Crescent of Darkness

by Virgil Gene Thornton II

The beautiful night sky looks almost violet, littered with a million twinkling stars. The dark clouds rolling above are painted with splashes of gray and white as they pass in front of the two moons. Matthew Blue and his sister Samantha have been on this strange planet for almost a week and a half, with their only company being their next-door neighbor Yoseph and a few other... interesting characters. As of now, they all sit around the crackling orange campfire, eating fish and talking. They are about to start a quest; one that involves placing all of their bets on just a fleeting dream. They expect an adventure, but nothing close to what's actually in store for them. They will be tested mentally, physically, and spiritually. They will have fun times, but they will also face many challenges. There will even be betrayal. And the fate of Earth itself rests in their hands.

410 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2014

Reviews

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressive world building and it constantly had me on the edge of my seat!

[Denise LaJuan Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many people packed into one novel! This book reminded me of the early days of role playing games. You start with a small group of friends and wander about a maze discovering treasures or gaining weapons and strength. But this group of three multiplied until they were, what? fifteen by the end? Does that make this an early example of LitRPG? But my having read the third book first was a help.

The book’s beginning and ending are solid. Some of the middle adventures remind me of those children’s shows that filled out the last five minutes of an episode with a concert or something else unrelated. A wings eating contest? That might have amused me back then. Today, being much more mature(?), I wanted them to get on with the fighting already. And eventually they did. But I felt it. In fact, I thought I was nearing the end of the ebook at one point and was disappointed that I was at 49%.