HERO DAWN

In Rincon’s fantasy series starter, a band of fighters sets out to uncover the source of darkness that’s settling over their previously peaceful kingdom.

A group of elite warriors known as Sentries battle a horrific creature in the desert. One of them, Victor Vernon (nicknamed “The Light Bearer”) “manipulate[s] the atmosphere”—an ability known as “Prowess”—to achieve victory. Thirty years later, this hard-won peace is shattered when a shadow assassin murders the King of Anthem at his 70th birthday celebration. Now, a group of former and would-be heroes attempts to track down the evil forces responsible. The team includes Bovett, the servant of Trasque, the former High Master of the Sentries; Gilles, a former Sentry still haunted by the murder of his comrade Victor; Vambosh, a highly intelligent Radvian Mastiff; and Tristian and Bastius, friends and trained Sentries. Bastius had traveled with the king’s eldest son and a fleet of 500 ships to the dangerous land of Hadia—and recently washed ashore as the only known survivor. Spurred by the appearance of a “witchman” who appeared at Trasque’s doorstep weeks before, the group heads to Herus in hopes of finding further clues, but instead they find danger at every turn. From the brutality of the Chevvy Flang mob who terrorizes the town to more fantastical threats, such as moth-goblins (“balls of fur, the size of a large cannonball”) and a beast nicknamed “The Buckwalker” (a “large, antlered figure…cloaked beneath the heavy blackness of a night beyond starlight”), it’s clear that the violence won’t end unless the warriors track down the source of this supernatural threat.

Bastius and his gang of would-be heroes are instantly likable, with natural banter and clear moral codes. Rincon’s narrative tone, meanwhile, is eloquent and thematically appropriate for the medieval-fantasy tone: “The doom of war was long at rest, but the light of peacetime cast a long shadow behind its onlookers. It stalked them, as something else took root in their souls. Twenty years of silence in the West blinded the children of peace from the presence of darkness.” While some of the dialogue comes across as distinctly cheesy (one monster yells “I’M BLIND!” after getting hit with a giant light beam), the main characters largely have believable repartee that imbues them with a refreshing depth of character. The novel’s biggest drawback, though, is its excessive use of italicization and all-caps phrases. If readers overlook these issues, though, they’ll find a largely impressive debut that keeps the twists coming and the action brisk. As the book’s characters ponder the extent of their duty to do what’s right, some of their observations prove to be particularly relevant: “The days of battle for the greater good are gone. Now, it’s all politics. Everyone wants power and they sink to the deepest lows to get it.” Themes of power, war, and justice guide the narrative toward a genuinely surprising but emotionally satisfying conclusion.

An intricate, imaginative adventure that, despite a few flaws, introduces a host of truly memorable characters.