Endfall

The Kingfall Histories #5

by David Estes

Be bright but do not burn. Embrace the shadows but do not live in the darkness.

Those are more than just words; they are truth revealed to only the bravest of souls, those who have the power to change the course of history and rewrite a future otherwise etched into Kingfall's flesh itself. But will good finally overcome the storm of evil brewing in the north? Or will the ancient invaders have their pound of flesh? The answers to these questions may surprise both heroes and villains alike.

In the east, Sampson, Grym and Charlotte seek to unearth the seventh and final godblade. But to do so, they must overcome the wiles of the magical forest of Echoeswood while facing enemies lurking in every shadow.

In the west, dragonriders Peony and Dane must unite what is left of the fractured nations of Kingfall, but a surprise visitor has the potential to destroy what small measure of peace the bondmates have managed to restore to Travail.

In the north, Rose must come to terms with her own undeadness while facing demons no living human has ever faced.

In the south, Ando and his merry band of misfits journey the Loslandian wilderness in search of their purpose, a purpose that destiny always knew would lead them back to Kingfall. But will they arrive in time with their entire crew intact?

And all the while, the enemy draws closer, the creatures known as the Thousands drawn by the scent of human blood and the promise of chaos. If they reach Kingfall's shores, gods save us all.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Dragons, Epic Fantasy

1357 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2023

About the author

Get a FREE short story from David Estes' #1 Amazon bestselling epic fantasy series, Fatemarked, when you sign up for his mailing list: https://www.subscribepage.com/b2v6v3

David Estes has written more than 50 science fiction and fantasy books. He loves chatting with his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends. David lives in Hawaii with his Aussie wife, Adele, his moody cats, Bailey, Luna, and Ruby, and his rambunctious sons, Beau and Brody.

Join 3,000+ David Estes Fans and YA Book Lovers Unite in David Estes' official fan group at:
http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/7...

Books by David Estes:

-The Fatemarked Epic- For fans of A Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and The Way of Kings! Four kingdoms. A century-old war. One ancient prophecy that could change everything.

-The Kingfall Histories- a follow up series to the #1 Amazon bestselling series, The Fatemarked Epic

-The Forsworn Oath- the third series in the Fatemarked/Kingfall world

-Strings- “A wonderful retelling of the Pinocchio story…I simply couldn’t put this book down.”—Rysa Walker, bestselling author of TIMEBOUND

-The Dwellers Saga and the Country Saga. Voted books to read if you enjoyed the Hunger Games on Buzzfeed and Listopia.

-Salem's Revenge trilogy- the witch apocalypse begins!

-Slip Trilogy- "Someone must die before another can be born..."

-The Adventures of Nikki Powergloves- Kid superheroes? 'Nuff said.

Reviews

[Karen’s Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well… David Estes has surpassed himself. Again… If that’s even possible. His imagination has no limit and he never fails to amaze me.

Endfall is the finale of the epic high fantasy Kingfall tales. Peony, Dane, Danius, Aisling, Ando, King Jarrod, Sampson, Roman, Quill, and so many others are all back as this monster saga comes to an end.

I’ve never had as many goosebumps in one book as I did with Endfall as we learn the final fates of all of our favorites.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ve read all of David’s books, and I love love love his dystopian and sci-fi tales. But… high fantasy is where he absolutely excels!

In Endfall, the Godblades have woken up and come back into the world of Kingfall. Three Lightblades and three Shadowblades, each with unbelievable powers. But the greatest sword of all is now revealed; the Pureblade.

In the Kingfall books, you get dragons with their incredible bonds to their riders (my favorites!), and knights, and castles, and kings, and queens, and magic, and massive battles…. But mostly, you get swords. Magical swords! Swords that blow the reader away with the abilities they give to their wielders. Each different.

Endfall ends with quite a few epilogues which, for me, had me sighing with complete satisfaction. However will I be able to say goodbye to this world and these characters. Series hangover for sure!

I can’t wait for the audiobook to release in a few months so that I can do a reread of Endfall while listening to the amazing Tim Gerard Reynolds as narrator. (As I was reading, I noticed quite a few times that the voice in my head was TGR’s.)

*Thanks so much to David for the advance eGalley!*

[Gr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished. It was good but not great.

I listened to the audio version, and while the narration was outstanding, I am afraid my overall rating for this book, and the series, is 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3 stars.

As this series progressed, I became increasingly frustrated with the pacing issues, and my enjoyment decreased. Instead of improving, the pacing issues seemed to get worse as the story progressed.

While I enjoyed some characters, I found others annoying, and I struggled to understand their decisions.

In the end, I am glad that I finished the book and this series, but I completely understand those who decided to DNF. This series was a slog and in need of significant editing. Book 5, the longest book in the series at over 46 hours of narration, only served to emphasize the flaws.

[George Rokkos · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book. This series ended in such an amazing way. I loved each of the characters journey and all of the world building we got in this book. I whole recommend this book. I want to thank the author and am so glad I started reading this series.

[Shannon Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish the series had 5000 more pages!! another story read like watching a movie... I couldn't read fast enough! I know I'll enjoy the Fatemarked series just as much. Story images are still playing in my mind as I write this review. David is a wonderful story teller! Transporting the reader from everyday life into a fantasy, painting a picture as if viewing a movie. I started the series suggested to me after i finished John Gwynne's The Faithful and the Fallen series and I'm so pleased I did! I believe you will be pleased as well.

[A.R. Grimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series worth reading

Although I felt the narrative was dialogue-heavy, and the big battle should have included the Grizari (at least one of the characters could have taken the time to free them all from Beggars Canyon if only to swell the numbers of Kingfall's army), I did enjoy the overall story, epilogues and tying up of loose ends. I loved the characters, the world building, the sentient swords, and, of course, the DRAGONS.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic ending to a phenomenal series! Throughout the whole series the character development, world building, action, and lore was on point. The ending of this series was totally satisfying and left me feeling totally satisfied like after a good home cooked meal with family.

[Xhano DV · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a 3.5 when I first read but overtime it’s aged badly.

[Dominique Staryak-Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series means so much to me. A great ending to an exciting series.

[Judi Easley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the end of the series...

Wow! I feel like I've been reading non-stop since I started this series. I haven't been doing anything but reading, that's for sure. I love big books and these books are all big. The five books in the series are each nice and thick. Stack them up and wow! However, I did them all in ebook format from KU. But I love the visual.
The series is an epic journey with an amazingly varied group of "people" who all want to save Kingfall, or their part of Kingfall, or take over Kingfall. Some of them switch sides a time or two during the conflicts, and for some of them, it depends on who's controlling their strings at the time. Meet kings and queens. Do magic with mages of the highest and lowest ranks. Soar the skies on the back of a dragon. Merge your mind and skills with a godsblade in battle. March with Reyals and the Thousands through the shadowlands. Climb with Roach and Lerg to the Top of the World.
The world building and magic systems are amazing. The shadow lands are really well done. The gods blades are simply the best, though. Each of them has its own set of primary and secondary powers that it gives its wielder. There are three dark blades and three bright blades as well as one pureblade that is half and half. The dark blades work with shadows and tend towards negativity and bad things, while the bright blades work with light and tend towards positivity and good things. A couple of the dark blades are downright evil and really try to manipulate their wielders into doing terrible things, even against their will.
This is tied to another series the author has written, and he has left openings at the end for more series to be written from some of this. I don't think you can read just one of the books and set this aside. I think this is the type of series you immerse yourself in and maybe read again every couple of years. It's a really good one. So many really good characters who grow and change and march into danger in here. You end up caring about Roach! And sad when he dies. So many deep conversations to take away with you. And so much action, too! There's even some romance. I think there's a little of everything. Recommended.

[Ted Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending. I feel every one of the many characters got a great send off and the main plot is definitely resolved. I liked the tie ins with Fatemarked, which I actually read in the gap between the last Kingfall book and the conclusion. As brief as it was I liked Roman's story here. He actually became my favorite a while ago, well he and Sampson. Sampson got the ending he deserved. Charlotte is exactly the perplexing woman that man belongs with. Roman got the end I thought was inevitable for a while, but the image of that flower on the two gravestones cannot leave me. Huge sap I am I cannot think about that as anything but poetry.

Well done.

[Tammy Hamilton Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series. A fascinating read.

I don't often read in this genre, but it caught me by surprise when I gave it a try. It's also easily has the most POVs of any series I've ever read. I truly enjoyed Estes writing style, the characters he created, their friendship, and their struggles. Sure I had favorites, but I'm a romance reader, so give me a sexy couple and you have me. I can't say I've ever had such a long prologue, the size of a novels itself, but given the numerous character POVs and it made perfect sense, and was necessary. If definitely read more from Estes.

[Steve Mahomet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A huge ending that definitely defines epic. So after ending the series I’m quite glad that I finished it. This installment is huge and that’s where I have a problem with the book. It’s just too damn long. I still loved a couple of the characters arcs. Roman and Samson’s story is quite good and seeing Quills torment is engaging. Would recommend the series to anyone who likes the long and fleshed out character and world building work. 3.5 stars. And will start another series from this author early next year.

[Martin Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness, this was a read.

I started this series with the notion that it would similar, yet slightly different than Estes' previous work "Fatemarked". However, that mindset was a disservice to the series, and to Estes himself. Nevertheless my review of this series is in contrast to Fatemarked, as I feel that is fair considering the two take place in the same world/universe.

Let me start off by saying that the evolution Estes has underwent in-between the two series is outstanding. Both Fatemarked, and Kingfall are written in the easily digestible manner that Estes has become synonymous with in my mind. The way he organically builds the world, and it's characters without dumping huge blocks of exposition on you *cough* Brandon Sanderson does this, but his fanatical zealots refuse to admit it *cough*. Kingfall is no different.

I will say that is where Kingfall slightly beats out Fatemarked. The amount of detail of the world, and it's people is higher in Kingfall. At the end of book 1, I could easily visualize everything. Fatemarked has this trait as well, but this series is of a higher degree.

That is also to it's detriment. Each installment in the Kingfall series is MASSIVE, and crammed full of detail, and events that transpire. Having binge read the first 4 books I felt a sense of burn-out with my brain categorizing everything, and keeping track. So much so that I took a short break between books 4, and 5 with a slower reading pace for book 5. In my opinion the previous Fatemarked series was a "less strenuous" read, but in no way of lower quality.

The next thing I will speak on is the characters. I feel like both series has phenomenal characters, with each of them being memorable, and easily distinctive. Another testament to Estes' talent as a writer. The only downside of Kingfall vs Fatemarked being that I felt like Kingfall has just a slight too many POV's. To the point that Estes himself has to break up the narrative in the middle of the series to focus on one set of events, and characters; while putting the others "on the back burner" for a short while. It helps to drive home to you the importance of the events happening in this world, and it's characters, but I think that added to the "burn-out" I experienced, as the story felt very skewed to covering those POV's events over the others.

Lastly I want to touch on what Kingfall did better than Fatemarked undoubtedly. In Fatemarked the main story revolved around the threat of the Deathmarked, and how he was going around sowing chaos by killing the rulers, and heirs of the four kingdoms. The main antagonist being a single individual, whom is later not so much a villain. Only for "at the last second" the real threat presented itself in the form of The Hoard; which lead to the four kingdoms having to unite to stand against them. It felt kind of... abrupt, and worked well for the story, but didn't feel very organic in retrospect.

Kingfall is not at all the same, and handles the main threat much better. In this series it is the ever growing threat of The Thousands. The slow build being covered through every book in the series in the form of the interlude chapters, until the final epic confrontation between The Thousands, and the people of Kingfall. Not to mention Quill's slow transformation, and rise to power as he learned about his true lineage. In this way we see Estes' growth as a writer in making sure we always, in the back of our mind, know what the stakes are, and what will cause the inevitable tipping point in Kingfall.

Overall, as always, Estes has constructed a truly fantastic series. As an author I strongly believe he is criminally underrated, and needs more fanfare. I'm not saying this simply as a fan, but as a reader in general. Estes has a true gift for building his world, and characters to the point that as a reader you can't help but connect with them. Spread the word to everyone who will listen; Estes is incredible.

[S DV · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a bummer. This series started out great, not quite as good as the Fatemarked books in my opinion, but was pretty close. Thought by the end of the 3rd book it was really picking up steam, and the 4th book was on track, but just seemed to lose direction for me about 2/3rds of the way through.
Went ahead and continued on to book 5, but have to admit that by the end I was only reading about 1/4 of the various POVs as the rest were just too 'meh' for me to bother with.
Won't give away spoilers, but really felt to me that too many of the better characters from the earlier books were marginalized and their involvement cheapened, and really couldn't figure out why a character not introduced until the end of book 4 and the epilogues had such a prominent role in the final chapters. Really killed the vibe for me.

[Karen E. Minor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic!

David Estes does it again. Although it took me a few minutes to remember who everyone was from the first 4 books, I was able to slide right back into the world of Kingfall. Of all the books, though, some of the earlier chapters in this book seem a little slow. But the action certainly picked up! It's so easy to get into David's characters. His writing is so engaging that you feel you know everyone, and you can See them. As usual, there were parts, especially the Epilogues, that had me crying and blubbering. I loved it! Getting ready to start another Estes fantasy series...

[BobA707 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Complex plot, complex premise, interesting characters, well written, almost comical at times, very dark at times. Thoroughly enjoyed this audio book and would definitely recommend. Book 5 better than first 4 books, fantastic conclusion

Plotline: Multiple threads winding around a complex plot. The characters are for the most part not particularly likeable, but the plot moves on ... and the god blades ...

Premise: Very interesting, good magic system (still much to be learnt), and vast world building

Writing: Excellent, the reader is there in the action

Ending: Amazing! great conclusion to a wonderful imaginative series

Pace: Never a dull moment!

[Amzon_Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily Comparative To The GoT Ilk.

This is top quality material. Without any doubt, all serious Fantasy readers will gorge these books! Completely and Utterly!

T.V. Seasons, Adaptations, Movies, this MUST be adapted for screen! ALL Execs and Spotters out there - sign this guy up, now!

I’ll happily work to help the author with ‘Casting’ the characters to actors: High Comd’ A. Helm - Tom Hardy, C. Kerr - A. Joy Taylor, G. Kerr - Matt Damon, Mrz - Vinnie Jones, Grimfire et al. M. McConaughey etc.

[Sheree Bonita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing ending to an incredible series.

Wow, this series was huge and had some many POVs and somehow Estes captured my heart with Every. Single. Character. The characters are so deep and feel so real. I cried multiple times during this book, this series, this epic journey…I laughed and smiled…smirked and felt anger. Every emotion was there. I’m sad it’s over, but wow I can’t wait to see more of these worlds.

[Jesse Dragonheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

i have never given five stars to anything! this man writes like nothing i've ever experienced. he imagines things that are unimaginable. not a cliche or a typical trope to be found. all i can say to describe the book, to describe the whole series, is READ IT. after i clear my head with something much lighter, i plan to read them again. so very much is happening and there are so very many characters, i want a chance to absorb the story the rest of the way. excellent!

[Matthew Duffie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Storms! This was EPIC! I took my time with this one because I didn't want it to end! Easily the best large-scale battle sequence I've ever read. The emotional rollercoasters, the action, and the catharsis... It is a 20/10! He even managed to reach me on a personal level with characters with whom I have shared experiences. Now, onto Fatemarked and then... I am excited for his next series in this universe, Forsworn.

[James Layman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I enjoyed this book and the Kingfall series in general. Lots of cool characters and unique places, and it made for a great audiobook given the length and the narration by TGR on Audible. Sometimes it felt as though the author dwelled too much on romance scenes, and some of the character resolutions felt abrupt and a little bit rushed, but that is a given considering how many characters there are in this story. Either way, I enjoyed this book and I am glad I discovered the series.

[Danni Stocks · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn’t think Fatemarked could be topped but I was wrong

FateMarked became an instant favourite series for me and Kingfall has become the same. Just finished reading and already want to flip back to the beginning and live it all again. David Estes creates incredible 3 dimensional characters that are so beautifully flawed. The world he has described is so detailed and diverse and addictive to read about. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into his next series.

[Austin Lyons · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series started out great, but there are just too many plot holes, and the ending was very rushed. My understanding was that the purpose of having equal numbers of shadow/brightblades and dark/lightblades was to maintain balance, but none of the lightblades were wielded while every darkblade was. Also, I don't even know how but at some point an extra darkblade just appeared. This series had potential but poor editing ended up slowly ruining it.

[Valerie King-Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Series worth the read

I genuinely enjoyed this entire series, very much. On top of great writing, creative world building, in depth and relatable characters, dynamic storylines, loose ends all tied up- it also has excellent editing, and very little “extra” that makes you want to skip whole pages of useless information. Get reading!

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The King fall Histories are highly recommended!

This entire series is exciting, enthralling, and just it story by typos and flaws in the story line. These stories by David Estes are so riddled with perfection and they are so filled with action and adventure, it was a joy to read!
I highly recommended this series!

[Greg Felt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most riveting Read

The Kingfall Histories was so difficult to stop reading that my wife was complaining! The characters and the entire series was simply magical and amazingly interesting! I had trouble putting it down. The number of characters were so well described I felt like I actually knew them. Super well done series!!!

[Dan Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

endings were a little cringe but the rest was great!

Some good setups throughout the series kept the plot and pacing smart. It got quite dull in much of the epilogue with a lot of trite cringe overly happy conclusions out balancing the threads which matched the quality of the body of the series.

[Janet L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic Series! Total Entertainment

I highly, highly recommend the Fatemarked and the Kingfall series. The character development, world building, along with the integrations of magic, fantastical beasts and creatures ;) - makes these series action packed and fast moving adventures. Great read!

[Clayton Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Looks like I have been reding this one for a long while. It was a long book. The story was interesting. Did not need an epilogue that was the length of a novel. I am capable and enjoy imagining how the final storylines come together at the end of a book. I felt it unnecessary to give all that background. But the book and the series were good.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all five books in this just to read the interaction between Mrz and Grym when they eventually met. Of course, it was every bit worth it.

This series was long but rewarding, and the characters felt so familiar and likeable. There were lessons in this series, lessons to live life by.

Be bright but do not burn, embrace the darkness but do not live in the shadows.