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The novel starts in Mesopotamia, which is also the cradle of humanity according to some, and follows the love story of two people who turn out to be key players in the fate of the Universe. Although the action starts on Earth, it is then placed into the void and onto a strange new land, called Fabella. Here a new civilization will blossom. Archives of Fabella Volume One closely follows the history of Fabella from the moment of its birth. The lands are populated with a great variety of creatures, out of which several species are intelligent. The first generation was created out of the natural elements: the sand, trees, rocks… (I think this was a nice touch) So, not soon after their creation, a struggle for becoming the dominant species takes away the innocence of this pure place. As the first blood spills, events start to degenerate and spiral out of control. Here is another literary debate revolving around the possibility of the peaceful coexistence of two or more intelligent species.
Even if Earth is neglected for a while, Dillon Foley does not forget it. As pages flow on, he takes us back numerous times to visit ancient civilizations. In fact on several occasions, exchanges are made between Earth and Fabella, the two are not isolated from each other.
One of the most evident ties to Christianity is to duality of good and evil. Also, the creation process mimics to a great degree the Biblical one. The burning bush is another mirrored element and so is the story of Moses, with a slight twist to it.
The structure of the novel I found very intriguing. Each chapter is actually a pit stop on a very generous timeline of Fabella. So, the book itself is composed out of 15 short stories distanced by years, decades or centuries. However, they are tied together by space and a few characters.
As I said before, there is an abundance of species on Fabella, actually there are too many, and their diverse origins in mythology and folklore, makes it all overwhelming. This distracted me from the start, it all seemed too implausible, too chaotic… and it made me crave after a salad, because Fabella bore some resemblance to a big bowl of salad. There were humans, elves, centaurs, fauns, fairies, unicorns, phoenixes, mermaids, goblins, and UFOs to mention just a few. Actually I doubt that there is a mythical creature which did not appear on Fabella.
Also, the characters lacked in complexity and uniqueness, except a chosen few, at a certain point they felt repetitive. I admit that there was not always sufficient space to dwell into each new character, but still, this obstacle could have been overcome. I felt that the style in which the novel was written is meant for a younger crowd, but there were some gruesome and graphic scenes, so it is hard for me to pinpoint the target audience.
In the end, I give Archives of Fabella Volume One by Dillon Foley 2 out of 4 stars. The ideas behind the novel are promising more than the writing actually delivers. I got distracted by the overwhelming number of species, which can be traced back to different myths and folklore. Also, while I appreciate the structure, the writing failed to impress me. However, it was an easy and a pleasant read, and those who are interested in fantasy worlds should give this book a chance.
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