Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Such a shame, 4 Aug 2003
By A Customer
I've been waiting for this book for what seems like years. Time and again the author promised a sequel to the wonderful Swordspoint and then didn't deliver. But now Kushner has bowed to the pleadings of her fans and published The Fall of the Kings.And what a disappointment. For starters the book is far too long. Length would be fine if it was used to either advance the plot or build dramatic tension. In this case Kushner does neither. We are treated to agonisingly long descriptive scenes which lead us nowhere. Yes, the language is pretty enough but thats no substitute for plot or character development. Since the character development is so flimsy we are left with a host of similar characters whose only distinguishing features are their names. Unlike Swordspoint we don't really get to undersatnd their lives, motives and thoughts in a cohesive way. In terms of plot the big final 'action' scene of the novel is flat and dull. Focusing too much on the language to the detriment of the action Kushner fails to make these important scenes exciting or thought provoking. Although I've given the novel a 3 star rating I think that's more due to nostalgia over her previous novels than praise for thisone.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
uncanny and exquisite, 19 Mar 2003
Set in the same alternate reality of Swordspoint,this book delves deeply in the history of the town who has seen the adventures of Richard StVier and Alec. The action is centered at the University,where Doctor Basil StCloud, insists investigating history and ancient documents at the cost of subverting established facts and dogmas. He clashes whit a Dr.Crabbe, a crabby indeed antirevisionist who states that all is already known and no further research is necessary. Historical research on the early monarchs will lead to the discovery of the archaic and mystic roots of their civilization, but the revival of ancient customs and myths through learning and the love for the young,undisciplined aristocrat Theron will lead to unforeseen consequences. The novel is magnificently written, the charachters of Basil St Cloud, Lord Theron his lover,and of the colleagues and students , aristocrats, dames and children, young nobles, politics and plotters, are wonderfully portrayed. This strange society is so poignantly depicted that we could swear to be there, amid quarrelling students,in crowded classrooms, at familiar gatherings. This book blends the humanity of Dickens and the witty dialogue of Oscar Wilde...and the dark fascination for ancient myths of Algernon Blacwood. You'll love this book. It's all books like "A secret History" by Donna Tartt wanted to be.In " The fall of the Kings" the reader,like Basil St Cloud, shall be intrigued by the ghosts of past archaic rites, and shall wonder on the eredity the past leaves to the present, even when the present wants to reject it.
This is indeed a great book.
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7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
I want my time back!, 23 Jan 2005
By A Customer
Well that was 7 hours of my life COMPLETELY wasted. Most of the book was fine, if a bit long-winded sometimes. But the ending sucked. I didn't feel like the author resolved the story in a satisfactory manner. After reading the last page, I thought, "That's it?" It left me feeling like the whole story was pointless.
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by Ellen Kushner
by Ellen Kushner
by Lynn Flewelling
by Lynn Flewelling
by Lynn Flewelling
With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is). 
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