Novella Reviews: Falling Kingdom Stories

Reviewer Note: This is only the second time I've attempted reviews like this. Since there's no bind-up edition of these stories and since they're so short there's not enough substance to do a full review so these reviews will be similar to the anthology and omnibus reviews I've done previously, with the reviews consisting of shorter reviews that aren't in my traditional categorized format. I hope you enjoy! P.S. While I think you can read these stories at any point in the series, for the most part, there are some fairly heavy implications at twists in the series later one, and I would recommend reading Obsidian Blade prior to Immortal Reign, as elements from that story do come into play in that book.

Release Date: August 12, 2016
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Length: 21 pages
Source: FREE Kindle Book

Crimson Dagger is the story Falling Kingdoms fans have been waiting for!

In this prequel short story, set before the events of Falling Kingdoms, Prince Magnus is awoken by an unexpected visitor—in his bed. One look into her fierce, hateful eyes, and Magnus knows exactly who it is: Kara Stolo.

Ten years ago, as a scared little boy, he told a lie that irreparably changed Kara’s life. As a result, her father was wrongfully imprisoned, chained in the dark dungeon underneath the palace, where he was to remain until his death. Now, Kara is back to avenge her father's punishment, and there's more. Kara believes he's still alive, and she needs Magnus to help free him . . . or else.

    

Review:

So, in all honesty, while we do see some of where Magnus's character development over the course of the Falling Kingdoms series originated in this short story, it doesn't really have much of an impact, if any to be honest, on the core series. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this story, while short I felt it really showed a full and well-written story with a beginning, middle, and end, whereas some other short stories I've read for series, see my reviews of the Wrath and the Dawn short stories, felt more like deleted chapters than actual stories. In this story, we see Magnus and how the choices he made when he was younger affected him when he grows up. There's not a lot that connects this and the main series, and as far as I know, and can remember, this incident isn't brought up at all in the main series, but it's still a fun and exciting story that fleshes out Magnus's character even more.

Rating:

I didn't need this to have a huge tie to the rest of the series, nor did I go into it thinking there would be, and since it does tell a complete and new story it was a lot of fun to read and I wish Rhodes would write more short stories set in this world than the two that she did.


Release Date: November 15, 2016
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Publisher: Razorbill
Length: 54 pages
Source: Kindle Book

Magnus from Falling Kingdoms and Maddox from A Book of Spirits and Thieves are on an epic quest through time in this series-bridging novella.

In a garden of ancient ruins on the cliffs of Limeros, Prince Magnus comes face-to-face with a witch. The old woman incapacitates him with a spell, presses a single object into his hand—an obsidian blade—and tells him to bring it to a woman named Samara before the sun sets and his portal home closes forever.

A flash of dark magic transports Magnus back in time to a Mytica he’s only heard about in storybooks. Lost in this foreign land, Magnus sets out to find Samara. But a chance encounter with the rumored Witch Boy derails his journey. Magnus saves Maddox from a beating, but the cruel Livius is now on their tail. The sun is starting to set. Time is running out. Both boys must fight for their lives.

Follow legendary bad boy Magnus and the enigmatic Maddox as their worlds collide in this high-stakes adventure.

    

Review:

This story is much more substantial than the last. In this tale, Magnus is sent on a journey against his will by a mysterious witch, who sends him back in time to when Mytica is ruled by two goddesses and Maddox Corso is in the employ of his guardian Livius. When I first heard of this story, a little over a year ago, I thought it was just going to be a fairly insignificant story where you get to see Magnus and Maddox meet and interact, and in a lot of ways it is. However, when I began reading Immortal Reign, I discovered that this story has much more of an impact on the main series than I thought as the titular Obsidian Blade appears in the prologue of Immortal Reign. Much like with Crimson Dagger, the main aspects of the story don't have a huge impact on the main series as both Magnus and the people he comes across in the past will forget their encounters, but there's a lot of little call outs, implications, and easter eggs in this story that relates both to the Falling Kingdoms series and the Spirits and Thieves trilogy.

Rating:

Again, this was a very enjoyable story, even though it doesn't hold TOO much of a bearing on the main series. It reads almost like a side quest to the main series where it was fun, exciting, and full of a lot of the things I love about both series, but short and for the most part fairly irrelevant, still I would highly recommend it for any Falling Kingdoms fan.