I’m calling it now — Dark Rise is my favourite book of 2021. Am I aware that we are only halfway through this year and there are plenty more fantastic reads still to come? I am. But I feel confident that none of them will be able to win my heart as completely as Dark Rise, the first instalment in C. S. Pacat’s new young adult fantasy series. After falling in passionate love with Captive Prince, Pacat’s bestselling adult fantasy trilogy, I went into this book with absurdly high expectations. Dark Rise had the audacity to not only meet all of them, but to completely blow me away!
C. S. Pacat
Our story takes place in nineteenth century London, where we find sixteen-year-old dock worker Will Kempen. Will has been on the run for months, pursued by the men who brutally murdered his mother for reasons unknown, until one night his mother’s old servant catches up with him. He is told that the only way to ensure his safety is to seek the protection of the Stewards, an ancient society whose sole purpose is to prevent the powerful Dark King from rising once more. Will discovers that the world is not as it seems, and that he must prevent history from repeating itself by taking up his rightful place in the fight between the Light and the Dark. Along the way he meets scrappy rebel Violet, arrogant Steward Cyprian and lady of society Katherine, all of whom have their own roles to play in the coming battle.
Dark Rise has everything that Pacat did so well in Captive Prince – seamless worldbuilding, dark and intelligent characters, relationships that crackle with chemistry and incredible action sequences. But the world these characters inhabit is far more complex than Pacat’s previous work, the story more nuanced and bigger in scale. The characters are chess pieces moved around a board by an unseen hand, their roles carved out centuries ago when the Dark King reigned. Everyone has a part to play, but nothing is as it seems. The story takes the traditional figures of old myths and legends that we know so well — the saviour, the knight, the lady, the king — flips them on their heads and uses them to explore issues around morality, consent, and good and evil. Anything goes and nothing is off limits.
Dark Rise is dark and mysterious, exhilarating and action-packed, filled with electric characters and goosebump-inducing twists. It is the kind of book that will have you up in the middle of the night, desperate to find out what happens next but dreading its end. It certainly started the series off with a bang and even though I have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen next, I am more than willing to sit back and enjoy the ride. You need to read this book!
—Dark Rise by C. S. Pacat (Allen & Unwin) is out now.
Dark Rise
Dark Rise: Book 1
The ancient world of magic is no more. Its heroes are dead, its halls are ruins, and its great battles between Light and Dark are forgotten. Only the Stewards remember. For centuries they have kept vigil, sworn to protect humanity if the Dark King ever returns.
Sixteen-year-old dock boy Will is on the run in London, pursued by the men who killed his mother. When an old servant urges him to seek out the Stewards, Will is ushered into a secret world, where he must train to fight...
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