The Darkness Before Them (Soulfire Saga, #1)

by Matthew Ward

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

The Darkness Before Them is the first book in a sweeping political campaign fantasy trilogy by Matthew Ward. Released 7th Nov 2023 by Hachette on theirOrbit Books imprint, it's 576 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. 

Huge sweeping campaign political fantasy (in the general vein of Sanderson, Wexler, Bardugo, & Cook), massive cast of characters (ebook format for search function is highly recommended), in-depth world building featuring good vs. evil and some nice magic play/skullduggery/theivery/more magic. 

Doorstop fantasies with nearly 600 pages are always impressive to look at; often maps and lists of dramatis personae in the front, sometimes with pronunciation guides and timelines and royal family lineages to refer back to. This book does contain the dramatis personae list at the front, but not the rest. Nevertheless, epic fantasy it is. 

Rebel outsider and noble thief Kat is trying to restore the lost honor of her family and clear her father's debt. Nothing ever goes to plan and she's swept up in the fight between good and apathetic evil; soon forced to choose a side in the magical war which threatens her world.

It's well written, the author is talented, prolific, and experienced. That being said, the cast is very large and cumbersome to keep track of. Some characters are window dressing, and the prose is often (often!) unnecessarily convoluted to suit the genre style. The bones of the story are very good, but often buried under detailed descriptions of people and things which have no bearing on the narrative at all.

Three stars. Very well written, but very very long and often meandering. It's a setup for a trilogy; book 2 was released 11th June 2024 and also tips the scales at 593 pages in paperback. Recommended for die-hard fans of epic huge brick sized fantasies with antiheroes. Volume 3 presumably due out in late 2024/2025.

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