Darklight: A Coming of Age Fantasy

by Greg L. Turnquist

Snitch earned her name thieving on the medieval streets of Kelmar. Growing up in a world over a thousand years after technology, all she ever wanted was freedom from their vicious military dictator. As part of the Undergrounders resistance group, she must constantly stay one step ahead of the evil leader. But she never planned on escaping capture through a portal to another dimension… Shocked to discover her fellow fighter Glantham is secretly a wizard, she’s even more surprised to learn she’s his magical successor. And escaping this new, deadly dimension may require unlocking her own magical talents. To avoid certain death and rejoin the Undergrounders’ mission of freedom, she’ll have to master her magic before the beasts of the purple dimension swallow them whole. Darklight is a YA coming-of-age fantasy set in a feudal, post-tech future. If you like savvy heroes, dark magic, and fantastical worlds, then you’ll love Greg L. Turnquist’s fast-paced adventure.

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 25, 2018

About the author

Greg is a test-bitten script junky. He is a member of the Spring team at Pivotal. He works on Spring Data REST, Spring Boot and other Spring projects, while also working as an editor-at-large of Spring's Getting Started guides. He launched the Nashville JUG in 2010. He created Spring Python and wrote "Spring Python 1.1", "Python Testing Cookbook", and "Learning Spring Boot". He has been a Spring fan for years.

Reviews

[Eve Culley · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Sci-Fi and swashbuckling storylines then this is the book for you! The characters are believeable as well likeable, except for the villians. They are the kind of characters you love to hate.
There is swordplay, deep, dark tunnels, hidden agendas, really creepy aliens and coming of age in magic. Pretty cool stuff. I hope there is another book to follow.

[Colin Rowlands · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any time you get a book proudly declaring it is book 1, it is only natural to be slightly concerned about how well it will work as a standalone book, but this one has a good balance between the two aspects. In some ways thought it could have maybe done being a bit longer, the path from nobody to chosen one went by very quickly for the main character, the ending was also tied up rather quickly and a little too neatly if anything.

Even with these slight flaws, the author has a nice blend of styles for the world with a post-apocalyptic world that has reverted back to pre-industrial times for the most part along with a more mysterious magical realm that contains a larger and more existential threat that you suspect will feature more prominently in later books while the more mundane military leader provides a more grounded threat for our fledgling chosen one hero, Snitch.

The narrator had a likeable tone overall and managed to be distinctive enough that a fairly wide cast of characters could still be readily distinguished from each other during her performance that served to enhance the book quite nicely.

Overall, the path to the chosen one could have been better paced, but the overall story was an enjoyable one in its own right and also a good book one too.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

We come across some very interesting things here. There is a magic present, though it's limited to one or two people we are aware of. There is an extremely good reason for this, as it could draw a new danger and enemy to the world. And there is already enough problems in the world with Melicose.

I know the characters in the resistance are trying to live and fight back and those in the army under Melicose want to capture the resistance to rule on. But there doesn't seem to be any other drive than living, which we all want to live but it doesn't feel strong enough. We get, in the end, Melicose's goal. Snitch feels to find her drive and mission at the end, which would likely carry on through future books.

*****FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW****

[Cmoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story to be fairly enjoyable... largely due to the narrator! I felt that the beginning was a bit muddy, as we had several different POV's and flashbacks to contend with... but, once we got past that, the narrative got down to business of carrying us to the ending. Greg L Turnquist also presented us with a unique magic system in this world, which I'm sure will be further explored, as we progress into the series...
Starla Huchton was great! her narration and acting was stellar as she navigated through that tricky beginning with aplomb...

★★★★ overall
★★★★★ for the narration
★★★ for the story

[Victoria Haugen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snitch, a strong but tormented young woman, now a turned thief, is now being hunted as a member of the resistance by the evil ruler of their land, Kelmar. Can she stop them in time?

Intriguing series, I'm drawn into this world and am looking forward to listening to more in the series.
Narration really brought the story to life, I enjoyed from beginning to end :) Great start to a new series!
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

" I recieved an Advanced Review Copy of this book."

I actually really enjoyed this book. Had such a strong female lead. Loved all the different characters. I didn't expect I would like this book but I did. I would definitely recommend this book. Snitch is a really great character. I love the fact that she is a thief!! But that's just me. I enjoyed this book. It's so hard to review good books without giving stuff away so this is all I'm going to say. I liked the book.