Daughter of Darkness

Viridian Deep #2

by Terry Brooks

The thrilling second novel of an all-new fantasy series from the legendary author behind the Shannara saga, about a human girl adapting to her place in a magical world she’s only recently discovered

It’s been two years since Auris escaped from the sinister Goblin prison and learned of her heritage as one of the Fae. She is now happily partnered with her Fae lover, Harrow, and deeply bonded with her new family. All seems to be going perfectly—until, surprisingly, the Goblin attacks begin again. Someone, it seems, has not forgotten that Auris exists and seems determined to retrieve her . . . but who? And why?

As Auris begins to dig deeper into the mystery, old friends and new enemies appear, and she starts to realize that her still-shrouded past must contain the answers she needs. But even Auris does not suspect how far down the rabbit hole she is about to go, until Harrow is taken and an impossible ransom demand is issued. With two new companions at her side, Auris must attempt to unlock the remaining secrets of her past. For if she cannot, she will never see Harrow alive again.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Fiction, Mystery, Magic, Romance, Young Adult

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2022

About the author

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.

Reviews

[Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terry Brooks leaves behind the Four Lands of the Shannara Chronicles and brings us to the world of Viridian Deep. Where he once again tells the tale of Auris, in his continuation of "Child of Light," Brooks brings his latest novel, "Daughter of Darkness."
Let us begin:

For Auris, life has been like a dream over the past two years.

Life with Harrow has been idyllic, and her new Fae family has been amazing to her.

Everything is wonderful!

"Until it is not!"

Someone has sent the goblins to abduct Auris, and they are attacking vigorously. Amongst the goblins is a colossal giant, a giant that Auris realizes she recognizes. It is her friend Malik, but why is he a giant, and why is he attacking her home? Somehow Malik has managed to capture Harrow's sister and convinces Auris to follow him. Malik explains that an evil creature transformed him and needs to get to the ministry. But Malik veers off the ministry path. Then out of nowhere, some scary winged creatures appear in the sky, swoop down and snatch up Auris and Char.

Now, these winged creatures just so happen to be creatures of the Fae, known as Aerklings. So soon as the Aerklings discover that Auris is the daughter of Ancrow, they vow to return her to Viridian Deep immediately.
However, true to their word, the Aerklings do return the girls. Just not immediately. By the time they return, weeks have passed, and Auris finds Harrow in an unresponsive state. To Auris's dismay, she finds that Harrow's Innish has been stolen from him. They are stolen by the dreadful creature named Tonklot.

Tonklot has a demand for Auris; in two weeks, she is to bring him what his heart desires most, and that is a dragon, for if she gets him the dragon, he will restore Harrow's Innish. But, on the other hand, if she fails within those two weeks or does not return with a dragon, she will watch as Harrow's body succumbs to nothingness.

Auris wracked with fear and uncertainty, does not know what to do, for there has not been a dragon seen or heard from since the end of the Ghoul War. Then Auris remembers who she is; her mother is the legendary dragon rider. So, with friends in tow, Auris sets off to find the only person who can help her. The question is, will Auris be able to be convincing enough? Will they even care that this is Auris's soul mate and that he will die if she does not return with Tonklots dragon as he requested?

Brooks has you turning the pages to find the answers faster than you can say "ABRACADABRA."

The novel's prose is wrought in faithful Brook's style fashion.

"Stellar word-building from a legendary wordsmith."

Breathtaking, descriptive, cinematic-type imagery into the depths of Viridian deep. Along with the coziness of life amongst the Fae heritage.



Brook's "Piece de Resistance" is his enthralling character base; each is loveable and endearing. Especially Auris, who has learned to look within herself and bolster herself .making her become the remarkable heroine of Brook's novel.

This novel is told with pure delight, making people only want more of what Brooks is doling out.

The ending was flawlessly executed in a la Brooks style, with the reader hoping that Brooks will continue on Auris's path.

Sure, Schatten and Kareth can spark something up!

Brooks has not been the "LEGEND" of the fantasy genre for as long as he has been for nothing. Daughter of Darkness helps further solidify his title of "THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME."

"Hats off to you."

Too many adjectives to express this eloquent novel!

KUDOS BROOKS!

JOB ABOVE AND BEYOND WELL DONE!


Thank you, NetGalley/Terry Brooks/ Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine.Del Rey/ For this Amazing eARC to review, for my honest review. My opinions are of my own volition!

[Shawn Speakman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Review: If you liked Child of Light, you are going to LOVE Daughter of Darkness.

Longer Review: Having established the main characters, the world, and the magic system in the first book, Terry Brooks now gets to explore Auris and her world further -- and readers will love it. Filled with conflict right from the start, the journey Auris must take in Daughter of Darkness is an arduous one, filled with twists and turns, magic, new characters, darkness, and one of Terry Brooks's scariest villains to date. When I finished the book, I took a deep breath, wiped the mists from my eyes, and realized how thankful I am that Terry broke away from Shannara to tell these tales. Magic is infused in every word and his love for what he's doing here is even stronger in this sequel.

[Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the eARC.

I have wavered on this rating a lot. This may be more of a taste preference vs. the book's quality. The plot was interesting, but that's about it.

Maybe I've gotten used to the lush descriptions and worldbuilding of currently popular writers, but the style in this book is so straightforward. Then the characters—they read flat to me. Supposed strong relationships were based on telling vs. showing.

It didn't grab me.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many other die-hard fantasy fans, I have been reading Terry Brooks “Shannara” and “Landover” series for many, many enjoyable years. Now, after thirty plus years of writing, Brooks has brought his beloved Shannara series to an end and he is exploring new worlds, characters, and races in his new “Viridian Deep” series. Don’t be worried though, he is not venturing far from what made him successful. He’s staying within his comfort zone of fantasy genre.

“Daughter of Darkness” is the second book in the series, a follow-up to last year’s “The Child of Light”, which introduced Auris Afton Grieg, a nineteen-year-old prison escapee, who had no memories of her life prior to being in prison. That first book focused on Auris’s journey of self-discovery, trying to put together the pieces of her missing past and discovering she is actually half-human and half Fae, a race of mystical beings with different powers based on their inner “Inish” (soul).

The second book builds on and expands Auris’s story, worldbuilding, and slowly reveals more about her missing memories and where they went. In this book the tables are flipped. When Auris met Harrow, her life partner, in the first book, he rescued her from Goblins and saved her life. This time Harrow has his Inish taken from him by a mysterious creature that forces Auris on an impossible journey in order to get his soul back. The requirement is that she bring back the powerful creature a dragon before the next full moon. The problem is that dragons no longer exist in the lands and she only has two weeks to get it done.

As Auris attempts to save Harrow, she will need her new family, gain new companions, meet old friends, and face impossible odds. More importantly, she must solve the mystery of how this creature seems to know her and things about her past that she doesn’t. He’s hiding secrets from her past that will help to understand who she is and how her Inish powers work…

I won’t share any more of the plotline because I think that not knowing is the best way to approach and enjoy this new direction and world that Terry Brooks is pulling us into, including the Jason Bourne approach to revealing Auris’s identity and past. His choice to peel back her story over multiple books, like an onion, is working just fine for me. It’s not an easy thing for a writer to pull off, but Brooks is doing a great job of it, in my opinion.

I liked this book and how it not only continued Auris’s story, but successfully built on her background story and expanded the worldbuilding in creative Terry Brooks style. He combines interesting characters, strong plotlines, and fully immersive settings into a memorable reading experience. He doesn’t shortchange any of those key elements in any way.

I have always enjoyed his “Shannara” and “Magic Kingdom” series and you can see their influence on this “Viridian Deep” series. His familiar storytelling style is always present, but at the same time there is a new unique approach to a future dystopic world where humans share the planet with different races and creatures, including Goblins, the Aerkling, and the Fae. This turns out to be a good thing.

One of Brooks strengths is how well he incorporates magic and mysticism into his fantasy. Where other fantasy writers create elaborate magic systems, Brooks has found his own success through being more subtle with his fairy tale elements, making them a natural extension of his environment, and revealing their elements and secret powers over time like pealing a multi-layered onion.

Overall, “Daughter of Darkness” continues to develop this series in a well-conceived and well-delivered storytelling manner. The storylines are more complex and adult-oriented (rather than young adult), and the plotting builds upon the previous book to further expand the saga in many ways.

In my opinion, Terry brooks has been one of the most consistent writers of any genre, bringing writers lunchbox to work every day and publishing at least one book a year for over thirty years strong. Not many can claim that same level of consistent delivery to his or her fandom.

In closing, I saw a recent post on his website that he has turned in the first draft of the third book in this series, which will be published later this year. Needless to say, I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on it so I can find out what happens next….

[Caleb M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much fun! I very much enjoy this series so far! 2 books in and I am definitely invested into the characters and the world.

This world became more alive in this second book. The characters more 3 dimensional. A new race of beings were introduced among dragons in hiding. Viridian Deep became more real feeling; like a place I would want to call home. Riva and Drifter are 2 amazing characters that were introduced in this book. I especially liked Riva. Brooks continues to be one of my favorite authors. This may not be a masterpiece that is going to break down walls and win awards, but it is fun and well written the whole way through.

The villain this time around was incredible. He reminded me a lot of Purple Man (or Killgrave if you watched the Jessica Jones Netflix show). A marvelously done character and if I had any complaints about him then I would say that he didn't get enough screen (book?) time.

If you are in the mood for a more classic fantasy that spins a very fine yarn you should start this series. Very easy to read and fun throughout I would definitely recommend this to any fantasy reader.

[Tessa Talks Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Daughter of Darkness is the second book in Terry Brook's series, Child of Light. This series installment explores Auris in much more detail than the first book – what her powers are and what happened in those years that she has no memory of. It's a harrowing adventure – one where Auris must overcome the worst evil the world has ever seen – fae or human – to survive and keep as many of her loved ones safe as possible.
Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
I enjoyed the first book, Child of Light, but I thought it was a standalone as it ended with a satisfying conclusion. Imagine my surprise to learn that there was a second one that picked up two years after the first one left off. I am excited to read more about Auris and this fae world.
Actual Reading Experience:
I enjoyed catching up with Auris and Harrow in this new installment of Brooks' latest series. It is written in such a way as to help the reader remember the first book without spending too much time on it and forgoing a remarkable new story in the process. The two books can almost be read as standalones, since both have satisfying conclusions, but I don't know why you would want to do that. I could see, however, reading book 2 before book 1 and that being almost as okay as reading them in order.
Significantly few writers can build a fae world with the amount of love and creativity Brooks brings to his creations. I love the beauty that exists in every nuance and detail. I had no trouble immersing myself in this story and seeing it as if it was right in front of me and could be experienced with all my senses. I was transported to Viridian Deep and the other areas explored in the story from page one. I was thrilled to be there with the unique cast of characters and the imaginative details and creatures.
I especially loved how there are so many powerful women in this story, from the main character to most of the support characters. Women are arguably the movers and shakers in this world, and I enjoyed every minute of that. I also loved that it isn't done at the expense of the male characters in the story. There are some terrible men, without a doubt, but there are also some exceptional ones.
Characters:
All the characters are wonderfully detailed and represented, each with their own distinctive personalities and quirks. The main character, though, is my favorite.
Auris thought she was a human, and she only remembered her life imprisoned by the Goblins – that is, until she escaped. An elf named Harrow rescues her and brings her back to the hidden fae world of Viridian Deep. There she learns many secrets about herself, though there are big blocks of her life that remain a mystery. In this story, Auris shows so much strength – inner and outer – as she confronts demons from her past that have come to ruin her future.
Narration & Pacing:
The narration is in the first person through the main character's perspective (Auris). Since most of the story is about her trying to remember her past, the first person works nicely to allow the reader to know as much as Auris can remember. It also helps keep the plot very tight, focused, and character-driven.
Setting:
The setting is an alternate US where fae creatures are known to humans, some fae of which are exploited and some captured and studied. Goblins are out in the open and work with certain humans to imprison other humans, particularly children, and to infiltrate the hidden fae world of Viridian Deep. The US is much as it is currently, except the reader also gets to explore a secret world within our own world.
Read it if you like:
• a unique portrayal of fae creatures, beings, and locals
• amazing world-building
• magic and dragons
• character-driven stories
• strong female characters (many of them!)

[Zakri · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Daughter of Darkness" by Terry Brooks is the second book in the Viridian Deep series. Much like the first book, this was written in first person and follows the continued "adventures" of Auris and her Fae family. Although, this series is not his best, Terry is an amazing author who has had a great, almost 50 year, career in fantasy writing. He knows how to tell a story and draw his readers in.

This particular edition in the series leaves the reader wanting more. Much like the first book, Auris is put in impossible situations with companions who think they are being helpful. She is continually told she has the power to do what must be done, but she is overwhelmed with her self-doubt. Instead of helping her through this by walking her through plans and scenarios where she can learn to fully actualize, the secondary characters just tell her what they'll do... personally... whether it's good for the group or not. Their help comes in the form of "you already know what to do, why aren't you doing it" and "that's a bad plan, don't tell me what I can and can't do..." This, at times, is maddening to the point of sheer frustration.

Hopefully, if this series continues, the next book will move beyond its juvenile tendencies.

[Adam Krug · Rating 2 out of 5]

Terry Brooks got me to start reading, Terry Brooks has kept me reading, so 2 stars for this book was really painful for me to fess up to, but quality of his stories and writing has been in a decline for a few years, I have felt, and this books in particular has made that fact glaring.

In particular, realistic dialogue has never been a strength of his, but that was always weighed against strong world building, character arcs, descriptive prose, but all that has been stripped down to make this book read more like bullet points connected with paragraphs of dialogue with people speaking in archaic styles and in long winded soliiquoys. The main villain literally has the evil genius speech laying bare their plans at the end, a la 60s James Bond movies. Show, don't tell, was fully disregarded in this book.

Having said all of this, my main problem with this book is that the entirety of the book had no real connection with the conclusion of the book, other than some characters that show up and suddenly play a minor part. Literally, the book could have been the first 50ish pages and the last 20 or so, pull everything from the middle, and it wouldn't have changed the clarity or impact of the conclusion.

I'll likely finish out this series as I've gotten this far and they aren't huge time commitments to read through, but in the entirety of his catalog to choose from, this book is certainly not one I'd recommend to others.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second installment in the Viridian Deep series was better than the first. Brooks appears to be finding his voice, writing as a young woman of mixed heritages. But it was still slow. I really don't think teenage girls of any race, fantasy or otherwise, spend that much time in pondering how things should happen. Auris spends an inordinate amount of time worrying about everything imaginable, then - when things come to a head - she just goes ahead and wings it, so to speak. Maybe it's because this is a young adult book, but I found it to be rather tedious. It is definitely getting better, though, so hopefully by the third book, Brooks will have realized his character and there will be more action and less pondering!

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first and second books in this series. It wasn't until the second book that I realized that I guess I just don't care for Terry Brooks writing style at least not the style used in this series. I haven't read any other books by Terry Brooks but I know he is a very popular author. I just didn't care for how the main character had to keep rethinking the same thoughts over and over and over again that I had to keep reading it felt very redundant in that manner. I felt the book could have been reduced by a third if it has eliminated all that redundancy. I like the storyline, plot and characters but the characters train of thought was just to redundant.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of fantasy, but when I do read it, Terry Brooks is my go to person. I enjoyed this story of the quest of Auris and her friends to save Harrow when he was injured and in danger. The addition of Dragons into the mix is always a plus to any story, in my opinion. I am thinking this is a two book series, but may be wrong. However, I liked the way it ended. Thanks, Net Galley and Random House Publishing for the chance to read it.

[Will Brandenberger · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure why I felt the need to read this after not enjoying the first book, but here we are.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Cant wait for book 3

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw this book available as an ARC, I immediately requested it. I loved the first book, Child of Light, and I just knew I had to read this one too.

I will admit, I was a tad nervous going into this one because the first one felt like it could’ve been perfectly fine as a standalone. I wasn’t sure what direction this sequel would take, nor if it would live up to the first book or fall into the dreaded sequel slump that tends to happen a lot in the fantasy genre. But, as it turns out, my nerves were for not because this one is just as good.

I appreciated the intermittent recapping of the previous events and important information, as it had been a while since reading the first book. I like when authors do this since we typically have to wait a year before continuing with the story and will have forgotten many of the details by then. But in the case of this book, I was able to pick it up and read through it with no issues or feeling like my gaps in memory left me lost.

There is a new addition to this magical story world (which I will not spoil), but just know that it is amazing! It’s definitely my favorite mythical concept and something I think that all fantasy readers love. I had no idea this element was coming and I enjoyed it immensely. I have no doubt you will too. (And if you have read this book, you’ll no doubt know exactly what I’m referring to.)

In Daughter of Darkness, we are again taken on an epic journey with our favorite heroine, Auris. We get to learn more about her past and solve some of the mysteries still left over from the previous book. I really liked seeing her come into her own power.

The tale has all the expected plot elements from this series: surprising twists, sorrowful tragedies, and action-packed battles. And it all leads to yet another thrilling conclusion.

As always, the charming relationship between Auris and Harrow is envy-inducing; I just love them together. And just wait for the exciting reveal at the end!

We are introduced to a few new characters that you will surely adore as much as I did. And we get to see the return of some familiar characters with new and interesting backgrounds that we did not previously know.

I did, at times, find the story to be a little too repetitive - the inner monologues and some of the plot sequences - which is why it is not quite a five-star read for me. But, regardless, I still really enjoyed this story and I know that fans of this prolific author and this series are going to love this book.

I’m not sure if this series is going to continue, this book certainly wrapped everything up quite nicely with a satisfying ending that left no loose ends or cliff-hangers, which I liked. There is no news as of the time I am writing this as to whether this was the completion of a duology or not. We’ll just have to wait and see.

If we are blessed with more of this series, you can be sure that I will be reading it!

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for blessing me with an early copy of this amazing story in exchange for my honest review and feedback!

[Tbirdplanstoread · Rating 3 out of 5]

This just wasn't what I hoped it would be. The ending was really frustrating and it was somewhat hard to follow what was happening. I really didn't understand why Auris didn't do something to help before all of her friends ended up dead. Wth? She already had all of the clues that it had something to do with her Changeling powers...which I'm still not sure what those do...hopefully the next book will shed more light on that. I do want to finish this series out for sure.

[JayRaeReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is written in first person and I just couldn’t get interested in the writing or the story.
The plot jumped quickly from one disaster to the next, but at the same time felt like it was dragging on.
Auris is put in situations where everyone else thinks they know what’s best for her and that they are helping her.
This book may be more enjoyable for a much younger audience.

[jess ^_*]

DNF :(( i am about a quarter of the way through and just can’t get into it. the plot is so similar to the first and it kinda just feels like a rerun. i was expecting more since we got a lot of character development the first book but it kinda feels like it’s heading down the same road and i am not very intrigued or pulled into this book :(

[Rebecca Prosch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Major plot spoiler!

I'm just not into keeping the romance within the family 🥱😬🤢Boring stereotypical male perspective of an 18-22yr old FMC
I wondered why I didn't immediately jump into the second book(read the first one a year ago?), turns out I had forgotten the FMC love interest is also found family, and boy was it brought up frequently, thanks Terry

[John Sloan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like what Terry Brooks decided to do with this series. Breaking away from his usual fantasy style and the world he mostly writes to do something different was a breath of fresh air. But this book didn't have as much to offer as the first. I liked it well enough but it was just a little lacking.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.3 stars

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was ok, a bit to simple. Not sure if I will read the last one in the series.

[Nicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book of the Veridian Deep series.

Auris has found her place in Veridian Deep among the Fae, and has now lived among them for two years with Harrow as her partner. However she still has not recovered her missing memories, and the Goblins have still been attacking periodically. Then during an attack, someone from her past appears unexpectedly.

I purchased Child of Light in anticipation of reading this ARC and was a little underwhelmed by it. I feared this book would be equally underwhelming. However, it would now seem that book had been laying the groundwork for the story Daughter of Darkness was meant to tell. I enjoyed this story so much more as it delved deeper into this fantasy world that involves secret portals within the Fae lands and also bordering on the human world.

I still don't particularly enjoy the style of present tense storytelling, so that was still difficult for me to get around. I also don't think this was an amazing story overall. It was just fine.

Thank you to Random House publishing for sending me a free eARC through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the second in a new series by the author. This series involves interactions between elves, goblins and humans with a young female lead. The book was a little repetitive due to an insecure lead character who finally gets her act together a the end. The story is very good except for the somewhat tedious lead character. This series is no where as good as his previous efforts.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook and my nonfiction book review blog.

[E.]

After I finished the first book in this series, I was debating on getting the next because the standard had been set and the second novel probably wasn't going to measure up. I got it anyway, and I was correct- it certainly did not. I don't really know how to put my thoughts into words because I can't pinpoint what exactly was wrong with it, but I do know that something was desperately wrong, so I'll try.

It was nice that Brooks went over everything again, refreshing your memory while he put you into chaos and not leaving your memory flailing to remember what happened while reading said chaos. He did it as he went, not as a chapter beforehand, which was both nice and angering at the same time- I want to know what happened so I can reignite my feel for these characters and remember why I are that they're being shot at, but I also don't have to read a massive infodump. As soon as you started the first chapter, you were immediately re-emersed into the world, not left to reconstruct Viridian Deep in your mind with the vague pieces you remember from the first novel.

With the good things said, now we can move on to the bad. It was so much like the first, it felt entirely unnecessary, a desperate attempt at money rather than fan service. The plot was significantly drier and emptier than the first, lacking originality despite it being nearly the same. The characters are no longer interesting, the beginning of their journey erasing everything that seemed to be tied up in the first; the scenes are flat, long, and generally boring, reflecting EVERYTHING that had taken place in the last with a not-so-well-done twist in topic. It was as if Brooks wanted a sequel, but didn't want to write it, so he dug around to find a draft of the first book and changed a few things.

The book brings up characters, backgrounds, and sidelines that didn't seem to be important (or necessary) simply dragging everything on with dialogue and useless half-quests that only helped to fill up space. I nearly didn't get past page 30 because of the amount of frowning I was doing, but I soldiered on and made it almost halfway before deciding I didn't want to read a worse replica of the first novel.

I should have listened to whatever was telling me to leave it on the shelf, but I didn't, and I was disappointed. If you loved Child of Light and want to read it again without really reading it, then I suggest this book. If you want to further the series, then I don't know what you should do, because the first half, at least, does nothing to further anything. I hope it's not the same for you, and of course these are simply my thoughts, but this sequel is quite disappointing, and not worth spending time on.

Happy reading!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Auris's Fae family is healing from the confrontation between her biological mother and human biological father. Auris and Harrow are pleged life partners. and life has seemingly returned to normal with Auris beginning to take on the physical characteristics of the Forest Sylvan of Viridian Deep. Auris awakes one night to find goblins intent on taking her prisoner but this time they are not alone. A strange giant is with them and Auris soon finds that this giant is her friend, Malik, who has somehow been transformed into this formidable creature. Capturing Harrow's youngest sister, Malik uses her to convince Auris to accompany them . Malik explains how he has become this giant and tells Auris that they are on their way to the ministry. However, Malik veers off the path and Auris and Char are grabbed by winged creatures and are carried off into the night. These creatures are the Aerklings and once it is discovered that she is the daughter of Ancrow, they are promised a return to Viridian Deep.
The Aerklings return a few weeks later and Harrow is disabled, having his inish stolen by the new head of the Aerklings, a creature called Tonklot. Auris is told that she has two weeks to find and return with a dragon or Harrow's physical shell will die. Dragons haven't been seen since the end of the Ghouls wars but Auris's mother, Ancrow was a dragon rider of renown and soon she and her sister,Ronden, head off to find Riva, another dragon rider. After convincing Riva to help them find the dragons, they head off. Finding the dragons and discovering that Auris knows Dragon speak, Antrim the leader of the dragons agrees to go with them to confront the Aerklings . But another person from Auris's past surfaces before their meet up with Tonklot and he will be instrumental in helping Auris regain her memories and confront her links to a minstry scientist who sent Malik and the goblins to capture her. The human threat to the Forest Sylvan of Viridian Deep is contained and the final showdown with Tonklot is fated. An excellent read but what else could you expect from Terry Brooks

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My word. It is hard to imagine anyone over the age of 12 really loving this book. I thought I liked the first one enough to pick up the sequel, but now I am wondering if I really did. Auris, our heroine, careens from one crisis to another, dragging her friends along with her, without having any plan. I lost count of the number of times she set out on another mini-quest with someone and is asked, after they are already well underway, "so what is our plan?" I mean, who operates that way?? Apparently Auris can do this, though, because one of her superpowers is that she just instinctively knows what to do when put under pressure.

Having the voice be first person is incredibly annoying as she endlessly and very melodramatically expounds on what she thinks or how she feels about her life partner, other people around her, what may or may not happen next, what she should or shouldn't do next. Listening to the audiobook makes this even worse because the narrator really amped up the melodrama with her voicing of Auris' thoughts.

The climax was so incredibly bad I found myself laughing out loud. Auris takes 3 allies with her to this final confrontation, then stands by and does nothing but think to herself how awful it is as all three of them are killed in front of her! And it turns out she didn't need them after all because she has yet another superpower that lets her turn into any other creature. And somehow just at the moment of greatest crisis, she magically figures out how to use this power, destroy the evil villain, and fix her life partner's life-threatening condition. I get that the Fae are magical creatures, but this really felt like a deux ex machina kind of resolution to things and it was profoundly unsatisfying and ridiculous to boot.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Daughter of Darkness is the second Viridian Deep epic fantasy by speculative fiction master Terry Brooks. Released 4th Oct 2022 by Random House on their Del Rey imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook format. Paperback due out in early 3rd quarter 2023 from the same publisher. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

As always, the author is doing what he does so well, weaving an immersive and exciting epic fantasy world, peopled by creatures and characters (sometimes both at the same time) who challenge readers and enrapture them. This is part two of an overarching and complex story and as such, it doesn't work well as a standalone entry point; readers would be better served starting with the first volume, Child of Light .

Brooks' writing style is unvarnished and often direct. It's not flowery in the slightest and fans who enjoyed the more direct style in the Landover series will see it used to equally good effect here.

Four stars. With two solid books extant and a third due out in 4th quarter 2023, it would be a good choice as a book club selection, buddy read, or binge read on a long weekend.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Oakley Frechette · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is only one thing that noticeably improved over its predecessor: there’s actually an inciting incident that moves the plot forward, instead of how it was in book one where Auris just Willy-Nilly kept waltzing into trouble for no reason.


The author insists on shoehorning the word “quixotic” into each book. “Harrow” continues to be the most common word in the book, and their relationship is still written poorly (remember that time Auris returned from a long, dangerous trip, where she worried constantly about Harrow, and upon returning waited a full day to go see him? And when called out for it by the seers just says “oops sorry”? Me too).

My biggest issues are with the ending.

All along we hear Auris’s internal monologue talking about how “everyone keeps saying I might be a changeling, but maybe they’re wrong”. Over the span of the last 40 pages this takes several hard lefts - oh, I am a changeling but my changeling power is that I have all of the magical powers, I just have to try, and then wait no, I can also actually shapeshift into a DRAGON.

I know we like our main characters to be special, but Auris’s powers are:
1) solve any problem
2) possess all of the magical powers possible
3) shapeshift


And somehow, despite being almost omnipotent, she is still dumb as hell. Drifter says “hey, I want you to come look at the ministry building while I go in with twelve igniters. I heard there’s a conference on fae being held today. Btw don’t stick around” and Auris is *so confused* about what he’s doing, but once the bombs go off she also knows enough about ignition mechanics to somehow know Drifter had to be close to the explosion. Girl is in a constant state of confusion even when things are spelled out explicitly for her

[Maria Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this second book of the Viridian Deep series, our author is telling the tale of Auris as she discovers her dominant half-Fae physiology and her developing Fae skills. She has mated with Harrow and they have their place in the Fae setting but have to be constantly on guard since the attacks by Humans and Goblins. One night a group of Goblins comes and they appear to have a Giant in armor helping them, who appears to know Auris. She escapes from them but they manage to take her sister so she runs after them and winds up captured by them. She finds out that the Giant is her old friend from the prison who has been enhanced to his state and needs him to take medication to avoid pain ( a sort of addiction medication). He speaks aside to Auris and her sister, while the Goblins' attention was distracted and tells them that he will set them free at an unexpected site. What he does is lead the Goblins to a territory controlled by another kind of Fae creature who has wings, claws, and beaks, and they hate the Goblins. At first, Auris and her sister appear to be in danger but the leader meets with them and agrees to let them go but they had to leave immediately. Shortly after Auris returns, on a family fishing trip, they are surrounded by these creatures who now have a new leader who has a special hypnotic skill and a way to steal souls. He threatens Auris after he steals Harrow's soul and charges her to bring him a Dragon.
The rest of the book involves the adventures Auris has to face to find a Dragon and find her missing memories because it takes Auris regaining her lost memories to fully understand her abilities and restore Harrow's soul

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Wonderful Return to Viridian Deep and a Great Read

This book more than fulfilled all of my hopes and expectations for the follow-up to the author’s superb CHILD OF LIGHT. Once again the focus is on the half-human and half-fae Auris and her mate Harrow. Once again, the book begins with an exciting bang. After an attack by a group of fae creatures known as Aerklings, Harrow is left in a catatonic state when his inish (his soul and magic) is stolen by a shapeshifter known as Tonklot. They are given a task to accomplish within the two weeks left before Harrow’s body succumbs to death.

What follows is a wonderful and often suspenseful journey both to return Harrow’s inish and for Auris to rediscover some of her own lost memories. In order to do that, Auris must assemble a new team of companions, return to Auris’s childhood home in the human community of Harbor’s End, and confront Tonklot. The book concludes with one of the darkest and suspenseful preludes to a happy ending that I can recall!

Though the second book in the series (a series that I sincerely hope that the author will continue) there is never the kind of “info-dump” that I come to regret in multi-book series. Information form the first book that is necessary for the reader to know is skillfully slipped into the story along the way. For those who read the first book, it is a happy Easter egg to remind you of a great read. To those who did not read CHILD OF LIGHT is just fills in the gaps.

I heartily recommend this book and give it a five-star rating!