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| View Larger Image | The Fall (The Seventh Tower, Book 1)
by Garth Nix
| | List Price: | $4.99 |  | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours | | | | | Sales Rank: | 51536 | | Studio: | Scholastic Paperbacks | | | Binding: | Paperback | | Reading Level: | Ages 9-12 | | Number Of Pages: | 208 | | Publication Date: | July 01, 2000 | | Publisher: | Scholastic Paperbacks |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Book Description
Welcome to the Dark World. Tal lives high above, in a mountaintop castle where light is the ultimate commodity, the spirit world is the only escape and isolation from the outside world is complete. He does not think to question his world. He does not dare to dream of anything else. Then one day he tries to steal a sunstone, the only way of assuring his family's safety. The attempt fails, and Tal falls from the Castle . . . straight into the unknown |
Amazon.com
Tal, a Chosen of the Orange Order, is having the worst luck lately. Just when he is getting ready for the Day of Ascension--a day when all the 13-year-old Chosen from the Castle of Seven Towers enter the spirit world of Aenir--his father disappears with the family's only primary Sunstone, which Tal needs for the ascension. Without it, he cannot enter Aenir and bind himself to a Shadowspirit--a kind of guardian being that serves as a friend and protector to the person it is bound to. And without a Shadowspirit, Tal will lose both his Chosen status and any hope of finding a cure for his mother's mysterious wasting illness, a cure that can only come from Aenir. Tal tries to beg, borrow, and even steal a Sunstone. But his attempts fail, and in his final act of thievery, Tal is thrown off the Castle of Seven Towers by a powerful Shadowspirit Keeper and into an adventure beyond his imagining. Australian fantasy author Garth Nix (well known for his novels Sabriel and Shade's Children, both ALA list picks) has joined with Lucasfilm to launch a six-book fantasy series about Tal's world, of which The Fall is the first installment. Packed with excitement and wonderfully weird creatures like the living sea of Selski and the hungry, one-horned Merwin, Nix's latest tale will enchant readers. Containing elements of The Golden Compass and the Harry Potter books, The Seventh Tower is an epic fantasy not to be missed. (Ages 11 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 82 reviews)
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A good start 
Garth Nix's first book in the Seventh Tower series is a quick, delightful read. My only complaints are that it's a little slow in the beginning and that it ends so abruptly, but otherwise it's a very good piece of science fiction. The series is aimed at younger audiances, but it's a good read for older teens and young adults well. I would recommend it to science fantasy fans everywhere.
September 03, 2008 | |
falling into a new world 
the title sums up the story pretty nicely. Poor tal is trying to steal a starstone both for himself and for his family when he falls off of the towers/ fortess that they live in. He falls into a arctic/ eskimo population that he never suspected existed. He also gets an additional view into his world that he isn't so happy about. I would like more magic in the book but the adventure is very good just like all his other books.
It isn't clear in this book what the overall plot is in the series but it is a good start.
January 14, 2008 | |
Best Book Ever!
Garth Nix did an excellent job writing the book The Seventh Tower: The Fall. This is an action packed fantasy thriller that will make your heart pound and your mind beg for more. This book is the first book in a six book series. The story takes place in a castle with seven towers; it also takes place outside of the castle on the surrounding ice. The people that live inside the castle do not know that the there are people that live outside of the castle on the ice. The people that live in the castle are called the Chosen and the Underfolk. The Chosen are the people in the castle that can use magic from their Sunstone. There are seven ranks of Chosen: the lowest rank is Red, next is Orange, after that is Yellow, then is Green, after that is Blue, next is Indigo, and finally the highest rank is Violet. A Sunstone is the main source of light inside and outside of the castle. This is because the sun is always blocked and the light can't get through the veil in the sky. The Underfolk are servants for the Chosen. The people that live on the ice are the Icecarls Clans, the Shield Maidens and the Sword Thanes. The Icecarls are different clans that live on boats that go through the ice. The Shield Maidens are a big clan of advanced woman fighters that come from different Icecarls clans. The Sword Thanes are a bunch of small groups of men fighters that help the Icecarls. The way the author described the setting made me imagine that it was a winter wonderland.
I liked the characters almost as much as I liked the setting. One of the main characters is Tal. Tal is a Chosen boy about thirteen years old. He is in the Orange rank. The other main character is Milla. Milla is an Icecarl from the clan of the Far Raider. Milla has big expectations of becoming a Shield Maiden but first she will need to be assigned and complete a quest for the clan. Milla is a little bit braver and stronger than Tal, but Tal tries to do things even though he may be scared because he doesn't want to admit that he is not as brave as Milla. I thought it was neat how the author described the relationship between Milla and Tal. It reminded me of sibling rivalry.
The exciting plot of the story made me not want to stop reading. It started when Tal's father disappeared and no one knew where he was. Also, to make things even worse, Tal's mother was very ill. When Tal's father disappeared he had the family's primary Sunstone with him. Tal had his own Sunstone but it was not as powerful as his dad's was. So Tal had to find a way to get a Sunstone to heal his mother. Tal was outside of the tower trying to steal a Sunstone when he fell off the tower and landed in the snow. Milla found Tal in the snow and thought he was an enemy and that she should kill him before he killed her. However, she was stopped by the leader of the clan and was forced to take him back to the Far Raiders ship. There Tal tried to fix their Sunstone, but since it was so old they needed a new one. The Far Raiders, Tal, and Milla made a deal. Milla would take Tal back to the castle because Tal did not know the way back. Then Tal would find Milla a Sunstone to give to the Far Raiders. Then the Far Raiders would make Milla a Shield Maiden. The book is about Milla and Tal getting back to the castle and how they become more friends than enemies. I highly recommend that you read the book to find out what happened to Tal and Milla on their exciting adventure to the castle.
I had no idea what I was getting into when I chose this book to read for my book review. I could not put this book down. I read during class, on the bus, in the car, at home, and I even begged my mom to let me stay up and read past my bedtime. This was the best book I have ever read. There were so many things I liked about this story it is hard to know where to start. First, I really liked that the book was full of excitement and adventure. I kept reading this book because I wanted to know what would happen next. Next, the author made it easy for me to visualize what was happening, where the characters were and what they were doing. Next, I'm glad that the book ended with a cliffhanger because it made me want to go read the next book in the series as soon as I was finished the first one. I just kept reading and before I knew it I had read the first four books in the series in just one week. Finally, this series is actually one story that has been divided into 6 books. I am glad the author did not jam this whole series into one huge book. If it had been one 1200 page book I would have never read it, because I would have thought it was too long. It was really hard to find something I did not like because it was so well written. If I had to change one thing, it would be the order of the book, since the book jumped from the middle to the beginning and then went on from there. Make sure before you start reading this book you don't have any homework or other work to do because you won't be able to put this book down!
December 17, 2007 | |
Tal and Milla 
Do you like fantasy books?? If you do, then you will love the fall and all the other "seventh tower" books. The fall is a very interesting book because it does not really make that much sense. then is starts to get better because you know what it is.
The story is about iceships, and mostly hidden magic. tal is the main character because he has to get a sunstone for his family before tal is 13 and 1 quarter old. tal has a mom which is sick and is in bed 24/7. he also has a little brother and sister he has to watch over because his dad ran away a while ago.
I would probably reccomend this book to a friend because it is a very good book and i think any one would like it just as much. you would mostly only like it if you like fantasy and science fiction books. I hope you like my review and i hope it helps.
October 19, 2006 | |
Another winning story by a consistently great writer
Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others
THE CONTENT:
This is a story for ages 8 - 12, though as an adult reading it with my kids I'm enjoying the series too. Nix's Abhorsen trilogy is for teens and his Keys to the Kingdom series is also for ages 8-12.
THE STORY:
Tal is in a bind. His father has been missing. His mother is ill. And his family doesn't have a strong Sunstone to elevate their position and provision. It falls to Tal to provide for his mother and little brother by seeking out a sunstone. But there are forces in his way that stop him from achieving these goals. It doesn't help in the opening scene that he falls from the Red Tower in his attempt to gain a stone. The fall leads to adventure Tal never would have thought possible.
THE CHARACTERS:
Tal is a likeable kid caught in a bad situation. He wants to do the right thing and provide for his family, but he just can't. We empathize and sympathize with him as a character. The rest of the cast is equally likeable in their own way and those that are meant to be disliked are definitely dislikeable. Overall, a great cast of characters that add to this story of Tal's quest
THE SETTING:
Not your typical fantasy world, but that is one reason why I love reading Garth Nix's books. . .there isn't anything typical only new and imaginative about them. The world is richly described in just the right words that a short paragraph leaves an easily visualized scene in one's head.
THE PLOT:
A nicely constructed quest story, which leaves our character no choice but to follow certain paths. Helper characters and hindering characters line his path that lead to a world we experience with amazement just as Tal does. The progression is logical and a well paced story. There is plenty of action in this story! Creatures that want to eat people, treacherous "natives" and more.
OVERALL:
My 8 year old and I are thoroughly enjoying this story and each chapter cliff-hanger keeps us turning the pages.
NOTE - This is the first of 6 books. You must keep reading! The first book resolves very little if anything. We are in the 2nd book now and the same great story/writing continues on there.
July 04, 2006 | |
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