Shadows of Nyn'Dira

Series: Fallen Light, #3
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Book Length: 475 pages
Author: H.C. Newell (@HCNewell1)
Author Site: hcnewell.com
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Synopsis

Deep within the forests of Nyn’Dira, darkness rises, and Neer finds herself hunted at every turn. Fleeing from relentless enemies and vicious creatures of darkness, she embarks on a treacherous journey through the dangerous woodlands in search of strength and salvation.

As the humans push further into the forbidden lands, the Nasir and his men close in, finding strength in the blood of the innocent. With the balance beginning to shift, Neer is caught in a war she was never meant to be in, and is forced to make a decision that could change the tides of fate, or cause it all to collapse and burn.

Review

This is a review that's long overdue. I finished Book 3 in the Fallen Light series one month after the joy of learning my wife was pregnant; I write this now with a baby boy sleeping across the room. There's a good chance (100%) I've forgotten the finer details of Shadows of Nyn'Dira, but I have the opportunity to review this through the lens of what stuck with me after all these months.

I'm also sleep-deprived, for what it's worth. Let's begin.

Shadows of Nyn'Dira kicks off right after the events of The Forbidden Realms with our party of characters scattered after teleporting into the forest of Nyn'Dira. This enchanting woodland is gorgeously conveyed, with luminous fungal blooms, imaginative wildlife, and looming danger beyond each massive tree. Drawing more on the series' Skyrim inspiration, I couldn't help but picture the Nirnroot glowing near each rock and pond in Blackreach, swapping out an underground cave for a dank, overgrown forest.

Nyn'Dira is also the home of Evae (don't call them elves, that's a slur), target of an invasion by humans, and brimming with deadly creatures. All of which are problematic for Neer, weakened as she is by the confrontation at the end of book two. Much of the beginning of this story sees her trying to reunite with her friends in these unwelcoming lands with few allies to rely upon. Eventually she succeeds, but even then, she isn't out of the woods yet (ba dum tss).

There's plenty of character conflict to sustain the story even after the party is reunited, and the writing really shines when it's used to show how dangerous and unpredictable Neer and her powers are while leaving me wondering if there's some outside influence in this forest that's causing her to become even more volatile. I loved those parts.

I also enjoyed getting to know Klaud and Avelloch much better after their absence from The Forbidden Realms. The book does a fine job showing their history growing up together and how they grew apart in many ways. All of which serves to bring them into more conflict with each other, Neer, and Aella. Again, great stuff.

All of this builds to some hard-hitting moments as war begins to rage and towns are attacked by creatures of darkness. Newell certainly isn't afraid to kill off characters. In fact, I'm pretty sure she enjoys doing it. It's all for the best – though I will say one character I really liked deserved better than to go out in such a horrific way.

Anyway, despite me only harping on about the interesting character dynamics so far, I was also impressed with how the book concluded. I love when a story conveys a sense that the world has changed in some significant way, and this book nailed that feeling.

There are two elements I want to critique. First, despite enjoying the drama between our party members, occasionally the dialogue verged on melodrama and pulled me out of the story. Some of the beats during these scenes were a bit overdone when the dialogue was already clear enough to convey the characters' emotions. Second, there were some chapters in the middle that felt like they could have been tightened up. I got the sense that plot progression stalled for the sake of one or two too many heart-to-hearts between characters, and they kept going back to the same location several times. Some may enjoy those chapters, but I prefer when the plot continuously flows rather than getting stuck in some eddies.

Those are fairly small gripes. Mainly, I enjoyed seeing how Neer's darkness increasingly became a problem for everyone to deal with. That's what pulled me through the story – there are other character arcs going on, but this is a Neer-focused book. I'm cool with that, as she's my favorite character in the series. I made a prediction after Curse of the Fallen that this series is essentially her villain origin story, and while nothing is confirmed by this book, I still feel pretty good about that prediction. Even if that's not where this story is headed, I'm excited to see how the shadows she faced in Nyn'Dira and in herself shape the entwined fates of the world and her friends.

4 / 5 ⭐