The Fallen Hero, a sequel that delivers for middle school readers

I didn’t read The Dragon Warrior. I started reading it, but got jammed up with life, birthdays, work, and then suddenly (one year later…) The Fallen Hero came out. Our ten-year-old read The Dragon Warrior and said that I should read it, but I was too busy planning his birthday, going over his schoolwork, teaching, or otherwise adulting. The Fallen Hero picks up shortly after the events in The Dragon Warrior, and just like that book, our now 11-year-old highly recommends this book.

However, somewhat unlike that book, I read the second one in what is now the Dragon Warrior series. It was a staggered experience in that I started reading it, got bogged down in the number of characters, and stopped.  At this point, I asked our reader-child again, “Are you sure this book was good?” He assured me that it was great, but that there was a large cast of characters, so be patient with it.

The next thing I know he’ll open up a ‘psychiatric help’ stand in the neighborhood and charge .05 for advice a la Peppermint Patty because he was right. I re-read the first chapter from The Fallen Hero and it takes place immediately after the first book. Thus, when I read that chapter for the first time and it felt like I had missed the picture entirely, that was entirely correct. I was meeting characters who had spent hundreds of pages together, who were now fighting a climactic battle and severing ties that could impact them forever. And here I am expecting to know all of their personality quirks by just glancing at them.

However, that chapter is very short and afterwards we jump ahead six months. This serves as a great recap or a very effective carrot that will lead first-time readers into this real and mythical world. Now, we see Faryn, a teenager who’s coming to grips with the fact that she thought she was the Heaven Breaker; a warrior who is capable of amazing things. Unfortunately, her brother betrayed her, took that mantle, and is now an angry God who is not intent on doing good things. Thankfully, she’s a good younger sister and hasn’t given up on this temporary bad seed.

Faryn starts out on a quest in which she hopes to prevent massive destruction-possibly the end of the world, and somehow get Gods and mortals with powers to get along. The Fallen Hero brings in many elements from Chinese mythology. For our money, the Monkey King is the most interesting Chinese mythological figure and he plays a major part in this book. His kingdom, and the way Faryn has to negotiate it perfectly sets up the strength, and intelligence of deviousness of this Loki-esque primate.

After reading The Fallen Hero I also understood why our 11-year-old liked it. Author Katie Zhao has written the book in a way that speaks directly to upper-elementary aged readers and up. It has a fun, conversational tone that effortlessly pulls those ages along with the story. There are a handful of characters, and reading the first book in the series will get readers up to speed quicker, but it’s not mandatory. If anything, readers will be more apt to read The Dragon Warrior after they read The Fallen Hero, even though they know where the story has ended up thus far.