The Fall is the first book in Garth Nix's The Seventh Tower series, published in 2000 by Scholastic. It tells the story of Tal, a boy who lives in a world with eternal darkness. His home is a Castle with seven towers.
The cover design and art are by Madalina Stefan and Steve Rawlings respectively.
Tal, a young Chosen boy, is climbing the Red Tower with his shadowguard to steal a Sunstone. He reaches just below the Veil when he hears a cry far below. For a moment, Tal thinks he has been caught, only to realize the scream was from his little brother, who has secretly followed him. It was he that was caught by a Spiritshadow. Tal decides it would be too risky to climb back down to help his little brother, so he proceeds to climb the Veil. He arrives above the Veil only to meet a Spiritshadow without a master, calling itself the 'Keeper'. After briefly fighting with it, it eventually sends Tal falling off the Red Tower.
Tal has just found out that his father is missing, presumably dead. Unfortunately, his father is the only one in his family possessing a Primary Sunstone. Tal's Mother possessed a primary sunstone, but upon becoming ill, its power faded along with her. Without it, Tal's family will not be able to enter the spirit world of Aenir. This is troubling for the family in two ways; first, Tal, who has reached the proper age, would not be able to bind himself a Spiritshadow, and would thus be doomed as an Underfolk, a servant of the Castle; secondly, his mother is very ill, and Tal believes the cure may be found in Aenir. He knows that he must find a Sunstone, and tries to obtain one in three different ways. The first way is asking one from his cruel aunts. Upon asking, Tal meets Shadowmaster Sushin, who, like his aunts, wish to make his and his family's life more miserable than it is. This puzzles Tal, since Sushin is a stranger to him.
The Fall may refer to:
The Fall are an English post-punk band, formed in 1976 in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. With an ever-changing line up, the Fall essentially consists of founder and only constant member, Mark E. Smith, who has quipped, "If it's me and your granny on bongos, then it's The Fall".
First associated with the late 1970s punk movement, the band's music has evolved through numerous stylistic changes, often concurrently with changes in the group's line-up. Nonetheless, the Fall's music is typically characterised by repetition and an abrasive guitar-driven sound, and is always underpinned by Smith's typically cryptic lyrics, described by Steve Huey as "abstract poetry filled with complicated wordplay, bone-dry wit, cutting social observations, and general misanthropy."
The Fall have been called "the most prolific band of the British post-punk movement." They have released thirty-one studio albums as of 2015, and more than three times that number when live albums and compilations (often released against Smith's wishes) are taken into account. While the Fall have never achieved widespread success beyond minor hit singles in the late 1980s, they have maintained a strong cult following. They were long associated with BBC disc jockey John Peel, who championed them from early on in their career. Peel described the Fall as his favourite band, famously explaining, "they are always different; they are always the same."
The Fall is the lead single by American singer/songwriter Brendan James from his self-titled sophomore studio album Brendan James.
"The Fall", which James wrote about having to let someone go with the knowledge that the freedom of letting them go is the most grounding feeling of all.
The video for "The Fall" was starred by American actress and model Melissa Ordway (17 Again, The Last Song) along with Greek's Amber Stevens and Miss South Carolina Jamie Hill, and was directed by Melissa's boyfriend, American actor Justin Baldoni. The music video was premiered on August 9 on multi-websites.
The song has received positive reviews from most music critics.
"His latest single, "The Fall" from his recently released self-titled album, is a nice song to ease into the new season (since it is all about postponing love until the fall). So give it a whirl, we’re pretty sure you’ll be humming it the rest of the afternoon." —Fabulis
"The beautiful piano-driven song is all about finding solace in letting someone go and the video for “The Fall” is a literal visual representation of Mr. James’ poignant lyrics with flashes of the singer in performance mode at the piano." —The Round Table Online
"“The Fall” shows off James’ ability to craft touching, relatable lyrics that complement his strong vocals and piano playing. Try not to cry watching the video. Really." —Bloginity.
"The Fray-ish lead single "The Fall", we're just scratching the radiant surface of an album that delivers in full on every promise made." —Direct Current Music
"...understands the heartfelt connection between adult emotions and indelible melodies. We get plenty of that here" —Dallas News
"His brutally honest kiss off "The Fall" and "Different Kind of Love" are especially good fits." —Philadelphia Daily News
"James plays toward his strengths with heartfelt ballads like "The Fall". —WCF Courier