaws. The first one is Anora. While she died in the book seven, she appears at the Hemman Fields in the book eight. I thought it's because the passing 5 years between the seventh and eighth books, but I'm not sure since Dalglish said that he read the book six and seven before writing the book eight. Another flaw is the angels and beasts. While Dieredon said that there were almost 20000 beasts approaching the Castle of Yellow Rose, and Ahaesarus said that he had 3000 Angels with him, a third of them, we see that there are only 400 Angels and 6000 beasts. Beasts can be explained since there are many reasons for their numbers to decrease, but what happened to 2400 Angels who didn't see their fallen brethren until the battle in the Hemman Fields?
Speaking of flaws, there's also a huge flaw about every villain throughout the entire story. Velixar and Thulos dies so weird and in a 'fairytale' way. Kevin Maryll had a great potential, and despite his small appearance during the Paladins series, he really managed to impress me in book six. I always thought what would happen in a scenario where he survived, killed Harruq and Aurelia before their really idiotic victory against him, and fought against Azariah, led his people into a grim future, an almost-impossible victory, instead of Harruq. But he really died too idiotically. Also Azariah's death was too 'unreliable'. Every main character alive and in Mordeina gathers, Azariah defeats all of them one by one, and then, in the blink of an eye, protagonists win, without losing anyone in that battle. I think David Dalglish really hates the villains he writes and kills them in most absurdly and fairytale-ish way.
Overall, it was a nice journey and truth be told, I felt empty when it ended. And I don't think that one last book is necessary. I think there's no stuff you can tell. We earned our two fairytale-ish endings and I think unless David Dalglish is gonna write a few more books, there's no need for book nine. Perhaps he can tell what happened to those damn Orcs and their Demon Lord but other than that there's not much he can tell.
P.S: I didn't feel anything at the epilogue, unlike other readers. Perhaps it's because I never read the Shadowdance series, and probably never will (because Haern isn't most interesting man in my book).
I want to begin with my three beloved ones: Jerico, Tarlak. and Qurrah. Jerico was always my favorite one during both the Paladins and the Half-Orcs. The man who changed my view of the world, the man who taught me the importance of love and compassion. The man I admired, the man I really cried for, the man I felt him being a broken human despite all the heroic actions he performed, and probably the man I spent most of my time. It was so nice to witness his journey through almost 9 books. Every time I read him, I just wanted to give a hug to that huge, unshakable, indestructible man. But sometimes I felt like his emotions weren't completely shown. But not in this book, it's for another book.
Tarlak, who I deemed 'rip-off yellow Gandalf' the moment I saw him but grew with him as the story continued. I felt his pain in every moment he was sad, I always saw his inner side, which was broken and cloaked under his wit. Yet I enjoyed every moment I spent with him.
And Qurrah, who I said "This man literally grew up, became a real man!" at the last moments of his life. Though his death wasn't how I expected it. Not bad, but not enough. I also can say that Qurrah was, unarguably, most complicated and most changed character throughout all the story, and one of the very few whom I enjoyed to read every second of him.
Now let's talk about those who I loved lesser. These are Lathaar, Tesenna, Haern, Dieredon, Jessilynn, Delysia, Mira, Brug, Antonil Copernus, Aheasarus, and probably a few others who I don't remember their names right now. I can't say much about those. These dudes were (mostly) nice and interesting, yet I never felt the same emotions what I felt for Jerico or Qurrah or Tarlak. When something happened to them, I just said 'eh', when they died, I just said 'whatever', when they were happy, I just said 'okay', when they felt sad, I just said 'meh'. There hasn't been a bond between me and them.
And those I never loved: Aurelia and Harruq. It isn't like they were mediocre-written or something. It was just because they never felt reliable. They were the gods of Dezrel, those who reshaped the entire history with their thoughts, and this just felt, 'awkward'. Despite their losses, despite their pain, I couldn't feel anything for them. And I never worried about them, for I knew they were too OP to die, and this also ruined the relationship between them and me. For example when Jerico was about to die at the end of book three, I just cried almost all the day. But when they were in the same situation, I just said 'Nah, they will survive anyway.'
Now, I want to talk about the book. It was quite nice, and I really enjoyed many moments especially the fall of the Citadel, but also there were a few moments I didn't like and a few flaws.
The first is Darius. I mean I love him, as much as I love Tarlak and Qurrah. But why him? Why does he have to be Jessilynn's guide? I think he's the last man who deserves to be mentor of someone. It would be nice if he only had showed up to Jerico. I also didn't like the part where Azariah sees himself getting killed by Harruq. It would absolutely be better with the slightest change: Put Judarius in stead of Harruq, and voila! With that, you have the tenfold better scenario. Especially right before the conflict between them, that scene would be thousands of times better. Brothers could question each other and the relationship between them could completely collapse. And I also would like a part to be spared for the moment where Jerico and Darius meeting by a lake in Dezrel. Not the most necessary thing, but it would be nice anyway.
And the flaws. The first one is Anora. While she died in the book seven, she appears at the Hemman Fields in the book eight. I thought it's because the passing 5 years between the seventh and eighth books, but I'm not sure since Dalglish said that he read the book six and seven before writing the book eight. Another flaw is the angels and beasts. While Dieredon said that there were almost 20000 beasts approaching the Castle of Yellow Rose, and Ahaesarus said that he had 3000 Angels with him, a third of them, we see that there are only 400 Angels and 6000 beasts. Beasts can be explained since there are many reasons for their numbers to decrease, but what happened to 2400 Angels who didn't see their fallen brethren until the battle in the Hemman Fields?
Speaking of flaws, there's also a huge flaw about every villain throughout the entire story. Velixar and Thulos dies so weird and in a 'fairytale' way. Kevin Maryll had a great potential, and despite his small appearance during the Paladins series, he really managed to impress me in book six. I always thought what would happen in a scenario where he survived, killed Harruq and Aurelia before their really idiotic victory against him, and fought against Azariah, led his people into a grim future, an almost-impossible victory, instead of Harruq. But he really died too idiotically. Also Azariah's death was too 'unreliable'. Every main character alive and in Mordeina gathers, Azariah defeats all of them one by one, and then, in the blink of an eye, protagonists win, without losing anyone in that battle. I think David Dalglish really hates the villains he writes and kills them in most absurdly and fairytale-ish way.
Overall, it was a nice journey and truth be told, I felt empty when it ended. And I don't think that one last book is necessary. I think there's no stuff you can tell. We earned our two fairytale-ish endings and I think unless David Dalglish is gonna write a few more books, there's no need for book nine. Perhaps he can tell what happened to those damn Orcs and their Demon Lord but other than that there's not much he can tell.
P.S: I didn't feel anything at the epilogue, unlike other readers. Perhaps it's because I never read the Shadowdance series, and probably never will (because Haern isn't most interesting man in my book).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2024
Oh man, the tears I have shed throughout this series and especially this book. 😭 I have put off reading this for so long, knowing people I love are probably gonna die even if it is for a good cause. I thought this was the last one, but book 9 is now out, and I have one more journey to go on with some new characters 💜 Hearn was my most favorite character. ( My first DD book was A Dance of Cloaks, and I loved it sooooo much!! I just needed more of this world and the characters) I can't wait to read about his daughter in book 9💜💜
This book was so good. I even cried reading the authors note because I just had a feeling that you knew the feelings of or just experienced losing a child. My heart ached, revisiting that. Harruq and Aurelia made the best decision, even though I prob wouldn't have 💔 I cried so much.
Idk what crack you put in your books, but every single time I start reading a DD book, I just can't put it down! I will always recommend this series 👌 the high fantasy is high and the drama and politics are insane 😳
Your books are just written so well 💜 I love and care about every character 💗 even the bad guys. (Except for Velixar, because fuck that jerk 🤣) I don't want to leave this world but I am just too curious to see what's Erin is up to to not read it.
Don't ever stop writing! Your #1 fan in Florida 🥰
This book was so good. I even cried reading the authors note because I just had a feeling that you knew the feelings of or just experienced losing a child. My heart ached, revisiting that. Harruq and Aurelia made the best decision, even though I prob wouldn't have 💔 I cried so much.
Idk what crack you put in your books, but every single time I start reading a DD book, I just can't put it down! I will always recommend this series 👌 the high fantasy is high and the drama and politics are insane 😳
Your books are just written so well 💜 I love and care about every character 💗 even the bad guys. (Except for Velixar, because fuck that jerk 🤣) I don't want to leave this world but I am just too curious to see what's Erin is up to to not read it.
Don't ever stop writing! Your #1 fan in Florida 🥰
April 25, 2021
Stunning as always
I laughed, I cried and I wish I had never finished. By this point in the series I assume anyone reading this is a fan and you won't need me to tell you how great the world description, character depth and emotional connection to the story is. I will say that you will not be disappointed except by the fact that there's no more pages to read.
Keep up the great work David, look forward to your next offering.
I laughed, I cried and I wish I had never finished. By this point in the series I assume anyone reading this is a fan and you won't need me to tell you how great the world description, character depth and emotional connection to the story is. I will say that you will not be disappointed except by the fact that there's no more pages to read.
Keep up the great work David, look forward to your next offering.
June 30, 2021
Absolutely incredible
This book was incredible. I’ve read all of the books of this author and can confidently say this one is worth reading again and again. The only thing I can think of to make this better is for the author to create an index of characters. It’s been soooo long between books that those of us who’ve been reading them all can’t remember all the various characters in the half-orcs books.
This book was incredible. I’ve read all of the books of this author and can confidently say this one is worth reading again and again. The only thing I can think of to make this better is for the author to create an index of characters. It’s been soooo long between books that those of us who’ve been reading them all can’t remember all the various characters in the half-orcs books.
July 12, 2024
Yet Another Amazing Half-Orc Entry
I've been waiting quite a long time for this novel, and I'm so happy to have finally read it. David has grown so much as an author since the start of the series, and it shows in this entry to the series. His original novels are some of my favorite fantasy novels ever, and he's just continued to out-do himself. If you're a fan of David Dalglish, you're going to love this one as much, if not more, than any of his other works.
I've been waiting quite a long time for this novel, and I'm so happy to have finally read it. David has grown so much as an author since the start of the series, and it shows in this entry to the series. His original novels are some of my favorite fantasy novels ever, and he's just continued to out-do himself. If you're a fan of David Dalglish, you're going to love this one as much, if not more, than any of his other works.
July 25, 2025
Stull one of my favorite series
I laughed, I cried-A LOT, but I'll still return to read these fondly. Every. Single. Time. Your writing has matured since being self published, but these are still my all time favorites. Everyone should delve into the magical world of Dezrel, from the beginning, and all the little "side quests" DO. IT.
I laughed, I cried-A LOT, but I'll still return to read these fondly. Every. Single. Time. Your writing has matured since being self published, but these are still my all time favorites. Everyone should delve into the magical world of Dezrel, from the beginning, and all the little "side quests" DO. IT.
August 27, 2020
Worth it
May have been his best in the series. Waited a long time for this book at this moment of completion it was worth it. If you haven’t read any of these go to his website and read them in timeline order. It’s worth it even if there’s a few gaps.
May have been his best in the series. Waited a long time for this book at this moment of completion it was worth it. If you haven’t read any of these go to his website and read them in timeline order. It’s worth it even if there’s a few gaps.
September 1, 2020
Amazing from start to finish
Definately enjoyed the book. Seemed rushed but after reading the note from the author Definately understand. Amazing read and story look forward to the next one.
Definately enjoyed the book. Seemed rushed but after reading the note from the author Definately understand. Amazing read and story look forward to the next one.
January 18, 2025
This was just utterly so good!
This was just utterly so good! The fights were gripping as perusal and yet I found that Quorra doing right by trying to protect his twin's second daughter was just touching. Yet I found all of the characters well developed throughout the book.
This was just utterly so good! The fights were gripping as perusal and yet I found that Quorra doing right by trying to protect his twin's second daughter was just touching. Yet I found all of the characters well developed throughout the book.
August 13, 2020
Thanks dude. Another absolute masterpiece. It was like seeing an old friend after years and seeing they are still the same.
P.S you made a grown man cry... A lot
P.S you made a grown man cry... A lot
August 16, 2020
The epilogue almost broke me
I have a toddler and reading that stuff in the epilogue...
All I can say is thank you for your writings and I am looking forward to your next book(s).
I have a toddler and reading that stuff in the epilogue...
All I can say is thank you for your writings and I am looking forward to your next book(s).
October 2, 2020
Epic
If colourful characters and epic battles are your thing...read this series. Fantasy at its best. Dalgish makes me laugh, cry and squeal in delight.
If colourful characters and epic battles are your thing...read this series. Fantasy at its best. Dalgish makes me laugh, cry and squeal in delight.
January 24, 2021
Can't wait for Legacy of The Watcher. Every book keeps you hooked. Every twist a surprise.
January 9, 2022
Glad to have continued the story.
It took me a moment to catch up to what's going on. Good read. Not a bad read. Some typos keep bringing me out of the story. Not as big deal tho
It took me a moment to catch up to what's going on. Good read. Not a bad read. Some typos keep bringing me out of the story. Not as big deal tho
December 5, 2024
HOLY COW!!
Dalglish keeps me satisfied while also making me hungry for more and has been doing so for 15 books so far. Can't wait to read the Legacy
Dalglish keeps me satisfied while also making me hungry for more and has been doing so for 15 books so far. Can't wait to read the Legacy
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews