The Shadow Men

Dark Lands Trilogy #1

by C.S. Daley

Curtis is only 17. When his parents left him in the mountains with the other children he had no idea he would some day be forced to lead them on a march across mountains and ice in search of a haven from the shadow men.Jessica went looking for proof adults were still alive. When she finds a book that talks about a war no one remembers she knows she must find Curtis before he reaches the Icelands.Josh escapes the ravers and finds himself in an unlikely quest into the heart of the shadow men’s world. When he befriends a boy who possesses unnatural speed and a gift for killing the shadow men’s creatures.Tiffany is locked away deep in the cells of the shadow men compound. When a shadow man decides it is time for her to die, she discovers she has something the shadows fear buried deep inside her. She can do magic.Markus is hearing voices. He knows it is only a matter of time before the shadows end his life. The voices keep whispering secrets. Secrets about humans who can perform powerful magic called incarnators. Secrets about him. In the land of Rathian the wall has always been there to protect them. Keeping the darkness out, protecting them from monsters. Hiding them from shadows. In a land where magic once ran wild, the people of Rathian have forgotten how to use it. Forgotten the monsters. Forgotten the shadow men. When the wall comes down it will be up to Curtis, Jessica, Josh, Tiffany, and Markus to find their magic. Find their destiny and rally the children of Rathian to push the monsters back through the wall and into the Dark Lands

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 21, 2011

About the author

C.S. Daley was born in California but has spent most of his life in his imagination. His first short story written in third grade, the now classic "Close Encounters of the Turd Kind," was sold to his next door neighbor for a quarter. The neighbor promptly demanded a refund. An unhealthy obsession with the writings of Neil Gaiman, Christopher Moore, and Terry Pratchett have left his mind warped and broken.

He spends most of his evening swilling down coffee while tapping at a keyboard under the watchful eyes of his kittens. They are there to make sure he doesn't snap. He likes to write fantasy for adults and teens.

The Dark Lands Trilogy are teen fantasies with a dark edge (this is code for people die). A mix of fantasy, horror, and a touch of romance for good measure. All three books in the trilogy will be available this year. After which he will publish a genre crossing adult fantasy which mixes urban crime, politics, and a good old fashioned mystery.

To learn more follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/csdaley or his blog at www.csdaley.com

Coming in June:

The Shadow Men: Book One of The Dark Lands

Reviews

[Merredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, I know the author, but only as an online social media friend, and even if I knew him well, I'd still tell my real opinion of this book (or maybe, if i hated it, not write a review at all! LOL). This is the first book in the Dark lands Trilogy, which is about a land where after years of apparent peace and magic-less days, the dark men and their minions have poured through the wall and took over. They turn most of the adults into zombie things called Ravers, or kill them, and so it's only the kids alive. All the main characters are teens or younger, and there are a ton of characters. at first, it was a bit hard to get into the book because it switches point of view frequently and between a ton of people, and then there are all the different creatures to learn, lots of names, and figuring out what's going on. good thing I like multitasking, and i do enjoy books that keep your mind sharp by switching around. once i got the hang of it, i got engrossed and the first book brings us to a point where everything is about to start, in the second book. the very end of the first book was pretty shocking. It's got my full attention now, and i can't wait to read the next two!

[C.S. Daley]

My First YA novel. A dark fantasy with lots of monsters and no sparkles.

[Kara Prem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a free book that I downloaded about a year ago and just got around to reading, and I've decided to purchase the sequel, so that should show that I like the story so far. This is a young adult/teen read, but I found the story to be appealing enough to an oldish lady like me. The story takes place in a land that has been overrun by the shadow men and other evil entities that were held back behind a magical wall for centuries. There are no adults left living, at least none that any of the children in this book have seen. This story chronicles their adventures from a foray into town to see if any adults left to a point where they've all set off on missions, to move the children to the Icelands in hopes of finding help, or to find someone to help with newly awakens magical powers as another example. The story moved along quickly, and I liked the characters. I"m looking forward to starting the sequel tonight.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like this. Even though pretty much all the main characters are children, I still find myself easily able to identify with them.

At first the changing viewpoints threw me off, but as the book reaches it's climax and the viewpoints begin to consolidate it naturally drives the tension higher. Excellent use of this mechanic.