Review- By Darkness Hid, by Jill Williamson

So I finally finished the CSFF Blog tour book for May, By Darkness Hid… and I’m finally getting a “proper” review done.  The book is the first of Jill Williamson’s “Blood of Kings” series.  I have to start by saying I’m not surprised this book won the 2010 Christy Award for the Visionary Category!

The book follows the stories of a few young heroes, and the characters Jill creates are amazingly engaging.  I think Achan, one of the main characters, is one of my favorite characters in all the fiction I’ve ever read.  Even the supporting characters are great, and not a second spent on them is wasted.  And this review would not be complete without a nod to another of my favorite characters, Jax.

Again, I’m a huge sucker for quality crafted fantasy worlds, and the world of Er’Rets has definitely captured my interest.  Level upon level of depth is added to this world in the book, and I hardly think we’ve seen all Er’Rets has to offer. I’m looking forward to seeing many other cultures, lands, and plots played out in the stories Jill can so obviously tell.  I’m ready for a series of series in Er’Rets, and hopefully the main characters of By Darkness Hid will play a big part in many of them.

The story of redemption is an obvious influence in this work, as is the importance of every soul to God.  There are many other spiritual aspects brought to life by Jill.  Job well done!

Thank you so much for this book Jill!  I pray you will be able to write many more books, and that God will be glorified through them.  Hopefully as a fellow fantasy fiction author from Oregon we’ll cross paths someday.

You can pick up a copy of the book here!

Check out Jill’s website at http://jillwilliamson.wordpress.com/

 Here are some more reviews…

Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
R. L. Copple
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

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Review (sort of)- By Darkness Hid- by Jill Williamson

So this month’s CSFFBT book is “By Darkness Hid”, by author Jill Williamson.  It’s part 1 in the “Blood of Kings” series.  The book came with only 2 weeks to read it, and my wife had it for most of that time.  Since I’m a slow reader I haven’t really had a chance to read far into it, but I have to say I’m hooked already.  My wife loved the book.

Book 2 in the Blood of Kings series is called “To Darkness Fled”.  Check out a preview here, and pick up a copy here.

That’s all I really have to say at this point.  I’m sure there’ll be more to say when I’m done with it.

The publisher is Marcher Lord Press, and Indie Christian Speculative Fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, and the other “out there” stuff) publisher on the rise.  It is run by Jeff Gerke, a man with the goal of sharing quality Christian Spec-Fic with the world.  Jeff is also associated with a free e-zine called The Cross and the Cosmos, a publication with goals that are similar to those of Marcher Lord Press, although it focuses on short stories instead of novels.  I had the pleasure of being a part of the first issue (I know, shameless plug), and all of the issues can be found here.

Thanks for stopping by!  Here’s some more links so you can get a proper look at “By Darkness Hid”…

By Darkness Hid – http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0982104952  
Author Web site and blog – http://jillwilliamson.wordpress.com/

CSFFBT Participants’ links…
Brandon Barr
Keanan Brand
Gina Burgess
Beckie Burnham
Melissa Carswell
Valerie Comer
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
Emmalyn Edwards
April Erwin
Sarah Flanagan
Andrea Graham
Tori Greene
Ryan Heart
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Jason Joyner
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Dawn King
Leighton
Rebecca LuElla Miller
New Authors Fellowship
John W. Otte
Crista Richey
Chawna Schroeder
Andrea Schultz
James Somers
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Dona Watson
Phyllis Wheeler
KM Wilsher

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.