Title: The Epics of Rathhild: Volume I: The Darkness Within
Author: Jabari Ashanti
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 9781728343129
Pages: 120
Genre: Fantasy / Action
Reviewed by: Leah Shepherd
Pacific Book Review
The Epics of Rathhild: Volume I: The Darkness Within is a fantasy book beginning in a medieval world after the end of a long war. The elite habitants of Rathhild face off against a rogue sorcerer, who wants revenge. This is the first book in a trilogy.
The story is full of combat, suspense and magic. Brothers battle monsters. You’ll find kings, castles, armies, dragons, werewolves, vampires, and other magical creatures. There’s lots of violence throughout. Once character even gets beheaded. If you like tales with military strategy and medieval soldiers fighting, this book should appeal to you. As the story starts, only three generals — Michelle, Jay and Lawrence — remain alive after a close battle with a nearby kingdom. They are having a debriefing discussion with the king when a huge dragon attacks the castle. Many innocent villagers and homes are destroyed before the generals manage to kill the dragon.
The appearance of the dragon is a sign that someone is trying to take over Rathhild with dark magic. Nearby are the kingdoms of Estoria with many mountains and Sfortzland with a multitude of monsters. The three generals and their lieutenants set out to find a possible traitor and defend Rathhild. The hand-to-hand battle scenes and sword fights are written in an engrossing and exciting manner. These action scenes are where this book is at its best. After some exposition in the beginning, it’s a fast-paced book that never slows down. The action builds toward the middle and end of the book. For many readers, escaping into this very different world might be a welcome distraction from the unrest and tumult in the real world today.
Sometimes the details are confusing and muddled. For instance, in a number of scenes, there’s a type of creature called a walker, but the author doesn’t describe exactly what that is. In the beginning of the book, sometimes the author uses a new character’s name without explaining who that person is. The characters are not well-developed as unique individuals. Consequently, I didn’t feel much for them when they got injured or killed. It’s not really a character-driven book. The dialog is often heated and intense, but sometimes it is cliched.
In general, this book could use a good editor and proofreader. On almost every page, it has frequent errors in grammar, punctuation and capitalization. Parents should take note that this book has occasional profanity.
