What I loved… it was very reminiscent to The Hunger Games, but with plot twists and turns. There was a lovely romance element that didn't distract from the story. There was a good amount of greek mythology aspect to the book. I love that and it kept me drawn to the story. The world building was spectacular. Riser is quite possibly my favorite character. He's a bit rough around the edges, but who doesn't love a bad boy?

What I didn't love… there were scenes that were too descriptive, which ordinarily isn't a bad thing. It made the book feel like it was dragging. There were also times I felt like some scenes weren't as descriptive as I would have liked. It took a bit of time to get into.

This was a great start to a series and I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

What I loved… it was very reminiscent to The Hunger Games, but with plot twists and turns. There was a lovely romance element that didn't distract from the story. There was a good amount of greek mythology aspect to the book. I love that and it kept me drawn to the story. The world building was spectacular. Riser is quite possibly my favorite character. He's a bit rough around the edges, but who doesn't love a bad boy?

What I didn't love… there were scenes that were too descriptive, which ordinarily isn't a bad thing. It made the book feel like it was dragging. There were also times I felt like some scenes weren't as descriptive as I would have liked. It took a bit of time to get into.

This was a great start to a series and I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

This novel is another excellent entry about Cardassia by McCormack and closely follows "A Stitch in Time" and "The Never-Ending Sacrifice".

 

Tthere's a new political movement coming to power, Cardassia First, populist, isolationist, xenophobic, just on the eve of the withdrawal of the Federation from Cardassian soil. Civil Unrest is threatening, just as a Bajoran Starfleet officer is killed. Then Nan Bacco is assassinated, and the withdrawal put into question by the pro-tem UFP president. Garak and Picard work tirelessly to prevent open civil war on Cardassia and maintain the shaky alliance between the UFP and Cardassia.

 

Cardassia is a perfect example for a state that has never really known democracy, just an oligarchy or dictatorship, and now, still fighting the effects of the Dominion War, poverty, pollution etc, it's on the brink to fall back into old systems. I appreciate the matter-of-fact way of story-telling instead of swinging the moral hammer, because, yes, we see this every day, and how many states that only recently embraced democracy have fallen back into the abyss?

 

Garak's one of the most complex figures in all of Star Trek. He's a murderer, a spy, he dragged (together with Sisko) the Romulans into the Dominion War... but somehow he retained or regained a (shrewd as it might be) moral compass. He's not acting out of a need to prove himself or to gain advantage for himself, but for the good of Cardassia. And right now, what he perceives as the good of Cardassia aligns itself with reality. Let's see what happens when he's actually in power.

 

I enjoyed the letters which start almost every chapter, sent and unsent, by Garak to Bashir (and one to Parmak, his closest friend on Cardassia) because they bring insight into his thoughts and anguish. I loved the painting by Ziyal which is sort of his shrine to her and how he uses his memory of her to remain within moral borders. And I love Bashir's one reply warning Garak not to become his father.

 

McCormack leaves the reader to figure out all the emotional intricacies, just as she did in The Never-Ending Sacrifice. Her prose isn't really made for action-sequences, but it's perfect for relaying emotions, motivations... and slowly captivating her readers until they're hooked and can't put the novel down until it's finished.

 

This, together with A Stitch in Time and The Never-Ending Sacrifice is certainly a must-read novel regarding Cardassia.

Shadow Fall is an intense, action-packed book! I am sure that comparisons will be made to other dystopian/young adult books, but trust me when I say that this one stands on its own legs. The characters are all exceedingly well thought out and written about. The places are instantly recognisable from their descriptions. As for the plot itself, well it twists and turns, throwing new action at the turn of every page. There is a hint of a love-triangle, which I'm really hoping doesn't actually come to fruition!

 

Maia/Everly is a fascinating character, who makes choices that not everyone will agree with, but it is what she thinks she must do to protect her younger brother. Riser is someone that she knew when her world was dark, and although she has feelings for him, she isn't sure if she can trust him. Caspian is the Prince that she was 'matched' to before her life changed. Genetically, they fit, but will they in real life?

 

My heart was in my mouth for the climax of this book. It was one where I wanted it to end so that I knew what happened, but also didn't want to end because I needed to stay with these characters a bit longer. It does end with a major cliffhanger, just to warn you!

 

Exceptionally well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book that I would happily recommend, and I look forward to reading further in the series.

 

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!