Court of Nightfall is a thrilling and thought-provoking dystopian fantasy that blends together ancient myths, philosophical questions, and a futuristic world on the brink of destruction.
700 years after the Cataclysm, an event that nearly destroyed humanity, the Four Orders—Templar, Teutonic, Hospitaller, and Inquisition—rule all.
Scarlett Night, a color-blind girl, is a pleb, the lowest class of society, and she has never known a life without war. Driven by loss and a dream of hope, she seeks to join Castle Vianney, where she will train to become a Knight and work to change her corrupt government from within. But on her journey, she will become something else… something the world fears. And she will stop at nothing until the Orders have fallen.
This dark and exciting adventure is the first book in Karpov Kinrade's The Nightfall Chronicles.
Release Date: Out Now
Scarlett is a tenacious, accepting and smart girl of around 10 when we first meet her in the book. There is segregation between what could be considered normal people and Zenith's (those with angelic powers). Further to this there is numerous classes within the society too. Seeing her friends - and Zeniths - Becca and Ella snatched from their homes hits home to young Scarlett (although older than when we first met her) brings to the fore the injustice within her world and the path that she will now take to destroy those that confine them.
Scarlett really is a character full of courage, naivety and a fantastic sense of self awareness and drive that means that she isn't a character that will stand back and let things roll over her. Even with the biggest loss in her life and a change in herself she is driven and fights on wards. Very inspiring for a character that otherwise could just sit back and accept that things happen and rejoin society. She has a firm belief that her friends will always be there for her and would do all that they could for her as she would do for them.
To truly understand this the extended prologue really enables you to grasp what sort of person Scarlett is as she grows up - the writing and planning here is very smart. You learn exactly what drives Scarlett and how she became who she is, in more ways than one. This saves the reader from confusing flashbacks and anecdotes in the book which can lead to confusion and not being able to enjoy the story as you are constantly being pulled back and forth - so well penned!
Zorin is a Nephilim, a supposedly extinct species killed by the Orders during the war. He is smart, world weary and pushes Scarlett towards the greatness he is sure she has the ability to be. He also appears as a possible romantic interest although i'm sure this will be further explored in later books.
Speaking of romantic interests Jax, her best friend since forever is definitely a candidate. full of secrets and lies he is relieved to be able to reveal these to Scarlett when she enters Castle Vianney. Jax is an interesting character that is similar to an onion there is many layers too him and I really look forward to further books exploring this.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. The backstory to the protagonist is just as important to the story now and Karpov Kinrade have really managed this well and the second half of the book is simply superb. I would recommend this book to those who have read the likes of The Hunger Games, Throne of Glass and to an extent the Hush Hush Saga. The elements of dystopia, mythology in the Nephilim and the kick-butt female protagonist makes it a great read.
Talia
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