the age of darkness

In There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool the age of darkness is coming, and five people will be responsible for the world’s salvation… or it’s destruction.

The Age of Darkness approaches.
Five lives stand in its way.
Who will stop it… or unleash it? 

For generations, the Seven Prophets guided humanity. Using their visions of the future, they ended wars and united nations―until the day, one hundred years ago, when the Prophets disappeared.

All they left behind was one final, secret prophecy, foretelling an Age of Darkness and the birth of a new Prophet who could be the world’s salvation . . . or the cause of its destruction. As chaos takes hold, five souls are set on a collision course:

A prince exiled from his kingdom.
A ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand.
A once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart. 
A reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone.
And a dying girl on the verge of giving up.

One of them―or all of them―could break the world. Will they be savior or destroyer?

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There Will Come a Darkness Review

The Seven Prophets guided humanity until a hundred years ago when they disappeared, but they left one final prophecy. 

If the last prophecy becomes a reality, the Last Prophet will be either the world’s salvation or the cause of its destruction.

There are four bodily graces. 

The Grace of Heart enhances strength, agility, speed and senses, the Grace of Mind creates objects imbued with unique properties, the Grace of Sight senses and locates living beings and the Grace of Blood gives and takes energy to heal or harm.

But the Hierophant and his followers believe the Graced need to be purified of the corruption of Grace, either they can choose salvation or death.

Characters

Ephyra, also known as the Pale Hand, kills only those who deserve it but for a good cause. Her sister Beru is sick and Ephyra, using her Grace of Blood, kills to retrieve their blood and heal Beru for a while until she needs more blood again.

Hassan, prince of Herat, escaped after The Witnesses invaded and took his kingdom. He doesn’t know what to do to get it back and feels he’s not the right ruler because he hasn’t developed any Grace so far.

Anton has been running away from his past, but it always catches up. He’s been living a nightmare since eleven years ago, he has the Grace of Sight but can’t use it because he’s filled with nightmares every time he tries.

Jude will be the next Keeper of the Word, the highest honor for a Paladin. But it also comes with a lot of responsibilities. He needs to protect The Last Prophet at all costs but he’s torn between his duty and his inner desires.

Beru is losing all hope to get better. She feels responsible for the lives The Pale Hand has taken.

Thoughts

First of all, having 5 POV’s was very exhausting. I understand that these five characters and their actions are going to be either the salvation or destruction of their world. But it was too much for me. 

I ended up enjoying certain POV’s and just wanted to skip the other ones because they became too repetitive. At least until two thirds of the book.

Having more than 4 perspectives, the book becomes either slow paced or too confusing for the reader in my opinion.

Even though the plot wasn’t too interesting until the last third of the book, I really enjoyed how it ended. I’m interested in how the characters’ stories are going to change from now on.

I have to say that it did take me a while to reach those certain scenes where I couldn’t put the book down. 

At the beginning, we are introduced to the characters, and then know a little bit of how their past has affected them to the point that they become the way they are.

But I don’t think that introduction should’ve taken more than half of the book. 

Katy Rose Pool did an excellent job with world-building. You have a good knowledge of it to understand the story but still have questions that make you want to read the rest of the series.

Overall, There Will Come a Darkness feels like the introduction of this trilogy and nothing actually happened but at the same time it makes sure to pique your interest so that you read what happens next in the sequel.

Looking for more great reviews?

Check out my review of Fable by Adriene Young.