Lisa Godfrees's Reviews > Darkness Reigns

Oh my WOW.

I am a HUGE Jill Williamson fan. I devoured The Safe Lands series (because I'm also a dystopian junkie) and enjoyed Replication: The Jason Experiment. I read By Darkness Hid this summer. Still have a few more of her books to go but I jumped at the chance to get an early copy to read and review. So... "Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review." And honestly? I LOVED it.

I read 95% of the book yesterday and finished it this morning. Things you should know:

1. This is an epic fantasy. Scads of characters. At least 5 cultures. The author gives us a "Key Players" cheat sheet at the beginning of the book if you're one of those people that gets confused. I did fine without it.

2. Not counting the prologue, there are four point of view characters: Wilek (prince), Mielle (honor maiden), Charlon (priestess in training), Trevyn (younger prince). One thing that helps keep track of the characters are that Wilek, Mielle, and Trevyn all interact in the book. The author does a great job introducing them one at a time so that you know and like each of them.

3. The writing is stellar. Williamson folds you into her storyworlds and makes you care about her characters. You feel like you could walk out of the pages and into her books. The plot here is every bit as complex as The Safe Lands series.

4. It will certainly keep you captivated.

Favorite character? I'd have to say Trevyn with Mielle being a close second.

Thing that surprised me most? The racial diversity of the cast. (Cool)

The only downside was that it ended. Since this is part of a longer story, the book itself doesn't really have closure. Don't get me wrong - it's not one of those obnoxious cliff-hanger endings that makes you mad. It gets to a reasonable stopping place and stops, but this book doesn't have that stand-a-lone feel to it that some books within a series do.