The Fall Is All There Is by C.M. Caplan

SPFBO9 SPSFC 2023 SPFBO Finalist

All Petre Mercy wanted was a good old-fashioned dramatic exit from his life as a prince. But it’s been five years since he fled home on a cyborg horse. Now the King—his Dad—is dead—and Petre has to decide which heir to pledge his thyroid-powered sword to. As the youngest in a set of quadruplets, he’s all too aware that the line of succession is murky. His siblings are on the precipice of power grabs, and each of them want him to pick their side. If Petre has any hope of preventing civil war, he'll have to avoid one sibling who wants to take him hostage, win back another’s trust after years of rivalry and resentment, and get an audience with a sister he's been avoiding for five years. Before he knows it, he's plunged himself into a web of intrigue and a world of strange, unnatural inventions just to get to her doorstep. Family reunions can be a special form of torture.

Adult • Fantasy/Steampunk, Gaslamp, and Flintlock • Science Fiction/Post-Apocalyptic

Content Warning: Shown on Page (things clearly told to the reader): Profanity Violence Ableism Cursing Drug Use Age gap Self-harm Vomiting Infidelity Amputation Gore Alluded to (things only mentioned in passing or hinted at): Child abuse Child neglect Child harm Financial abuse Statutory Rape (mentioned once) Incest (to clarify: no actual incest, but false rumors abound about it throughout the book)

lamichi author

Interesting weird world, would have wanted to learn more about it. Book happens in an interesting world but too much focus happens on characters that make incoherent decisions. Expect lots of plot holes but good autism rep.

CJDaley author

So let’s get the obvious out of the way. This is one of the most unique novels and genre blends I’ve ever read. It mixes science fiction aspects with a fantasy world, dialogue that feels more modern, and horror elements too.

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