Shades of Black I: In Darkness Cast

by Jonathan Shuerger

On the world of Sinai, the last walls of the last kingdoms of Man crumble before the demonic armies of the East. Hope fades as casualties mount before the relentless onslaught of a trifecta of fallen angels.

Gideon Halcyon is fearless and idealistic, but he lacks the training to truly make a difference. He believes his dreams of heroism unattainable, until he meets Ashkelon.

Coming from the Void beyond the world,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1735282405
• ISBN13: 9781735282404
• Release Date: October 2020
• Publisher: Creative Grumbles LLC
• Length: 488 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Rich world and epic scale are more than enough to overcome some genre tropes

I must confess that when I started "In Darkness Cast," I thought it was a children’s or young adult book. The assumption is completely my fault as neither the book, the author, nor the marketing gave this impression (I think I must have concluded this from the cover art). Fair warning, this book is NOT suitable for younger readers due to disturbing imagery and gruesome violence. For adult readers, on the other hand, it is an interesting read and a respectable offering for Mr. Shuerger’s first full-length novel. Admittedly, starting took some effort due to a jumpy timeline and a general over-reliance on genre tropes. Nevertheless, the gritty nature of the action and the atypical setting (the bad guys are really winning) of the story kept me engaged. Stereotypical characters fill the book, but creative twists on many of them mean they eventually end up being unique. About 20% of the way though the book, the storyline becomes much tighter and more concise, making the action more gripping but also highlighting the problems with the first portion of the novel. In this part of the story, there is a romance, a term I use in the loosest sense. The interactions between the characters are often hostile or odd and limited, making the supposed romantic development completely unbelievable. Of course, the book is not really about romance, but action and adventure which is where it shines. The author’s great writing style brings to life epic showdowns featuring warriors of good and evil, titans of ancient days, and monsters galore. The focus of the novel is indeed the action, but throughout the volume the reader can catch glimpses of an incredibly deep fantasy world complete with myths and legends Mr. Shuerger created for his debut novel. By the end of the book, I had concern for the sequel, concern tempered with optimistic hope. The book’s trajectory ascends steeply from fantastical to incredibly epic in scale which leaves seemingly little place to go. Nevertheless, I have seen other authors make it work admirably and based on the quality of this novel, I am sure Mr. Shuerger has a plan and won’t run out of road before the story ends! I, for one, am eager to see what happens in the next book.