The Short:
By Darkness Hid
(Blood of Kings
Trilogy, Book 1)
By:
Jill Williamson
5/5 stars
What: An elderly knight takes on an outcast boy as a squire
despite protests from the boy’s unjust master; A young woman disguises herself
as a man to avoid being pressed into a royal marriage. The story focuses on the
concept of “bloodvoicing” (a type of telepathy) and a darkness that has
swallowed half the land.
Recommended to those who like: fantasy, Christian allegory,
personal adventure, coming of age stories, interesting world building
The Long:
I’ve been following Ms.
Williamston’s blog for some time now, but just got around to reading some of
her works. I have to say that By Darkness
Hid is a keeper. I can’t wait to
read the rest of the trilogy!
The
book tells the tale of Achan, a “stray” boy who is little better than a slave
in a manor ruled by the cruel Prince Gidon. Everything he has is taken from
him—including the girl he loves. One day, a knight rides into the manor. He
unexpectedly makes Achan his squire. But things only turn for the worse.
We also
follow Vrell throughout the story—a young woman who has disguised herself as a
boy to escape marriage to the same Prince Gidon. She is taken across the
kingdom for her “bloodvoicing” ability.
The
story is remarkable for its interesting world building. I was especially
intrigued by the concept of bloodvoicing—a form of telepathy with which only some characters are gifted. Ms. Williamson does a very good job of explaining
the process, which deepens the realism of the story.
The
other intriguing concept of the story is that of the Darkness. Darkness has
covered half the kingdom of Er’rets, due to a betrayal long ago. People who
live within it tend to turn on one another.
While
the story is allegorical in nature, it does not dominate the story. It has an overall fast pace, good action, and a few plot twists. I had a hard time predicting
much of the story. Bear with it if it seems slow in the beginning—the end is
definitely worth it!
If you’ve read the book, feel free
to share your thoughts/opinions below. Please remember to be respectful of Ms.
Williamson and her work, as well as other commentators. I also welcome comments
on what you would like to see included in the reviews. I reserve the right to
remove vulgar, hateful, or rude remarks from the comments. Thanks for sharing!
Ok, I realize this is an older post but I just got around to reading this thanks to my TBR pile which is a mile high. The beginning was really slow and it was hard to get into but I was really surprised at how good the middle/ending was. I loved how sassy Achan was, he made me smile a few times :) I'll have to buy the next two books in the series. Did it end well? (I'm avoiding your book #3 review to avoid potential spoilers.)
ReplyDeleteI was EXTREMELY happy with the ending of the series. And I love getting comments on old posts!
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