Lightfall

Book One of The Everlands

De: Ed Crocker

Narrado por: Shakira Shute

A novel of vampires, werewolves and sorcerers, Lightfall is the stunning debut epic fantasy by Ed Crocker, for fans of Jay Kristoff’s Empire of the Vampire and Richard Swan’s The Justice of Kings

For centuries, vampires freely roamed the land until the Grays came out of nowhere, wiping out half the population in a night. The survivors fled to the last vampire city of First Light, where the rules are simple. If you’re poor, you drink weak blood. If you’re nobility, you get the good stuff. And you can never, ever leave.

Palace maid Sam has had enough of these rules, and she’s definitely had enough of cleaning the bedpans of the lords who enforce them. When the son of the city’s ruler is murdered and she finds the only clue to his death, she seizes the chance to blackmail her way into a better class and better blood. She falls in with the Leeches, a group of rebel maids who rein in the worst of the Lords. Soon she’s in league with a sorcerer whose deductive skills make up for his lack of magic, a deadly werewolf assassin and a countess who knows a city’s worth of secrets.

There’s just one problem. What began as a murder investigation has uncovered a vast conspiracy by the ruling elite, and now Sam must find the truth before she becomes another victim. If she can avoid getting murdered, she might just live forever.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The worldbuilding is classic paranormal fantasy, but the many players and complex politics lend this an epic fantasy feel. Crocker shows plenty of promise."
- Publisher's Weekly

"Debut author Crocker creates a world full of mysterious lore in this paranormal fantasy series starter. Witty and surprisingly philosophical, Lightfall will have readers eagerly anticipating the second installment."
- Booklist

"Lightfall is a darkly delightful subversion of the vampire tale, in which the supernatural takes centre stage rather than hiding in the shadows. Read this if you crave tons of whip-smart snarky banter set against a brooding, blood-drenched world."
- Sunyi Dean, International Bestselling Author of The Book Eaters

"Lightfall is a smart, witty fantasy with a lusciously developed world as rich and dark as the blood that runs through it."
- Frances White, Sunday Times bestselling author of Voyage of the Damned

"A bloody good vampire book with a compelling mystery at its core—fans of Jay Kristoff will eat this up."
- Amber Logan, author of The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn

"Fizzing with wit and intrigue, unique worldbuilding and visceral action, Lightfall offers a thrilling examination of power and class, steeped in a world that trades in blood and secrets. A tremendous first installment to what promises to be an unforgettable series."
- David Wragg, author of the Article of Faith series

"Brilliantly written and endlessly entertaining, Lightfall tears down everything you know about vampires, then reconstructs it into a tale that’s thrilling and compulsive. Get it into your lives now. There will be blood…"
- Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad Trilogy

"It’s big, it's brutal, it’s bloody—it’s everything I didn’t know I wanted in a vampire fantasy"
- Andy Peloquin, bestselling author of the Darkblade and Queen of Thieves series

Nice change

It was a fun change of pace from my usual romantasy reads. The world-building was really interesting, especially the twist where humans and mortals were just a myth—it added a fresh perspective to the usual vampire lore. The story had a good balance of action and mystery, though some parts felt a bit familiar. I liked the characters, but I wished a few of them had more depth. Overall, it was an engaging read that didn’t lean too heavily into romance, which I appreciated. If you’re into vampire fantasy and want something a little different, this one’s worth checking out!

New take on vampires, werewolves, and sorcerors

Overall it was a fantastic read, and I was fully engaged with all the characters. One minor issue was about 80% of way through during the reveal our main character gets caught flat footed, and it seemed rather stupid they didn't anticipate that happening. Luckily the plot keeps moving, and we roll right past back to in almost no time. I would highly recommend!

Wow

This was so fun. The world building boils down to socioeconomic politics in a supernatural world!! So fun, so clever and so dynamic. I need more Raven in my world and Jacob is a new favorite character. Looking forward to a sequel 🙌🏻

A wonderful, witty fantasy novel

I absolutely loved this book, and the narration was spectacular. Shakira Shute embodied all of the many first person narrators, and brought the world to life! I can't wait for more.

Well written and unique!

Grabbed this on audible on my quest to read through everyone involved with FanFiAddict’s The Book of Spores. The narration by Shakira Shute was solid and I think she was a great fit for Sam.

A mysterious group called The Grays appeared and in one night the status quo had changed. No longer allowed free rein of the world, the vampires have been pushed back to First Light, the last remaining vampire city. And while there is safety in numbers, the relative confinement has let corruption and deceit run rampant. The poor get poorer, drinking only the weakest of blood, making them little more than human. The rich dine on expensive animal bloods, hosting parties and living lavishly, as if their support staff aren’t literally dying. And while all this is bubbling, the city’s ruler finds out his estranged son has been murdered, sending their world into further chaos. Sam, a maid, has an eye for books and is desperate for more. What will happen when their worlds collide?

I know this book is of course marketed with trending comps like Empire of the Vampire and The Justice of Kings (neither of which I’ve read yet), but to me this felt like a partial Agatha Christie novel stumbled on over into a Anne Rice novel. There’s also intrigue on the scale of Game of Thrones, and there’s an eternal cast like the Underworld movie series. The city itself and bleak world had me picturing the likes of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, but with perhaps a more wolf-like take on the werewolf. And while there is power struggle, this is not a shoot em up story.

So how does it stack up? The characters are strong, and feature vampires, werewolves, and sorcerers as the main cast. Much of this focuses on the mystery or intrigue with characters holding multiple full length discussions that held my attention as much as they moved the plot along. As this is a novel without mortals, meaning ZERO humans, it was interesting to see how they were similar, but especially the little nods of how they were different. I hope in the sequels we get more explanation because I am so on the hook for how they all exist! Aren’t vampires and werewolves turned humans? Or is there something we’ve never seen before at play?

While there is a climactic finish, the story is definitely more of a slow burn. I think the world gets pretty well fleshed out, with even a commentary on capitalism—and/or classism, depending on how you view it—and I found it really unique how the author delivered on it in his world. Vampire servants on the cheapest blood still age over time, not only establishing that the “lowly” can’t live forever but also physically showing their differences. Almost like a group of vampires without access to universal “vampire” rights and healthcare. I mean there’s even an in-world commentary on fixed markets and the greedy gambling on them with the sale of sample flutes of new blood being offered before they go public. While the author does well to not make all this so over the top that you can’t enjoy the book without reading into these things, for me this added so much nuance and depth. It actually felt like there was a functioning city underneath the story.

Wildly unique, this one takes so many pieces of things I love and makes them entirely new. For fans of vampires, werewolves, magic, and intrigue.