Creative.Landfill's Reviews > Nightfall

WARNING. UNMARKED SPOILERS AHEAD.

I have avoided writing this review for MONTHS because I don't want it to become a rant (though it will), and many other people have already pointed out the issues I am going to discuss.

Let's begin which specific character issues.

Sophie: we spent waaaay too much of the book inside of her worrying panic-filled head. I swear that 80% of this book is just her freaking out about the fact that her parents have been kidnapped. Yes, this would be severely traumatic to anybody, but I feel that if she is the "strong character" that everyone else holds her up to be, at some point earlier in the book she would felt her worries spiraling out of control, then have taken a breath and cleared the worry from her head, and realized that she isn't responsible for everything and that she can focus on saving her parents.
Where did the spine she had in the previous five books go? It's as if it's vanished! Bring back Everblaze and Lodestar Sophie please!
Also:
She feels guilty for wanting to save her family. Why?
Her powers also aren't used in this book very much. What's the point of all of these powers if they aren't used?
People not telling Sophie stuff to "protect" her. Welp, she turned into a wreck w/o the info so...

Fitz: okay, the fact that his character went from supportive and kind to absolutely nothing really bothers me. For example, in Everblaze, Fitz offers Sophie emotional support when she needs it, while in this book all he does is give her treats even though she is obviously emotionally unstable. Even Dex (who I'll get to later) gives Sophie hope to cling onto (even though she hurt him). I feel as though a previously likable character has been demoted to the role of an extremely pathetic love interest. Why Shannon?!
Also, no character development? He and Biana should've gone through something when they realized Alvar betrayed them. No soul-searching when Alvar said that his reason for betrayal lies in the Vacker history?

Dex: he had only TWO scenes in the book that were focused on him, and neither pushed the plot forwards. When I first read that Sophie Dex scene I felt awful for Dex. Then I realized that I don't like Sophie anyway and that he deserves better (Sophie, simply telling Dex that you don't like him would've hurt him much less!). This former main character has been pushed aside in favor of an obnoxious fan favorite.

Which brings us to...
Keefe: I actually liked this character in the first few books because he provided some much needed comic relief in serious situations, but wasn't overly irritating (example: Keeper of the Lost Cities and Exile). He also had a little bit more depth than other characters how seemingly had perfect lives. But now he's become the center focus of this series and it is very difficult to read. He's shoved all of the other characters, including Sophie (the MC!), out of the spotlight, and turned Nightfall into the "Keefe Show". None of his "humorous" comments are funny and he betrays Sophie so often that I don't know how they're still friends.

Biana: I loved the Sophie Biana friendship of the earlier books, but it was hardly there in this one. Same development issues I had with Fitz. I did REALLY like her moment when she went after Vespera. It just goes to show how brave and devoted she is. I hope she's okay!

Tam and Linh: I do really like these characters, but they are an example of the "too many new characters" issue that's beginning to unravel this series. They only seem to be present for their abilities.

Marella: I'm so glad she's back! She was my favorite character in the first book. Buuuuut she was really only re-introduced for her ability as a pyrokinetic.

Forkle: Why is he not dead?! His death in Lodestar added a sense that their world really isn't safe, and that danger does exist. It makes the threats actually threatening! But now that he's alive, the series is empty again. No suspense, no fear. The characters aren't really in danger. Also, hidden twin trope. *gag* And how the heck did the pull that off? They'd have to have been pretending to be one person their ENTIRE LIVES. It just wasn't a good twist and it put a bad taste in my mouth that turned the rest of the book sour for me.

Vespera: boring villain. Good concept (feels others emotions but not her own) but she fell very flat. Maybe she wasn't dark enough for being emotionless, maybe she just didn't have enough time in the book for her threat to mean anything.
Actually, on a side note, for all of the terrible things the villains are doing in these books, Nightfall in particular just didn't really have a dark enough undertone for me. Setting fire to the forbidden cities, drowning an ENTIRE POPULATION of elves, trying to murder the leaders of the intelligent species in Luminaria... and yet this world STILL doesn't feel dangerous. I have no idea how Shannon managed to do that.

Fintan: why do we care about him again? This previously major villain is now kinda pointless. Maybe we'll see more from him later on in the series, but for now he's just another name.

Gisela: I don't really see her as a villain and she's kinda awesome. Don't like that she sent them on a pointless ogre side-quest (so that Keefe could betray Sophie (again) to "protect" her. She doesn't need protection! *gag*).

Plot: It was weak in this book. Most of the book's 801 pages were spent discussing options, worrying, and explaining things that we already know. There was a lengthy paragraph devoted to explaining what a cache is! If you don't know what it is, you shouldn't be reading this book.
Also, the plots of the other books in the series all hinged on Sophie in some way, but this one only had anything to do with her because her parents were taken (and it could've been any other humans!). But Sophie is still allowed to make major decisions (even being emotionally unstable).
Also: too many unanswered questions! They keep adding more and more questions without answering new ones.

"Epic" showdown in Nightfall: it was boring until Biana got hurt. Ouch. I knew they'd all survive, I knew they'd save Sophie's parents. It just wasn't that interesting. Very predictable with the flooding of Atlantis and such.

Characters overall: has anyone else noticed that characters are only being introduced/re-introduced/used for their abilities? The best example is the re-introduction of Marella. It seems that she was ONLY re-introduced into the series because they needed her ability as a pyrokinectic. Another prime example is Tam and Linh. They were introduced in Neverseen only for their Ravagog mission (though Messenger may have also wanted to add some diversity).

Overall, this book suffered from shafting the original main characters (Dex, Marella, Fitz, Biana), the unnecessary love triangle, over-explaining, and turning characters into their abilities.

I do, however, still enjoy the writing. Please do better next time. 😊