The Fall Of Ossard

Wonderful book.. I love Robin Hobb and this has the same feel/style about it. I couldn't put it down and got hooked from the Facebook tease that is posted at the [...] website. I am now waiting for the 2nd book.

Great book, excellent job Mr. Taber! I actually found this book via an ad on Facebook with a link to the a website with the Prelude and I have to say I was hooked. This is a great start to an exciting epic fantasy series! I found this to be a new, unique fantasy book, not like I have read before, the characters and the small piece of this world we read about is thrilling and I definitly want to return! As a new author, he has done an great job of creating characters that we will want to spend more time with.

In The Fall Of Ossard, Colin Taber tells the story of Juvela Van Leuwin, granddaughter of a woman burnt at the stake for being a witch, by the Inquisitor Anton, member of the Church of Baimiopia's Expeditia Puritanica. The burning was 20 twenty years ago and it was a milestone in Ossard's history. Since then, Ossard has grown wealthy by its merchant princes. However now the city is troubled by another problem: Child abductions... The children simply vanish without a trace and without any witnesses... And it's just the beginning... I didn't know Colin Taber before I decided to read The Fall Of Ossard. Now I'm glad that I gave it a try. The three adjectives on its cover capture the spirit of the book pretty well: "Bold... Innovative... Brave..." The book is easy to read and captivating. The very beginning of the story, the burning of Juvela's grandmother, promises a fast-paced book. And it keeps its word. With the introduction of Juvela, the story slows down but to gather momentum with each turning page. Colin Taber's style in his book reminded me of Patrick Rothfuss' The Name Of The Wind, partly because the story was told in a first-person narrative mode. And the fact that Ossard is the main setting of the story and the world's connection with its deities reminded me of Brendon Sanderson's Elantris. In The Fall Of Ossard, the author paints the picture of a world where the boundary between humanity and divinity is very thin and flexible. It is a world where gods can choose to answer the prayers with their blessings. It is a world where gods can be mean and vicious; they can have their own agenda and use their followers in a multitude ways. This book is a window opened to a world forged by the goddess Life and her husband Death. Yet now they're waging a divine war, a war that promises doom for all. The magic system that the author uses has a satisfying complexity. Even though we don't explicitly get explained all the nitty-gritty details of spellcasting, we know that there are three different branches of magic that exist according to the power source of the caster: Mind (forbidden Sisterhood), Soul (priesthoods of the faiths) and Heart (Cabals of Mages). I'm guessing that we will discover more about magic in the following books. One of the aspects of the book that I loved is the existence of the world's mythology. The reader is introduced to some of the deities along the way. However the mention of a few other names, such as the Gorgoyle God of Gorloth promises more to come. Furthermore, there are some places mentioned that aren't part of the story yet. For example, I wonder if we'll ever know more about Bar-Mor, the mountain city of the giants. If you're a fan of maps in fantasy books, you'll be satisfied to know that Colin Taber did a good job with the maps too. They include Ossard and the world around the city. All in all, it's an amazing book. Colin Taber raises the bar very high in his debut novel, The Fall Of Ossard, which is the first

A fantasy novel defines, not just a new world and the characters therein, it invokes a new universe. A first offering therefore needs to maintain a careful dynamic so as to tell a story, while also offering the necessary familiarisation of all its forms, from geographic to the arcane. Colin Taber's The Fall of Ossard does this extremely well. His universe is a finely wrought, complex creation. Careful layering of detail bespeaks of more, much more, to come. Here is a creation with real depth and breadth - a saga in its first stanza. The powerful first person linear narrative is used to drive the reader's focus compellingly. The storyline holds the attention and constantly piques the imagination, raising expectation and enthusiasm for ever more. Light and Dark is vividly portrayed, none better than the chief female protagonist, Juvela - at once Ossard's Rose, Lady of Hope, and also a tempted - and tainted - Soul Eater, but a soul eater with a conscience. The death of Ossard requires a careful rendering of the pace of action. With a brewing tempo that ultimately erupts in scenes of apocalyptic loss Taber interweaves skilful characterisation to unify the facets of his story in an apparently seamless stream. His first novel? This text has hallmarks of careful thought and real skill. Not a first naïve effort, this has signs of a depth of talent that will reveal more as we eagerly await and read the next chapter.

From being a voracious reader of fantasy, I'd fallen away from the genre after reading too many tired and often talentless rehashes of classic plots. On a friend's recommendation I picked up Fall of Ossard to see what she was so excited about and came away from the novel an addict gasping for more of Colin Taber's dark sweet medicine. This book is a pretty unique fantasy full of original, intriguing, twisting plot and beautiful characterisation. The story is great because it is original in so many areas. The world environment,setting and cast of characters entices and enfolds readers into an intimate relationship with the poor benighted souls of Ossard. I finished the novel after a marathon, compulsive session. My desire to find out what was going on was easily stronger than my desire to be well rested for work... Colin Taber has been added to my watchlist of authors, I'm hungry for more! I can't wait to see how this tale develops. Great work, keep 'em coming. I recommend this to anyone with life in their still beating heart!!!