The Fall of Cadoria by Paul Wilson

Gods and Runes #1

May 22, 2024 – Adult, Fantasy

I was given a copy of this book, free, All opinions are my own.

Synopsis : (If you want the official synopsis, click the link. I think it gives too much away so I am not posting it.) Cadoria has long withstood the sieges and threats from the bigger countries surrounding it. Prince Tyrran has led the charge, changing the landscape and boosting the morale of its army to become a small, but formidable opponent for those looking to conquer Cadoria. In the latest battle. he will face not just Thargoza, an enemy he has defeated multiple times, but the new enemy at his back.

Disclaimer #1: I didn’t finish the entire book. I stopped at 30%, which is 73 pages out of 243.

Disclaimer #2: If the author is going for a campy-ish fantasy, that is more satirical, I could understand why the book was written the way that it is (minus the editing flaws).

Housekeeping: I know not everyone likes or even agrees with DNF reviews. But I invested time in reading the review book, and there is a reason why I didn’t continue so – here we are. And if you are new here, I believe DNF reviews are valid and valuable, so I share them usually for books that were given to me for review and if I have read enough to explain what wasn’t working for me. This is also done so that authors/publishers/publicists know that I am actually reading books given to me and not just sitting in the collection. I only post DNF reviews on my blog, I do not crosspost them – even if I have agreed to do so upon completing the book.

My Thoughts: I liked the cover and the synopsis caught my attention. But there was something immediately off with the writing. I wasn’t sure what to think of Prince Tyrran- was he a bumbling idiot that accidentally became a hero or was he the actual hero that the stories talked about? Sometimes he was the strong military hero and sometimes he acted like a whiny petulant child. The clues that alluded to the betrayal were heavy handed and -regardless of the justification and remorse from the betrayer, I saw it coming from the introduction to that character. For the first 30% of the book, we have Prince Tyrran who is supposed to be a strong military leader, who has not been failed by his instincts, completely ignoring his instincts and never once becoming suspicious of the information he was given. This would have made sense if a plausible reason was given, but there wasn’t. The writing is very simple, and this could have used one (at least) more thorough editing, as there multiple instances of missing words- enough to where it became annoying. I wasn’t sure whether to take the book and its hero serious or to laugh at it. And the writing wasn’t clear what reaction was being sought.

I have a lot of commentary about the characters and specific things that happened in the book, but I can’t really discuss those without giving things away. And in the end, it would just be hammering the point home that this book isn’t ready for publication- either because of its flaw in editing and plotting or because it doesn’t know whether it wants to be taken seriously or not.

Always Shine!