A March Into Darkness: Volume II of the Destinies of Blood and Stone [Mass Market Paperback]

Prince Tristan is the currently ruler of the land of Eutracia, and has recently been victorious in the battle against the evil Wulfgar of the Island Citadel.

While the Eutracian people celebrate their victory, little do they know that Wulfgar's equally evil widow, Serena, is plotting her revenge against the people who killed her husband. With the aid of the Magical Heretics, she will devise a plan so heinous that no one will see it coming until it's too late, with an army of creatures of pure evil and suffering at her beck and call.

As she carefully plots her next move, the Heretics send the Darkling known as Xanthus, a half-human, half-magical being, for Prince Tristan. Xanthus will stop at nothing to persuade Tristan to go with him, including torture and murder of the Eutracian people. As Tristan finally succumbs to Xanthus' demands, his sister Shailiha, finds herself at the helm of an all-out attack on Serena and the Citadel.

But will she and her army of wizards and magically gifted allies know in time the enormous opposition that is awaiting them, or will Serena be victorious in her cunning plans??

This is the second book in Robert Newcomb's The Destinies of Blood and Stone Series, however, as someone who hasn't read the first book, Savage Messiah, I found it worked well as a stand-alone novel also.

This novel is a good read, taking the reader into a land of magic where good and evil will collide in the greatest battle of all time.

However, I felt that the writing was not strong in that the descriptive words in the narration were not of a high standard. Throughout the book, there is a strong sense of repetition in the descriptions (for example, one particular word may be used a number of times in the one paragraph or on the one page, which can come across as weak writing). I found that this gave an overall sense that the book was somewhat childish in its writing technique.

Armchair Interview says: Lots of plans with lots of evil lurking.

I enjoyed reading this book over the weekend very much. I have read the four predecessor books to this one, and enjoyed all of them. They include:

Book 1. The Fifth Sorceress

Book 2. The Gates of Dawn

Book 3. The Scrolls of the Ancients

Book 4. Savage Messiah

Of the 4 above, Savage Messiah was the only one to disappoint me. While reading it I felt like the first three quarters of the book could have been eliminated since it was so boring (and probably unnecessary). But the last quarter of it was worth the read. By the way, I read the book in a little over an hour at Barnes and Noble. So I didn't waste my money.

March into Darkness answered a lot of unanswered questions I had from reading the first four books. I learned much about The Ones who practice the vigors and the Heretics that practice the vagaries. I learned both live on the other side of the world cutoff from the lands of Eutracia and the Parthalon. And I learned much about the scrolls of the vigors and vagaries. Now that Faegan has them BOTH indexed, they are mere cookbooks with many recipes that can be conjured.

I'm sure I would not have enjoyed the book as much as I did if I had not read the 4 predecessor books. The main characters in this book (Tristan, Shailiha, Xanthus, Wigg, Faegan, Tyranny and Serena) were great to learn about further as the story progressed. But I was hoping to learn that Faegan would overcome being a cripple. And I was hoping that Tyranny and Shailiha would have each developed a love-interest with someone. Unfortunately these things did not happen.

My favorite part of the book was following Tristan from one scene to another, especially while he was with Xanthus and while being educated by the Ones and the Heretics.

I would have liked the book better if Tristan had not been so caught up in K'Shari (martial arts) and been more involved in beginning to learn some magic. But that will probably consume the first half of the sixth book which I suspect will lead into Tristan approaching the Heretics and bringing peace between the Ones and the Heretics. Who knows? 5 stars!

Wulfgar, enemy of the peoples of Eutracia, is vanquished. The Orb of the Vigors, bleeding out magical energy, has damaged Eutracia, leaving its scars across the land. While the citizens rejoice at newfound peace, Prince Tristan is feeling none of the joy of his success. Victory came with a price: his wife, Celeste. He is not the only one to have suffered a loss. Across the Sea of Whispers, Wulfgar's wife, the sorceress Serena, sets in motion her own nefarious plot to bring down Tristan.

Prince Tristan and his companions prepare a countermeasure in the hopes of eliminating the threat from Serena, but events beyond their control alter the moves they would make. In the Tolenka Mountains, a menacing wall of azure magic opens and from it issues forth a dark soul, Xanthus the Darkling, who leaves death and devastation in his wake. Sent by the Heretics who dwell in the otherworld, Xanthus is sent to convince Tristan to come and speak with them. Though he is forbidden to bring the Prince by force, he uses his malevolence and atrocities inflicted on innocent Eutracians to sway the young man to his purpose. Yet, even as they commence their journey, Tristan will find that nothing is really quite what he believes it to be.

With Tristan removed, the fate of Eutracia falls to his sister, Shailiha. Reinforcing their resolve, she and her wizard companions, Faegan and Wigg, must command the Black Ships and commence their assault on the Citadel. Serena, with the Scroll of the Vagaries in her possession, seeks to lay a hellish trap for those who would undo her designs, and also discovers a dark magic that may undo death itself.

A MARCH INTO DARKNESS marks a great turning point for author Robert Newcomb. The story really opens up and reveals some of the solid form that has been shrouded in mystery for so long, especially concerning Tristan and Shailiha. They continue to grow, but Newcomb also finds ways to keep interest in characters such as Wigg and Faegan, and his continued use of the pirate queen, Tyranny, is a welcome pleasure. Serena, while a continuation of the Wulfgar as enemy scenario, makes a logical choice as the villain, for who would want retribution more than one who feels she has been victimized?

The darkness referenced in the title is multifaceted. It is a march into Serena's evil conspiracy and it is Tristan's journey with Xanthus to meet the Heretics, but it is also a march into despair, sorrow and grief. Many of the heroes are scarred from the events of SAVAGE MESSIAH, and they bear much weight. Newcomb does a strong job of showing us how each deals with such burdens and the choices they make in how to rise or fall because of them.

More than that, though, these elements combine to make A MARCH INTO DARKNESS Newcomb's best book, in both quality of the story and quality of the telling. Some argue that he does not display the skills of Robert Jordan or George R.R. Martin, but he is not meant to. While Newcomb's work does have its own epic scope, his storytelling style is more simplistic, more driving and more free. It is action and reaction, fire and fury, but never at the expense of depth. The power of a good storyteller is in his or her ability to captivate and entertain. Newcomb does this in spades, leaving out extraneous descriptions and narration and keeping the reader focused on the heart of the story.

One should not attempt A MARCH INTO DARKNESS without first going through SAVAGE MESSIAH at the very least, though readers who take up all four previous works (the three books that comprise The Chronicles of Blood and Stone, in addition to SAVAGE MESSIAH) ultimately will find this installment to be an incredible reward.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard