Melting Pages
Book Reviews and Recommendations
REVIEW: There Will Come A Darkness
I finally finished There Will Come A Darkness! I started reading this when it first came out and the only reason it took me so long to finish it is because I just haven’t wanted to read anything lately. Now that I’ve finished it though I have to say that I really enjoyed this!
There Will Come A Darkness
by Katy Rose Pool
Series: The Age of Darkness #1
Published: September 3rd 2019
For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.
All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:
A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart.
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?
So while I was reading this book I was also playing Assassins Creed origins and I was amazed at how well the vibes and setting went together! This book has that ancient Greece/ancient Rome/ancient Egypt feeling. As a whole it definitely felt like it was “just another YA book” but at the same time it did something totally new and unique. I’ve never read a book with this setting that didn’t have the standard Greek myths, it was 100% it’s own. We have a chosen one trope (one of my favorites!) but it’s twisted into something new because with the prophecies there isn’t always just one chosen one.
Another thing that I really enjoyed from this is that we follow five different characters, each with their own POV. That may seem like a lot, but the way that the book transitions between each character is perfectly timed and makes the book read a lot faster than you think, and it’s very clear that you are in a different person’s POV. The characters have their own personalities and struggles, and it’s the kind of book where you think one person is your favorite but then another is.
The magic in this world is interesting as well because it’s limited to four different types of Graces: the Grace of Heart gives people increased speed, strength and agility, the Grace of Mind allows people to give objects unique abilities (like trains and electric lights), the Grace of Sight allows people to locate people and objects, as well as see the future, and the Grace of Blood gives people the ability to heal, but also to harm. I enjoyed that there were limits to each Grace and not just everyone being overpowered.
The five characters that this follows are Ephyra “the Pale Hand” who kills evil and corrupt people to help keep her sister Beru alive. Beru also has a perspective, and because of the condition she has she needs to stay out of sight quite often and struggles with what her sister does to keep her alive. Then we have Hassan, who is the prince of a conquered kingdom who just wants to save his people and take back the throne, and Jude, who has an immense responsibility and is struggling with believing in himself and his purpose. Finally, we have Anton, who is on the run from both his past and himself.
The way that the story of all five characters weaves around and comes together is really something wonderful. There are some twists and turns that I saw coming from the start, but some I didn’t see coming. All the clues were laid out for you to see them if you took the time to really look for them, which was really nice because the twists didn’t come as a shock because all the clues were there!
This book even includes one of the things I hate most in books, and that’s an overzealous religious figure/leader. The main bad guy is called The Hierophant, and basically he says that anyone with a Grace needs to be purged. The prophecies that I mentioned come from the Prophets, who at the time of this book are long gone and worshipped for the prophecies that they foretold. The way that this was handled made it really easy for me to stomach and read, so I’m surprised to say that I really didn’t mind that this was included!
There are just so many little details throughout this book that make is super interesting to read and so much fun to connect the dots, and I’m excited to see where these characters go in the next book! This book does have a few trigger warnings, which I’ve included below directly from the author’s website:
- Violence
- Allusions to sexual abuse of minors (not shown on page, not graphic)
- Multiple discussions about and instances of parental death
- Murder
- Multiple instances of vomiting
- Drinking
- Multiple instances of suicidal ideation
- Discussions and brief descriptions of verbal and physical abuse
- Descriptions of PTSD symptoms
I would highly recommend this book, if you’ve been on the fence about it I suggest giving it a go!
Melting Pages 
Sounds like an interesting and definitely one to look into.
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It was really entertaining! I hope you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up!
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Excellent review, Katie! The character development and the writing sound great.
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Thank you! This is certainly an impressive debut novel, and I cant wait to see what the author does next!
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I’m definitely going to have to check this out! Thanks for this review!
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You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy the book!
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Definitely on my TBR! Great review 🙂
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