Christian fantasy. This is becoming my favorite genre. When it is well done — and this one is — the God truths flow out of the story, somewhat like the Word Himself, sharper than a two-edged sword.
By Darkness Hid is book 1of Blood of Kings. The adventure begins for sixteen year old Achan Cham (Trouble for a first name, fire-breathing bear for a last name) when an old knight decides to take him on as his squire. Achan is also a stray in a civilization that is no longer kind to orphans, because a stray had killed the land's king and queen some twelve years earlier. And darkness spread over half the land.
Our second hero is a young lady in disguise as a boy (I love this kind of book!) because the prince of the land seeks to wed her (for her inheritance, of course) and she doesn't want him.
Then, there's the bloodvoicing. A spiritual gift inherited through the first king's descendants, now many in the kingdom possess the ability to mind-talk and various other mind games.
Er'Rets is a great medieval world. Achan and Vrell are marvelous characters. The secondary characters in the book are individual and fun. The plot keeps moving forward with plenty of twists. There was nothing about this book I didn't love. So on finishing it, I grabbed up book 2 because this is a continuation story, like Lord of the Rings, not a stand alone book in a continuous series.
Needless to say at this point, I recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, Christ, fiction, good story, thinking about a book after you've read it, and being challenged about how you view the world.
