Review: The Sound of Starfall by Scott Palmer

Blurb:

This is the end
The Warlocks of Yehven have ruled over the Remembered Lands with their songs of dark sorcery since the skies were new.
But now, beneath the shadow of an approaching comet, a mysterious death cult from the wild lands have arrived in the name of Nature to exterminate the Warlocks and their sorcerous Words with them.
As the death cult breaches the walls of the Golden City and Ailar crumbles into anarchy, a Warlock, an enslaved man, and a guard are forced to make decisions that will shape the world for thousands of years to come.
The sky is falling
Nightmares are waking
The sound of starfall eats all else

Review:

“Above, the sky howled like some demon descending. A piercing, echoing thunder that stormed on and on. The sound of Starfall swallowed every thought.”

Dark fantasy master Scott Palmer returns to us with a dark and high stakes prequal novella in The Last Ballad series. Strap in for a thrilling ride as you experience firsthand the cataclysmic event known as Starfall. The sky has torn open, chaos reigns, death has arrived. 

“This was the end. A literal living nightmare. They’d known it for a century. But it wasn’t easy to accept.”

Just a quick note, I read Scott’s first book “A Memory of Song” prior to reading “The Sound of Starfall.” In my personal option, this is the ideal reading order as book one provides historical accounts and background context that then makes the events of Starfall twice as impactful.

Palmer has taken his worldbuilding to the next level as he crafts a gripping story in under 90 pages. It is no surprise that “Starfall” continues with his theme of dark fantasy, and just like his first book, the novella places you in the heat of the action from the very first page. The story starts off with panic in the streets of Ailar as the city is at the height of a world altering event that will bring about the earth’s destruction. The plot follows a Warlock, a slave, and a city guardsman as they come to terms with the events set in motion as an army of cultists known as the Abori breach the city’s walls to exterminate the Warlocks within. The landscape and architecture of Ailar, the Golden City, is written with precise details to give the reader a perfect picture. In contrast the portrayal of the falling comet, from its physical appearance to the sounds it creates, is enough to give the reader a sense of urgency and impending doom that one cannot escape. 

The book follows three characters, each with their own unique POV chapter. Readers will get a deep dive into of each character’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations behind their actions as they navigate the final hours to Starfall. Despite the brief time readers get to know these characters, you will feel a sense of attachment to each one by the book’s conclusion. 

“To be bounds up by the Abori and forced to watch the sky rip apart was the worst kind of death.”

The magic systems presented in the novella are slightly different, yet the same, as the magics encountered in AMOS. In “Starfall,” the Warlocks are at the height of their power, and we get to see how far they have taken their studies into dark sorcery. In AMOS we only get a taste of how powerful a warlock could potentially be. Having this contrast really sets the novella apart and provides fantastic historical lore of the Remembered Lands.

I jumped right into this novella immediately after finishing AMOS, so my anticipation and excitement was high. I thoroughly enjoyed every single page and was almost sad it ended so soon. However, this novella is the prefect length for the story told. Once I reached the last 20 pages the action was relentless and did not let up. There is a very particular moment in the final pages of the book that left me stunned for words and honestly, I needed to pause for a couple of minutes to process what had just happened. 

In conclusion, I deeply enjoyed this novella. I highly recommend this book to someone who is looking for a dark yet beautifully written short story with non-stop action that keeps you on your toes to the very end. I cannot wait for the next installment in the Last Ballad Series!