I've got good new and I've got bad news about the much requested Tide Lords Audio Books.

The good news is they're on the way!

The bad news is they won't be much use to you unless you, well, speak German...

Due out 12 April 2010...

Silver's Book Review has posted some very nice things about The Immortal Prince...

Book Rating: 4.5

Review:
Jennifer Fallon weaves an intriguing tale, which twists and turns all throughout, and she obviously ascribes to the maxim, "Things are not what they seem." ...

...Rarely too does a book make me think, but this one did. Death is not a topic we like, nor one we ruminate about. If possible, we run from it as far away as we could. I think that's why the Fountain of Youth is so popular. If it were possible, I think each one of us would like to live forever, so that we'd get to do ALL the things we want to do, read ALL the books we want to read (I know I'll need a few thousand years), and be secure in the knowledge that we won't die. 

Yet, Cayal presents the other side of things. Just think of the license we'd have with immortality. We can do things without repercussions, because we needn't be afraid we'd die, even if we were punished. Continents could be blown up and civilizations wiped out, but what do we care? We're still alive at the end of it. And so, we have Cayal, a man who's lived for over 8000 years and has seen and done everything, and aside from the pain he's also suffered from his actions, some of these things sickend and depressed him so much that he wanted to die to get away from it all. He was tired of living, the way we sometimes are, but in his case, he has lived through 8000 years. Only he couldn't. And that's very frustrating. 

Perhaps the author is right and man isn't meant to live forever. Perhaps man is meant to live only an average of 80 years, a limited time that would prompt him to live wisely and choose to fill his life with people and activities that would enrich (not in the material sense) him. Cayal said the fun is in the journey, and in this, I agree with him. 

If Cayal were the hero of this series (because in a fantasy series, one never knows), I'm not sure if I like him very much. He's not the typical romance hero, definitely, heroic and made larger than life, but he's all too like us--human with flaws and prone to selfishness and making stupid calls in life. I don't know if meeting Arkaday (or thousands of years of living) will make him a better man, but things he's done in his past made me cringe and wonder how he could have done such things. However, this story is more than just Cayal's and Arkady's romance.

There is a larger game at play, one which involves all the other Tide Lords. I believe this first book serves the purpose of introduction and laying down the foundation that the Tide Lords existed, and the story takes off from Book 2 onwards with them gaining back their powers and ready to wreak havoc once again in human lives. Reading the blurbs of the succeeding books on the author's website, however (I dare not read the excerpts), makes me wonder if the romance between Arkady and Cayal will feature a strong portion or not. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

This is definitely a great start to the series and I'm interested to see how Cayal will evolve and mature/grow in the next books, and how his budding relationship with Arkady will affect him. To be honest, the back cover blurb didn't draw me in, but once you start reading, Ms. Fallon's way with words will hold sway over you and won't let go until you've read the last page.

Good news today if you're one of my many fabulous German fans.

Der Palast der verlorenen Träume is on sale now!

Last I looked on Amazon.de it was ranked 109!

Curled up with a Good Book has just posted a 5 Star review of The Gods of Amyrantha

Among the awesome things they say about the book:

"Waiting for a Jennifer Fallon book to come out is like being a kid told by Mom that she’s making this scrumptious chocolate cake in the morning, but you can't have a slice until you both spend all day at school and get your homework done when you get home. In other words, it can be excruciating. I'm thankful that the slice of cake has always been worth the wait, and that's certainly true of Fallon's second book in the "Tide Lords" series, The Gods of Amyrantha.This has to be her best book since Warrior..."

Or this:

"The Gods of Amyrantha is almost impossible to put down. Fallon's prose, characterization and plotting carry you along on the tide of events. Almost every chapter ends on a note that makes you want to read further. "

And then there is this:

"Once again, not a character is wasted; most are three-dimensional, with only the occasional thin ones who really don't need any depth anyway as they are merely passing characters. This holds true all the way from Cayal and Hawkes down to the lowly slave of the Torlenian concubine, who has opinions of her own on the difference between slavery in Glaeba and Torlenia. Fallon uses her characters economically, serving the plot but also for some more world-building."

And this:

"Despite the complexities of its plot, the pacing of the novel seems almost sedate. The pages fly by without your even realizing it, but events in the novel seem to take their own time even as you're being blindsided by them.

This book certainly doesn't suffer from "second-novel" syndrome, in which many second novels in a series almost seem like placeholders. That's not Fallon's style, though. The Gods of Amyrantha could turn out to be the best book in the series. Unless she manages to top herself."

The full review is here.

Thanks so much CUWAGB. You rock!

I have just one teensy-weensy little... ahem.. question about the last line...

I wonder if the reviewer is aware that "to top herself" is Aussie slang for committing suicide?  tee hee

Somebody just posted a 1 star review on Amazon.com for The Gods of Amyrantha, that goes like this:

fantastic series just gets better, September 12, 2009

By	Book Junkie (Los Angeles)

Fallon set a high bar for herself with the first book in this series, but she vaunts it easily here. This is emerging as on of the standout new fantasy series and Fallon can take her place alongside the likes of George RR Martin, Robin Hobb ,Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie as one of the truly original thinkers in the genre. She doesn't disappoint with either the story here or her ability to tell it. Beautifully well-written with terrifically engaging and nonstereotypical characters, the only complaint you'll have about this book is that it ends. My only advice to Fallon: write faster!

Dear God... imagine what the review would have been like if they'd given it 5 stars!!!!!!