WHEN THE HEAVENS FALL: THE CHRONICLES OF THE EXILE, BOOK ONE
Marc Turner’s debut novel has arrived. When the Heavens Fall is the start of a new epic fantasy series entitled The Chronicles of The Exile. The book has both strengths and weaknesses, but should easily find a place on a shelf of an avid reader.
The novel centres on a stolen book and four characters who each have their own motives in getting involved. The Book of Lost Souls is stolen with the intention of overruling Shroud, the Lord of the Dead. The four central characters each have their own storylines in their involvement that weave into the overall plot. Luker Essender, a guardian, is forced into pursuing the thief in order to locate an old colleague. Prince Ebon Calider has conflicts to contend to as the magic creeps in, but must also stay focused on political action. The most intriguing character of the whole novel, and possibly the most influential in terms of plot progression, is Romany, the high priestess to the goddess, the Spider. The conversations between these two characters are by far the most enjoyable parts of the book. The spider exercises her control, much to the despise of Romany. The downfall to the novel is that some characters are more enjoyable to read than others, but this problem should be fixed as the series progresses and the storylines become one and the same.
The plot is basic underneath all the characters internal political motives, but this set up allows for a more complex story as the series progresses. It is clear that this is going to be a very epic series in terms of scope. When reading the blurb, it appears that this could be just a one-off book, but as the book develops it is clear that the extent of the world building and the development of the characters journeys that this is more than just a basic plot. The series is projected to be six books in length, and with the page count at 550 in the first novel, it is clear that this is going to be epic in the extent of both size and the overall storytelling.
Marc Turner’s work can be clearly linked to Steven Erikson, but with fewer characters. As the series progresses into book two and three, it should become clearer how successful this series is going to be. However, with the current marketing campaign and the quality of the storytelling, it is likely that this novel is going to find its place with fans of Joe Abercrombie and Steven Erikson. The characters are dark, which has become a distinguishing feature of epic fantasy, and the inclusion of troublesome gods allows for a story that is well developed with the potential to become one of the go-to books of the genre.
INFO: WHEN THE HEAVENS FALL: THE CHRONICLES OF THE EXILE, BOOK ONE / AUTHOR: MARC TURNER / PUBLISHER: TITAN BOOKS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
