WHEN DARKNESS DESCENDS

In Lücke’s debut fantasy novel, a guilt-ridden young protagonist hunts for his grandmother’s murderer—and becomes enmeshed in a magical world in the midst of a rebellion.

Jean Anderson is murdered by a mysterious stranger wearing chain mail who then disappears. Her grandson, Tom Anderson, witnessed her death as a child; for the next 11 years, he ponders strange, written clues in a book she left him, learning the magical “Bookish” language to help decipher them. Then, Tom sees someone who looks like his grandmother “six times counting today. Her or her ghost. Always from a distance.” When another strange old woman gives him magical artifacts, “the eyes of lost souls,” he leaves the reality he knows and enters a realm called Enthilen, where he’s saved by Grin, a creature called a “stone-grell,” who becomes his fast friend. As Tom searches for his grandmother, whom he believes is still alive, he gets involved with the world’s Dobunni rebels, who seek freedom from the oppressive Erstürmen rulers. He’s soon pursued by Eroberung, a “tainted grell” working for exiled ruler Malphas, who’s scheming for power over Enthilen via complicated machinations behind the scenes. Meanwhile, Tom and Grin ride to the port city of Laodicea to confront Jean’s killer. Lücke effectively ends the novel on a sequel-ready cliffhanger as Grin aims to rescue Tom but finds himself outmaneuvered. Over the course of this book, the author introduces an array of memorable characters; indeed, there are so many different players that readers may find it difficult to keep track of them all. This has the effect of making the narrative feel overstuffed at times. The prose style is occasionally stilted, as well: “maybe he found greater joy in the willing acquiescence of affection than non-consensual conquest.” That said, many fantasy aficionados will still find themselves engrossed in the story from beginning to end.

A fresh and intriguing fantasy escapade.