The Fate of the Fallen

By Ian Irvine

Book Overview

After ten years of servitude, Nish is still held in the blackest dungeon of the maimed God-Emperor, his corrupt father.

With the sorcerous quicksilver tears, Gatherer and Reaper, the God-Emperor controls all magic and is remaking the world in his depraved image. Now he wants Nish to be his lieutenant, to become as foul as he is. But the malevolent God-Emperor executed the only woman Nish has ever loved and, even faced with another decade in prison, he cannot serve his father.

Santhenar's only hope of freedom now rests on shy, bookish Maelys, who has been ordered to do a shameful duty by her overbearing aunts. Maelys' gift will allow her to reach Nish's dungeon unseen, but how can she get him out past the all-seeing gaze of Gatherer and Reaper?

And even if she does, how can a friendless renegade with no magic take on the most powerful tyrant the world has ever seen?

You won't want to miss this 'unflaggingly inventive' fantasy series by a million-selling author. More than 900 five-star reviews on Goodreads.

What reviewers say about the Three Worlds books

"A compelling adventure in a landscape full of wonders." - Locus

"A page-turner of the highest order ... Formidable " - SFX on Geomancer

"It is the most engrossing book I've read in years." - Van Ikin, Sydney Morning Herald

"Readers of Eddings, Goodkind and Jordan will lap this one up." - Starlog

"Utterly absorbing." Stephen Davenport, Independent Weekly

"For sheer excitement, there's just no one like Irvine." SFX on The Destiny of the Dead

"As good as anything I have read in the fantasy genre." - Adelaide Advertiser

Reviews of The Song of the Tears trilogy

"Hang on with both hands, because this story waits for no one." Sandy Auden, SFX on The Fate of the Fallen.

"The final payoff is fantastic. The most unflaggingly inventive storyteller we've seen in years." Sydney Morning Herald on The Destiny of the Dead

"This precise and beautifully crafted novel blooms from its ascetic opening to a resonant and rewarding climax. Makes what's currently available on fantasy shelves seem hackneyed and formulaic. Utterly absorbing." Stephen Davenport, Independent Weekly

"Unbelievably, Irvine has managed to increase the pace of his story in this third and final volume - for sheer excitement, there's just no one like Irvine around at the moment." SFX on The Destiny of the Dead.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0648285367
• ISBN13: 9780648285366
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Santhenar Trust
• Length: 386 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Stunning intro to Ian Irvine

I love science fantasy and have been an avid fan of the genre for over 25 years. Having just finished another of Raymond E. Feist's adventure's I was looking for something new. That night my wife returned from the library with Ian Irvine's just-published "The Fate of the Fallen" - the first volume of "The Song of Tears" series. I had not read any of his works before, so I began a little tentatively. Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! I read all night and most of the next. It was so fast and so furious. Somehow Ian Ivine has created a completely orginal good versus dread-evil world: wild, passionate and brutal. I can thoroughly recommend this fresh and icy gail of fiction.

A Wonderful Start to a New Series!

This book starts ten years after the last series, "The Well of Echoes" leaves off. Irvine again has created another masterpiece of fantasy fiction that sits well upon the The Three Worlds universe that he has created. The God-Emperor Jal-Nish rules the world with an iron fist, but all is not lost, there is one hope (or a few more hidden in the cracks) that will hopefully end this despotic, and savage world. Irvine's books, and world for that matter, have gradually become darker and more sedistic as the series has gone on. I question the motivation behind this change, as the reference to debauchery in the first series was very minimal, but is quite prevalent in this one so far. It certainly sets the stage for the landscape of this heretical world. I do not find it unappealing, however a cautionary word to parents, this material might be a little too graphic for children, this series is certainly not a substitute for a Harry Potter, or Diane Duane youngster looking for adventure in between releases. I am a devoted fan of Irvine's and have read all of his "Three Worlds" books knowing that I have to import them from either the UK or Australia. It's worth the cost for shipping and the book just to immerse myself in each of his titles. I commend Ian Irvine for creating an original world with a very unique background. Irvine's twist on Darwinian logic of survival of the fittest works wonders on the progression of his world, and certainly the notion that history is written by the victors. For anyone that has read his earlier work, I urge everyone to support Ian Irvine's newest book "The Fate of the Fallen" in hope that we can get all of his books published in the United States and expose others to his wonderful and original world.