The Realms Thereunder
Ross Lawhead
Thomas Nelson, Sep 6 2011, $15.99
ISBN 9781595549099
Thirteen year olds Daniel Tully and Freya Reynolds went missing and are assumed dead. Seventy-two days later, they reappear in shock in East Ayreshire, Scotland.
Over the next eight years, on the surface the pair reacts differently to their ordeal never adequately explained. He became a homeless person carrying a sword he swears he earned when he vanished while she became an Oxford student studying folklore. However, both still suffer from the trauma of what they saw and did with denial their defense mechanism of choice. Eight years ago, they visited a church only to be abducted by knights who escorted them to an ancient underground city in the realm of Nidergeard. There lives the protectors of the surface dwellers from the evil that wants to permeate the outer realm. Now both are kidnapped in diverse ways, but when they unite they agree the time has come for them to engage in the second battle of Nidergeard.
The first Ancient Earth quest fantasy is an exciting thriller with an intriguing underlying premise that defeating evil is not “good” enough because evil will fester in a nurtured vacuum unless good remains diligent by performing good deeds. The lead protagonists are a strong duet while the support cast especially underground enhances the war. Although crawling through the underground maize slows down the plot, fans of Tolkien and Brooks will want to join the pair as they enter the below the surface war zone.
Harriet Klausner
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