On the inside cover there was a blurb about the book. In the blurb I read something similar to this: “faeries are battling against the powers of iron and Christianity…” Like Mythago Wood this is closer to my idea of fantasy and what I want from a fantasy story. I want a story that has clever ideas, emotional and characters that can be connected with and getting away from the quest stereotypes, though they of course have their own place in fantasy.

Marie Brennan is the pseudonym of Bryn Neuenschwander, an American fantasy author. Her works include the Doppelganger duology ( Doppelganger and its sequel Warrior and Witch, respectively retitled Warrior and Witch on later printings); the Onyx Court series; the Memoirs of Lady Trent series; and numerous short stories. The first of the Onyx Court novels, Midnight Never Come, published on 1 May 2008 in the United Kingdom, and 1 June 2008 in the United States, received a four star-review from SFX Magazine. [1] The Lady Trent series was a finalist for the Hugo Best Series award in 2018. [2] Brennan makes the wise decision of stepping a little away from Lune in terms of point-of-view. This enables Brennan to play a few cards close to her chest, plus there’s the fact that Lune has steadily become an emotionally remote character. These books already have a certain “coolness” or “distance” about them, and narrating this one through Lune’s eyes would probably exacerbate that. Instead, we focus primarily on the tomboyish sprite Dame Irrith and on the current Prince of the Stone, Galen St. Clair. Irrith snoops into the doings of the rebels against the Queen and starts to wonder whether some of their theories might be correct. Galen has an unrequited love for the Queen but is being pressured to marry by his father. The two of them eventually become allies and more. Sir Antony Ware, an alderman with a seat in the Commons, toes a fine line between Royalists and Puritans, trying to keep his seat long enough to do some good. For it's not just the mortals of London who are affected, but the fae of the Onyx Hall beneath the city feel the pain and upheaval of the world above. There were too many characters, most of which seemed to given a name just so that they could be given a species, of which there were far too many--there really should have been a glossary. There was one completely unnecessary character, Galen's wife, Delphia, whose only apparent purpose was to continue Galen's plan of an Academy in the Onyx Court. He didn't love her, she didn't love him, and her role could as easily have been played by Galen's sister, Cynthia, who he supposedly loved but who he didn't seem to care much for--he couldn't even help her find a husband, as he promised, after she introduced him to Delphia. I really wanted to adore this one, because it combines two of my all time favourite things - faeries and Tudors! And while I did like it, I didn't love it quite as much as I was hoping to, which is kind of disappointing, because there needs to be more fantasy-tudor books! Just...I need them. But this was quite different from what I had thought it might be like, and although I did think it had a stunning premise, I found it a little hard to connect with the story. I wanted to fall in love with characters and rave about this book, and I tried so hard to do that, but it just wasn't happening.It was the ending, really, which decided me to give this 3 stars. It was pretty much a 2 star book before then - and, as always, I reserve the right to change my rating at a future date. Probably my favorite part of the book was the exploration of the theme of sovereignty--what does it mean, if one's right to rule is genuinely divinely appointed? What does it mean if it isn't? And does that make any difference in one's responsibilities and rights? I would have liked more philosophical discussion and argument on the point, which also might have been an opportunity to give more characterization to Lune's somewhat dimensionless faerie courtiers. The ending is terrific and one I found most moving: there is a major sacrifice and the loss of a major character. The solution to the plot problem is one which emphasises both human and faerie responsibilities and yet simultaneously their fundamental differences. The end is a bitter-sweet moment, where some sacrifice all and there are also future opportunities for both human and fae to work together. There were too many plans which didn't work--at least seven--and while they were all used effectively in some form by the end of the book, that didn't lessen the fact that I had to force myself to keep reading yet another failure.

The one thing Brennan does brilliantly in this is her set-up of the reveals. There’s at least three or four major plot points throughout the course of the book, and the lead up is handled really well. She manages to fake out the reader once or twice, and while there’s no real “CALLED IT!” moments, there’s a much stronger growing realization of “OMG, this is what’s happening.” It’s handled well, and doesn’t treat the reader like they’re idiots. Edmond Halley’s calculations that propose comets travel elliptical orbits and that the comet will return in 1759 suggests that the previous problem may not have disappeared. A comet is traditionally often seen as a bad omen: and it so proves here. Facing both the return of the great dragon and the difficulties created by science upon faerie magic may just be too much for Lune and the fae this time. To me, reading it that way, the pacing was mostly really good, though some of Michael Deven’s sections were frustratingly disconnected from the main plot — partly by their mundanity, and partly because Michael isn’t a major player or even properly clued in for a lot of the book. Lune’s sections work better because she is more aware of the situation on a macro-level, and though her goal is personal advancement, at least her eyes are open to the wider implications of what she’s involved in. It begins with a conversation between two would-be queens. Thirty years later, Devan finds himself in the services of Queen Elizabeth (the first) and, more directly, her spymaster Walsingham. Beneath London, in the secret realm of the Onyx Court, Lune seeks to regain the favour of the dark Faerie Queen, Indiviana. Naturally, the path of the mortal man and disgraced fae lady are destined to cross.In short, I thoroughly enjoyed this book – court intrigue, just enough historical stress, characters that I love and a version of fairies that I can get behind. Now please let me see more of the weird creatures, Brennan. The historical detail in these books is mind-blowing, resulting in a London that feels real down to every last detail. She also does a nice job of portraying a society in decline, a magical kingdom on the verge of disintegration. Lune, Queen of the Onyx Court, has vanished, devoting herself to holding the court together through the sheer strength of her will. I missed her character, and I think that loss is a major contributor to the darker tone of this book. Some fairies are searching for a way to escape, while others seek to find a way to heal the court, and the darker fae work to take advantage of the chaos. The final scenes are moving; as always, Brennan drops the reserve at the climactic point and lets emotion shine through. The way everything works out is well-thought-out, unexpected, and affecting. Particularly haunting is the scene in which we finally find out what became of the man who was Prince of the Stone before Galen; talk about the stuff of nightmares!

The only thing that I found a bit confusing was the timeline. The events in the book (the Fire and the Plague) weren't strictly chronological. This time history is front and centre though she’s left plenty of room for development the story is constrained by the timing and movement of historical events.A Star Shall Fall: Takes place in the mid-18th century and concerns the Enlightenment in general and Halley's Comet in particular.