TheDarkness

In the absence of light, the monsters are not the only things to fear.

The 66th Dimming was prophesied to be a time of trial, but it has become a catastrophe. The ancient rhythms of survival have broken. The flessen swarm is vast, the morgen are hunting with tactical precision, and the legendary dharkeen may be no myth at all. To save the realm, the High Lord has made a chilling command: Total Darkness. No fires. No lanterns. Not even the cold blue of a glowlight is permitted when the sun sets.

But as the lights go out, the worst of human nature is illuminated.

The Soldier: Pradton Gorman, heir to West Holding, finds the High Army decimated by a new, intelligent enemy. Haunted by a tactical failure that burned a blight in the daylight, he must lead the survivors against a foe that learns from their mistakes.

The Ruler: In West Holding, the death of the Lord Holder creates a vacuum filled by treachery. Lady Stilla fights to keep her people fed and the holding intact, even as the Water Church excommunicates them, damning her citizens to face the night without spiritual or physical aid.

The Survivor: Trapped in the pitch-black caverns beneath the Outcrop, young Ohbin battles starvation and madness. But in the silence of the deep, he discovers that the creatures’ origins—and their weakness—might be hidden in the very history the Church tried to erase.

In “The Darkness,” Michael R. Stute expands his harrowing world into a pressure cooker of survival thriller and political epic. When faith becomes a weapon and leadership becomes a death sentence, the only hope lies in the hands of those willing to break the rules.