The Night Everything Fell Apart
Book One: The Nephilim
The Night Everything Fell Apart is an appealing dark fantasy, with elements including angels, sorcery, and demons.
Clans of Nephilim fight bloody battles for supremacy on Earth in Joy Nash’s The Night Everything Fell Apart. This tale of supernatural beings is a visceral story full of harsh and savage action.
Arthur Camulus is a nineteen-year-old Nephil from Britain who has overcome his Ordeal. A terrifying process, it can drive a dormant Nephil insane without a guide to help him.
Arthur is also a descendant of Merlin the Sorcerer and possesses Merlin’s memories and magic—if he can only get his head together and slake his bloodlust first. Kidnapped at age twelve, Arthur was enslaved to a clan headed by the beautiful and sadistic Mab. He faces the threat of Dusek, a Nephil who wishes to assume Arthur’s powers and possess the magic from all the Druid clans, the key to which is Merlin’s staff.
Arthur has clung to sanity thanks to his love for the beautiful Cybele Herne. Cybele has yet to go through her Ordeal and unleash all her Nephil powers, but she is a skilled adept in her own right. Will their love and combined magical powers be enough to defeat Dusek and his evil forces?
Titled as book one in a series, The Night Everything Fell Apart introduces a large cast of characters. Long paragraphs of backstory—explaining the characters’ pasts, clan histories, and relationships, along with how their individual magical powers work or don’t work—come early and often. These information dumps sometimes impede the story’s forward motion, breaking the pull of a world where excitement and magic are the order of the day.
Fantasy romance genre fans might be frustrated at how little romantic intimacy is shown between the young lovers, Arthur and Cybele. Their love scenes demonstrate rough sex, leaving Cybele in particular with cuts, bruises, and possible broken ribs. They fit within the violent theme of the book.
The comic relief duo of an enslaved demon working for the villain Dusek, Maweth, and a lost cherub, Lucky, is necessary given the level of the dark emotions generated by the general content. The story doesn’t resolve by the last page, leaving the hero and villain’s ultimate confrontation for the next book in the series.
The Night Everything Fell Apart is a series introduction that should appeal to those who enjoy dark fantasy.
Reviewed by
Cindy Matthews
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
