dark fantasy | aliasfaithrivens

Happy Wednesday friends,

I’m back today for WWW Wednesday and boy has it been a long time ;P

I’ve been busy with writing, participating in an #AuthorHop on Instagram and life… beautiful, unexpected life! I’ve found time to read since my last post, but not the time to post. But today, I fix that.

Thanks to the lovely Sam at Taking on a World of Words for hosting this amazing blog hop every week! If you aren’t following her already, you’re missing out

Want to join in? All you have to do is answer these questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

CURRENTLY READING

The Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley

Blurb:

Chinon: château of legend, steeped in the history of France and England.

It is to Chinon that Emily goes on a long-awaited holiday, to meet her charming but unreliable cousin, Harry. Harry wanted to explore the old town and the castle, where Queen Isabelle, child bride of King John, had withstood the siege of Chinon many centuries ago, and where, according to legend, she hid her casket of jewels. But when Emily arrives at her hotel she finds that Harry has disappeared, and as she tries to find him she becomes involved with some of the other guests and learns of a mystery dating from the German occupation during the Second World War. Another Isabelle, a chambermaid at the hotel, fell in love with a German soldier, with tragic results.

Emily becomes increasingly aware of strange tensions, old enmities and new loves; as she explores the city, with its labyrinthine dungeons and tunnels and its ancient secrets, she comes ever closer to the mystery of what happened to both the Isabelles of Chinon’s history.

Chances are I’ll be done this one by the time you’re reading this but I’m including it here for the moment because I’m still 100 pages from the end. It’s the second Kearsley I’m reading in my 2017 read-a-thon of her bibliography. It just took a really tragic turn that I wasn’t expecting….

FINISHED READING

The Manningtree Acount by Becky Wright

Blurb:

1646 – A time of English Civil War, when life is cheap, death common and superstition consumes the hearts of God-fearing folk. The life of a healer is precarious, dwelling in the shadows of normal society. Ostracised, their time running out as the self-appointed Witchfinder General scours the countryside for the Devil’s whores…

2016 – One dark night, one sleepy town, one family gripped by terror. The EAPI paranormal team are called to investigate dark poltergeist activity. But, as the eternal night finally loosens its grip, it seems that some evil deeds are never forgotten, reaching out from beyond the grave to exact their revenge…

I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful this novella was! Thrilling and gripping! After reading Becky’s debut novel (Remember to Love Me), a time slip romance, I was excited to see how she handled a paranormal thriller and WOW! She’s a true storyteller, able to work her magic across genres. My full review will be up tomorrow!

READING NEXT

Song of Susannah (Dark Tower #6) by Stephen King

Blurb (from The Gunslinger – Book I the series)

Set in a world of extraordinary circumstances, filled with stunning visual imagery and unforgettable characters, The Dark Tower series is King’s most visionary feat of storytelling, a magical mix of science fiction, fantasy, and horror that may well be his crowning achievement.

In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

The penultimate in the series, I am excited and nervous to finish this amazing adventure. I have fallen in love with these characters and am constantly amazed by King’s masterful storytelling. If you can stomach some of the more gruesome elements, this dark fantasy is brilliant and shouldn’t be missed!

Share your WWW posts below or let me know what your week has been like in books in the comments below!

May inspiration flow like ink upon your quill,

Faith

Blurb:

In a house built on truth something lays hidden.

Beth and Stu Davenport moved to the English hillside town of Meadowford Bridge to give their young son, Gabriel, an idyllic, rural childhood. But in a single evening, the Davenports’ dream is shattered by a hidden, ancient darkness– and their lives are forever changed.

Years later, Gabriel Davenport, now a capable, curious young man, makes the ill-fated decision to go looking for answers about his mysterious past. As soon as he begins his quest, his life becomes a place of shadows. The people he loves and trusts are acting abnormally. The strange woman who lives upstairs is even more haunted than usual. Even his most trusted friend seems to be hiding something.

As one fateful night deepens, and the line blurs between darkness and light, Gabriel must confront the terrible events that destroyed his family all those years ago. He is faced with a choice: continue living the life that was never his to begin with, or give himself over to a terrifying new reality more sinister than anything he’s ever known.

The darkness is watching.

Review:

A haunting book with a lyrical resonance that is at once eerie and beautiful, terrifying and profound!

After hearing only amazing reviews for this book, I knew I had to discover the magic of it for myself, and my goodness did it exceed any expectation that I had. The plot. The characters. The prose. The thematic impact! All of it was brilliant! ALL. OF. IT.
Before I get carried away with my emotions, let me try to properly express my love of this book.

The plot: A box that should not be opened. A darkness borne from history. A family that will never be the same. These initial elements lay the groundwork for a novel that stretches the early years of Gabriel’s life as he tries to discover the reason for his tragic past and comes to discover that which is haunting his existence. The plot unfolds with foreboding and growing intensity, leading to a number of unexpected twists of a supernatural nature, all of it leading to a gripping and rather gutting end that leaves one rather craving the sequel! It was difficult to put this book down and each sitting left me with an eerie sensation!

The characters: Gabriel Davenport is such a well-drawn character and insanely likeable as he seeks knowledge and understanding. The secondary characters are equally enchanting and I found it all too easy to get attached to them and suffered as they did. The Manor was one of my favourite parts, a house that groups supernaturally aware people, misfits of a sort. And don’t even get me started on Clove – no really don’t because then I’ll have to cry spoilers! What a cast, deftly written and realized!

The prose: This is a horror, a dark fantasy, and yet there is such beauty to be found in it. Reminiscent of Stephen King in many ways, Beverley vividly describes the world she’s created and does a stunning job of crafting sentences that steal your breath! A master storyteller who knows how to string words into sentences that connect into paragraphs and chapters that will not let you turn away.

The thematic impact: By this, I mean, the religious symbolism and questioning of faith, the clash between innocence and corruption, the bond of families and the call for sacrifice. All of these elements were so well interwoven into the plot and left me provoked to thought after each reading. There is nothing I delight more from in a book or movie, then a sense of being both entertained and thoughtful!

Conclusion:
A true work of genius and a stunning debut to laud. I highly anticipate the sequel and can’t recommend this book any more! It will ensnare you!

Rating:

Want to know more:

Find The Making of Gabriel Davenport on AMAZON or GOODREADS

Follow Beverley Lee on INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, HER WEBSITE, or FACEBOOK

May inspiration flow like ink upon your quill,

Faith

aliasfaithrivens

Tell the story in your heart.

Tag Archives: dark fantasy