Ancient legend tells of an army of knights that will
remain sleeping until the last days.
The knights are waking up.
From the back cover: A homeless man is stalked by a pale, wraithlike creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth. Maimed animals and a host of suicides cluster around a mountain in Scotland. And deep beneath the cobbled streets of Oxford, a malicious hoard besieges a hidden city.
Freya Reynolds is a university student with a touch of OCD and an obsession with myth and folklore. Daniel Tully is living rough on the streets of Oxford, waging a secret war against an enemy only he can identify. Years ago, they found themselves in a world few know is real. They have since gone their separate ways and tried to put that adventure behind them.
But the mythical world is now bleeding into our reality – a dark spiritual evil that is manifesting itself in forgotten corners of the British Isles. Alex Simpson is a Scottish police officer who specializes in hunting mythical creatures. Together, they must confront the past, the present, and points beyond to defeat the ultimate threat to humanity.
Nothing they’ve seen so far prepares them for what awaits… in The Realms Thereunder.
****
My Thoughts on the story:
Written by Ross Lawhead – son of Stephen R. Lawhead – The Realms Thereunder is the first book in The Ancient Earth Trilogy. The back cover hooked me. I couldn’t wait to dig into the book! A homeless man, hidden cities, myths that are real – an exciting premise!
Then I started reading and my enthusiasm gradually lessened. Mainly I found the book disjointed and somewhat confusing.
The Realms Thereunder jumps back and forth almost every other chapter between Daniel and Freya’s adventures as children and their adventures now. At the start of the book, it seemed that their modern predicaments completely outweighed their adventures as children, but toward the end, their earlier difficulties seemed much more important than what was happening to them at the moment. So much so, that the present storyline seemed more a distraction from the main plot than anything else.
I would have preferred the author divide the storylines and present all of the previous story before moving into the present. The back story felt fully developed whereas the modern story (toward the end) felt more like filler before jumping into the action that I anticipate will come with book two.
Although the premise hooked me, the actual story didn’t completely draw me in. The writing style seemed a bit heavy and overbearing at times, not engaging.
As much as I wanted and tried to, I didn’t find myself caring about most of the characters. When Daniel and Freya were children, they meandered from acting like ordinary frightened children to speaking like adults. There were several times when Daniel and Freya stepped forward and took charge of the situation in ways that I doubt thirteen year old kids who had just fallen into another world actually would. I also didn’t think that the knights they traveled with would have allowed them to take charge unchallenged.
However, I have always loved the blending of the historical, mythical, and modern and found that one of the most enjoyable aspects of The Realms Thereunder. In many cases, it read like an ancient myth or fairy tale from the British Isles, involving plenty of fantastic creatures like elves, gnomes, faeries, and the yfelgopes (don’t worry, even after finishing the book I’m still not entirely sure how to pronounce that one!)
I chuckled at Ecgbryt’s constant retelling of his days fighting with Alfred the Great against the Danes, because I always loved reading about Alfred the Great growing up. (Who wouldn’t like the King who was scolded by a peasant woman because he forgot to watch her cakes and let them burn?) Also, the idea of an ordinary policeman who hunts down mythical creatures as a secret part of his job was pretty cool!
All in all, although I felt The Realms Thereunder didn’t quite live up to the expectations produced by the back cover copy, I enjoyed reading it. Don’t expect a rapid page turner, but if you enjoy a good blend of history, myth, and modern times, you’ll enjoy a foray into The Realms Thereunder. 3 stars.
****
Disclaimer: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
The author’s website – Ross Lawhead
Want to purchase The Realms Thereunder?
Be sure to check out what the other blog tour participants are saying over the next two days!
Red Bissell – Keanen Brand – Beckie Burnham – Melissa Carswell – Jeff Chapman – CSFF Blog Tour – Theresa Dunlap – Emmalyn Edwards – April Erwin – Victor Gentile – Tori Greene – Nikole Hahn – Ryan Heart – Bruce Hennigan – Timothy Hicks – Christopher Hopper – Jason Joyner – Carol Keen – Krystine Kercher – Rebekah Loper – Marzabeth – Shannon McDermott – Rebecca LuElla Miller – Mirriam Neal – Eve Nielsen – Nissa – John W. Otte – Donita K. Paul – Joan Nienhuis –Crista Richey – Sarah Sawyer – Chawna Schroeder – Kathleen Smith – Donna Swanson – Rachel Starr Thomson – Steve Trower – Fred Warren – Dona Watson – Shane Werlinger – Nichole White – Rachel Wyant
Charley R says
Ah, that's sad. The premise sounds absolutely fantastic, but I'm no fan of sporadic storylines …. but I might just have to give it a look anyway, because I'm one of those people who has to poke the fire to know it's hot, lol!
Thanks for the review!
Heart2Heart says
Gillian,
I think you accurately nailed this one down. The storyline had great possibilities and one that initially had me desperately wanting to read the book.
I've read books that offered flash backs and flash forwards but never along with different time periods. I found myself lost quite a few times and more than once flipping back in pages to see if I missed something in parts of the story.
I am confident however that the author may use such reviews to help in the future novels in the series. I think he has a great concept but failed to make it to come alive in this novel. I, too, am a huge fan of fantasy genre's from the time I was a teen and really looking forward to this one.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Star-Dreamer says
I agree with this review. My review and ideas of the book were similar (even if I now think that I should go back and edit what I wrote for it. :P) The idea hooked me, but the story just didn't feel well executed. I could tell that the author was a good writer, but it didn't feel like he was writing "well", and there is a difference.
Good review. :)
Nichole
Rebecca LuElla Miller says
It's hard to talk about this book and NOT talk about the story structure. It's such a unique approach. I think he was incredibly brave to try something so ambitious in his debut novel.
Gillian, I think your comments are right on and I think you've perfectly identified the audience of this book that will appreciate it.
Great post.
Becky
Gillian Adams says
Charley R – Yeah, I'd definitely encourage you to read it yourself! Haha, I like to test a book for myself and your opinion may differ completely from mine!
Kat – Thanks for stopping by! Yes, ultimately that's the point of reviews isn't it? To help readers find books that they'd like to read but also to help authors improve their craft.
Star-Dreamer – Yes, I agree with you. And I think there is great potential in Ross Lawhead's writing and I look forward to picking up the next book in the series to see what happens next!
Becky – It was fun, although somewhat confusing at times, to see something other than the traditional linear approach. I like to see creativity and I think it was a great concept, but somehow it didn't completely follow through. Thanks!
Julie J. says
Thank you for this review. I passed this tour up due to time constraints. This sounds like a book I may have struggled with. The cover does look amazing!
nissa_amas_katoj says
I prefer a more chronological story myself, but then again, I'm quite weird. ;) I enjoyed it quite a bit. And I like child characters who 'act like adults', mainly because I did as a kid.
By the way, I am hiding a virtual object on your blog. It is a slightly rusty wrench.
Shane Werlinger says
I enjoyed the book and the way it was broken up, but that maybe because I read it in short bursts due to the busyness of life. Great review though.
Gillian Adams says
Julie – Thanks for stopping by! Yes, the cover was quite intriguing, wasn't it?
Nissa – Hmm, these virtual objects you've been hiding everywhere are quite interesting! I don't mind children who act like adults in stories, but I found Daniel's tendency to take charge over the two knights and handle the situations on his own not entirely realistic. But, that may just be me!
Shane – Thanks for stopping by. I enjoyed reading your review of the book as well.
Dona Watson says
I find it interesting the way you looked at the story structure. I hadn't thought if it quite the same way. I found the timeline device intriguing, how he brought the past forward rather than traveling back to the past as so many have done before. Then again, I've been looking at new ways to write fantasy fiction, so maybe that's why I saw it differently. Nice review and presentation of your impressions.
(BTW, I tried to leave a comment just before this, but I think I did it wrong. Sorry if this is a duplicate.)
Jason says
Gillian,
Great review. I noticed the fact that 13 year olds in a new world without the combat experience acted beyond their years without a good explanation.
I didn't mind the structure, but I think things got lost in the presentation.
Thanks for your honest review! It helps us be relevant and not a "rah-rah" club.
Jainene says
I felt that Daniel's maturity as a child makes some sense, because he does come from a bad background with unreliable parents, and that does age a child–so the back-and-forth between maturity and childishness makes sense for him. It doesn't explain Freya, although she doesn't display the behavior nearly as much. I think I would have appreciated more what both characters were thinking. I didn't feel like I understood either of their motivations that well.
I agree, the flashback story was much more compelling than the present-day one! It's really hard to tie down an audience for this book, because even teenagers these days want a bit more of an edge to their books, and this book didn't have one.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Gillian Adams says
Donna – No problem. It posted fine! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I didn't mind the jumping back and forth so much as I felt like there wasn't enough going on in the present to keep me anchored there. I guess I just had to readjust the way I was looking at the story a lot, and that was distracting.
Jason – I always feel bad writing negative things in my reviews, but it is important to be honest! And I'm glad that the reviewer responses to this book were varied so readers can get a variety of opinions.
Jainene – Yes, I can see how Daniel's past could have contributed to his take-charge attitude in certain situations. That's a good point!