Heroes of the Fallen

I am so excited to tell you about a book I just read. The book is Heroes of the Fallen, by David J. West. I loved this book.

Heroes of the Fallen goes through the journey of several different people, from Amaron, the young, arrogant Nephite warrior determined to save his people or die trying, to Aaron, the Lamanite prince who believes a dark angel has called him to be the 'chosen one.'

Each character that David shows us is so real that even the evil characters have something soft about them, something that enables the reader to relate to them.

The story has a familiar feel to it that makes it seem historical,and yet it has a fantasy feel to it that is reminiscent of mythology and legend. I was engaged and fascinated at the manner in which David wove his scenes and motifs together. His writing style is lyrical and poetic. There is a lot of show of war and human cruelty, but there was nothing graphic or gruesome. All of the book felt so carefully worded and put together that even a mild stomach can handle the violence. It is refreshing to get a clean, honest vision of how such ancient cultures might have lived. Be warned: it does end in a cliffhanger!

My biggest complaint is that the multiple points of view at times were distracting. I felt that so much time passed between POVs that by the time we got back to character 1, I didn't remember anything about him. This is a juggling act that I am certain David J. West will have perfected by his second novel; finding the happy medium doesn't come naturally. As this is David's debut novel, I have no doubt that he is honing his craft. This novel comes together beautifully and I look forward to the next!

Click here to buy it!