Blood of the Fallen Review

4 stars for this compelling opening to a fantasy trilogy.

Blood of the Fallen is written by Poppy Reid and is the first book in the Blood Scrolls Trilogy.

This trilogy is set in the world of Theldiniya, where many different races co-exist, but not always in harmony. The story begins two centuries into the Red Wars, an ongoing battle with the Darkma, a sinister race who extinguish life in all it’s forms..

Fan Art by Alastair Brooke and Jack Burdess

Our hero is Villid, a member of the Tyran race, bred specifically to fight and kill, who are branded like animals when they have proven their worth in battle. The Tyrans were once a great people until their near destruction by the Darkma, two hundred years before.

In a misguided attempt to regain power, a Tyran raiding party decides to attack a village of elves against the advice of their elderly seer, Villid is charged by the same seer to save one of the elves. In a mix up in the heat of the massacre, Villid does indeed save an elf. Unfortunately, he saves the wrong one. Instead of the Elven seer, he ends up with Aya, one of her handmaidens.

However, by way of revenge the leader of his group frames him for a murder he did not commit, thus making him an exile from his own people. He has no choice but to flee with Aya, who also has nothing left after the destruction of her village.

The unlikely duo must learn to get along and even work together if they are to survive in this harsh world where almost everyone is out to get them.

Fan Art by Marcus Tutt

Blood of the Fallen is an excellent read. The characters are well written and easy to identify with and you feel as if you know them very quickly. The races are also very clearly explained and defined which is very important in fantasy, as you need to be able to recreate the world in your own head.

The story is relatively simple so far, but that is by no means a bad thing. Authors are often tempted to go off into ever more elaborate flights of fancy which quickly become difficult to follow and that is not the case here at all.

I am genuinely intrigued by this first book and am very much looking forward to Book 2 and the continued adventures of Villid and Aya.

Blood of the Fallen is available to buy now on Amazon Kindle and Paperback.