Book Review of The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward

 

Name of Book: The Darkness Before Them

Author: Matthew Ward

ISBN: 978-0-316-46660-7

Publisher: Orbit 

Part of a Series: The Soulfire Saga One

Type of book: Fantasy, Middle Eastern type fantasy? souls, spirits, vagabond adventurers, secrets, family relationships, ambition, money, domination, thievery, lost love 

Year it was published: 2023 

Summary:

The first in an exciting, action-packed new trilogy from epic fantasy author Matthew Ward,  The Darkness Before Them introduces readers to a world ruled by a dangerous immortal king, where souls fuel magic, and a supernatural mist known as the Veil threatens to engulf the land.

These are dark times for the Kingdom of Khalad. As the magical mists of the Veil devour the land, the populace struggles beneath the rule of ruthless noble houses and their uncaring immortal king.

Kat doesn’t care about any of that. A talented thief, she’s pursuing one big score that will settle the debt that destroyed her family. No easy feat in a realm where indentured spirits hold vigil over every vault and treasure room. However, Kat has a unique she can speak to those spirits, and even command them. And she has no qualms using her power to her advantage.

Kat’s not a hero. She just wants to be free. To have her old life back. But as rebellion rekindles and the war for Khalad’s future begins, everyone—Kat included—will have to pick a side.

Characters:

So main character is Kat, a thief who is determined to erase her father's debt by doing one dangerous heist. She has a unique tattoo that allows her special powers to communicate with certain spirits, especially in asking them to sleep. There is also Damant, a servant to the noble yet troubled Bascari family who is going into ruin and who could possibly be saved by a cousin. While Azra isn't considered the main character, she does hang over the whole story, especially since she is Kat's lover and has given a lot to Kat in terms of help when Kat needed it. The Bascari family is controlled by a matriarch who one day is going to die, and this matriarch is a difficult woman who doesn't hesistate in sacrificing family for greatness. The last main character is Yennikka, an outcast niece who returns to her family and will do whatever she can to launch them into greatness. There are a lot of secondary characters namely Bashar Vallant and Yali as well as Tanith and so forth. 

Theme:

One never knows what is hidden

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Damant's and Kat's points of view. I definitely have to say that the summary and the world sound very intriguing, especially the whole soul function  and the world of nobility. However the world that Kat presented to readers didn't sound as cool and fascinating, unfortunately. Despite the friendly glossary that was included in the book, I think there was too much detail for me to understand what is going on and why. (The gist is that there is a magical tattoo that allows Kat to speak with spirits and she gets captured and goes on a boat and so forth.) 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

Matthew Ward is a writer, cat-servant and owner of more musical instruments than he can actually play (and considerably more than he can play well). He’s afflicted with an obsession for old places – castles, historic cities and the London Underground chief amongst them – and should probably cultivate more interests to help expand out his author biography.

After a decade serving as a principal architect for Games Workshop’s Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 properties, Matthew embarked on an adventure to tell stories set in worlds of his own design. He lives near Nottingham with his extremely patient wife – as well as a pride of attention-seeking cats – and writes to entertain anyone who feels there’s not enough magic in the world.

Opinion:

This is definitely a book I should have liked as well, but it was not a good fit for me. I had a difficult time deciding what to pay attention to and I often felt as if I was on the outside rather than with the characters. For the curious reader, I suffer from ADHD, and unfortunately the novel tested my ADHD a lot. I also didn't like Kat's plot, I'm sorry to say. I couldn't like her as a character and I got confused by the whole wards and tattoos system. What I did enjoy are the Damant sections which are well written in showing the world of Khalad and towards the end the plot is definitely highly explosive and unpredictable. Other than that, for me, it was not an enjoyable read, sorry to say so. 

This was given for review

2 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)