Richard McCallister, Knight of the Yn Saith, is haunted by his past and the dark forces he fights to keep locked away. For Richard is the guardian of one of the seven gates to the faerie realm of Annwn. A job that’s about to get a lot harder. For a mortal king who vanished into Annwn long ago is preparing to return to earth. And the power he’s unlocked could spell the end of earth’s defenders if Richard can’t find a way to stop him.
I read this title a couple years back, and I was delighted by it. Being written by the awesome Shawn Speakman, who I knew of through Terry Brooks’ website, I figured it was probably pretty good. What I didn’t expect was that Speakman would manage to craft a tale that seamlessly combines various niches of the genre into one epic, world-spanning tale that would leave me wanting more.
One-part urban, one-part epic, one-part Arthurian, “The Dark Thorn” takes big risks with its genre mashing that pay off in a very satisfying way. Often when trying to mash urban and epic together the transition can feel rocky and unnatural at first. This is usually no fault of the authors’, it’s just a very difficult transition to make smooth. Yet “The Dark Thorn” manages it with a near seamless blending.
The cast, be it the main character Richard or the various supporting players, are all well developed and interesting. Even the bureaucratic stuff shirts from the Vatican you like to hate at first, who oversee Richard’s position as knight, turn out to be really intriguing once you’ve followed a bit of their story.
While this book is far from perfect, it’s a fantastic read that any fantasy fan should be prepared to devour hungrily. It easily earns 4/5 stars from me.
