Lost Arrow: Book I of The Kalelah Series

by Marshall Ross

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Lost Arrow through BookishFirst in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Lost Arrow is the first book in the Kalelah Series by Marshall Ross. It’s a quick read, but thankfully the third book is almost out, so you can easily binge through them all if you so choose. I received my copy in a set of three, which to me made it feel like one larger book. Still, I think it could be enjoyable to read them either all as one, or in the three stints as intended.
This series is very different from many others that I’ve read. It’s science fiction with a heavy dose of religion (one that is made up for the purpose of the series, and thus it never felt like I was being pressured). It’s an interesting concept, so have such an advanced society so structured like that. Yet it makes a lot of sense, with the context we’ve been given.



I read Lost Arrow in a single sitting, and I found myself entertained the whole way through. The multiple perspective jumps gave me a better understanding of what was happening, but it also helped keep the plot flowing smoothly.
I’ll admit that this book ended sooner than I would have liked – but as I mentioned above at least I have the next two that I can go and read right away. So if you’re going to pick it up I suggest you grab all three as well (especially since I’m betting they’ll sell the same bundle I was given).
They did a great job building the suspense, especially in the earlier parts of the book. I couldn’t wait to learn more about the situation, the people involved, the works. It starts off with a compelling point of view, and from there jumps around, giving us an idea of the big picture, even while the individual characters don’t yet know what they’re in for.
While I have favorite characters, I can’t honestly say that I’m emotionally invested in any of them just yet. I’m sure that’ll happen during the course of the next couple of books though. I do think there was a slight show/tell issue in this book, in that I was being told more about the characters than I was shown. Then again, there was a lot of backstory to cover. I anticipate the next book being less backstory and more character building.
The conclusion was shocking, and not at all what I expected. Though it did a fantastic job of making me desperately want to pick up the next book, so it did its job I suppose. Next on the list is Fallen Arrow followed by Jagged Arrow.


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