Confession: In the past, there have been several historical
novels that I’ve fallen in deep passionate love with. Eleanor and Park (though
some consider it to be a contemporary), Gone With the Wind, and Cold Mountain
to name a few. But to be honest, it isn’t my favorite genre. I had a good
feeling about this book by Tammy Farrell though, and I was not disappointed in
the least.
THE DARKNESS OF LIGHT is based on the ancient Irish Tuatha Dé
Danann mythology of a people who exhibited god-like powers, known as Dia. The
story centers on a young Dia named Mara who has yet to come into her powers.
After tragedy befalls her, she is taken in by an uncle, who is a stranger to
her, and his small family of Dia. There is Corbin whose kindness is a balm to
Mara’s broken heart. Little Isa whose innocence draws Mara out of her shell.
Quiet but faithful Annora who has very little Dia blood and therefore, little
power. And Malcom, the man appointed to be Mara’s trainer, who sets her on edge
from their very first meeting. Mara is thrust into this strange existence where
power, if not reigned in, can feed the darkest parts of person’s soul.
Now, let me tell you what I thought: I loved this book. Not
for the pretty writing (though it WAS beautiful). Not for the vivid descriptions
that transported me to sixth century Dumonia (though it took me there with
ease). Not even for the sweet romance, which as you might know, is sort of my
thing (see my fave historicals above). I loved this book for the lesson I learned
while reading it. I’ll do my very best to explain.
Deep breath. Here we go…
At the pinnacle of
the story Mara suffers a great injustice. Her teacher, a man she should be able
to trust, steals her power. Physically, emotionally, spiritually. He abuses his
own power, lording it over her to get what he wants. He claims to love her but
only shows it through the most selfish of actions. And when Mara is at her very
lowest, he threatens those she cares for. I’ll be honest and say that this part
of the book was hard for me to read, as there were some personal triggers. But I
never considered putting the story aside. I had to see how it played out.
Watching Mara heal, learn to trust again, and ultimately
choose to take back her power was what made me want to bear-hug this story. But
perhaps the greatest thing was this: the author took the bad guy (who was so
authentically bad) and made the reader… understand him. This is something I don’t
see enough of in fiction. And the reason this is important, in my opinion, is
because in real life, when someone wrongs us so deeply, the first question we
ask ourselves is, why? Many times, we get no answer. Or at least not one that
satisfies us. But here, although our villain’s reasons are in no way excusable
and are completely vile, we at least have an answer. This humanizes the bad
guy. Makes him less important. Let’s us take back power vicariously, through
Mara. And basically, that’s just brilliant story telling.
Read it, and you’ll see what I mean!
Five HUGE stars for this one! I can’t wait to read more of
this series.
Sounds amazing! And what a gorgeous cover. *adds to list*
ReplyDeleteNice! LOVE the cover. Sounds like my kind of story. But you totally had me at beautiful writing. ^_^
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