Book Review: Fatal Heir (Fatal Series - Book 1)
Fatal Heir (The Fatal Series – Book 1) by L.C. Ireland
5 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Reverie collection.
Summary: Don is an average teenage farm boy, who is rather vain, and loves his family dearly, and had a huge crush on Mel who lives with his family. His family farm is on the very outer reaches of the kingdom, so they aren’t plagued by the deadmen as much as in the more urban settlements. But two special things about Don are that he has someone who always comes to his rescue, an odd man with a crutch who floats in the air and he can see the spirits of dead people. When a seer, touches Don, she sees death about him, and announces to the authorities that he is Izayik Delaron, the doomed prince who will bring death to them all. When the nearby lords and king try to capture and kill him, they make a rebel hero of him, spurring an uprising and forcing him to go on the run, with Rath, his protector, and Mel. He tangles with an imposter wanting the power of being the missing prince, to the capitol overrun by deadmen in search of what happened to his parents, to awakening an angel, and unraveling the mystery of why deadmen roam the country.
Comments: This was a fun coming-of-age adventure that went in so many different directions during its journey it’s hard to touch on it all. There was time spent on Don’s childhood, as he tried to prove to others that he wasn’t crazy that a man kept coming to his rescue. So, he kept doing more daring feats, putting himself into dangers to he could get the rescue, as only a cocky kid can. And there was his teenage adoration of Mel and the love of his large family. I loved that he grew up as a character and learned things along the way. Like what death really was. And just what Rath coming to his rescue really meant and what it cost Rath each time. I loved that he wasn’t the smartest person, and really was an ignorant idiot at times, showing off his farm boy background, and that just because he had this revealed history, all it did was give him some attributes, but his background was what really shaped his personality. He was also self-loathing, and guilt-riddled, though with a very vain streak. His personality reminded me a lot of Harry Dresden from the Jim Butcher books, with the dry humor and a bit of a blunt object. He’s a bit like Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, raised on a farm, and then thrown into a journey into a larger world with the sudden knowledge that he has an important heritage, and that heritage might not be a good one. This has plenty of magic, from Don’s ability to see and commune with the dead spirits, to enchanted armor forged by an angel, to Rath’s magical powers. And this doesn’t stay put, it goes on the epic road trip from Don’s small town to the former capitol now overrun by the dead. And I loved that it had more than one token girl in their quest party. They actually had 3 in their group at times, and none of them were there just to be drooled over or serve as damsel-in-distress (that was Don’s role at times). It did irk me that no one was really questioning it right from the start of why there are deadmen around. They had just accepted it as a thing in their world. It took close to the end for light to be shed on that point. Though this book is a “book one” it comes to a conclusion (though with enough room that the series could pick up again with the characters). And after finishing this one, I would certainly be interested in continuing on with the series, but sadly there aren’t any further books out.
5 stars
Category: New Adult
Note: I read this as included in the Reverie collection.
Summary: Don is an average teenage farm boy, who is rather vain, and loves his family dearly, and had a huge crush on Mel who lives with his family. His family farm is on the very outer reaches of the kingdom, so they aren’t plagued by the deadmen as much as in the more urban settlements. But two special things about Don are that he has someone who always comes to his rescue, an odd man with a crutch who floats in the air and he can see the spirits of dead people. When a seer, touches Don, she sees death about him, and announces to the authorities that he is Izayik Delaron, the doomed prince who will bring death to them all. When the nearby lords and king try to capture and kill him, they make a rebel hero of him, spurring an uprising and forcing him to go on the run, with Rath, his protector, and Mel. He tangles with an imposter wanting the power of being the missing prince, to the capitol overrun by deadmen in search of what happened to his parents, to awakening an angel, and unraveling the mystery of why deadmen roam the country.
Comments: This was a fun coming-of-age adventure that went in so many different directions during its journey it’s hard to touch on it all. There was time spent on Don’s childhood, as he tried to prove to others that he wasn’t crazy that a man kept coming to his rescue. So, he kept doing more daring feats, putting himself into dangers to he could get the rescue, as only a cocky kid can. And there was his teenage adoration of Mel and the love of his large family. I loved that he grew up as a character and learned things along the way. Like what death really was. And just what Rath coming to his rescue really meant and what it cost Rath each time. I loved that he wasn’t the smartest person, and really was an ignorant idiot at times, showing off his farm boy background, and that just because he had this revealed history, all it did was give him some attributes, but his background was what really shaped his personality. He was also self-loathing, and guilt-riddled, though with a very vain streak. His personality reminded me a lot of Harry Dresden from the Jim Butcher books, with the dry humor and a bit of a blunt object. He’s a bit like Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, raised on a farm, and then thrown into a journey into a larger world with the sudden knowledge that he has an important heritage, and that heritage might not be a good one. This has plenty of magic, from Don’s ability to see and commune with the dead spirits, to enchanted armor forged by an angel, to Rath’s magical powers. And this doesn’t stay put, it goes on the epic road trip from Don’s small town to the former capitol now overrun by the dead. And I loved that it had more than one token girl in their quest party. They actually had 3 in their group at times, and none of them were there just to be drooled over or serve as damsel-in-distress (that was Don’s role at times). It did irk me that no one was really questioning it right from the start of why there are deadmen around. They had just accepted it as a thing in their world. It took close to the end for light to be shed on that point. Though this book is a “book one” it comes to a conclusion (though with enough room that the series could pick up again with the characters). And after finishing this one, I would certainly be interested in continuing on with the series, but sadly there aren’t any further books out.
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