In pristine lands now lost beneath the sea, ancient races with supernatural powers are locked in battle. Caught up in this conflict are Holt Goodfellow, a young farmer; Amrielle, the High King’s enchanting daughter; and Rillodan, a once-powerful immortal who is just a little crazy...
A chance meeting changes the course of Holt’s life. Recruited as guard to the King’s daughter, he pursues without hope when she is abducted. Facing her fearsome captor, he sets in motion forces of love and hate, enmity and devotion that will shape their future, and the fate of all the Nine Realms.
The story is set in the Euroasia of many millennia ago, peopled by diverse humanoid races— repulsive Firbolg, dour Rockfolk, the immortal Elfionar, the ruling Firdan, the shorter, dark-skinned Shean. Book 1 follows the adventures of the young Shean Holtworth Goodfellow, who, unable to settle down to the farming that is the norm in his remote rural community, travels to the Firdan King's court and enrols in his army. It is gripping, full of incident, and suspensful enough to keep the pages turning, as Holt grapples, against all the odds, with an adversary immeasurably more powerful than himself.
However, it is much more than a simple fantasy adventure story. References to the tragic past history of the immortal race imbue this world with melancholy and add a great depth of time and space; detail of daily life and organisation add solidity and realism; a variety of likeable characters add warmth and humanity. The world is richly detailed, and the characters well realised. In Holtworth and Amrielle we have an appealing, feisty hero and heroine, and in the Renegade Krasim a convincing portrait of evil. Through Holtworth's friend, the scarred, enigmatic Rillodan, we are given enough himts of the Elfionar's long struggle against the Renegades to keep us wanting to know more.
This book is a thoroughly good read, and is recommended to anyone looking for an original, well-written story set in a credible world. I await the subsequent volumes with pleasurable anticipation.
Marion Kershaw
‘The Darkling and the Lady’ is the first book in a trilogy, overall title ‘The Trial of Cyrhision’. This book was number 5 on the Bestseller list at Fictionwise.com and Knowbetter.com in the month of its release. Most readers who rated it said it was 'Great', and a few 'Good'. In the Preditors and Editors poll for Fantasy ebooks published in 2005, it was placed at #23 out of 129.
"The Darkling and the Lady" is published by Writers Exchange E-Publishing, as an ebook, and as a printed paperback.
Pricing: ebook $4.95 [£3.20]. Print price $14.99 [£7.99]
Length: 104,753 words, reading time 5-7 hours.
Ebook format: The book is available in multi-format from Reader's Eden, Fictionwise, Amazon Kindle and other ebook sellers.
