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The Dread (Fallen Kings #2)

by Gail Z. Martin (Goodreads Author)

4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 · rating details · 517 ratings · 26 reviews

Still reeling from plague and civil war, the Winter Kingdoms face an invasion force from across the Northern Sea led my a dark spirit mage in the name of ancient, vanquished gods. Summoner-King Martris Drayke and an untested generation of new rulers must stand against an unholy alliance of shadowy invaders. To prevail, Tris must win the uncertain support of the Dread, spir...more

Kindle Edition, 640 pages

Published February 1st 2012

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Mar 31, 2012 Melissa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Oh, this book and I have such a love-hate thing going on here. Except I don’t hate it. I just mildly dislike some of it. Oh, but I love it, too!

You see, I love the characters. I have had such hopes for the Warrior-Queen Kiara (no relation), ever since The Summoner. However, she never really lives up to her potential. For the first couple of books, she was fabulous. Then she ends up married, pregnant, and stuck as far from the battlefield as she could possibly get “for the sake of the heirs”. Sig...more Oh, this book and I have such a love-hate thing going on here. Except I don’t hate it. I just mildly dislike some of it. Oh, but I love it, too!

You see, I love the characters. I have had such hopes for the Warrior-Queen Kiara (no relation), ever since The Summoner. However, she never really lives up to her potential. For the first couple of books, she was fabulous. Then she ends up married, pregnant, and stuck as far from the battlefield as she could possibly get “for the sake of the heirs”. Sigh. Tris is a great character. Summoner and King, he is forced to balance his power against his morality. My favorite character, I think, has always been Jonmarc. He is quite the rogue, an ex-slave, and an excellent fighter. In this particular part of the series, though, I think my favorite is Aidane. She’s a serroquette – what is known as a “ghost whore” or one who can speak to and be possessed by ghosts. She reunites lovers parted by death for one last night together. In her homeland, she is hunted and if caught would be tortured and killed. She’s a remarkably complex character and one who stands up admirably under pressure.

The world is fascinating and filled with compelling characters that I would love to sit down with for a drink. I love them to pieces. It’s the plot I find myself scratching my head over. Take your pick: the enemies of the last two volumes are either a) a group of supernatural creatures b) foreigners compelled by a spell or c) Isencroft (domestic) traitors. Except, somehow, the answer is really some strange combination of all three. Plus, there’s a Ripper-esque serial killer, some rogue vampires, and an evil Summoner all seemingly working in collusion with each other for the downfall of all of the myriad heroes who’ve been introduced to us over the course of five books.

If you’re scratching your head about now, don’t feel too badly. So was I. It all sort of makes sense in context as you’re reading, but I really don’t understand the motivations of the bad guys here. I think it’s a matter of the opposition being underdeveloped. You see what they wanted, but not why they wanted it, and it leaves something essential lacking that would push the story from good to great.

That said, Martin is just as adept at epic, sweeping battle scenes as she is at brief, poignant glimpses into ones that tugs at the heart strings. Jonmarc’s thoughts at being off to war during the birth of his twins comes to mind, and likewise Tris’ reasoning for walking into death and also for effectively damning his own soul. You can see how Talwyn and Jair’s story will go, but that doesn’t make the ending any lighter for the reader. The poetic beauty of the words is so haunting that you can forget, for a time, that a lot of the plot doesn’t really make sense.

So. I love it. But it confuses me. I don’t regret reading it. Nor do I feel entirely comfortable recommending it to others. This is one you’re going to have to make your own decisions about, readers. I’m giving it 2 and 1/2 stars.(less)

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Jun 04, 2012 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sword-and-sorcery, dark-fantasy

One of the reasons that I really liked this series at the out-set was that while it was a standard-as-all-heck sword & sorcery/epic type story, Martin wrote good characters that I liked and genuinely cared about. And even in this last installment, it's the little personal touches of the story between the characters that I enjoy the best.

Unfortunately, they're rather few and far between as the story, overall, focuses on the war being fought on multiple fronts.

One of the downfalls of our chara...more One of the reasons that I really liked this series at the out-set was that while it was a standard-as-all-heck sword & sorcery/epic type story, Martin wrote good characters that I liked and genuinely cared about. And even in this last installment, it's the little personal touches of the story between the characters that I enjoy the best.

Unfortunately, they're rather few and far between as the story, overall, focuses on the war being fought on multiple fronts.

One of the downfalls of our characters being spread all over - aside from the lack of personal touches - is the fact that we jump between 5 or 6 different perspectives, and as soon as things start getting good, we jump to someone else.

More than that, though, is the fact that our characters have little to know way to communicate with each other, so we see each group sort of have to learn the same things that you already watched the other groups already learn. And while it makes sense to the story for all the groups to have certain information, it gets kind of tedious to have to keep reading the same stuff over and over again.

And while the battles were sometimes cool, they felt mostly repetitive, and it was kind of annoying that it was just "ooh, here's the newest and baddest magical thing you have to fight against" and then, against the odds, people win, and then "ok, no, here's the newest and baddest magical thing you have to fight against".

*sigh*

There were some moments were it shined (Gethin was a nice addition, though I would've liked to see him interact more with Berry, Jonmarc's thoughts while on the battleground and missing the birth of his children was good, I liked the Aidane and Kolin storyline until Aidane started acting so stupid), but, overall, it just didn't live up to earlier installments in the series. I missed Carina and Calloway a lot, and Tris' parts, which were often my favorite in past installments, seemed to fall flat here - even though they were, arguably, some of the more intense and interesting. And after all the set-up, the climax was just so rushed and sort of unsatisfying, and a lot of the magical problems were resolved a bit too patly.

I don't know - just, overall, I felt like Martin was relying on our connections with the characters from earlier books in the series instead of putting any effort into it this go around. (I will say, though, that she's pretty good at reminding you of things that happened in past installments without doing huge info-dumps.)

Anyway, I didn't hate it and it was a pretty fast read, considering the size, but Fallen Kings doesn't hold a candle to the Necromancer cycle and it's kind of a pity that the end of the Kings cycle was so meh.

It was also kind of annoying that the ending read a lot like the set-up for the next arc in the series, which is obviously going to involve the children that everyone's having. Bit too heavy-handed with the hooks for the next arc in the series, there.(less)

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Feb 22, 2012 MissM rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nook, read-2012

I really like the world created in this series. This volume is mainly war; multiple fronts of the same war. So it reads pretty fast despite being a large book. This is also apparently the last of this portion of the story - the "Fallen Kings Cycle" - and the next book will be part of the next cycle of the series.

There is some frustration with overlapping events occurring but the characters being apart from each other so they can't combine efforts, but it's not enough to fully detract from the st...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Vicki rated it 5 of 5 stars

Summoner-King Martris Drayke faces his darkest moments in this latest and final installment of “The Fallen King’s Cycle.”

Terror has arrived from across the sea with an invasion by a people known as the Temnottan. It will take every ounce of King Tris’s awesome magical abilities and the help of his friends to overcome the dark summoner he must battle.

Meanwhile horrors from the past are let loose upon the land. The power of the one evil summoner must be broken or the world will be unmade.

It’s an...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Mirjam rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

When King Donelan of Isencroft is assassinated, his daughter and heir must leave her husband and infant son behind and hurry back home. Being the daughter of one king and the wife of another, Kiara knows all about the sacrifices the Royal family must make for the good of their kingdom. However, that does not make it any easier to leave your loved ones behind in such dangerous times. Her husband, King Martris Drake, has joined his army on the coast of Margolan where they face the dark summoner an...more When King Donelan of Isencroft is assassinated, his daughter and heir must leave her husband and infant son behind and hurry back home. Being the daughter of one king and the wife of another, Kiara knows all about the sacrifices the Royal family must make for the good of their kingdom. However, that does not make it any easier to leave your loved ones behind in such dangerous times. Her husband, King Martris Drake, has joined his army on the coast of Margolan where they face the dark summoner and part of the Temnottan army. Apart from leading his army Tris will be expected to face and defeat his evil counterpart or die trying. But although Kiara will be going home, she will not be any safer. Isencroft is divided between loyalists and divisionists, who hate the idea of a joint-kingdom with Margolan. The Divisionists have already killed the king, now only Kiara and her young son are left. Civil war is not the only threat facing Isencroft for the Temnottan army is attacking all the winter kingdoms at once. Kiara is facing a huge challenge as she must unite her country against the enemy. Once again dark clouds are gathering over the winter kingdoms. Can the young and mostly inexperienced kings and queens of the winter kingdoms defeat Temnotta and its dark summoner?

Being a huge fan of Gail Z. Martin’s works I was counting the days until the release of her latest book, The Dread, second in The Fallen Kings Cycle. Martin always succeeds in bringing her story to life for me. The Dread is as engrossing as her previous works with all the subplots that are established. I often dislike it when authors constantly switch from character to character throughout the book. Mostly because I often end up being more interested in one particular storyline to the point where I am sorely tempted to skip the other storylines until after I finish the one I enjoy the most. So far I haven’t given in to temptation yet, but it is always a good sign when an author manages to make all the different storylines equally interesting. I can honestly say that I have never been tempted to skip parts in Martin’s works! Whether the story features Tris, Kiara, Jonmarc, Jair or Aidane, I am always eager to find out what is going on.

I find the religion Martin created most intriguing with a well-developed system of good and evil. As a powerful summoner Tris is always walking a fine line between using his magic without crossing the line between good and evil. Misusing magic with the best intentions is still wrong. In The Dread Tris once again has to face the fact that this line is mostly black and white.

Martin expertly balances physical battles with magical ones. There is always work for the army and work for the magic-users. Sometimes magic is used in most amusing ways, like in The Dread. I will not say too much, but the way the gift of fire is used sure made me chuckle out loud!

The Dread is a book I know I will re-read many times. There is action, magic, love, sacrifice, good, evil, war and all those aspects that make a great fantasy story!
(less)

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Mar 02, 2013 Ranting Dragon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dan

http://www.rantingdragon.com/review-o...

The Dread by Gail Z. Martin, sequel to The Sworn, is the second book in The Fallen Kings Cycle and another example of the recent rise in duologies over trilogies. This cycle tells the continuing story of King Tris Drayke after The Chronicles of the Necromancer series as he struggles to protect his burgeoning kingdom from a threat from across the northern sea.

A fantastic transition from young adult to adult fantasy
I’ve felt all along, while reading Gail Z....more

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Feb 09, 2012 Mandy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved these. All of the books in both of the related series. Loved them. Quick reads that walked a fine balance between joyful happy endings and sorrowful loss that avoided the candied feeling of a fairy tale without getting lost in the grim over-reality of the 'Game of Thrones' books I just finished.

I'll definitely be looking for her new series once it's available.

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Aug 17, 2012 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

I just haven't been able to make myself finish this. I want to because I've invested time in this series, but I'm getting the feeling this is a toxic relationship. Somehow even with a war it feels as if nothing is happening. It was already formulaic to the extreme, and now it's gotten boring.

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Feb 01, 2012 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this series, although I think it was a little rushed. There was a lot going on, with a lot of characters in different places; which I think woul dhave benefitted from a longer series - perhaps 3 books instead of two.

It seems that the ending was left open for another series as well, and I'm sure I'll read it when it's published.

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Jun 13, 2012 Patrice rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: classic-fantasy, series

As with all the other books in the series, this is part of a duology within a longer series and I think concludes Martin's Chronicles of the Necromancer books. I really enjoyed this series and I like how things turned out. I am also looking foward to Martin's next book series.

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Feb 17, 2012 Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars

A good wrap up of the story of the current generation of protagonists. Left it wide open to start a new series about their kids. The typical "here comes the bad guy, we better find some new skills/artifacts to deal with it," but still well written and enjoyable.

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Mar 16, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

As much as I enjoyed the other books in this series this one did fall alittle flat. I love the characters but it seems as though too much was going on and then climaxed very quickly!

Not my favourite from the set but worth a read to finish off and tie up some ends.

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Feb 12, 2012 Meredith Kaupp rated it 5 of 5 stars

This has become one of my favorite fantasy series. I love all of the characters, and I love that the focus stays on them rather than spending too time on what the villains are thinking. I hope there will be more books set in this world.

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Mar 02, 2012 Suzanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, the story was ... okay. That's it. Not great. Not terrible. There were a *lot* of battle scenes, many of which seemed repetitive. The romance was incredibly sappy. However, I'm not a big fan of schmoop in my books - it's rare that I will read anything schmoopy unless the plot and/or character development that surrounds all that sap is well-done - so take that comment with a grain of salt. Much was predictable. Much was unexplained. And the battle between Tris and Scaith was anticlimacti...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Craig rated it 5 of 5 stars

Well done Gail Martin. While the book ended a little to fast for me, I still loved it. I gave it 5 stars because I couldn't put it down. No spoilers here, but it could easily have been made into a trilogy.

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May 14, 2012 Charley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I thought the book was great. I enjoyed how the story can continue with the children of the characters. While I understand why they had smaller parts, or were entirely missing, I did miss some of the characters. Overall a good read

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May 07, 2012 Don McDonald rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audible, fantasy

I have enjoyed the books in this world and plan the read future works from the author. The characters are good and enjoyable but there are times when the books seem to wind down very quickly at the end of the story.

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Mar 25, 2013 Rebecca Davis rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this series and although it's not perfect I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys good fantasy novels.

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May 15, 2011 Diane marked it as to-read

I really hope this is out early 2012.

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Mar 21, 2012 Soteris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Gail Z. Martin concludes the story that she started with the Sworn in a spectacular finale in the Dread.
If you're a fan of Gail's work, you wont be disappointed. If you love fantasy, you will not be disappointed.

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Mar 29, 2012 Amber rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not nearly enough Carina in this book. At this point in the series, I was pretty weary of the epic battle scenes as well. Overall, I very strong series, though.

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May 16, 2012 Joanna rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't know what happened, but it seemed that the magic of the series was lost after the fourth book.

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Sep 09, 2012 Lynn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-read

Loved it! So great to spend time with these characters again.

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Mar 26, 2012 Ellen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perfectly awesome as always.

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Mar 06, 2013 Tweedledum rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Excellent!

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May 22, 2013 Josh Lee marked it as to-read

May 22, 2013 David marked it as to-read

May 21, 2013 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

May 21, 2013 Erin Jeanne rated it 4 of 5 stars

May 21, 2013 Gena rated it 3 of 5 stars

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About Gail Z. Martin

Gail Z. Martin discovered her passion for science fiction, fantasy and ghost stories in elementary school. The first story she wroteat age fivewas about a vampire. Her favorite TV show as a preschooler was Dark Shadows. At age 14, she decided to become a writer. She enjoys attending science fiction/fantasy conventions, Renaissance fairs and living history sites. She is married and has three childr...more

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Books by Gail Z. Martin

The Summoner (Chronicles of the Necromancer, #1)

The Blood King (Chronicles of the Necromancer, #2)

Dark Haven (Chronicles of the Necromancer, #3)

Dark Lady's Chosen (Chronicles of the Necromancer, #4)

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“Foolishness pours out of an open mouth....
but wisdom sneaks in through the ears....” — 4 people liked it

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The Dread (Fallen Kings #2)

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