Matthew Ward’s The Darkness Before Them kicks off The Soulfire Saga and tells the tale of Kat, a young woman who turns to thievery because her father’s debt was forced upon her when he died. In this world, souls fuel magic, often through tattoos and runes.
These are dark times for the Kingdom of Khalad. As the magical mists of the Veil devour the land, the populace struggles beneath the rule of ruthless noble houses and their uncaring immortal king.
Kat doesn’t care about any of that. A talented thief, she’s pursuing one big score that will settle the debt that destroyed her family. No easy feat in a realm where indentured spirits hold vigil over every vault and treasure room. However, Kat has a unique she can speak to those spirits, and even command them. And she has no qualms using her power to her advantage.
Kat’s not a hero. She just wants to be free. To have her old life back. But as rebellion rekindles and the war for Khalad’s future begins, everyone—Kat included—will have to pick a side.
Ward takes a tactic with the start of this novel that often works for me: in the middle of the action. Kat is on a heist with her friend and partner Azra in the hopes of snagging one big treasure to clear her debts once and for all. Unfortunately, things don’t quite go according to Kat’s plan and she winds up being arrested, sentenced to become what amounts to an undead, skeletal slave known as a koilos. Fortunately, Kat is rescued from her fate.
Parallel to Kat’s story is that of Damant, the advisor to the ruling family of the city. His connection to the upper levels of society is a nice contrast to what we see from Kat’s storyline along the less savory elements and with people who struggle against the “machine” of society that keeps them down.
Ward has built a vast history into this world with an interesting magic system of runes and tattoos. Part of that is the Veil, a threatening mist that is slowly swallowing up the kingdom and its surroundings. It is spoken of with very fearful overtones by the characters and I liked how Ward allowed the characters get closer to and have a better understanding of the Veil as the storyline progressed. There’s also a interesting concept of new cities built upon the ruins of older cities, giving a literal depth to the world building.
The character of Kat was extremely well-drawn, believable, and empathetic. She suffered a trauma early in the story, which essentially defined a majority of her reactions throughout the novel. I also appreciated not just that Kat was gay, but that it was a matter-of-fact thing in Ward’s world. It was an accepted way of life, for the most part. Another element that came into play along Kat’s storyline was when she met the character of Yari, a young woman who could only communicate through sign-language as she was deaf. Again, how Ward played this element into the story was handed quite nicely.
While I was pulled into the story with the high-octane beginning, I found my attention began to wane as the story felt less tightly plotted. I’m not sure if it was me or the book, but the slow-down in narrative about a third of the way into the novel lost me a little bit. I think I was also more drawn to Kat than anything else in the novel and when the story strayed from focusing on her, I didn’t feel quite as invested in the story. My attention span of late has been a little scattered, admittedly, so it could be a case of “It’s me, not the book.”
There are some really good things in this novel, Ward brings a lot of good elements to his writing and the story. Similar to what I said in my previous review of Bradley Beaulieu’s The Dragons of Deepwood Fen, I think Ward’s novel will please many fantasy readers and will do quite well for him.
© 2023 Rob H. Bedford
Orbit Books | Trade Paperback
November 2023 | 576 Pages
Excerpt: https://www.trackofwords.com/2023/11/02/exclusive-excerpt-the-darkness-before-them-by-matthew-ward/
https://thetowerofstars.com/ | Twitter: @thetowerofstars
Review copy courtesy of the publisher
