There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool – Book Review

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☆ ☆ ☆ ½ 

I picked this book up during one of our recent trips to the library. The cover snatched my attention immediately and after learning that it was Katy Rose Pool’s fantasy debut, I couldn’t wait to give it a go. I mean, who doesn’t love a plot full of powers and prophesies? I know I do, especially when there are hints of our own ancient societies sprinkled throughout! There Will Come a Darkness is a well-written introduction into a series with real potential. Pool has crafted a new world of fantasy, enriched with characters from a variety of ethnical backgrounds and sexual orientations. While I can honestly say that I enjoyed this book, there were a few things that kept me from giving it a higher rating.

Blurb:

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?

Pros & Cons:

Overall, I liked the characters – but I didn’t love them. Their personalities, desires, and flaws were quite clear from the get-go, and it was really nice to see an accurate representation of ethnical diversity. However, the fact that there were five main characters made it difficult to fully appreciate all of them – I only ended up caring about two. The story cycled through five different perspectives (Ephyra, Hassan, Anton, Jude, and Beru), which not only disrupted it at times (particularly in the early stages when we’re still getting to know everyone), but also pushed some of the characters to the periphery and made it difficult to connect with them. Even the villain – The Hierophant – felt more like a footnote throughout the story.

These shifts in perspective also ate into the page count. 200+ pages flew by before I realised that not much had actually happened beyond introductions and descriptions. I understand that the five main characters all have their parts to play, but the plot unravels at a very slow pace as we follow all five arcs. I didn’t really mind because it held my attention anyway, but I know that not everyone enjoys a slow start. 

MAPS! I’ve previously mentioned that new fantasy worlds are something I really enjoy learning about. Pool’s was interesting to me because the influence of our own societies is clear to see. The world map reminds me of the Mediterranean, with places like Pallas Athos and Nazirah representing the ancient cities of Athens and Alexandria, respectively. Maybe it’s the history/map nerd in me, but I found it a lot easier to keep track of the characters and their respective settings because of these small and clever similarities. On the downside, the setting doesn’t actually come into play or further the plot all that much, but I’d love to see it explored more in the future! 

All in all, this was a decent book. I genuinely found it fun to read (even if I sometimes wished that things would speed up), and I’ll probably read it again when the next instalment is released. The main thing to take away from this review is that for a debut novel, There Will Come a Darkness has plenty of potential. As always, if you give it a go, please let us know what you think!

//Have you read There Will Come a Darkness? Are you looking forward to the next instalment?//

Nen