Book Review: Hero at the Fall

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In Hero at the Fall, we (fans of the series) will come to the end of Amani and Jin's journey. They cross the desert with their skeleton crew and venture into places that are spoken only in myths and legends to save Ahmed and the rest of the Rebellion's key people. The world that Alwyn Hamilton built from the first book to the second and this last instalment ends with the message on the power of stories and storytelling; that there are limits in our knowledge and in the safe keeping of our memories; and that love, in whatever shape and form, is a force that can make or break humanity.

This is a closure. A period. A full stop to Amani's story arc. It is a well thought out narrative from her point of view. The backdrop and setting of the third book is so rich that the myths and legends introduced in Traitor to the Throne is the beginning. The first, Rebel of the Sands, is a prequel or an introduction for readers to fully enjoy and understand the land of Miraji and its inhabitants. Amani's turn as hero of the series truly began in the second book. I was so enthralled into her world until the culmination of the war where finally, all my questions from previous books were answered.

I did miss Jin a lot in books 2 and 3, but seeing how Amani's character grew from obscurity to bandit, to hero, Jin slipping in the background is reasonable. The series' film rights have been bought and I just hope that the Western-steampunk texturing, middle-Eastern-fantasy tones and the romantic themes of the series be kept intact. Demanding, I know. But this is such a wonderfully written series!



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