In Darkness Cast
by Jonathan Shuerger
PLOT SYNOPSIS
The world of Sinai is in its last days. The ruthless powers of darkness are unstoppable, crushing any resistance from the final kingdoms of mankind. Gideon Halcyon sees the destruction and wants nothing more than to help, but he lacks the training necessary to make a difference. Then comes Ashkelon, a sorcerer of the Everlasting Darkness. Seeing the potential in Gideon, he takes this new pupil under his wing, forging him into a legendary warrior. A hero of the light. Exactly the adversary Ashkelon craves.
Series: Shades of Black book 1
Age Recommendation: 17+
Content Notice: Gruesome violence and disturbing imagery
Faith Based: No
ISBN: 978-17352-8240-4
NOTE: Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million only have the audio version of this book
Overall
Characters
Story/Plot
Writing
Setting
Consistency
THE BOTTOM LINE
This novel reads like a role-playing game for good and for bad, and though it has some issues with genre tropes and underdeveloped characters, its rich world and epic scale push it to great heights. And most importantly, it sticks the landing.
THOUGHTS…
I must confess that when I started In Darkness Cast, I thought it was a children’s or young adult book. The assumption is completely my fault as neither the book, the author, nor the marketing gave this impression (I think I must have concluded this from the cover art). Fair warning, this book is NOT suitable for younger readers due to disturbing imagery and gruesome violence. For adult readers, on the other hand, it is an interesting read and a respectable offering for Mr. Shuerger’s first full-length novel. Admittedly, starting took some effort due to a jumpy timeline and a general over-reliance on genre tropes. Nevertheless, the gritty nature of the action and the atypical setting (the bad guys are really winning) of the story kept me engaged. Stereotypical characters fill the book, but creative twists on many of them mean they eventually end up being unique. About 20% of the way though the book, the storyline becomes much tighter and more concise, making the action more gripping but also highlighting the problems with the first portion of the novel. In this part of the story, there is a romance, a term I use in the loosest sense. The interactions between the characters are often hostile or odd and limited, making the supposed romantic development completely unbelievable. Of course, the book is not really about romance, but action and adventure which is where it shines. The author’s great writing style brings to life epic showdowns featuring warriors of good and evil, titans of ancient days, and monsters galore. The focus of the novel is indeed the action, but throughout the volume the reader can catch glimpses of an incredibly deep fantasy world complete with myths and legends Mr. Shuerger created for his debut novel. By the end of the book, I had concern for the sequel, concern tempered with optimistic hope. The book’s trajectory ascends steeply from fantastical to incredibly epic in scale which leaves seemingly little place to go. Nevertheless, I have seen other authors make it work admirably and based on the quality of this novel, I am sure Mr. Shuerger has a plan and won’t run out of road before the story ends! I, for one, am eager to see what happens in the next book.
RANTS AND RAMBLES
- DISCLAIMER: When I review books, weaknesses and inconsistencies tend to dominate my discussion; therefore, I will emphasize that any particular rant (and, yes, they can be long-winded) does not have special bearing on my unified opinion of the book. For this, please refer to my overall star rating. Additionally, this review is my personal opinion, intended to help like-minded readers navigate the plethora of available options. Use it as a tool but do not assign undue importance to it (i.e. feel free to disagree with me).
- The entire setting of the book is well thought out and is executed in great fashion. Rather than exposition dumping tons of world building, Jonathan focuses on the story and lets glimpses of the world and setting show through when it makes sense in this context. This is great because it keeps the focus where it should be, prevents the reader from getting information fatigue, and keeps intrigue and mystery alive in this area to encourage reading of the second novel in the series. This particular aspect of the book is one of the best, in my opinion.
- The worst part of the novel is the romantic relationship which is supposed to be developing between two of the characters. It is a classic “enemies to lovers” arc with all the caricatured depth that generally involves. The interactions are shallow, the changes of heart are jerky and ill-suited to the interactions before and after them. It also happens far too quickly to be realistic or relatable. It is fortunate that this is a side plot and not able to drag the story down with its clunkiness.
- Jonathan’s ability to begin with genre tropes and twist them on their heads is uncanny. Despite the cast’s initial stereotypical nature, he provides them character and depth over time until they are no longer the stereotype they originally represented. This is great as it mirrors real life in that we tend to characterize new acquaintances along common lines of hobbies, vocations, interests, and others; however, as we get to know them, they begin to take on a life of their own (in our minds–they obviously always had that life to begin with). This makes Jonathan’s characters feel alive, interesting, and important.
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