A Rockin' Review of Anthem's Fall by S.L. Dunn

 

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Anthem's Fall is like an intellectualized comic book.  Crossing scientists with flying superhero-style aliens, it is surprising and interesting.  The book focuses on ethical issues revolving around scientific discoveries and advancements, and then tests those stances by introducing an unexpected threat.  It is both a moral, cautionary tale, and, well... something like a comic book.

I love comic books, so I was totally there from the beginning.  However, having heard it was something like a comic book, I was surprised when the beginning read much more realistically.  I thought it was very interesting how Dunn firmly grounded the book in the real world before introducing more unbelievable elements, and I think this lent gravity to the story that wouldn't have been there otherwise.

I was pretty sure that I knew where the story was going from not-that-far in.  However, there were a number of surprises that kept me guessing.  The story was well-written, and crafted beautifully.  Dunn proves that he knows how to weave a story expertly.

As far as things I *didn't* like, they are mostly matter-of-opinion.  I felt that the battle scenes were incredibly long.  I was kind of like... "They're fighting *again*?"  I wanted it to be over.  In this respect, I'm going to be a bit sexist and say this is a "boy story".  I wanted more personal-level interaction and more depth.  Not to say that the characters were not well-done, but they were more intellectual than emotional.  I like emotional.  That is really the only place where the story fell short for me.

What rocked:

• The writing was great.  Solid.  Professional.  I don't see a lot of writing of this quality in Indie books, to be honest. There were only a couple of typos.
• Twists.  While I wouldn't exactly call these "plot twists", there were some cool reveals.  One I loved in particular.  Totally didn't see it coming.
• The epic feel of the disaster.  Beautifully described.  I felt like I was living part of the nightmare.

Overall, a solid book that I really enjoyed.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the next one.

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