Dark Rise

In 19th-century London, sixteen-year-old Will Kempen leads a quiet life, closely monitored by his overprotective mother. But when a mysterious group kills her, Will goes on the run and finally learns the truth about the world, his family, and his own identity.  

Long ago, a devastating war raged between the forces of Light and Dark, resulting in the complete destruction of magic—until the present day, when the dead heroes and villains are reborn to reclaim their destiny. Most important is Will. Born from the blood of the Lady, he is prophesied to one day defeat the Dark King. Joining the Stewards, an ancient class of warriors, Will fights against the Dark King’s rise, only to realize that the line between good and evil might not be so clear after all.  

In the beginning, Will is a likable protagonist who is easy to root for. Despite his harsh surroundings, he maintains a kind nature. For example, he warns an opponent of a deadly booby trap even after they try to kill him. However, Will’s character arc takes an unexpected turn. Set up to become the chosen savior, he ends the story as a morally gray figure shrouded in mystery. In a shocking plot twist, Will realizes he is not of the Lady’s blood—he is the reincarnation of the Dark King.  

Some readers may find Will’s past life unforgivable, regardless of the good he does in his current life. While the specifics of the war are only hinted at, readers can infer there were great casualties. Furthermore, despite swearing to kill the Dark King, Will keeps his identity a secret, allowing the Stewards to continue believing their greatest enemy is their savior. However, there are also hints that the war was more complex than the Stewards’ framing of Light versus Dark or Good versus Evil. Considering Will’s kind nature, it is plausible that the Stewards conducted a smear campaign against the Dark King to further their agenda. Since Dark Rise is the first entry in a trilogy, much of the war remains a mystery, leaving Will’s character morally gray at best.  

Initially presented as Will’s love interest, Katherine Kent is revealed to be the true blood of the Lady. She is kind and innocent, yet unafraid to make bold moves to protect the people she loves. For example, she breaks off her engagement after her sister’s safety is threatened and immediately fights Will after learning his true identity. James St. Clair, the Dark King’s reborn right-hand man, follows a similar role reversal. He is initially presented as Will’s enemy but emerges as a possible future love interest. While rules and righteousness stifle the surrounding cast, James is the most dynamic character, often taunting the Stewards and exposing flaws in their morality. Like Will, James had no choice in the role he was born into, but he copes with the opposite response: embracing and even enjoying his perceived villainy.  

Readers will enjoy the fast-paced plot and the building tension between Will, Katherine, and James as they unravel layers of their shared yet unknown past. Dark Rise is told in the third person, with each chapter narrated from a different point of view, but it primarily focuses on Will, Katherine, and their friends in the Stewards. The book would be improved if it focused exclusively on Will, Katherine, and James, but the good outshines the bad. Plot lines from the supporting characters exist only to support the main storyline and are largely forgettable. The most entertaining scenes happen when James is present, causing trouble for the main characters through battles of magic or wits. For example, when the Stewards capture James, he gains the upper hand by strategically revealing information that will cause conflict among the Stewards.   

Overall, Dark Rise offers an interesting take on the Chosen One trope: the hero becomes the villain, the villain becomes the love interest, and the love interest becomes the hero. It explores themes of indoctrination, generational burden, and systemic corruption against a fantasy backdrop while providing mostly fascinating characters to keep readers emotionally invested. Readers who enjoy young adult and dark fantasy will enjoy this book.      

Sexual Content     

• Will has a spiritual attraction to Katherine. When he reflects on his early meeting with her, he emphasizes “how drawn he had been to her.”   
• Katherine initiates a kiss with Will, who is reluctant. The kiss helps Katherine unlock her magical powers. As Katherine describes, she “moved in towards Will. . . around her light started to shine as if his touch was conjuring it. . . Will jerked back.”   
• Will thinks James is a “golden beauty, he might have been carved from fine marble.”    
• Will’s and James’ past life counterparts – the Dark King and Anharion – are implied to have a sexual relationship. It is mentioned that “[Anharion] kissed the Dark King’s lips.”      

Violence     

• Will suppresses the traumatic memory of his mother’s assassination for most of the book. However, Will has a flashback about when he arrives home to find his mother “bleeding in the garden behind the house, three dead men on the ground, and more men on the way.” His mother asked for a knife, then she “plunged the knife towards his throat. . .  the knife had gone through his palm instead of his neck. . . he’d pushed her off, gasping in air and clutching his bleeding palm to his chest. . . ” Will flees, and his mother presumably dies of blood loss. The emotional flashback lasts three pages.   
• Violet, a friend of Will’s, abandons the Dark for the Light after overhearing her father’s plan to sacrifice her to help her older brother, because “[Violet’s brother] can’t come into his true power without killing another like him.”   
• When Katherine learns Will’s identity, she grabs the ancient artifact that originally defeated the Dark King – the Sword of the Champion – hoping to use it to kill Will. Will warns her that the Dark King’s blood corrupted the sword, and now it will kill Katherine. Katherine assumes he is lying, grabs the sword, and quickly dies. Will describes, “black webbing raced toward her heart. . . she collapsed, pale and cold.” Readers may not feel much sympathy for Katherine, as her death was avoidable if she had not jumped to conclusions and condemned a close friend.   
• Simon is the main villain and the leader of the efforts to revive the Dark King. He ironically attempts to kill Will under the mistaken assumption that he is the blood of the Lady. Simon wields the Dark King’s sword against Will, which does not work. Then Will stabs Simon, narrating Simon’s death with factual detachment. He describes understanding “the resistance of the body, the strength of muscle and sinew that it took to push the weapon in. . . when [Simon] opened his mouth, blood and not words came out of it.”   
• Will, along with two Stewards, Violet and Cyprian, plan an unsuccessful sneak attack on James. Cyprian is a Steward who is friendly with both Will and Violet. Using his powers, James throws Violet “violently upward, hitting the ceiling with a cry” and sends Cyprian “flying backward across the room to hit the wall with a sick smash.” Will is not harmed, only “yanked down to his knees and held there.”  Due to their superhuman strength, Violet and Cyprian do not sustain any long-term injuries.  

Drugs and Alcohol     

• Background characters, like the ship hands, drink beer. However, the main cast does not partake.      

Language    

• A Steward compares a deserted wasteland to hell.   
• God is frequently used to express surprise. For example, after learning he killed Will’s mother, Simon taunts, “My God, what is this? Some pitiful boy’s revenge?” 
• Behind her back, Violet’s father calls her “stupid mongrel” and “bastard girl.”     

Supernatural    

• There is a world of magic, divided between Light and Dark forces. Characters possess a wide range of abilities.  
• The Dark King can control minds and revive the dead. The Dark King died before the events of the story, so he is not depicted using his powers. However, it is stated that the Dark King can “draw people to him and wrap them into the shape he wanted.”   
• The Stewards are extremely strong and can withstand significant damage. For example, Violet is shocked the first time she sees them fight. They “had a strength and speed that wasn’t – that couldn’t be – natural.” A Steward “pushed one of the half-ton crates out of her way with one hand, which was impossible.”   
• James can move things with his mind. For example, Will unties a rope, causing a crane to fall over James. James “flung out his hand and the crane abruptly stopped, frozen abruptly in the air.”   
• There are cursed artifacts that carry spells. A collar is cursed to make James obedient to the Dark King, if worn. James does not wear it. However, his counterpart Anharion did, which is a possible explanation for his loyalty to the Dark King, but the past life largely remains a mystery. The Sword of the Champion is also cursed to kill Katherine.     

Spiritual Content     

• None 

by Kerry Lum