The Shade of Highfall: The tale of Shrew

by Mark O'Dell

An eternal darkness is coming to the world. So say the drug-crazed cult, whose file-toothed adherents proclaim the ramblings of a madman and who journey to the ancient city of Highfall to release their god - the Master of Shades. At this time, a young woman emerges from out of Highfall's slums, known only as Shrew, who must steal to stay alive. Capture is inevitable, and Shrew is forced into servitude and made to work in the sewers, where she stumbles upon a dagger containing the spirit of a legendary fey woman. A bond forms between them, and Shrew sees an opportunity to escape and improve her lowly existence - but the spirit has another plan. Meanwhile, the Master of Shades stirs in his confinement and the darkness edges ever closer. This is the tale of Shrew, her struggle to discover her past and her unwitting involvement in a race to prevent an ancient evil from consuming the world.

Genres: Fantasy

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 23, 2021

Reviews

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Free Kindle e-book in exchange for an honest review as a reviewer on OnlineBookClub.Org.


*I posted the full review a while back on OnlineBookClub.Org so I can't really mention all the details in this review as my brain seems to forget them after a month or so. *

Shrew has two personalities, one is a public face where she seems a perfect lady and the other, one of the only people capable climbing over the walls of Highfall and remaining unseen. While the author doesn't completely erase the romance possibilities for her, Shrew is a strong and independent woman and romance is not her sole purpose in life.

While the descriptions of places, especially Gloamril forest, are breath-taking, at times the dialogues are simplistic and could have been developed more.

The Shade of Highfall: The Tale of Shrew has elves, which is enough to pull in any fans of Lord of the Rings franchise, but also politics, court intrigue and secret plot to take over the city. What's not to love?

I don't think this story was developed to its full potential and give it 4 out of 5 stars. We never get a full explanation of the pantheon worshipped in the story, and therefore find it hard to comprehend the horror The Master of Shades is capable of.

[Laila Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast-paced adventure with lots of moxy and heart…

Shrew is a fascinating character who rises from a cold, harsh, isolating world of extreme poverty to become a warrior destined to save her world. She was easy to connect with and root for surprisingly quickly. Other readers commented on the lack of character development, so I couldn’t help being sensitive to that possibility, but this story didn’t fall short in that department in my mind. There isn’t a lot of introspection, sure, but character development is rich in action (often defiance) and dialogue. It just reads more on the level of a fast-paced YA, tween, or new adult novel, and that works well for this character and setting.

The details are exquisite, and world-building is wildly creative. The sensory details transported me immediately. “The air was fragrant with the scent of rosemary and witch mallow.” Magnificent!

The futuristic world is hauntingly dark, and the “rules” of this universe are well-defined and adhered to skillfully. Meanwhile, the spark of magic throughout casts a bright light on the enchanted realm in which this story takes place. It’s well-imagined and would be an excellent first novel to a high fantasy series.

Overall, it’s gritty and genuine as well as eternally hopeful and optimistic. 4.5 stars, rounding up for stellar world-building, high energy, and fun maps.

[corina]

Received e-book in exchange for an honest review from OnlineBookClub.org and read for class

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of SA, gore, heavy violence, drowning scenes, claustrophobic scenes, sexism.

A review will be forthcoming once I've made a professional review on the OBC platform first. Once that is uploaded I'll come back and update here for a more rant-like review on all my rampant thoughts.

[Danny Frankland · Rating 4 out of 5]

”An eternal darkness is coming to the world.”

Mark O’Dell’s ‘The Shade of Highfall’ really is quite the impressive debut novel. As another fantasy entry in a sea of thousands, it’s fair to say the odds are stacked against up-and-coming authors, yet here O’Dell sticks the landing with a convincing attack on the genre. We as readers follow Shrew, our teen protagonist, as she’s enslaved to work indefinitely in the sewers beneath Highfall. Upon finding an artefact that appears to hold substantial power, however, Shrew sees her opportunity to escape the slums - but does the artefact have other ideas?

Immediately, O’Dell’s mastery of structure is obvious, paced evenly across four story arcs before coming to its conclusion. Although O’Dell dabbles with many genre tropes, the strength of his writing and characterisation save him from falling into cliché. Whilst most secondary characters such as Waylon and Dardalloy feel relatively true to life, it’s Shrew who steals the show here - from start to finish we’re encouraged to empathise with her plight, her resilience and humour preventing the story veering off into grimdark territory. O’Dell isn’t afraid to get gritty occasionally, either, with themes of slavery and betrayal hitting hard and acting as emotional tethers to Shrew’s plight.

That’s not to say that ‘The Shade of Highfall’ is perfect, of course - debuts rarely are. Whilst O’Dell’s strengths lay with his pacing, structure and characterisation, he leans too heavily into descriptive prose without considering whether said prose is actively aiding his storytelling. I couldn’t help but feel that his dialogue felt overly simplistic, especially in contrast to the extensive world-building on offer. Certain elements of the story are unexplained, presumably to be expanded upon in a potential sequel, and whilst that’s not uncommon, in doing so O’Dell deprives the reader of some vital context regarding the characters’ motivations.

In summary, Mark O’Dell earns his place on any fantasy fan’s shelf, and you’d be remiss not give this novel a shot. He captures and maintains the reader’s attention throughout, packing his narrative with twists and turns that subvert expectation and keep readers guessing. Shrew is a highlight and an excellent example of a female protagonist done right; she’s confident and capable, and yet flawed enough that she remains convincingly true to life. If you enjoy female-led fantasy and the tone of novels such as Scott Lynch’s ’The Lies of Locke Lamora’, then you owe it to yourself to try ’The Shade of Highfall’. Better still, it’s currently available on Kindle Unlimited, so add it to your shelf guilt-free today! Assuming O’Dell better balances the density of his prose with more nuanced dialogue in future novels, his next publication is certainly worth keeping an eye out for.

[D. Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this review April 9, 2022:


The storyline for The Shade of Highfall The Tale of Shrew is constructed in such a way, it kept me reading. Shrew is the main character that I perceived to be the underdog, that would fail without a doubt. Her struggles. No memories. However, I must say, the twist and turns, along with the surprise characters I was politely entertained. Joyfully talking to Shrew throughout the book. I really enjoyed Shrew's journey of ups and downs.
If you enjoy science fiction, fantasy, and just want to know what will happen next. This will be a really good read for you.


Positive aspects for me, she found her place. She found friends. She found people to take care of her and to look out for her. Until she found out who she truly was. Her strength was undeniable. She did what she had to do to survive.

Negative aspects
That some of the people were not really truthful with her. They knew who she was the whole time. Instead of taking her off the streets, they just kind of watched her from afar.

Rating: I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars

Justification of rating
In my humble opinion, I was very intrigued by Shrew's character. Mark O'Dell did an excellent job with his characters. Raw, authentic and very passionate work.


Recommendation
I would recommend this book for young adults over the age of 18 if they enjoy Science Fiction and Fantasy reading

[Douglas Shore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shade of Highfall: The Tale of Shrew had me gripped from page one! I came upon this book and, after reading what it was about, I just knew I had to read it.

From the beginning, we join Shrew (A lowly sewer rat) and her venture in the badlands of the Duns. As the story moves, we follow Shrew and her journey, from finding a secret dagger to uncovering the secrets of the Fey and so much more.

There are a few places where I feel the story lacked. I would have liked more information on the old gods and how they relate to the new gods, this side of the story I felt lacked and, if removed, wouldn't be missed (which is a shame, because I think there is an Ethos surrounding the actions of each person that we haven't fully explored, purely based of the gods they support.)

However, I believe there is a second book in the works. Hopefully, we will explore this in more detail in the next novel.

But in all, this was minor and didn't detract from the main story. It is still a 5 out of 5 and a personal recommendation for any who love the fantasy genre.

By this book, You will not be disappointed!

[M Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

The Shade of Highfall is an exciting story about a girl named Shrew who lives in a place called Highfall. She has to steal to survive. One day, she finds a special dagger with the spirit of a fey woman inside. This changes everything for Shrew.

Highfall is a dangerous city with secrets and a cult trying to release an ancient evil called the Master of Shades. Shrew gets caught up in this and realizes she has a big role to play in stopping the darkness from taking over the world.

The story is full of action, magic, and mystery. It's a thrilling adventure as Shrew tries to discover her past and save the world from destruction. With its exciting plot and interesting characters, The Shade of Highfall is a must-read for fans of fantasy stories.

[Progress Wings · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dark Fantasy Tale of Magic and Survival

The story starts with Highfall under threat from a crazed cult. Shrew’s struggle to survive leads her to discover a powerful dagger. The bond with the fey spirit adds magic and mystery. The climax features a thrilling battle against the cult and the awakening evil.

It follows Shrew, a young thief from Highfall’s slums, who gets caught up in stopping a dark cult from releasing the Master of Shades. Captured and forced to work in the sewers, Shrew finds a magical dagger with the spirit of a fey woman. Together, they embark on a journey to save the world from eternal darkness.



Bottom line: it’s a gripping dark fantasy with a compelling story and strong characters. It’s a must-read for fans of adventure and magic.

[Amyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from onlinebookclub.org for review.

The review is posted here https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/vie...

[Miriam Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started this novel this first thing I noticed was the incredibly detailed descriptions – a feature that I was glad to see was continued throughout the story. Due to the descriptions I could easily visualise all of the characters and the locations. It is clear to me that O’Dell must have carefully planned the city of Highfall and the various levels of society found there before writing The Shade of Highfall.

The novel is divided into four parts, with each one signifying an important change in the story. When we first meet Shrew as a child she is living alone, using her wits and quick fingers to steal what she can to survive. The Shade of Highfall builds gradually and I really appreciated this slower pace as it allowed the novel to take its time and properly introduce Shrew and Highfall. It was very enjoyable to follow the story as it progressed and see Shrew grow and develop into a fierce, independent woman with the Silent Knife guild and become the Shade of Highfall.

One of my favourite parts of the story was the addition of the magical daggers. While magic is present in this world it is not commonly used. Shrew encounters a dagger whose power comes from the spirit of an ancient fey. As well as being entertaining, I thought this was a really clever way of bringing the past and present together and giving the reader a glimpse into Highfall’s long history.

Sometimes it could be a little difficult to keep track of the various names used within the story however the book comes with a helpful glossary at the back for those readers who, like me need a reminder every now and again.

The Shade of Highfall: The Tale of Shrew is a fantastic novel with vivid characters set in wonderfully detailed locations. Overall I really liked and enjoyed the story. I believe the novel is a great new addition to the high fantasy genre.

For the full version of my review visit Lair of Reviews

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book a while ago for onlinebookclub.org, and this is essentially my review from there, but edited and with spoilers.

First, about the structuring. The overall story was well thought out, and the book was well organized. I particularly appreciated the inclusion of maps, as they helped me visualize the world. However, my main issue was with the length of the chapters. They tended to be quite long, and this made it challenging to remember the details and what happened in previous sections.

Additionally, I found the world and character building to be a bit slow. There were intermittent short chapters that built up to the final events, but they were few and far between. The pacing could have been improved, and I felt that some of the chapters contained unnecessary details.

In terms of language, the book had a very simplistic style. Personally, I found it too straightforward for a fantasy/sci-fi book.

Furthermore, the shift from a kind of medieval castle/layered city scene to a sudden introduction of futuristic, high-tech sci-fi elements caught me off guard. I didn't notice any foreshadowing of this change in the prior chapters, and suddenly they were flying? I also felt that the main character, Shrew, was somewhat dull to follow. In the second part of the book, her rapid shift from a fearful girl to a ruthless killer was too abrupt. Although there is a time gap of 2 or 3 years, it still felt rushed. And the revelation of her origin was quite predictable, and I saw it coming from the very beginning.

As for the epilogue, it left me confused. I couldn't grasp its purpose, was it left open ended or does the author intend to continue the story as a series.

In summary, the book was not terrible, but it left me puzzled and confused at times. If someone were to ask me for a fantasy book recommendation, unfortunately, this book wouldn't make it onto my list.