Blurb:
Isyr. Stronger, brighter, more beautiful than other metals. Once the most desirable thing in Ellasia, now it is priceless, the pure Isyrium needed to produce it mined to exhaustion. What’s left is controlled by the powerful mining syndicates, and such is the demand for their Isyrium that even kings do their bidding. Yet just as the beauty of Isyr hides a deadly secret, so too do the syndicates.
A terrifying enemy is spreading a plague across the land, a sickness that kills or transforms everything it touches. Unable to contain the outbreaks, the King of Lankara begs the aid of the disgraced former Duke of Agrathon, Alyas-Raine Sera, a man who has spent years fighting syndicate expansion and whose resentment over his exile makes him an unpredictable, dangerous ally in the power struggle between the rulers of Ellasia and the mining companies.
Attached to the envoy to recall the duke, the apprentice surgeon Brivar finds his skills and loyalty tested as his service to his new patron uncovers secrets about Isyr and the plague that link it to the mining of Isyrium – and threaten the life of the man it is his duty to safeguard.
In their own separate ways, Alyas and Brivar must take on the might of the syndicates and confront the greed, murder, betrayal and impossible choices of a crisis that has been decades in the making – and the price of their failure could be everyone and everything.
Review:
An apprentice surgeon. An enigmatic exiled duke. A mysterious plague, corruption, murderous plots, and a fight to save the world from the greed and lust for power that has almost destroyed the land.
The Many Shades of Midnight is all that and more. Beginning with Brivar, an apprentice surgeon, who is sent out on his first journey away from the temple he trains at, we are introduced to the world from his perspective. Thrown in at the deep end, Brivar has to learn quickly, and we only learn facts about the world, its people, and politics, through his viewpoint.
Discovering a world and story through the perspective of a character who doesn’t really know what is going on himself, having little control and out of their depth, can be quite frustrating and confusing. However, the author manages to avoid the usual issues with this approach, and the start of the novel held my attention as the mystery unfolds and we meet Alyas, the exiled duke.
Alyas, for me, can only be described as both the protagonist and antagonist of the book. He’s enigmatic, belligerent, unpredictable, and everyone’s worse enemy, especially to his own.
Soon, we discover that he is key to everything – understanding the plague, finding a solution, and stopping the powerful syndicate who control the precious ore that is mined from the land. Alyas enlists Brivar to help him with his health and a possible cure for the plague. He takes Brivar on a quest across the nation to uncover the truth and face his past as he returns to meet the king that exiled him.
I did have a couple of personal quibbles whilst reading the book. I found the hugely differing chapter sizes, which is something that can be off-putting for me, affected my flow. As a consequence, I found some pacing issues, with what felt were moments of lesser importance happening at great length, whereas other moments of greater significance happened either too quickly or resolved too easily. Again, this is my personal perspective, and unlikely to affect the majority of readers’ enjoyment.
What worked extremely well is the world building and the character development, particularly that of Alyas. Other characters and their relationship with Alyas are used to good effect. I would have liked to have had more interaction between Alyas, Mari, and the king, as their relationship is tense and fascinating.
The world building accomplished in this standalone novel is excellent, with lots of potential for further exploration in future works. There is plenty of scope for potential prequels or sequels.
The Many Shades of Midnight is a solid standalone debut novel, with an important message at its heart – one that is directly linked to our own real world issues. If you’re looking for a standalone fantasy, with complex characters, told with a fresh new voice, then this is well worth your time.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
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