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346th out of 1,495 books
—
11,999 voters
The Fall (The Seventh Tower #1)
by
Garth Nix (Goodreads Author),
S. Rauling
Tal has lived his whole life in darkness. He has never left his home, a mysterious castle of seven towers. He does not see the threat that will tear apart his family and his world.
But Tal cannot stay safe forever. When danger strikes, he must desperately climb the Red Tower to steal a Sunstone. He reaches the top...
...and then he falls into a strange and unknown world of w...more
But Tal cannot stay safe forever. When danger strikes, he must desperately climb the Red Tower to steal a Sunstone. He reaches the top...
...and then he falls into a strange and unknown world of w...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
July 1st 2000
by Scholastic Paperbacks
(first published June 1st 2000)
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Tal, a 13 year old boy, Is a chosen, he lives in a world where each chosen has a shadowguard who will be replaced with a more powerful one to a trip to Aenir a spirit world.But he needs a primary sunstone for that, and the only one his family had got lost as his father disappeared, Tal tries to get one in every way he can, because with his mother sick he is the only one able to take care of his family, he will have to face terrible dangers to get a sun stone and this will lead him to a strange w...more
Jan 20, 2009
Angélica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fantasy/Sci-fi fans
This was one of my favorite book series when I was younger, and it introduced me to fan fiction. It is also one of my (nearly) complete series. The concept of a world without the sun is very interesting and refreshing. The main characters act as they, in their established backgrounds/societies, should. They also have very good character development. Though a little dark for a children's/middle grade book series, the vocabulary used and the qualities of the characters are still appropriate. The p...more
I have been a fan of Garth Nix ever since I read the Abhorsen books, and while I have enjoyed the other books he's written, I have to admit that none of them have the same spark as the Abhorsen books. At least, not for me. I haven't read all of his books yet, but I'm working my way through them steadily!
The Fall introduces us to a young boy named Tal, on the verge of graduating to the next phase of his life, but things go horribly wrong. His Dad is missing, presumed dead, and with him was the f...more
The Fall introduces us to a young boy named Tal, on the verge of graduating to the next phase of his life, but things go horribly wrong. His Dad is missing, presumed dead, and with him was the f...more
Garth Nix creates amazing worlds in his fantasies, and the first book in the Seventh Tower series is no exception. I teetered between giving this three and four stars because I felt some of the fantastical elements were rather rushed. He throws out brief two sentence descriptions of all these unknown beasts, and they seem to be there purely to identify what the form a shadowguard assumed rather than truly adding to the story, and since none of the animals have familiar names, it's hard to keep t...more
Sep 20, 2011
Christopher
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Children & Garth Nix fans
Garth Nix introduces the reader to a world shrouded in darkness, where shadows live and light is all-powerful. Will-power alone can break apart light, revealing a rainbow of colors both powerful and complex, each with their own unique properties. With the magical powers of sunstones and the servile companionship of shadows, the Chosen rule the castle and supposedly the world. However, not all are meant to rule. Even among the Chosen there is a hierarchy. It is one that uses a mask of nobility to...more
It’s hard for me to judge this book since it represents my first foray back into YA fiction in nearly six months. After tackling “classic” novels and stories which were nearly 600 pages long, this 195 page book caught me off guard. I’ve settled into feeling I have at least a hundred pages for character development and plot introduction, not to mention room to spare for details. But with YA fiction, you don’t have that luxury. Teens have short attention spans. So all of a sudden, I was dropped in...more
The Fall is a very interesting children's book and is pretty unique. Unfortunately, it's extremely short and not much really happens in book one of this series. The magic system in The Fall is based on light. The hierarchy within the society is basically the visible light spectrum, and I applaud Garth Nix for coming up with it. The main character, Tal, is on a mission to find a sunstone to save his family. It's not an outrageous plot, and in the grand scheme of things it's pretty believable. Tal...more
Let me start off by saying that I really enjoy series by Garth Nix. I always find it refreshing to read his books because his ideas and the fantasy worlds that he builds, are always extremely creative, much more so than many young adult and children's fantasy adventure series that now glut up the market due to the massive success of Harry Potter. Garth Nix's fantasy novels also always contain at least a hint of "darkness," I suppose I would say, some sort of complexity or abstract ideas about hu...more
I. Am. So. Lost. I’ve never read a book and come out this disoriented before. Holy crap. Right from the beginning you’re shoved into this world with weird names being thrown at you, many without any kind of explanation so you’re left to try and figure out just what this something’s supposed to look like but you have no idea because it could rightly be anything. That . . . was a huge turn off for me. Immediately I’m supposed to know what all of this stuff is, what’s going on, why it’s so importan...more
The Fall
by Garth Nix
I like this book because of its actions and adventures. I love reading books full of actions because it is easier to vision it in my head than books without details that helps the readers vision its plot. I also find it interesting because of its setting and its dimensional world. Though it has a sun, it is much more than that; the characters has magical powers from a mysterious stone called the sunstones.
It is fascinating because of its mysterious world that is much simila...more
by Garth Nix
I like this book because of its actions and adventures. I love reading books full of actions because it is easier to vision it in my head than books without details that helps the readers vision its plot. I also find it interesting because of its setting and its dimensional world. Though it has a sun, it is much more than that; the characters has magical powers from a mysterious stone called the sunstones.
It is fascinating because of its mysterious world that is much simila...more
This is only the second middle grade fantasy I've read this year after Ember, so it's odd that both feature kids who've grown up in man-made, slowly crumbling environments, cut off from the outside world. And plots even revolve around sources of artificial sunlight. But the enthusiasm I had for the interesting setup soured when I realized (about halfway through) that the book was going to be nothing BUT setup.
I understand leaving a few loose plot threads as a jumping off point for the second bo...more
I understand leaving a few loose plot threads as a jumping off point for the second bo...more
In this first book of The Seventh Tower series, we meet 13 year old Tal, one of the Chosen, who is educated in how to use the sunstones in a world that is enshrouded in darkness. Tal's father has mysteriously disappeared, his mother is gravely ill, and he must obtain a new Primary Sunstone in order to care for his family. Having failed in his attempts to gain a Primary Sunstone by asking his relatives, who scorn him, and entering in an Achievement contest, only to be thwarted by the Shadowmaster...more
I really enjoyed the Seventh Tower Series. The story is about Tal, a boy whose father is missing and whose mother is deathly ill. Tal is coming of age and is supposed to go to Aenir with all of the other children coming of age to bind with a Spirit Shadow (an animal who lives there that will assist and protect him the rest of his life). If he doesn’t do it he will be banished from the Chosen ones to be one of the Underfolk, a servant, for the rest of his days. When his father disappeared he took...more
I read this years ago, and bits of it have stuck with me through all that. I always remembered that it was the first book of several, but could never remember what it was, let alone what the next one would be, so I couldn't finish the series. But then I saw the series the other day at work and went, "That's it!" And here we are. I didn't remember it being such a fantastic cliff-hanger, but I mind less now that I know where to get the next book. I love working in a library! Were I healthy and vit...more
Coming in at the first book of the seventh tower series, this book will take you another land filled with icemen, wizards, and war beasts! As Tal tries desperately to obtain a sunstone, His Great uncle Ebitt snaps up an idea that changed his mind and his life. But the brilliant idea of stealing a sunstone, quickly turned bad. For as Tal climbed the red tower, he lost his grip, slipped, and fell into a desolate Iceland. And you will be surprised when one of Tal’s greatest enemies must help Tal....more
Since I have become a full-blown Garth Nix fan, I looked for his other titles, and found The Sevent Tower series. This first installment surprised me in a couple of ways. First, it is significantly shorter than the books (and series) I am used to reading. I guess that I am stepping down a reading level or two, since I would put this one within the reach of 3rd-6th graders. A bit young for my tastes. The other surprising thing is that even though it is short, and for a younger crowd, I still enjo...more
This book had some pretty interesting ideas and plot points, but now that I've finished it, The Fall just kinda makes me feel stupid. As if Garth Nix came up with a really good idea but he didn't want to make the story too complex in the fear that his readers wouldn't be smart enough to understand what was happening.. It was recommended to me as a YA novel but what I found was more of a sheltered, almost nieve, book.
The creatures were different, the story-line was somewhat original, and there...more
The creatures were different, the story-line was somewhat original, and there...more
While I have little desire to continue reading the series, I can see the appeal in these quintisential fantasy adventures. Nix creates an entertaining otherworld filled with strange names, fairy tale-like characters, and a very young hero. My favorite part of the book was when they played a tactical fantasy game called BEASTMASTER. They used cards to create beasts, which is typical of the D&D world, but then those beasts came alive and engaged in a death-match. Highly entertaining and a good...more
Tal lives in a world of darkness that is covered by a veil. Tal doesn't know what is up beyond the veil, but he knows that is where valuable sunstones are grown. Unfortunatly for Tal, his father disapeared on a mission and he had the family's valuable sunstone with him. Tal's family must have a sunstone or he cannot advance in their order and his sick mother will not be able to get better. Unfortunatly there are only a few ways to get a sunstone and Tal must try them all while meeting surprising...more
The only reason I am sticking with the Seventh Tower series is because I like the works of Garth Nix. This first book, The Fall, is way too fast paced for me. There is little character development or establishment of solid plot elements. Action propels the story along, keeping the reader in the dark. However, it is a fun read and I am sure that patience with the writing style and tenacity to just keep reading the series will reward me in the end. The fantasy concepts are fun, but I think that Ni...more
The first in an excellent series for fantasy lovers of any age. Nix's writing can be deceptive - instead of relying on rhetorical tricks he simply delivers, with clarity and simplicity, substance in the form of multi-layered, believable and detailed societies, characters, cultures and worlds.
Readers may not like one of the main protagonists, Tal, at first, but (like an actual human) he develops over the course of the series, as does Milla (the other protagonist).
Far superior in every way to the...more
Readers may not like one of the main protagonists, Tal, at first, but (like an actual human) he develops over the course of the series, as does Milla (the other protagonist).
Far superior in every way to the...more
So, I now have all of Nix's books so I thought I'd give "The Seventh Tower" series a try. Trust me, it was nice to read a book in a day. It's simplistic but effective, pleasant yet somewhat terrifying and if I'm honest, it was nice to read something that flowed so easily into my mind. I look forward to seeing more of this world he has created!
Interested in my thoughts? Be sure to check out my blog and follow it~
The Fall 0 Garth Nix [[REVIEW]]
Interested in my thoughts? Be sure to check out my blog and follow it~
The Fall 0 Garth Nix [[REVIEW]]
Not sure I liked this enough to finish the series. Most of my critiques were actually more publishing format than anything wrong with the book itself. It was a little too short (I would prefer if more of the books were combined into 3 longer books) and the font was kind of big so I had to turn the pages a lot. Also we don't have this series at the library so I would have to track it down. Trying to find all 5 other books seems a bit daunting but the world is really different and interesting and...more
A charming tale, but sadly the characters seemed a little bit without depth.
I probably say this a lot but it really means a lot to me when reading a book to have a character I can feel like I know and can see grow and sympathise with.
I like to connect with a book and while this was an interesting start to the series, I felt that it ended too soon for me to really get into it.
Hopefully, the second book in the series will change my opinion on this but as it stands, this is just a very very average...more
I probably say this a lot but it really means a lot to me when reading a book to have a character I can feel like I know and can see grow and sympathise with.
I like to connect with a book and while this was an interesting start to the series, I felt that it ended too soon for me to really get into it.
Hopefully, the second book in the series will change my opinion on this but as it stands, this is just a very very average...more
This is the first book in Nix's The Seventh Tower series. Tal is one of the Chosen living in a castle lighted by Sunstones. When his father disappears with their primary Sunstone, Tal must find another one to save his family. After trying several different methods to gain a Sunstone by following the rules he decides in desperation to steal one. He climbs the tower, reaches for a Sunstone, and then falls into a strange world where his adventure really begins. Fans of Nix's work will enjoy this se...more
First book for this readathon! I might be posting quite a lot of reviews over the next twenty-four hours, just as a heads up. If that bothers you, well, it's a one-off!
Anyway, The Fall was a very short, easy read to start off with. Like all of Garth Nix's books, it's very easy to get into. I'd say this is aimed at a younger age than the rest of his books -- it's quite simplistic in many ways -- but I enjoyed the world-building anyway. The characters are promising, though there isn't much to them...more
Anyway, The Fall was a very short, easy read to start off with. Like all of Garth Nix's books, it's very easy to get into. I'd say this is aimed at a younger age than the rest of his books -- it's quite simplistic in many ways -- but I enjoyed the world-building anyway. The characters are promising, though there isn't much to them...more
Garth Nix's The Fall is a fascinating start to what promises to be an interesting and refreshing series. The male/female dynamics are turned around with Tal, the young hero of the story the compassionate peaceful, and comparatively weak member of the party. Whilst Milla is the violent and agressive female who is confident and capable.
The fantasy world Garth Nix has created in The Seventh Tower is a brilliant one, full of mysteries and a rich history just waiting to unfold as well as contrasting...more
The fantasy world Garth Nix has created in The Seventh Tower is a brilliant one, full of mysteries and a rich history just waiting to unfold as well as contrasting...more
Welcome to the world of the Chosen. Tal is desperate, with only a little while until the Day of Ascension, when all Chosen his age will enter Aenir, the spirit world. Time is running out, and he needs a Sunstone. He is driven so far toward his goal that he climbs the Red Tower to steal one. But then, he falls, into the icy, dark unknown outside the Castle. Where can it all possibly lead? The Far Raiders of the Ice need his help though, and so he offers it in order to get home. But Shadowmaster S...more
One of the elements of writing in this genre that Nix is particularly gifted at is creating original fantasies and worlds. This series is no exception. However, in comparison to some of his other works, especially The Abhorsen Trilogy, the exploration of this world and the characters within is weak at best. The story is interesting because Nix presents the audience with a new mythology, but he rushes through the plot, circumnavigating what could be some really amazing explorations of the world h...more
+ Worldbuilding, fast action, compelling protagonist
- A little underwritten, shape of overall narrative not yet clear
This is the first of a 6-book series intended for younger readers. As such, the narrative seems a little thin from an adult perspective. However, Nix is able to evoke character, situation, and complexity even within these parameters, and without a condescending or cute tone. As usual, Nix’s worldbuilding is compelling, with a strong archetypal undertone. The alienness of protagoni...more
- A little underwritten, shape of overall narrative not yet clear
This is the first of a 6-book series intended for younger readers. As such, the narrative seems a little thin from an adult perspective. However, Nix is able to evoke character, situation, and complexity even within these parameters, and without a condescending or cute tone. As usual, Nix’s worldbuilding is compelling, with a strong archetypal undertone. The alienness of protagoni...more
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Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia, to the sound of the Salvation Army band outside playing 'Hail the Conquering Hero Comes' or possibly 'Roll Out the Barrel'. Garth left Melbourne at an early age for Canberra (the federal capital) and stayed there till he was nineteen, when he left to drive around the UK in a beat-up Austin with a boot full of books and a Silver-Reed typewriter.
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Dec 21, 2012 09:05pm