The Fall of Erlon by Robert H. Fleming [SPFBO]

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THE FALL OF ERLON
As empires burn, heroes must rise.

Elisa Lannes was once heiress to the mighty Erlonian Empire. But when her mother abandons the empire and her emperor father is defeated on the battlefield and sent into exile, the world she would rule collapses around her. As enemies converge on the capital, Elisa must join with the last of the empire’s loyal soldiers to escape the evil that hunts her and her family.

With the help of her father’s generals, can Elisa find the strength to fight for her people? Or will a twist in the tide of the empire’s last war awaken an evil far greater than the enemy’s blade?

Kop’s review:

So The Fall of Erlon didn’t really do it for me. It started out fine, introducing characters and all that. Elisa was really the only one that stood out to me. Unfortunately, as the book progressed, my enjoyment did not follow along. There were some moments that were made to seem like twists or reveals — except we had barely seen that character or event, so the effect was lost. There was a lack of motivation for me. We’re at war because, well, I guess we’re at war? Someone (or some group) wants to capture Elisa, a princess in hiding, because they just do.

A lot of the book to me felt like both a prologue and also like I was reading the middle book in a series. I wish there were more positive things I could say. I did think the fantasy elements were incorporated very well; they were probably my favorite aspect. I also think the book had a lot of great ideas and discussions, but I don’t think a lot of them were executed to their fullest potential. For example, there’s a theme of different kinds of rulers that’s pretty interesting. All in all, however, I wasn’t feeling this book, I’m sad to say. (Please note that I am just one person. Others have absolutely loved this book. So if it sounds like something you might enjoy, please check it out!)

My final score is a 3/10.

Hiu’s review:

I had some high hopes for The Fall of Erlon having read the first couple of chapters. Especially that opening. A scholar-king approaching a brilliant, recently-defeated emperor in order to study him? That’s the kind of thing I want to read.

Unfortunately, I got lost a little along the way. Despite the frame story capturing my attention from the beginning, the actual meat of the story felt like something I’d read a bunch of times before. There were parts that I enjoyed well enough, for sure, but I had trouble finding something to make it stand out from all the other epic fantasies out there.

The Fall of Erlon feels like a very well-paced book on the surface. It has a strong sense of momentum, moving quickly from one perspective to the next. But at times I felt like the perspective changes came a little too quickly. Meaning that I didn’t feel like I had enough time to sink my teeth into any one character’s personality or their story. I thought that the descriptions, too, had a frustrating sense of vagueness to them. I’m not a reader that likes to be bogged down in an excessive amount of detail, but here I often found myself asking “how” certain things happened. I very rarely had a sense of scene beyond the very basics of farm, campsite, forest, road, etc.

I don’t want to drill too deep into the negatives, as this very clearly just wasn’t a book for me. But I can’t help but feeling a little disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more.

My final score is a 5/10.

Taking both scores into account, The Fantasy Inn’s final SPFBO rating is 4/10.

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