Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Return to a Familiar Place
Review: 'Swordspoint', a little gem of a novel, is a book I enjoy re-reading and have never grown tired of. Though short, it is an elegantly witty work of high fantasy with characters I came to love.Now, Ellen Kushner and her partner, Delia Sherman, have once again delighted my literary palate with 'The Fall of the Kings'. This novel is as rich as a Pre-Raphaelite painting, full of lush hues and romantic themes. 'The Fall of the Kings' is full of so many multifacted characters to love, to dislike and to ardently sigh over--Theron, the wonderfully charming, decadent, shamelessly self-indulgent, warm and idealistic son of Alec, from 'Swordspoint'; Basil St. Cloud, the handsome and charismatic young scholar with his longing for truth and passion for the past--and for Theron; The Lady Sophia could easily give her ancestress, Diane of Tramontaine a good fight. Where Diane's motivations were more mysterious, Sophia is quite open when it comes to wielding power. And of course, who could forget Theron's sister, Lady Jessica, the beautiful and ruthless pirate queen. Even the ghost of Richard St. Vier makes a small spectral appearance. Add to this heady mix raucous university students, dueling professors, hidebound scholars, men in elegant frocks, women in shimmering gowns, a heartless paintrix, ancient lore and buried secrets, and 'The Fall of the Kings' becomes the kind of novel that envelopes you in its many layers. Like 'Swordspoint', the eroticism is subtle, allowing the reader to savor the intimate moments between Theron and Basil. Kushner and Sherman do not go into details, and as excellent storytellers, they do not need to. 'The Fall of the Kings' is another masterwork of high fantasy--a world that once visited is very hard to forget.
Rating: 
Summary: mythology, but not as powerful as it should have been
Review: A strange book. I don't often read fantasy, but a friend gave me Swordspoint, the book that precedes this one, and I've read it several times for its concise wit and great characters. I read this book hoping for a similar elegant comedy of manners, but The Fall of the Kings is a different and much more ambitious book. It aims for mythic tragedy, and like many mythic stories it seems that the characters are there to serve the drama they play out, not vice versa. This is a powerful concept, but maybe not the best one for a 400+ page novel. The mythology here is essentially the classic horned god-king story of sacrifice and rebirth (with all feminine aspects strangely missing), somewhat oddly grafted onto a tale of political intrigue. I wanted to like the characters -- they start out so imperfect that you can only hope they'll do learn and do better, but instead they're devoured by myth and lose whatever intriguing humanity they had to begin with. Maybe that's the point, since they're archetypes after all, but it kept the end from having the emotional impact it should have had.
Rating:
Summary: mythology, but not as powerful as it should have been
Review: A strange book. I don't often read fantasy, but a friend gave me Swordspoint, the book that precedes this one, and I've read it several times for its concise wit and great characters. I read this book hoping for a similar elegant comedy of manners, but The Fall of the Kings is a different and much more ambitious book. It aims for mythic tragedy, and like many mythic stories it seems that the characters are there to serve the drama they play out, not vice versa. This is a powerful concept, but maybe not the best one for a 400+ page novel. The mythology here is essentially the classic horned god-king story of sacrifice and rebirth (with all feminine aspects strangely missing), somewhat oddly grafted onto a tale of political intrigue. I wanted to like the characters -- they start out so imperfect that you can only hope they'll do learn and do better, but instead they're devoured by myth and lose whatever intriguing humanity they had to begin with. Maybe that's the point, since they're archetypes after all, but it kept the end from having the emotional impact it should have had.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven but Worthy of Attention
Review: Complicated. Thats how I would describe the book, The Fall of Kings. Most times I really go in for a complicated, rich tapestry of a fantasy world, and gladly dove into this one based on the many glowing recommendations around Amazon for it. However, half way through the book, I realized also why some had described it as overly complicated and pathless. There is a definite path through this book. One can almost immediately see where it is headed, and if you're like me, you can become disappointed on the destination. The destination itself was not the problem, but the journey was. Sure many of the characters are vivid, but not the necessary ones. The story was a good one, but its evolution was...I searched for a word and the only one I could come up with is stupid. While some areas of the world were described overmuch, the main characters (except for some sexual detail) were described too little, I found myself having forgotten what one of the main characters looked like within pages of opening the book. Too little was reinforced, and certain aspects of novel writing were too obvious. Ok, it seems I am only downing the book but there are positive parts to it. If you are a fan of Robert Jordan, I would say you would like this book. I read a number of his, but the over complication without the strong return for what you've read put me off him and I never finished his series. I struggled through this book. Half way through I was completely exasperated at the uneven characterization. I left it for a number of weeks, until in a fit of determination came back to it, but even then skimming through overwritten passages. The ending is unsatisfying even in its basic premise. Without trying to give a spoiler, it ends as one expects it might but without the emotion that would have made it at least acceptable. Yes, a difficult review, as uneven as the book itself. Struggle through it yourself and you'll see what I mean. All the above glowing reviews...I dont really understand them. As a writer myself I suppose I can see more of the faults, weaknesses, and problems with the book, but at the same time it does create a sense of tension and inevitability very well. For those looking for gay sex and relationships, this one has it in abundance, but again it was irritating and one-dimensional somehow. I'm sorry, many people like this book, and it has its good points and its a worthy read, but over all I feel it could have been better written and realized. Perhaps two writers working on it overcomplicated what could have been a truly lyrical and strong novel.
Rating:
Summary: A treat for all the senses
Review: Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman's The Fall of the Kings is a worthy sequel to Kushner's earlier Swordspoint. The excitement is there, the political intrigue, the food (pickled cherries!), and most of all, what people do to one another. Get the hot chocolate out and enjoy this bawdy, intellectually stimulating novel of love and betrayal.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I bought this book because it is a sequel to Swordspoint, which I enjoyed enormously. The characters all seem fairly realistic in this work, and there are touches of the diction that Kushner employed in Swordspoint-- unfortunately, I don't think I need to read anything more of Ms. Sherman's work, though. I'd be interested to read the original short story which this novel was based on, for I suspect that the parts I like best are from that short story.
My second objection comes in because there's a LOT more smut in this novel than there needed to be: the book could've been accomplished without getting quite so earthy (and at least one of the authors managed this feat in a book called Swordspoint). I'm not objecting on the ground of some conservative perspective: I share a sexual preference with the main characters in this world.
I have recommended this book to some friends- but made sure they understood that they'd be wandering into what's at-least-R-rated so they could, if they chose, not find themselves reading a passage describing a rather heated coupling while on public transit. The other problem with the smut to me is that the plotline of the story, which was rather clever, seemed to be used as a string on which episodes of the two male characters making love were threaded like pearls.
I honestly don't feel Ms. Sherman contributed very much to this book, and am not looking forward to her next Swordspoint-sequel book. The main reason I am giving this book two stars is because its publication has occasioned a reprinting of Swordspoint, which is a good that makes up for a great deal of banality.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad Sequel to Swordspoint
Review: I bought this book because it is a sequel to Swordspoint, which I enjoyed very much. I got to about the third chapter of this book and because it seemed to me to be a very slow read I turned to the last part of the book to see if it gets any better. I read the ending and decided that reading the rest of the book would be a complete waste of my time. When I got the book I was really looking forward to reading it as I had such a good time reading Swordspoint. The characters all seemed to come alive for me in Swordspoint. In FotK the characters seemed very flat and not very interesting. I won't recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: I have never read Swordspoint. I have never read anything by Delia Sherman, I don't know what her style is. What I do know is that this book is truely breath-taking. The style of prose used in book is absolutely amazing, it sucks you in an doesn't let you go letting the story flow from one scene to the next. The authors paint pictures with words - epic and base are woven together with dazzling style and skill. The epic becomes realistic and the base; beautiful. Everybody will see something different in the patterns created. I finnished The Fall of the Kings in less than a day and in it I found a tale reminicent of celtic legends and fresh enough to rival P.C. Hodgell. Kushner doesn't 'tell', she suggests and entrances. When I read this book again I will find something entirely new and probably just as magnificent.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and compelling
Review: I have to admit, despite the fact that Swordspoint is my favourite book, I didn't expect to like The Fall of the Kings, and waited a while before reading. My opinion of this was based on the novella of the same name, also a collaboration beween Sherman and Kushner (first published in Bending the Landscape: Fantasy), in which Theron came across as whiny, Basil as slightly deranged, and the whole milieu generally unappealing. I'm also pretty leery of collaborations in general. The Fall of the Kings was a pleasant surprise. Theron is sympathetic and I know he's a spoilt brat; he's meant to be) and strangely endearing; it is he, not Basil St. Cloud, who is the protagonist of the entire piece. Less dreamlike than Swordspoint, the whole novel still manages to come across as slightly fairy-tale like. Some of the going is rough. The plot, as some have commmented, is shaky at times. The supporting characters are not quite as endearing as Michael Godwin was in Swordspoint. Still, the novel kept me engaged for the entire 450 pages - and it ends gracefully, with mingled sorrow and hope. The preoccupations with academia and dead kings were fascinating, and the whole world of Swordspoint has been fleshed out and given more life - we hear more of social customs, of University traditions, of history and politics than has been previously revealed. I'd have liked to see more of the world of Riverside - but perhaps Kushner will deliver that in her upcoming solo effort. The Fall of the Kings is confectionary wrapped up in lush prose; a novel that manages to enthrall despite its weaknesses.
Rating:
Summary: Lyrical and compelling
Review: I have to admit, despite the fact that Swordspoint is my favourite book, I didn't expect to like The Fall of the Kings, and waited a while before reading. My opinion of this was based on the novella of the same name, also a collaboration beween Sherman and Kushner (first published in Bending the Landscape: Fantasy), in which Theron came across as whiny, Basil as slightly deranged, and the whole milieu generally unappealing. I'm also pretty leery of collaborations in general. The Fall of the Kings was a pleasant surprise. Theron is sympathetic and I know he's a spoilt brat; he's meant to be) and strangely endearing; it is he, not Basil St. Cloud, who is the protagonist of the entire piece. Less dreamlike than Swordspoint, the whole novel still manages to come across as slightly fairy-tale like. Some of the going is rough. The plot, as some have commmented, is shaky at times. The supporting characters are not quite as endearing as Michael Godwin was in Swordspoint. Still, the novel kept me engaged for the entire 450 pages - and it ends gracefully, with mingled sorrow and hope. The preoccupations with academia and dead kings were fascinating, and the whole world of Swordspoint has been fleshed out and given more life - we hear more of social customs, of University traditions, of history and politics than has been previously revealed. I'd have liked to see more of the world of Riverside - but perhaps Kushner will deliver that in her upcoming solo effort. The Fall of the Kings is confectionary wrapped up in lush prose; a novel that manages to enthrall despite its weaknesses.
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