Jared,

Ok. Not as good as the first one. The book went full YA on me and things I thought were perfect in the first book were continued in this one when they shouldn’t have.

Title: The Fallen Gatekeepers
Series: The Gatekeeper’s Son; Book 2
Author: C. R. Fladmark
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: YA
ROTS Setting: EU, Modern, Magic
Synopsis: […] Being a modern teenager is complicated. Family expectations. Japanese teenage-girl warriors. Shape shifting lizard-men. Alternate worlds. All a day in the life of Junya Thompson. It’s been months since sixteen-year-old Junya survived his savage battle with the Evil Ones, but now that he’s back in San Francisco he’s still feeling the effects. His limp is slow to heal, his shoulder aches from the bite that should have killed him, and black poison lingers in his blood, tainting his life energy. […]
Recommendation: Still recommended but not highly. For late teens and adult. MATURE CONTENT.

Let me explain. There were two explicit sex scenes and when they weren’t doing it they were the quintessential horny teenagers. Their romantic relationship was always there and always being talked about. A fair amount of drama for the sake of drama and the characters acting stupid being a major source of conflict……basically your run of the mill YA.

In the first book, there was a fair amount of talking and discussions going on. It worked because everything was mostly a big secret and there really wasn’t anyway for the secret to be explained. Also part of the conflict was corporate maneuverings so it fit. However in this book a good half of it is talking and discussions, usually with food involved. But the conflict was mostly physical. It didn’t feel like there was more action either.

James/Junya, the main character, is dumber than bricks. Did he learn nothing in the first book? And what’s more, I was a third of the way in and came to the realization that he is an antagonist and not a protagonist. The rest of the book only seemed to confirm that.

Shoko would be the protagonist. She also runs very hot or cold with not much in between. Sadly she lost much of her mystery so her aloofness and sudden revelations made her feel very flat. Again, what worked in the first book was continued and didn’t in this book.

The plot was ok. The beginning wasn’t slow but the middle was and it took way too long to get to the critical plot points which were in the last third or so. It made the ending feel rushed and I didn’t feel hooked. For me, the ending feels the same whether there’s another book or there isn’t. I’m confident there will be but if there wasn’t I’d be ok with that.

For me it would be a firm middle of the road sort of rating. There was some good parts and things done pretty well but it didn’t live up to the first book. It went too mainstream and the authors personal views were pretty evident. I don’t care if the author has particular views that they want to highlight, I just don’t like feeling preached to.

Now that’s a lot of hating and things I had issues with, but it was entertaining. I have no regrets. I’m partially so critical because I like the first book so much. I did something that I shouldn’t and got my hopes up. Although, I’m going to keep an eye on this series and author. I think I’ll give them a chance to redeem themselves.

Robert