Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade Review: The Chosen One Is Dead. Now What?

What Happens When The Chosen One Dies in Chapter Two?

Kel Kade’s Fate of the Fallen is a fantasy novel built out of familiar tropes, only to turn around and flip them on their head. You know the story: a small-town farm boy and his loyal best friend learn that one of them is destined to either save or destroy the world. The farm boy was raised by a wise old man who just so happens to be a wizard, and naturally, he has been keeping secrets all these years. Those tropes are all here, sort of.

Here is where the story gets good.

Kade takes those time-worn formulas and tears them apart. Instead of the small-town boy fulfilling the prophecy, he dies in the second chapter. His best friend is left carrying his head and doing everything he can to save the people he loves. Imagine if Frodo died and Samwise Gamgee had to take over the quest alone while carrying Frodo’s magically preserved head. Even the old male wizard father-figure trope is replaced by a female witch, and that shift changes the tone of the story for the better. Best of all, the prophecy is still going to come true. No matter what.

“Death was inevitable, but it was not the enemy. Comfort could be found in both its solitude and the embrace of the others who had fallen before him.”

I cannot tell you much more about the plot, because this is the kind of story where even lightly hinting at later events could ruin it. Just know that the familiar fantasy formulas get thrown out the window in favor of storytelling that feels fresh, sharp, enthralling, and at times genuinely heartbreaking. There was more than one moment in this story where I had to put the book down and say out loud, “Damn.”

The side characters are just as compelling as the protagonist, and I really enjoyed the way Kade writes their interactions and reactions. The dialogue and prose move smoothly from scene to scene without becoming so overloaded with action and detail that the reader gets tired. It is enough to leave you slightly breathless while still wanting more. And this book is funny as hell. It had me guffawing more than once. Kade really taps into the snark here.

Fate of the Fallen is a story I genuinely loved. It has everything I want from a fantasy romp: great characters, exciting twists, funny dialogue, and a protagonist I wanted to know more about. Definitely one of the best books I read that year, and it left me eager to read more from Kade.

Order Your Copy Here

Check Out Some of Our Other Reviews

Review  – Pack of Lies by Annie Bellet

Review – Into Bones Like Oil by Kaaron Warren