The Shock of Night by Patrick W. CarrMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
With dark books like this, it's the ending that determines whether I rate up or down. The key element I need is hope. Without it, my imagination can't expel the sense of doom and gloom when I return to real life.
This book was dark enough that I'm struggling with it today. I was upset about some of the character losses, as well as the narrowing path that Willet is being forced down. I probably won't continue the series because I'm afraid of how much worse it can get and who else will die before it gets better, assuming it ever does. Reading reviews for book two, it looks like hopelessness continues to be a key element. Grim, gritty, dark... these are all key words that don't bode well for me.
If you don't have the same issues, this is an absorbing medieval-ish fantasy with an interesting magic system, characters that are easy to know and love, and a mystery to solve. It's a good story, but the tone is much darker than in the more traditional fantasy by Carr that I enjoyed (A Cast of Stones). Too dark for me, I think.
Although marketed as Christian Fantasy, I haven't found this or any of Carr's other work to be obviously Christian. I'm sure the themes and inspirations are grounded there, but he's not hitting you over the head with it. Most obvious is the lack of gore (but not violence) and other adult content that is common in other dark fantasies, which I don't mind at all.
