Review: Reign of the Fallen

Title: Reign of the Fallen
Author: Sarah Glenn Marsh
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Razorbill
Source: Purchased
Release Date: January 23, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Odessa is one of Karthia’s master necromancers, catering to the kingdom’s ruling Dead. Whenever a noble dies, it’s Odessa’s job to raise them by retrieving their souls from a dreamy and dangerous shadow world called the Deadlands. But there is a cost to being raised–the Dead must remain shrouded, or risk transforming into zombie-like monsters known as Shades. If even a hint of flesh is exposed, the grotesque transformation will begin.

A dramatic uptick in Shade attacks raises suspicions and fears among Odessa’s necromancer community. Soon a crushing loss of one of their own reveals a disturbing conspiracy: someone is intentionally creating Shades by tearing shrouds from the Dead–and training them to attack. Odessa is faced with a terrifying question: What if her necromancer’s magic is the weapon that brings Karthia to its knees?

Review:

This was a different story, but it had some flaws.

I liked the general plot. I was able to predict most things that happened at the end, but I still enjoyed it. One thing about this author: she isn’t afraid to kill her characters!

Now one of the problems in this story has been addressed in many other reviews, but I have to mention it here. There is a scene with non-consensual sex. The woman in the scene says “no” as the man starts kissing her, but he continues. This really has no place in any story these days, unless it is addressing the issue of sexual assault. The worst thing was that the part where she says “no” could have been removed from the scene and it wouldn’t change the story at all! I was so disappointed when I read that, and it really gave me a bad feeling about the story.

The background of this world was also a little strange. I was so curious about the shrouds that the dead had to wear after being brought back to life. I have no idea how you could tell the dead apart when they had to be dressed the same way after being brought back to life. I also didn’t understand why the dead would turn into a monster if someone saw the dead person’s skin. It was very strange, and I don’t know why that happened.

Overall, I was disappointed about some parts of the story.