A spoiler-free review of There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool.
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Publication Date: Sept 3rd 2019
Genre: Fantasy
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Henry Holt Books For Young Readers
Source: ARC from Raincoast Books
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THOUGHTS:
I was pretty excited for There Will Come A Darkness because I love a prophecy and a multiple point of view cast. There are five points of view and I found each one was intriguing in the first 75 pages:
- Jude (a warrior who has prepared his whole life to fight the darkness – but does he really believe it can be done?)
- Hassan (a prince in hiding – will he reclaim his kingdom and free his people from the Hierophant?)
- Ephyra ( “the pale hand” aka. an assassin who steals the energy of sinful criminals to keep her sister alive – who will she be once her sister is cured? what will she become if she isn’t?)
- Anton (he can find anyone with his grace but will do anything to keep from being found himself – what or who is he running from?)
- Beru (Ephyra’s ailing sister – what happened to her and will she survive?)
My biggest struggle with MPOV is that I often favor one or two and struggle through the other characters chapters. I didn’t feel that way this time which meant the 500 pages flew by and the story had great flow. I did find that some times their voices weren’t distinct enough but I think that’s also why I was able to enjoy each perspective, so its hard to say if that was a flaw or a strength. I do hope we get a bit more depth in the sequel because each characters story did start off with very little background.
For me what really stood out is that this was not a squad goals cast like Six of Crows. Rather, it was five very different people who lives and individual struggles awkwardly and realistically intertwined. As a reader I’m genuinely uncertain that they can do what needs to be done and that’s a interesting feeling.
Our antagonist is the Hierophant, the voice of a cult that hates the Graced (people with magic), and his followers the Witnesses. I felt like I didn’t get enough of the Hierophant and his back story and maybe that’s why the stakes often didn’t feel high enough – the threats were very much in the background. That said, I did like that this YA book felt darker than many I’ve read in the past and I have a feeling that those background threats will be a lot more oppressive in the sequel. On the flip side I was very invested in the stakes of each character and their personal struggles, each was just trying to survive in their own way, and that made up for the lack luster antagonist.
I want to quickly touch on the magic system, or the Graces, and say that I loved it. It didn’t feel overly original and there were certainly some fantasy tropes used but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment and for that I have to credit the quality of Pool’s writing.
In the end the story wrapped up in a way that left me wanting the sequel but not cursing the months till it’s arrival. There were a few reveals I wasn’t expecting along the way but I need to read more of this series before I can decide if it’s a new favorite.
Thank you for reading my review of There Will Come A Darkness by Katy Rose Pool. I hope you enjoyed my insights and look forward to more reviews from me in the future.