Series: N/A
Author: Helena Sorensen
Publication Date: April 22, 2013
In a world of perpetual darkness, a boy is born who wields remarkable power over fire. Amos is no more than seven when he kills a Shadow Wolf and becomes a legend in Shiloh. He would be destined for great things were it not for the stories his father tells about a world beyond the Shadow and a time before the Shadow. Only madmen hold to such tales, and in Shiloh, they have always come to bad ends.
Amos is fearless. He walks with easy confidence, certain that the Shadow cannot touch him. Even his family is in awe of him. His father marvels at his skill with the bow, his mother thanks the gods that he has all the courage she lacks, and his sister, Phebe, worships him for saving her from an attack of the Shadow Cats.
On a trip to the village of Emmerich, Amos rescues the Magistrate’s son, Simeon, from the village bullies. Simeon, fair-skinned and pale-eyed like other Dreamers in Shiloh’s history, becomes Amos’s constant companion and dearest friend. Simeon becomes a part of Amos’s family, listening to fireside stories told in a way he’s never heard them before and learning to wield a bow and arrow.
The year the boys turn twelve, they are itching to prove themselves. An impetuous plan to steal a beautiful lantern goes miserably awry, and the lantern’s owner prophecies that Amos will be devoured by the Shadow. For the first time, a seed of fear is planted in Amos’s mind, and when his father is killed by a Shadow Wolf on the last day of the Great Hunt, the fear takes hold. If so great and brave a man as his father could fall to the Shadow, what hope has he?
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My Thoughts
Was provided a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review
Technically I should have loved this book. It had all the elements that make it a great fantasy, and yet for some reason it just didn't do it for me. I don't know if it was my mood or certain aspects or just a combination of both that would not let me get into the book.
This was the story of a people who lived in the Shadow. It wasn't just the story of Amos, of a certain character or characters, or of their journey. It was a story about beliefs and trust. And it was truly a great story that was told, but I just could not really get into it.
I read faithfully till about 1/3rd of the book till I finally gave up. While the idea behind the whole thing was interesting it just wasn't keeping me invested. I kept finding myself dropping the book and doing something else every few minutes. Felt liked I had ADD, but it was just me finding something else to keep myself occupied because the book just wasn't doing it. Which is a shame really.
As I mentioned before this book contains all the elements that should have made it an easy read. It was well written, it was original. It had a great background with a lot of it's mythology and a very distinct culture that was shared by different groups of people while still being slightly different between each.
But in the end I couldn't finish it so I instead skimmed it very quickly just to find out the high points, because it truly is a unique story.
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