Set after The Sight, Fell tells the story not just of Larka's damaged brother, but of a gifted and mistreated 15-year-old girl by the name of Alina.If there is one thing that Clement-Davies does well, it's emotion. Always poignant and realistic, he is an expert at crafting his characters and what drives them. Alina turns out to be a bold, amazing and strong character, and despite my love for her, as I read I found her chapters dragging. I suppose it was simply because I was desperate for Fell's story, because he was one of my favorites in The Sight, and also because I wanted to understand more deeply how he had dealt with the grief and loss and the fact that in his young life he had seen such cruelty and tragedy. However, this book wasn't what I expected - and, unfortunately, I don't really mean that in a good way. The fact is, Fell doesn't compare to The Sight. With the both of them, it took me quite a while to get through them, but for differing reasons: with The Sight, it was solely the thickness and the emotional toll; but with Fell, I'm sad to say it was often boredom.The fact remains, though, that this isn't a bad book - and I don't want to give off that impression. It's just that after reading both The Sight and Fire Bringer, I know that he's capable of so much more. The richness, the beauty (co-mingled excellently with the harshness, grittiness and bloodiness of their lives), the fascinating, weaving stories all eventually combining into one...it just didn't really "happen" with this one. That's not to say that the emotion isn't there - it is, with the same intensity of his first book in this series. I distinctly remember crying when he met the beaver, but honestly I don't recall the details of that part very much, so I can't say if that was just me being a complete emotional weakling or if it's genuinely a tearjerker. Whatever.(view spoiler)[And Clement-Davies's writing is as gorgeous as ever. I guess it's more of a, "it's not you, it's me" kind of book. I feel like I should've loved it but for me, it just didn't make the cut in the way that The Sight did. I still liked it, however; I just couldn't find it in me to love it. I also found myself crying at Morgra's fate. To me, it is so emotionally compelling...Morgra is evil, yes, or rather, she has committed wholly evil acts; but in the end, she goes to The Wolf Trail. She is redeemed. Despite what she had done in her life, her redemption is still there. It just really struck me.I think one of the things I disliked most about this book was the consistent involvement of humans (beginning with Alina's pov). In The Sight, it's always clear that humans and animals are intermingled without any doubt. Humans are constantly destroying, taking. They are savage beasts. But with Morgra and others of her like, we see that same damning quality, the greed and the hatred. However, despite me knowing about the inextricably intertwined worlds of the animal and the human (and the constant question: aren't humans nothing but animals themselves?), I just found myself bored with the human interaction in this one. (hide spoiler)]
Warning: this review will contain spoilers, for Fell and possibly for Fire Bringer and The Sight.--I'll begin with a confession: The Sight did not wow me at all. I have a review for Fell's sister novel that doesn't exactly sing praises, and my opinions haven't changed. But for all The Sight's flaws, I was invested in the characters enough to check out the sequel because I have a hard time turning down books about talking wolves. I also love Fire Bringer and consider it one of my favorites, so I have a lot of faith in the author. Call me weak willed, I guess.Fell started strong and remained so for about a quarter of the novel, but glaring flaws kept pulling me out of its world. First, Clement-Davies is trying to be an omniscient narrator, and it doesn't work. Plot points are revealed way, way, way too early and strip the story from powerful twists. At over 500 pages already, Fell doesn't need anymore bulk, but Clement-Davies sacrificed time he should have spent characterizing and build up on unnecessary (and lengthy) history and philosophy explanations. History in particular is his weak heel, and he just can't seem to keep it out of his writing. The Sight and Fire Bringer had verbose, out of place paragraphs explaining this culture or that kingdom or how this country would do this thing, blah blah blah, but it was contained. Here, where most of the book takes place under mankind's shadow, it's everywhere. The philosophy is just as bad. You get it when the characters are alone, when the characters are together, when the characters are talking, even when the characters are FIGHTING. It just never, ever, stops. Most of the time it doesn't influence the plot; it doesn't add to the characters; why is it there? It serves nothing.Fell, the title character himself, who I liked in The Sight, annoyed me like crazy. I felt like he spent the entire book whining and brooding and relearning the same lessons several times each. Most of the returning characters just weren't the same either. Kar, by far my favorite in The Sight's cast, seemed to lack personality entirely, and don't get me started on the obvious-love-interest she-wolf who shows up for five seconds and we're expected to care about her over the original wolves. As for the human characters, I don't really know what to say. Alina was okay, I guess. She was a standard hero and aided by other standard-hero-helpers. The villain wasn't complex or interesting like Morgra or Sgorr were. It was just a very run-of-the-mill fantasy story about a girl and her talking psychic wolf friend that reused elements from two previous novels. More prophecies, more red herring prophecies that don't amount to anything, more 'chosen ones', more big flashy battles with other species showing up to help at the last minute.I hold nothing against the author. I've read Fire Bringer so many times that the cover is ragged and the pages are soft. But this one... just wasn't for me.
Do You like book Fell (2007)?
this book is the best i hav ever read because i luv reading books that comes from an animal's point of view. this book is a sequel to "The Sight" also by David Clement-Davies. In this book the legend and fantasies of the mysterious power continues. a kerl is searching for the guardian of all lera, and he will soon find himself in a relationship with man. The story is very visual with deep descriptions and u can picture a movie once u start reading. one thing i especially like is the language the wolves have to name many things.
—BerriCat Razberri
Fell was as amazing and captivating as the sight. Although I prefer the Sight to Fell, I was still in awe with David Clement-Davies writing. This book, much like the Sight, forces the reader to question everything they understand about life. Whether it be the moral views of life and death or what waits for us beyond death, this author makes you question it over and over. When the book is done, you have no more answers then you started with yet somehow you feel satisfied with the questions asked. As if you too are assured by the stories outcome and that you need not even seek the answers anymore. Somehow you know that whats left to questions is meant to stay as questions and only when the answers reveal them self to you will you ever really need to know them. It is truly a philosophical book, exposing the richness of nature and mans place in it. This book will leave you in a different frame of mind then when you started so long as that mind is open. Not to mention it will take you on a wonderful adventure!
—Kayla
I've been waiting for this book ever since it came out, and now that I've read it, it was worth the wait!I have to compare this one to The Return of the King. The scope is tremendous, the pace is exhilarating, and the depth is astounding. If The Sight made me cry in a few spots, I could hardly stop crying while reading Fell. Mr. Clement-Davies hits all the right notes and weaves his story with impressive skill. The bond between Fell and Alina is deep and profound, and the message of love, courage and redemption resonates. Flitting back and forth between the Varg and the humans doesn't get old due to the smooth transitions, and I particularly enjoyed seeing some of the old characters from The Sight again. And of course, the author still challenges the reader to re-examine every belief, every assumption, every single aspect of life, all in search of finding some deeper meaning.I've always known I loved David Clement-Davies' work, and this one was no exception. Do yourself a favor: read this book.
—Gemma
