I would like to thank the author and Orbit for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Orbit

Published – 7/11

Price – £10.99 paperback £5.99 Kindle eBook

ALL PATHS LEAD TO VENGEANCE

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 gift: she can speak to those spirits, and even command them. She'll need every advantage she can get.

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.

How best to start telling us a huge epic tale? Shall we start really small with a young farmhand; young hobbit and a birthday party; or shall we really plunge you into the deep end and require you to re-read the book with a helpful guide (there are some really keen fans of the latter). There are pros and cons of both approaches; but I think Matthew Ward in their engrossing new epic fantasy novel The Darkness before Them has a huge, ancient, sprawling magical tale full of amazing sights and ideas but knows how to find some useful entry points to allow us gentle readers to explore without being overwhelmed and there are a host of treats in store.

Katija preferably known as Kat in relatively young life has known the highs and lows of life in the huge and massive city of Tyzanta. Once she and her father were close to the Fireblood nobles, but his various debts and early debt soon cast her down to Undertown – home of slums; poor, criminals and their ruling crimelords. All Kat does have is a unique magical ability to tune and shift her tattoo to connect with the many magical energy sources used in life that can open doors; power machinery and evade detection. Thanks to her friend and lover Azra Kat’s ability has led her to criminal life and now they sweep along Tyzanta’s rooftops on their way to a big score. One where danger, death and huge changes in Kat’s life await.

Ilshan Damant is the Castellan of Tyzanta’s technically ruling family the Bascari. Its Countess though is in poor health; her children hate each other, and other families and crime gangs are circling around. Kat’s team and their criminal enterprise are about to unleash havoc on them and plunge the family into more turmoil and betrayals. Damant must try and work out who is hiding their malice and ambition before the Bascari family face ruin and likely execution by their own rulers.

I’m quite impressed how Ward has worked out where is the best place for this story to start as its in many was the culmination of a millennia old tale covering the entire land of Khalad. What we get initially are two plot strands that appear fairly simple – Kat is a thief working with rogues to make a huge score. Let’s just say it doesn’t go to plan but what it does do is allow us to throw lots and lots of terms that initially make no sense but as we are on a gripping heist mission allows us to settle into the way that magic and technology work as well as finding out how these events give Kat her motivation for the rest of the book. While Tyzanta looks the traditional huge fantasy city one aspect that feels new is here souls can be captured or fragmented and used to power devices; creates medicines and guard buildings. We find that stretches more and more across the novel to include even guards and huge devices. Its intricate, smart and raises all sorts of questions about why souls and what does that really mean for the people of this land.

With Damant’s storyline he is almost the crime investigator as he deals with the aftermath of what Kat does but in reality, his storyline is more a tale of political intrigue. A noble (or as we find meeting the Bascari pure ruthless and toxic) house under attack. With the Countess’ feuding children, we have lots of suspects and we get to see how close Nobles and Crime Lords mix – and share many traits. But this storyline here allows us to also explore the bigger world. Here we will find the concept of Khalad ruled by an immortal and by the sounds of it a pretty ruthless royal – The Eternity King who battles magical force on the edge of Khalad known as the Veil that is encroaching on the land and when it meets living flesh soon destroys it. We also start to realise that there are groups of people who have had enough of the Nobles and their corrupt lifestyle. Tyzanta is we find but one part of a bigger war fought in battles; spying and treachery where many forces seek more power. This story is indeed getting epic fast

The storylines diverge and meet up again and again with Kat’s initial adventure at the start the catalyst creating changes to this world that only needed one push to unsettle it. For Kat we have someone who finds themselves now of value to the rebel forces. Both due to her own exploits and her unique ability to bend these magical devices to her will. Prepare for flying ships; magical beings and hard-won raids with a great deal of peril and mystery to envelop them. Ward is quite ruthless with his cast so we start to realise anyone can meet a usually nasty ending which keeps us on our toes too! Damant’s storyline recombines with Kats too and adds to both a sense of exploring why these Nobles may need to be stopped and that the rebels themselves are not above making attacks that endanger civilians and their own forces all for the ‘greater good’. All the while a bigger disaster awaits these petty humans which becomes more and more evident in the final stages of the book. There a series of revelations and unexpected appearances open the story to an even bigger plotline and raises many questions about the magical sources being used and exploited.

The Darkness Before Them is an epic imaginative ride of an epic fantasy tale exploring what is the right thing to do. A novel that settles us in gently before releasing us at high speed on a crisscrossing rollercoaster of plots, revelations and characters that we really want to see survive to the end of the book. I was very impressed by the story’s choices – our opinions of people will shift as we get to know them; it is an inclusive world and Ward carries into it their trademark use of magic, technology and mythology to create something quite fresh. I am looking forward to seeing where the Soulfire Trilogy takes us and heartily recommend it for those seeking an epic read in the winter months.