SHADES OF BLACK: BOOK 1

A pure-hearted soldier gets drawn into a violent battle between good and evil in this sword-and-sorcery epic.

The novel’s protagonist is Gideon Halcyon, an orphan adopted by a knight, who dreams of becoming a hero. In this tale set in the world of Sinai, where humans have been overrun by demonic races, Gideon’s opportunity comes too soon when his hometown is overrun by raiders. They enslave many of the residents, including Gideon’s pregnant foster mother, Talia. Gideon is rescued when the slavers get savaged by Ashkelon, a sorcerer of the Everlasting Dark and the only survivor of the ruined world of Avalon. The two reunite a few years later when Ashkelon again saves Gideon, now a soldier. Ashkelon proposes taking on the earnest but raw-skilled Gideon as his apprentice. Years of training follow. Then they cross paths with the Viking-like Wolves, one of the last protectors of humankind, including the chief’s daughter, Anya Helsdottyr. The town in which they meet is attacked by spiders and mutants. The sorcerer, Gideon, and the Wolves drive off the intruders, and the duo gets invited to the group’s fortified compound. Gideon and Ashkelon help the Wolves defend the compound against increasingly more dangerous threats, including a god’s consort, giants, and more spiders and mutants. But the biggest challenge seems to involve getting Gideon and Ashkelon to agree philosophically on anything. In this first installment of a fantasy series, Shuerger unveils a very complicated mythology. Over the course of 418 pages, characters introduced earlier in the book can be forgotten by the time they pop up again later. Maps and a character guide would be useful in future volumes. In addition, the graphic battle scenes go on and on, often grinding the intriguing narrative to a halt. One highlight is the waxing and waning relationship between Gideon and Ashkelon, both of whom are well-developed characters. The primary Wolves (Anya, Skald, and Haimdell) are also memorable. Still, there are too many players and species to keep track of, which will lead to some readers thinking, “Who was that again?” This results in an uneven introduction to a grim world.

An inconsistent, blood-spattered fantasy that features several strong characters.