I enjoy Romyn's work because you can never quite be sure where he is leading you - there are so many unexpected twist and turns you never know where his characters might end up (in Sins of the Father, Hope goes from the White House to Gitmo to a Russian prison to other crazy places, none of which you would have expected). When I purchased the Rise of the Fallen, I thought it was the last book of the series - it is not, which leads me to want to thank Romyn and curse him at the same time, because I am excited to see how this series ends and am glad it continues.
Jacob Hope continues to be our atypical hero (a definite underdog who is a reluctant, uniformed, and unskilled leader) in this installment as he continues to stumble around in the darkness (literally and figuratively in this book) trying to fulfill his purpose. Whereas in the first book Hope doubted he was the Legacy and in the second book he was somewhat accepting of this, in Rise of the Fallen, he has now come to terms with who he is and what he must do. A still lingering quality, which was frustrating, is his indecisiveness at times, but, in all fairness, when he acted without fully thinking his plan of action through, at the end of the second book, he did send the world back to the technological dark ages. Sadly, for ourselves and Hope, this book does not contain the reveal of what is truly going on, instead we and Hope learn things bit by bit through different encounters (we are collecting pieces of the puzzle without a clue of how they fit together). In this installment, we do learn more about who Vain is and some of how he became Vain (though I doubt we will ever learn the full story). The last sentence of this book is a cliffhanger for the next, making me wonder if it is too early to pre-order it.
The good: There is a lot of character development in this book; Romyn's descriptions of characters leaves you with a sense of them having a past without him needing to include their back story (something that adds depth to the world he is creating); his descriptions, in general, help place you in the situation, making the scenes come alive; the words of wisdom given to Hope and conversational philosophizing give you a lot to ponder; I like how Hope is human, with human emotions and weaknesses; and the twisted sense of humor
The bad: there were a few scenes that could have been shortened - it did not slow the story down, it just did not hold my interest (sorry, Vain, I was worried about Jacob); our hero is still lost in the woods and it's a bit frustrating (reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland);
If you feel touchy about an author taken poetic license with a sacred text in their work of fiction, you might want to avoid this because the world Romyn is crafting for Hope and co is one that reinterprets the Bible and world religion/spirituality in general.
If you love this series, I highly recommend Romyn's Prometheus War. Even if you don't like this series, I highly recommend Beyond Hades and Slaves of Valhalla (plus if you have made it this far in the series, you should keep going).
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There are 4 books in this series.
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From the Publisher
The Legacy by Luke Romyn
Also by Luke Romyn
- Ash
- Trinity
- Walking with Shadows
- Ryder
- The Prometheus Wars
- Theo
- The Dark Path
- Immortal Billy
USA TODAY Bestseller!
Who is Jacob Hope?
Jacob Hope, better known as Jake, feels driven by an unconscious need to help others. At times, this need pushes him into unsafe regions of the globe, yet he still feels unsatisfied. It's as if his life's purpose is calling to him, and he cannot find it. Then, one day, a young man tells him his destiny, a fate filled with such weight no mortal should have to bear it.
Jake has to see mankind through Armageddon.
Luke Romyn - USA TODAY bestselling author
Luke Romyn is a full-time author with a background in international security. His first novel, The Dark Path, was published in 2009, and he lives in Northern Queensland, Australia, with his wife, Sarah, and various animals he calls family.
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
- Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2015
- Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2014
- Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2016
Top reviews from other countries
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 7, 2014
The Legacy Chronicles just get better and better!
- Mandy BeckReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2014
The saga continues.....
- mrs anne rossReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 6, 2014
Luke Romyn's Legacy Chronicle books..
