Review of The Shade of Highfall

[Koyna]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Shade of Highfall" by Mark O'Dell.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Shade of Highfall is a tale of a street urchin named Shrew. Her livelihood depends upon her ability to steal and slip away as fast as possible. Alas! She is caught one day. She is taken to a workhouse. Here, the orphans are compelled to perform deplorable tasks around the city. Shrew finds herself assigned to the worst duty. She is sent down a sewer to remove a blockage. In the sewer, she finds a dagger. Or did the dagger find her, for this is no ordinary dagger?

Shrew’s struggles entangle with a story of a foreign priest. Cyrus Col, the priest, wishes to honor the ancient gods by building a temple in their city of Highfall. He, though, is no ordinary priest. Instead of propagating the good, he wishes to gain control over the city. He plans to unleash the evil spirit of the Master of the Shade. Using the greed of money and fang-weed, he soon persuades many locals and some council members to support him. The council breaks into two opposing groups- one that supports the priest and the other that opposes him. Shrew, with no choice of hers, gets involved in this chaos. Will she come out alive between these warring parties?

I like the part when Shrew journeys through Qinestra, an underground city built by magical creatures. While reading, I was most mesmerized by the surrounding. Isolated stairways, stone floors gave a vibe of an eerie middle-aged castle forgotten by the people. Shrew’s journey in the Qinestra is eventful as she encounters powers beyond her understanding. This part of the book does not fail to keep the readers on the edge of their seats.

The novel is grasping in its entirety. The book speaks about the slavery of orphaned children in workhouses. It portrays prostitution. It shows an immoral religious leader who is blindly supported by many. These are some of the raw veracities of our society. By mentioning these, the author makes the story seem real. The book captures scenes and emotions in detail. For example, the description of feelings and surroundings when Shrew found the dagger, is realistic. Additionally, there are maps and a glossary at the end of the book.

I feel Mark O'Dell left Shrew and Dardalloy’s love story somewhat incomplete. Though, I particularly didn't dislike anything.

I will rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The plot held my interest the entire length of the book. The novel is professionally edited. I recommend this book to people interested in fiction and adventure.

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The Shade of Highfall
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