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Catherine is Currently Reading

Catherine rated a book really liked it

Farilane (The Rise and Fall, #2)

by Michael J. Sullivan (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: fantasy, currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2024

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Catherine said: " Interesting multi-dimensional characters, setting, overall story. While I didn't care for the character of Farilane at the beginning - I found her excessively snarky - her character grew on me quickly and has become a favorite, as well as her story.

W Interesting multi-dimensional characters, setting, overall story. While I didn't care for the character of Farilane at the beginning - I found her excessively snarky - her character grew on me quickly and has become a favorite, as well as her story.

What keeps Farilane from being the favorite of the Rise and Fall trilogy is the ending, which comes on much too quickly. (view spoiler)[It seems one minute we're at mid-point, the next is the climax and dénouement. There is the introduction of a prophecy toward the end of the book, and the lead up to the climax is lightening speed which includes Farilane acting out of character when she heads out with the group that plans to assassinate her; she ignored every red flag raised in that situation. Not only that, but I find it hard to accept that Farilane's own family, at the spurring of Kile, planned her beheading knowing she would endure the execution alone, away from family and home, with the execution performed by thugs. Makes no sense given how much her family loved her.

I am not one to decry the death of a protagonist or a favorite character, but the death needs to have meaning, must make sense in a story or be used to propel a story forward. Farilane's death didn't make sense to me mostly given her relationship with Kile (Turin/Uberlin/Malcolm). Kile and Farilane loved each other, and that is important to know as Kile is the one that tells Farilane she must die, is the one that told the royal family Farilane had to die, that it was necessary in Kile's attempt to right the world. I won't go into detail on Kile's arguments, but what doesn't make sense is Kile doesn't know Farilane's death will present a specific outcome, only the potential for a necessary wobble in the universe, one that could produce a more favorable future outcome. I remember Malcolm (Kile) telling Persephone in Legends that it's not that he can see the future so much that he is trying to direct certain outcomes, manipulate pivotal points in history to hopefully right the wrongs he made so that the world could be saved. So, why not take a chance with Farilane? There was no guarantee her death would result in a redemptive path - unless I'm missing something. I do plan to go back and reread Farilane after I reread Riyria, see if I may have missed important clues/meanings my first read.

I also did not care for the thread concerning Farilane, her brother (a twin), and the Horn of Gylindora; this element of the story seemed a bit too forced in order to present the reader with an explanation on why Farilane had to die.

While I didn't completely agree with the author's rapid pace of the ending, Farilane being out of character, the introduction of a prophecy so late in the story, and the reasonings for Farilane's death, what I absolutely loved was the ending MJS presented with Kile, Muriel and the feathers. That mental image was with me for days and, in fact, Farilane's story stayed with me for days; it was such an emotional ending. Major withdrawal with Farilane, but some threads in the pre-climax were less than desirable which is why I like Esrahaddon more than Farilane. (hide spoiler)]

Throughout MJS's different series I try to remind myself, when I come up against threads or characters that I don't care for or are seemingly unnecessary to the overall story, that this is Turin's story, that his path to redemption will not be easy, not always make sense to the readers nor the characters in the story, but the outcome he seeks and the sacrifices he makes in his attempt to save the world are admirable, honorable. This, and Farilane's story overall, is why I presented a higher rating.

The reader will get a lot of Turin in Farilane, and he is by far a favorite character of mine. Most fave characters are those in MJS's three series and chronicles; he is the best at characterization.

As with Esrahaddon and Nolyn, the complaint is the exclusion of a character list. Even if not in the book the author could have given his readers an online list. ...more "

Nov 05, 2026 04:48PM · see review

Catherine is currently reading

The Book of Signs: 31 Undeniable Prophecies of the Apocalypse

by David Jeremiah (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, christian

Reading for the 3rd time

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Jul 20, 2026 06:15PM

Catherine is currently reading

Angels - Bible Study Book for Women with Video Access: Finding Hope in God Who Reigns over Heaven and Earth

by Melissa Spoelstra

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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Apr 29, 2026 07:31PM

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Catherine’s Quotes

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: god, world

12816 likes

“He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad.”
― Rafael Sabatini, Scaramouche

tags: epitaph, first-sentence, great-first-lines, laughter, literary, merriment, opening-lines

2135 likes

“Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Critic As Artist: With Some Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing and Discussing Everything

14717 likes

“I don't believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.”
― J.K. Rowling

tags: books, magic, magic-books

4492 likes

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
― Charles W. Eliot

tags: books, friends, reading, teachers

13938 likes

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