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A Star Shall Fall (Onyx Court #3)

by Marie Brennan (Goodreads Author)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 180 ratings · 36 reviews

The Royal Society of London plays home to the greatest minds of England. It has revolutionized philosophy and scientific knowledge. Its fellows map out the laws of the natural world, disproving ancient superstition and ushering in an age of enlightenment.

To the fae of the Onyx Court, living in a secret city below London, these scientific developments are less than welcome....more

Paperback, 496 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Tor Books

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Sep 26, 2010 Sherwood Smith added it

Shelves: fantasy

I really enjoyed this third installment of Marie Brennan's Onyx Court series. Though I love the eighteenth century enough to have wished for a bit more of the vocabulary of the time, I suspect I am pretty much alone in that (I have a weakness for the 'prodigious' idiom of the time) but the prose is clear and there are passages of real beauty.

The real strength of this book is how deftly Brennan wove together the various scientific theories of the mid 1700s and the magic. I also loved how the fae...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Amanda added it Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: first-reads

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I am sorry to say I wish I had never heard of this book. It sounds wonderful, but if I hadn't won it from First-Reads, I wouldn't have got past the first ten pages. The first 100 pages were torture to get past, and I can't even say why I hated them. The rest was just boring.

There were too many characters, most of which seemed to given a name just so that they could be given a species, of which there were far too many--there really should have been a glossary. There was one completely unnecessary...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

A Star Shall Fall picks up the storyline very nicely where Ashes Fall left off, even though there is a bit of a time gap - but because of the continuation, it makes more sense to review the two together.

In Ashes Fall, Lune's court is dealing with both problems internal and external; internally, Lune has power struggles for her court taking up much of her time. Externally, London above is being attacked by one of its greatest enemies of all - The Great Fire of London is raging. And with horror,...more A Star Shall Fall picks up the storyline very nicely where Ashes Fall left off, even though there is a bit of a time gap - but because of the continuation, it makes more sense to review the two together.

In Ashes Fall, Lune's court is dealing with both problems internal and external; internally, Lune has power struggles for her court taking up much of her time. Externally, London above is being attacked by one of its greatest enemies of all - The Great Fire of London is raging. And with horror, the fae realize that the two attacks are intertwined - the Great Fire of London is being fueled by a Dragon, unlike anything seen by the faerie in their lifetime. In order to save themselves, they must save London above as well as find out who is behind the attack.

A Star Shall Fall opens decades after Ashes Fall, and is told mostly through Irriana's eyes, a wild sprite, who somewhat an outsider a court. In the decades between the two books, Lune fought down an internal fight for power in the court from her own courtiers (in which Irriana played an unwilling part), and the fae have discovered that the Dragon was neither killed or defeated -- but their last attempt to save London (and themselves) was not as permanent as they hoped. Instead, the brightest minds in England have discovered that its' prison - Halleys' comet - is going to come back to Earth, bringing the Dragon back to Earth.

Lune is also once again facing more battles - the London Wall is being chipped away in London Above, and as it disappears, so does the size of her court. And the Onyx Court has grown to increasingly distrust her ability to hold her court together in the face of this loss, with the danger of the dragon, and her own physical power waning. To make matters worse, her new Prince of Stone in young and untested.

Brennan mixes in these books - as she did in her fist book - a well balanced blend of historical research and fantasy; and especially in A Star Shall Fall the mix of Victorian-age science blended in with the world of the fae and was very nicely done.

All over all, the Onyx Court trilogy is a real pleasure to read, blending historical fantasy, fae and intrigue into a great series spanning three hundred years. (less)

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Oct 27, 2010 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. As we get to the third in Marie’s Faerie series (Midnight Never Come, (2008; In Ashes Lie,(2009))we reach the Age of Enlightenment in England, the time when historically science superseded superstition and religion.

Here we have Marie’s entertaining take on it: that in 1757 the Faerie Court under London still exists, though diminished in power since the last novel. The exile of the fire dragon that was the cause of the Great Fire of London in 1666 (in the previous book) seems to have led to a mor...more As we get to the third in Marie’s Faerie series (Midnight Never Come, (2008; In Ashes Lie,(2009))we reach the Age of Enlightenment in England, the time when historically science superseded superstition and religion.

Here we have Marie’s entertaining take on it: that in 1757 the Faerie Court under London still exists, though diminished in power since the last novel. The exile of the fire dragon that was the cause of the Great Fire of London in 1666 (in the previous book) seems to have led to a more settled time in the court of the Faerie Queen Lune. As time has rolled on, however, again we see many of the cast of previous books now gone.

Edmond Halley’s calculations that propose comets travel elliptical orbits and that the comet will return in 1759 suggests that the previous problem may not have disappeared. A comet is traditionally often seen as a bad omen: and it so proves here. Facing both the return of the great dragon and the difficulties created by science upon faerie magic may just be too much for Lune and the fae this time.

As this series has developed there has been change in both worlds, though it is perhaps the human world that has changed most. After the removal of four-fifths of London in the Great Fire, it is here that we begin to see the reconstruction and urbanisation that leads to the historic elements of London today. There is also the social reconstruction after the debacle of the English Civil War. London here is a growing, thriving centre of commerce as well as ideas.

The crisis here for the Faerie world is a fundamental one: one of science versus magic, of rationalism versus mysticism. As the world above becomes more concerned with facts, there becomes less room for the superstition and the supernatural of the world below. This is the crisis that Lune faces, because she is aware, unlike the world above, that the two co-exist. It is further echoed in the fact that as the Onyx Court is fraying at its edges, Lune’s monarchy is under threat from a rival group, the Sanists, who feel that Lune needs replacing.

To convince the reader that the Human and Faerie worlds go together in a logical, well-rounded way is not easy and yet here Marie has managed it supremely well. We not only see the growth and development of London above but the magnificence and other-worldliness of the Onyx Court below.

In terms of characters, we see Irrith make decisions that are not always for the best, and also the consequences of Galen, the Prince of the Stone’s actions, as he searches for a mortal wife. Above all is Queen Lune, whose imperious governance oversees all and yet maintains a front behind which there lies a much more fragile figure.

In some ways this tale is less complex than In Ashes Lie, and all the better for it. Although there is some, we have less of the frenetic to-ing and fro-ing forwards and backwards in time that seemed to me to be an unnecessary element of Ashes. Instead, we have a stronger narrative, with better realised characterisation and a much better sense of drive.

The ending is terrific and one I found most moving: there is a major sacrifice and the loss of a major character. The solution to the plot problem is one which emphasises both human and faerie responsibilities and yet simultaneously their fundamental differences. The end is a bitter-sweet moment, where some sacrifice all and there are also future opportunities for both human and fae to work together.

Though Ashes was a little disappointing in consequence, this one really works. An ambitious tale and a pleasing triumph. Wonderful.
Mark Yon, August 2010.

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Mar 31, 2013 Yvonne Boag rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical

Halley's comet is about to return and while this may have little impact on the humans of London is the Onyx Court it holds a different significance. After the great fire of 1666, which was caused by a great dragon, the fey had imprisoned it in a star. With Halley's comet returning there is a real possibility that the dragon will escape and burn London and the court to the ground. Lune has a new Prince of the Stone, Galen who will scour for the greatest scientific minds to find an answer. Not for...more

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Nov 23, 2010 Jenny J rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2010

In this historical fantasy, the Great Fire of London in 1666 was caused by a great Dragon. It was banished to Halley's Comet by Queen Lune and her Faerie Court, and London and her people were saved for many years. But the comet's on its way back towards Earth, and this time the Dragon wants revenge....

Meanwhile, a young human man, Galen St. Clair searches for a bride to save his family's failing fortunes. Unfortunately, he's the Prince of the Stone, the Faerie Queen's human consort, and he's de...more

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Sep 19, 2012 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review-pile, first-reads, books-i-own

I won an advanced reader copy from Goodreads. I had been holding out on reading this as it is third in a series, but I decided to give it a go. So far, although I have only scratched the surface (pg 47 of 491) it seems to be able to stand on its own. Time will tell.

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Sep 20, 2012 George Straatman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Marie Brennan has fast become one of my favorite fantasy authors. This particular novel, A Star Shall Fall, is the third segment of her Onyx court series, which revolves around the notion that a Fae (fairie) court exists beneath the city of London. The Fae court mirrors the mortal court above and the intermingling of the two has profound effects on the great junctures in British history. This specific novel is nowhere near as fraught as its immediate predecessor, which dealt with the period of h...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun bit of fluff. It is about London and the Fey court beneath London; the Onyx Court. I enjoyed the second book of the series the most, though (In Ashes Lie). The premise of A Star Shall Fall seemed a bit contrived.

In the previous book, In Ashes Lie, (view spoiler)...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

"From the celestial heights the arbitrary acts of life seem patterned like a fairy-tale landscape, populated by charming and eccentric figures. The glittering observers require vital doses of joy and pain, sudden reversals of fortune, dire portents and untimely deaths. Life itself proceeds in its unpredictable infinite patterns — so unlike the measured dance of stars — until, for the satisfaction of their entertainment, the watchers choose a point at which to stop."

That’s a quote from Ellen Kush...more "From the celestial heights the arbitrary acts of life seem patterned like a fairy-tale landscape, populated by charming and eccentric figures. The glittering observers require vital doses of joy and pain, sudden reversals of fortune, dire portents and untimely deaths. Life itself proceeds in its unpredictable infinite patterns — so unlike the measured dance of stars — until, for the satisfaction of their entertainment, the watchers choose a point at which to stop."

That’s a quote from Ellen Kushner’s Swordspoint, but I kept thinking of it while reading A Star Shall Fall. It’s part of the nature of the ONYX COURT series that the books are tightly focused on specific points in time. Marie Brennan zooms in on her characters as a pivotal period begins, follows them until that situation is resolved, and then zooms back out, leaving only tantalizing glimpses of what happens in the spaces between books. Inevitably, this leaves me wanting more of some of the characters: I still wish we’d seen more of Michael Deven, for example, and Lune the way she was with him (before he died and she closed off her heart forever); and in this volume we see some flashbacks of Jack Ellin of In Ashes Lie and wish we’d had more time to spend with him as well. There’s a new character introduced in A Star Shall Fall, too, who I really wish had more page time.

A Star Shall Fall takes place between the years of 1757 and 1759. At the end of In Ashes Lie, the fae of the Onyx Court imprisoned the Dragon who destroyed most of London by fire. A few years later, the Dragon’s prison began to weaken and the fae banished it to a comet. But as science advanced, it was discovered that this comet would approach Earth again and bring the vengeful Dragon with it. Lune and her court must now figure out a way to prevent the monster from destroying London and the Onyx Court when it returns. Meanwhile, dissension is brewing in the court; many disgruntled fae believe that their troubles are due to Lune no longer being “whole” because of her battle scars, and plots to overthrow her are hatching.

Brennan makes the wise decision of stepping a little away from Lune in terms of point-of-view. This enables Brennan to play a few cards close to her chest, plus there’s the fact that Lune has steadily become an emotionally remote character. These books already have a certain “coolness” or “distance” about them, and narrating this one through Lune’s eyes would probably exacerbate that. Instead, we focus primarily on the tomboyish sprite Dame Irrith and on the current Prince of the Stone, Galen St. Clair. Irrith snoops into the doings of the rebels against the Queen and starts to wonder whether some of their theories might be correct. Galen has an unrequited love for the Queen but is being pressured to marry by his father. The two of them eventually become allies and more.

As in the two previous installments, the plot of A Star Shall Fall builds slowly. The characters are racing against time, but their path to a solution involves many conversations, debates, spying missions, and so on. The prose is elegant, and I found it especially beautiful in the All Hallows’ Eve scene.

Marie Brennan does a good job of portraying the time period in which the novel is set. She works that time period’s science into the plot in clever ways; several theories that have since been debunked are presented as true, or partially true, or true-but-only-in-Faerie, in the world of the novel. The characters, too, are products of their time. Sometimes they express opinions that will sit uncomfortably with readers. Brennan doesn’t write modern characters dressed up in period costumes, and I appreciate this even when it leads to a few moments of unease.

The final scenes are moving; as always, Brennan drops the reserve at the climactic point and lets emotion shine through. The way everything works out is well-thought-out, unexpected, and affecting. Particularly haunting is the scene in which we finally find out what became of the man who was Prince of the Stone before Galen; talk about the stuff of nightmares!

A Star Shall Fall is a well-written novel and a good addition to the series. I recommend it to fans of historical fantasy. See more Marie Brennan reviews at Fantasy Literature!(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Moira Russell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, on-the-kindle, 2012-50-new-books-challenge

This dragged a lot, but it had the best ending of the three - about the last 1/4? or so was really, really good, and I think it has the best ending of any book in the series so far. Not as well-written as the first book, not as well-plotted as the second, but this has the most heart - and three great female characters. This was also a great example of a writer really developing a character - for about 3/4 of the book I wanted to drown the male lead in a bucket, and yet at the end he's a deeply d...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Randal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, alternate-history, england

I fell into this series in the middle, so there's an extra star for some benefit of the doubt. The Onyx Court premise is a sort of Fae-in-London alternate history, and Brennan does a good job of tying her story to the place and time and of tying worlds together. The plot has good complexity and pace for the most part, and yet I struggled a bit to want to get to the end. Maybe it's down to characterization--there are interesting, well-motivated characters who nevertheless are all a little bland....more

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Dec 12, 2010 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sf-fantasy

Disclaimer: I happen to know the author of this book. I don't think that this much changes my opinion of the book, and I don't think any of my readers are expecting journalistic standards of objectivity from me anyway, but I feel like I should note it.

So, there were actually a couple of reasons why I almost didn't read this book. First, I hadn't actually read the first two volumes in the series, Midnight Never Come and In Ashes Lie. I intend to remedy this inexplicable omission quite soon, but...more Disclaimer: I happen to know the author of this book. I don't think that this much changes my opinion of the book, and I don't think any of my readers are expecting journalistic standards of objectivity from me anyway, but I feel like I should note it.

So, there were actually a couple of reasons why I almost didn't read this book. First, I hadn't actually read the first two volumes in the series, Midnight Never Come and In Ashes Lie. I intend to remedy this inexplicable omission quite soon, but it didn't actually harm my enjoyment of this book at all. While I'm sure there were sequences that would have had more richness if I'd read the previous volumes, everything you need to know to grasp what's going on in this book is explained in the text.

Second, I'm unfairly suspicious of novels involving fairies, because I'm always afraid they'll be twee. These fairies are about as un-twee as you can get, while still being very definitely magical. I particularly liked that these fairies are multicultural (a Greek centaur and an Arab djinn feature in the book), that they have internal politics, and that their interaction with the mortal world is a bit more complicated than them just having fun messing with mortals' heads. (Don't worry - they definitely have fun messing with mortals' heads. But there's more to it than that.)

Anyway, what's really cool about A Star Shall Fall is that it's a fantasy novel that's utterly steeped in science. In the previous book, the faeries dealt with a dragon that was threatening London by trapping it in a comet. Halley's comet, actually. So, in this book, it's 75 years later, the scientific revolution is in full swing, and the comet (with dragon) is on its way back. So the faeries attempt to tackle the return of the dragon as a scientific problem, and eventually enlist a few mortal scientists, who attempt to tackle the fairies as a scientific problem. It probably helps if you're the right kind of geek, but I really enjoyed the exploration of the faerie realm as one that may not obey our physical laws, but nevertheless operates by rules that can be investigated by the scientific method. (less)

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Jun 07, 2010 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: f-sf-for-adults

A beautifully written fantasy novel. The magic is perfectly interwoven with 18th-century British history and scientific theory, and the characters and their emotions are wonderfully complex.

I loved Book One in Brennan's Onyx Court series (Midnight Never Come, which was really fun), and I admired Book Two (In Ashes Lie) for how ambitious it was, but A Star Shall Fall is my favorite of Marie Brennan's novels so far, and it stands alone perfectly - you definitely don't need to have read either of t...more

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Oct 28, 2010 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I received the latest book from Marie Brennan on a Goodreads "first-read" giveaway, and found this instalment the best of the three. The books of the Onyx Hall have been great so far, with the plots closely linked to historic events, yet with the capacity to stand on its own. However, particularly in the second book, the constant flashbacks and flashforwards, and the rigidity to link the story to 30 years of English history, through the Civil War, the plague and the Great Fire, hindered the cont...more

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May 26, 2011 Andria added it

I love this book for:

1) Weaving together several threads, characters and conflicts without it seeming disconnected, then bringing all those threads together at the end.

2) Making me think I had figured out where the plot was going, then subverting my expectations completely, without it feeling like it was pulled out of the author's hind end.

3) Making me want to both hug and strangle certain characters (sometimes at the same time).

All in all, can't wait for #4 in August : )

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Jun 29, 2011 Neil McCrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fantasy

I'd say that the Onyx Hall books are a guilty pleasure, except that isn't quite right. I'm not particular taken with the characters, but i have no major complaints about them either. Brennan is not much of a stylist, but her prose doesn't irritate either.

My enjoyment of the series comes entirely from the primary plot conceit. The Onyx Hall is a series of novels that documents the influence of the faerie court on the royal court of England throughout various historical time periods. Brennan's gra...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Darshan Elena rated it 3 of 5 stars

For me, this book's greatest accomplishment was its clever blending of 18th century scientific discoveries and obsessions with faerie lore and life. An even fuller realization of Brennan's characters, including their motivations, would make this novelist all the more successful. While it took me some time to complete, it was a fair, often pleasing read.

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Sep 22, 2011 Renher marked it as to-read

I won this book from First Reads. Looks like a good book and a good series. I have not read the first two books though, but I will see if it can stand alone or not I guess. If I get confused I will have to pick up and read the first two. Thank you. I look forward to reading this book

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Oct 02, 2012 Kat added it

Shelves: fairy-tale, couldn-t-finish

The book started out pretty interesting, but as it reached its middle section it began ... to ... drag ... intolerably. I put it down to read more interesting books, and I doubt I shall ever pick it up again, as my curiosity about how it ends is much weaker than my dread of slogging through the final 200 pages.

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Nov 04, 2011 Darlene rated it 4 of 5 stars

I won "A Star Shall Fall" through Goodreads First Reads. I have yet to read the first two books but after reading this book, I know I have to. The characters by far made this such an enjoyable read. The idea of Fairy's and Mortals moving and breathing together and having the fairy world, The Onyx Court right beneath their feet in London is an incredible thought. Describing how mortals and fairy's are so different just in the way they have emotions and relate to feelings is a great twist Marie Br...more

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Oct 28, 2010 Clea Simon rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love this series. Thought this was the weakest of the three, but worth reading if you're into her. If you've not read "Midnight Never Come," though, read that instead.

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May 23, 2012 Erica Leigh rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was not disappointed with the third installment in the Onyx Court series. This is a weighty book but it held me in sway from page one and it was difficult to take pauses from reading the story. Marie Brennan is a wonderful author – she weaves history and folklore and fantasy seamlessly together and she has developed characters with depth, for whom you can feel both compassion and frustration in turn. I especially liked that this book centered more on the Prince and Irrith than on Lune, though...more

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Dec 11, 2010 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: public-libraries

Nicely complicated, with interesting characters. Faerie, and alchemy, and natural philosophy mixed up with court intrigue and society manners.

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Dec 01, 2010 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read the first book in this series and really liked the combination of English history and the faerie world- definitely an engrossing read.

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Feb 09, 2012 Carolyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-read

Firstly I would like to thank Goodreads and Marie Brennan for the opportunity to read and review, "A Star Shall Fall". Marie Brennan artfully weaves her story, blending 18th century scientific theories and discussions with the folk lore world of faeries, and dragons. Well done Ms. Brennan!
A "Star" is falling to earth and will spell doom to all of London if it is not stopped. The story follows quirky characters who are banding together to avoid the calamity that this star will bring. Using bot...more

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Mar 16, 2011 Laura Martinelli rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, own, library-reread

This is probably my favorite book in the Onyx Court series. It’s a much tighter story, and I got the sense of how closely the mortal and Faerie worlds influence one another, even if the monarchs aren’t tied. The ending made me want to read more about the Court and their reactions to the oncoming Industrial Revolution, what happened with Lune and the future of the Onyx Hall and the London fae. I also liked Abd al-Rashir, and the glimpse of non-European fae and their cultural differences. In all,...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Why oh why does this book not mention that it is number 3 in a series on its cover?? It was all I had on vacation, so I started reading it anyway, and luckily I don't feel lost.

Meh. A lot of build up and not much climax.

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Jan 24, 2013 Ted Paolicchi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Did not have a good climactic ending.

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Sep 14, 2011 Bethanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

A surprisingly good read, if somewhat slow. Apparently it's the third book in a series of four. Oops.

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A Star Shall Fall (Onyx Court #3)

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